Life by iPhone.

Despite having not posted much this year, our family has been up to a lot!  Blogging is still fun for me, but with blogging friends and family having "moved-on" from commenting here and life "moving quickly" - perhaps I'm not as fanatical about posting as I used to be.  What about you?!  I do sincerely appreciate friends who do stop-in and check-up on us - it really makes my day!  For Christmas, Craig surprised me with an iPhone.  I prominently lost it in an American Girl Store bathroom. I realized it was gone just 10 minutes later, but it was too late.  Some little girl, or mom, decided to take it and I haven't seen it since.  Smart as Craig is, fortunately he did purchase an insurance plan with it!

Thankfully I have not lost it, nor left it anywhere since!  I have, however, taken many photos, and I will share with you the best!  These range from January to present day of 2012 - enjoy!

Cici and Nini @ a local college girl's basketball game.  We felt it was
good for them to see a "big girl" game.  Nini is keeping track
of the points on an old blackberry phone!

Cold Hands, were a big deal this winter.  The best solution - socks.
Mr. T is sporting a pair in this photo.

This is how I shop, and this is also how mom uses the restroom
without two little boys climbing under the stalls!

Cici and Nini getting their "orange belts" in Karate!  They've loved it
until recently, and now they want to quit.  We are giving it another month,
and we'll see what happens.

Mr. T and Hawk off another hike with mom.

Sunday "fort" play!

Wendy, our early invention specialist for Mr. T and Hawk.
They are both late talkers, especially Mr. T.  While Hawk has
picked up words, Mr. T is still only saying parts of words.
He communicates well in other ways, thankfully.  He sees
a speech specialist this Monday - we'll see what she says!

Fun with the girls while at the Largest Arcade in the World
in Northern NH!

Cici and Hawk snuggling :)

Sugaring-off this year yielded just over a gallon of syrup.
Since we are a very small operation - it took four over the fire
boilings for our sap to get only a gallon! 

Hawk and Mr. T asleep after a big day out at Costco.

Church, then play, then fall in the mud in our church clothes!
Little Hawk :)

Cici and Hawk playing!

A photo of our small New England town at sunrise, while
jogging.  

Are you still an avid blogger?

How has blogging changed since you first started?

Do you take lots and lots and lots of photos with your phone?!

9 good things.

A Spelling Bee good job cake!

There have been so many good things going on in our neck of the woods lately.  My girls, Cici and Nini, took part in their first ever spelling bee contest this week!  I am so so so proud of them (did I happen to mention how proud of them I am!?)  This was one of those things they could choose to do or not at school, but at home, I felt that it was something they had to at least try to do.  They didn't object, making our decision to have them try, a lot easier!

Saying goodbye to Bessie

We said goodbye last month to our dear beloved mini-van - lovingly named Bessie. We traveled over 125,000 miles in her, in two countries, and at least 15 states.  She survived two accidents, two sets of twins, too many stops to McDonald's, and all the abuse a family of six could throw at her!  Our new mini-van hasn't been named yet, we love her, but we need to wear her in a little more to give her a name.

Ice Cream cone balloons with party hats.

Dixie cup and pom pom yarn sundae's and envelope lanterns.

 My calling as RS 2nd counselor has taken me through many activities.  We don't quite have an activities leader yet, so I and the 1st counselor are charging-up the activities for now.  January was something we named The Visiting Teaching Banana Split Event!  I loved the Ice Cream Cone Party Hat Balloons and the Dixie Cup Yarn Sundae's as decorations!  I don't have time to give all the details, but if you are interested in this idea for your ward, email me at shecalledme@gmail.com!

Hawk loving his Thomas PJ's

Christmas seems like ages ago!  We had a lovely and relaxing Christmas with Mr. C staying home the entire week.  We ate, wrapped and unwrapped presents, took drives, ate, watched movies and all that really good relaxing family time.  Mr. T and Hawk got into the spirit of opening presents this year.  Hawk's favorite were these Thomas Train Engine PJ's - he truly couldn't wait to put them on!

Nini's best hug!

This photo reminds of the great joy I am having at watching my little girls grow-up.   They are so incredible!

Favorite Christmas Photo

 Honestly, this photo is my absolute favorite!  The look on Nini's face and anticipation at what her sister would think of the gift Nini bought Cici - is just beautiful!  I love these girls :)

Smartie Pants teacher gifts.

You are "Mint" to be our teacher gifts.

I couldn't help myself this year!  I had to put together some of those cute pinterest teacher appreciation gifts.  I put a ton of smarties into a clear jar and put a little sign on the lid Thanks for turning ___________ into a smartie pants!  The Junior Mint appreciation gift we gave to the girl's piano teacher!

Me and Loan!

 Our sweet friend came from Virginia to see our family again!  We love Loan and have enjoyed her sweetness in our lives since Craig met her on his mission in Washington DC (she was 5) and later I met her when she was 11.  We are very grateful she still loves us after all these years!!!

 Here's the big questions:

Do you name your cars?

Romney Rally: Showing kids the importance of a Presidential Election.

 What's in this post:

How our family handled the Republican Primary election in NH,

photos, autograph from Mitt Romney, sample ballot

for our children so they can make their vote.

********************************************

Cici's "pretend" text while we wait for the rally to start.

Our girls have been very fascinated by all the election and Primary talk around our state. They’ve asked questions, and made bold statements about the candidates they like or don’t like. It has been a joy see both of them become opinionated and more curious.  Last week, we had the opportunity to take them to a Mitt Romney rally.  We felt that this would be a great way to put learning into real experience. 

 



Don't look at me - not a good photo - check out those excited faces on Cici and Nini!



We talked all the way to the rally, letting there opinions fly.  We enjoyed looking at all the TV vans and feeling the excitement of the whole event.  The atmosphere inside the town hall was easy going, yet highly organized.  We tried setting our sights on several locations to get our view of Romney, but were finally given a perfect view by a lovely gentlemen working at the rally. 

The Papparazzi!

One of my favorite things to do was look at all the cameras and people working the news stations.  It was really enjoyable to watch and alot of fun to watch the news later to see if we were on TV (we weren't!)



McCain came to endorse Mitt.



We weren't expecting anyone other than Mitt to speak, so it was a nice surprise to see McCain come on into the rally endorsing Mitt (we hadn't watched the news yet that day!)  The girls took in, perhaps not what he said, but the whole event.  They listened, looked around, and stood still (who new) for the entire time.  We were all set to go home, when one of our favorite babysitters (who had come with her dad) asked if we could help take a photo for her with Romney. The crowds had already swarmed around Romney and we weren't sure if we could get up to the stage area before Mitt left.  We made our way up and were thinking that we weren't going to get a chance to get the photo, when Romney turned and almost like Moses parting the red sea (or so it seemed!), put his hand through the crowd to shake the girl's hands!  It was too awkward an angle to get a good photo... 

 

Romney giving the girl's his autograph (they are at the bottom of the photo)

  

Romney handing his autograph to them!



Ms. C (fav babysitter) with Romney!



They weren't shy, answering yes,smiling, and being very well mannered. He smiled and handed back a card he had taken and signed for the girls.  Right after, our favorite babysitter got her photo op (that's me behind the lens!)  AND Nini and Cici (nini pictured below) got her autograph for the candidate she would vote for if she could.   



Nini and Romney's autograph!



 I've printed off a sample ballot I found by just googling "sample ballot January 10 NH" and will give it to the girls tomorrow so that they can place their vote for the candidate they want - it's only fair, they get a voice!  I'm excited to see what they've decided!

Are you voting soon?

Are your children excited?

Have different opinions on the primary, than you?

Penny Candy and the Vermont Country Store.

Just past the Kissing Bridge you'll find this old Mill.

Last Weekend, we were excited to find that our Saturday wasn't filled with sports, or much to do around our farm.  It had been awhile since we piled in our mini-van and took any excursion - so that's just what we did!  We headed up into Rockingham,Vermont to the Vermont Country Store.  This isn't the original, but it was just as fun.  The drive was beautiful, with gorgeous blue skies and colorful leaves still on the trees.  Most of the snow was melted too!

 

Remember these?  Fisher Price TV - the boys loved it!



Never heard of this cute toy - "BillDing"  cute!

The store is filled with fun, hard-to-find items; as well as, many replicated old toys like the ones above.  We all had a good 30 minutes of fun looking at all the toys and reminiscing too.  We then moved on to the grocery and cheese section where we were certain we didn't need to of eaten any lunch before we came.  Locally made and grown products were available for sampling and there wasn't just a few items - it seemed like almost everything they sold in this section was available for testing - yes, including fudge!



penny candy section!



We knew that we only had a few minutes left before my little twins were going to call it a day.  If Mr. C is with me, I we can go places without a stroller.  If I were to of tried this on my own, it would have been a disaster....but, Mr. C was there and we were able to enjoy almost an hour in the store!  Last we headed to the candy section picking out what we wanted to take with us.  One of the best parts was this section above dedicated to candy at only 1 cent each - can you believe that?  I haven't purchased anything for a penny since .....I can't remember!  What a fun idea and fun area for kids!



The Vermont Country Store

We headed outside to enjoy our spoils and let the kids run around before headed over the Kissing Bridge and Mill.  The boys enjoyed running, eating candy, and the girls followed close behind them - just in case they made a be-line for the parking lot! 

Enjoying a few morsels of candy!



get that energy out!




Just being kids.



Next up was a fun little walk under the Kissing Bridge (couldn't get this photo to print).  You can walk from the Vermont store to the Kissing Bridge and to the old mill in a couple minutes.  It's a nice little walk, but will definitely not burn off the calories from all the tasting and candy you might eat while inside! 

I am so grateful for last Saturday.  It was so fun to "get away" from the norm and see the area we live in.  I am so thankful for my children and my husband and the joy the bring into my life.  Hope everyone is well!  Stop in and say HI!  Would love to hear from you.

The best of October 2011.



Cici was a Reese's, Nini an M&M, the boys-train conductors, and I
got into the spirit by being Thomas the Train!

 

Cici helping Hawk up to his first trick or treating night!



Nini pulling boys after the big storm. 




Taken after the first snow of the season 2012.





Our barn after the first snow storm - love the white trees behind the barn.



Nini kickin back with Mr. T and Hawk.





Some treats from our favorite neighbors and home teachers from church.

How was your October?!



Week-Ends and Book-Ends

Our very Small Time Sugaring set-up



If you look at my comments from a year ago, I get at least 90% less comments.  I'm trying to figure if I should be upset or not.  I would determine that it is annoying when people view my blog and do not comment; but if one comments or not - I will still enjoy writing, journaling, and catching up with my blogging buddies!  What about you?  My new Week-End and Book-End posts will focus on journaling all the things I missed during the last week and posting about any new exciting books I've finished.

Week-End

1.  This year we've tapped at least 10-12 trees for sap and are shocked at what a fabulous year it is for sugaring.  We can't keep up with it - it's crazy!  We are very small time, but hope to get a bigger set-up in the next few years.  I think I'll have a blog-giveaway soon where I'll give some of our fresh maple-syrup away!

2.  Hawk and Mr. T joined Craig outside for a few minutes of sugaring.  It was all they could do before they had enough.  No worries, they will soon be helping a lot more - just  wait!  Both little guys I took the doctor last Friday where I found out they had ear infections, both them, in both ears.  It has been so nice to see them healthy and running around.  For awhile there, it was really rough to have them in so much pain and so sick.  I missed their little bright faces and smiles - glad to have them back and healthy!



3.  Worked on this Spring Daffodil Wreath



4. Setting our the big L's trap







 5.  Got really crazy for spring and purchased two of the yellow daisy dresses - too expensive, but they are so so cute and modest!  They were from Mini-Boden.

6.  I was called recently to be the 2nd counselor in the Relief Society of our ward. The Relief Society is grouped of the women in our church who are 18 years and older.  My part of the calling is to work with the activity leader and put together activities for the women.  This week was really crazy as we just finished our RS birthday celebration.  The boys also came that night - luckily we put together some amazing women who shifted out of the activity for 30 minutes at a time to babysit - it worked out wonderfully.  Although my boys really didn't want to stay - they were with me quite a bit! 

7.   Cici and Nini finished up their Mytroyshka doll embroidery book-marks.  Arent' they fantastic!? They did such a great job and they loved every minute of it.  I finished them off by sewing some ribbon on the back and hemming the top and bottom.  This was a really fun activity!

Book-Ends

I can't say I've finished any books, but I have a book I am loving and a few sitting in wait.  Distant Hours by Kate Morton by Tatiana de Rosney, I am 2/3 of the way through.  Sarah's Key is sitting in wait.  Writer Mama by Christina Katz and Get a Freelance Life by Marget Feury Ragland.  Reading time is spent between naps and waiting for kids to come out - it's bits and pieces - but I am determined to finish them.

I have, however, read 8 silly monkeys jumping on the bed and Snuggle Puppy - more than I could possibly count this week!

What books are you reading?
Have you had real maple syrup?