Our Weekend Excursion (plus a little tangent about life)

I have come to the conclusion that life is continually in a state of change.  I am able to settle down and enjoy the feeling of having control and having everything in place when something else is thrown into the mix. After that change is interwoven into our daily life I find myself having that fleeting feeling of comfort again.  The cycle continues and life goes on.  I have been thinking about this lately and I have decided that this cycle is what makes life fun.  Some things that are thrown in are predictable, and some things are not.  Some things are fun, and some things are not.  No matter what comes it will eventually become part of our new semblance of normal.

This idea has been on my mind because I have been thinking a lot about our blog and everything that has happened since our first post.  We began this blog when we were living in Provo before venturing off to Dental School and before having children. My how things have changed.  The minor twists, turns, and detours along the way have been memorable and have shaped the Hazard family.

I have also been thinking along these lines when it comes to the birth of little M.  Our magic formula of 2 year spacing was a little bit disrupted by having twins and by having them with only a year and a half seperation from Evelyn.  We decided to wait 2 1/2 years thinking that this age would be easier because Adalie and Jackson would be older. 

Life does not happen exactly how we plan...  We have two and a half weeks until our new little girl's arrival and the changes happening in the Hazard home are already abundant!  A (mostly) and J have both decided that they are interested, ready,and obsessed with potty training.  They have also decided that cribs are no good and toddler beds are the way to go.  Along that same vein comes the mutually agreed upon decision that their 2 hour afternoon naps are SO last month.  Add to that the facts that Adalie has decided that she is the most defiant child ever to grace our family and Jack has decided that no one except mom is acceptable. On the other hand, Evelyn is doing great other than being a little bit extra clingy.

Bring on the crazy times ahead. We are ready!  Or so I tell myself...

Wow. That little thought that I had went on for a while.

Lets switch the subject completely and move on to my amazing weekend with Logan (yes, this is Rachel. Shocker, huh?).

Three years ago, Logan and I decided to go on an overnight excursion for our anniversary.  We went and stayed in a cabin at Hocking Hills in Ohio.  We had such a fun time getting away and being together that we decided to make it a tradition to go somewhere overnight together every year to celebrate our anniversary.  Since then we introduced Adalie and Jackson into our family and have not continued the tradition until this year. After this weekend we have again committed to making this our yearly tradition.

With Valentine's day coming up followed closely by adding another member to our family, we decided that this was the time to plan an overnight trip.  I have always wondered what it would be like to stay at a Bed and Breakfast, and I decided to do a little bit of research.  I found a charming little Inn overlooking a nearby lake that was currently featuring winter specials.  We decided to book a night there and go cross country skiing the following morning.

After a wonderful meal at our favorate Mexican restaurant we entered the bed and breakfast to find a very sweet host and hostess awaiting our arrival.  The large manor was very homey and decorated with a tasteful country flavor.  Logan and I went to our room talking about how fun it would be to own a little bed and breakfast after we retire.  In the morning, however, we had come to our senses and realized how much work it would be.  We agreed that it would be great fun to try our hand at it for a little while, but not for an extended period of time.

The next morning we woke up bright and early and had a good time in the spacious and quiet living room with windows overlooking the lake.  Breakfast was superb.  Dwane and Virginia definitely shared our belief that food presentation is of paramount importance in a good meal.  The fresh fruit appitizers looked amazing, and somehow each fruit tasted fresh and delicious even in the middle of winter.  The main course was a blueberry bake that just melted in the mouth!  Toward the end of breakfast I came to the realization that I had just sat through an entire breakfast without having to get up once!  Not to mention that the breakfast was actually served to me.  This was another highlight of the trip.  During breakfast we had some fun conversations getting to know the other guests and our host and hostess.  Afterward we lounged around and continued chatting with the people there.

I would recommend The Inn at the Lake to anyone living around here or just passing through. 

Upon closer inspection we came to the realization that the cross country skiing conditions were less than desirable.  This is due to the fact that during the past five days most of them have had tempuratures in the lower forties with colder temps at night.  The result? An ice rink instead of cross country trails. 

Logan and I decided to drive to Farragut State Park instead to check out the outdoor activities available.  Our conclusion was that we will be spending a lot of time there in the summer and when cross country skiing conditions are better.

We had an amazing weekend together full of talking, laughing, and just being us. We came home to our house rejuvinated and ready to take on our exciting and crazy everyday life again.  I think everyone could benefit from a vacation like this every once in a while.  In our home, from now on, it will be at least once a year.

Our camera is missing in action.  Here are some pictures of the bed and breakfast where we stayed.  Just pretend that we are in them.  More pictures are at http://www.innatthelake.com/

The Bay Suite- This is our suite. We had a large jacuzzi tub, fireplace, and looking the other direction we had large bay windows overlooking the lake.

This is the view of the Bed and breakfast from the lake.  The windows on the far left are from our room.

Well, I suppose I ought to begin this post with a short apology for not posting last week. I'm sorry. Our kids were a little sick and I was a little tired and, well, I guess the motivation just wasn't there.

But that does NOT mean that it was a slow week. Not by a far shot. Actually, Rachel and I have both been really, really busy lately.

Let's start with Rachel. First of all, and most excitingly (is that even a word?), she got a job! She has been looking around ever since we moved here for an opportunity to get out and put her interpreting skills to work. Finally, she found the perfect place. North Idaho College has hired her to interpret a couple of classes one day a week that a deaf girl is taking. It's the perfect situation for Rachel. She gets to work regularly, but not too much. The timing is predictable so she can find babysitters well in advance. And the pay is good enough to justify paying for a babysitter (though only barely). It is a great set-up for her and I am happy for her. I seriously don't know how she has been maintaining her sanity with nothing really going on in her life except for kids. Sometimes, I think she wonders the same thing. Now, finally, she has a chance to get out once a week and persue something that is exclusively "hers." I think that is important, and I am very proud of her for doing this. I think I'll start calling her "Super Wife."

As for me, as I explained in the last post, I have started my new job. I love it! I have a lot to learn from this place and I think that when I leave (whenever that may be) I will be extremely well equiped to run the kind of office I see myself having. First of all, the business organization of this place is absolutely amazing. This guy (Dr. Loftus) has put a lot of time and money into finding the BEST ways to run a dental office, and the systems he has in place are all so impecably implemented so as to pretty much assure that the business succeeds. Second, the possibilities for growth as a clinician are virtually unlimited at this new job. We are set up to do anything, from the most routine to the most advanced stuff that dentistry has to offer. We have the technology and the training to do some really cool stuff. Dr. Loftus refers out very, very little, and I get to watch him do a lot of this kind of thing. Also, with his mentorship, and the study club that I now get to be a part of (more on that later), I am getting to the point where I don't have to refer very much either. From complicated extractions and root canals to surgical implant placement, bone grafting, and sinus procedures, I am able to pretty much do it all. I love my job!

And then there is the study club. We meet once every two months, and it is a whole weekend affair. I attended my first meeting last Friday and Saturday. The first day is pretty much all just super educational, with cases being shown and talked about, and lectures given by different members. There is also a live demo surgery that we watch and then discuss as a group. The second day is surgery day. This is where I can schedule a patient to come in (at greatly discounted prices to them) and push my limits by doing some of the coolest surgical procedures that there are, all under the careful tutalage and mentorship of over twenty other doctors who have devoted their lives to this kind of dentistry. This study club is limited to twenty members and draws people from all over the Northwest. Once you are in, you are in for life, so it's a pretty exclusive club and hard to get into. Well- I'm in. Like I said, I love this job!

Anyway, now that I have shown my true colors as a through-and-through dental NERD, I suppose I ought to talk about something else that is a little more...cool.

How about FIRE. That's cool.

There's not really tons to say here. We started a new Hazard family tradition. Every January we will now have the annual burn-the-Christmas-tree-day. First we let the tree sit in the garage until it is good and dry. Then we watch it go up in a blaze of glory!

The kids liked this. I did too.

Well, that's about it for us. Everyone's doing well. Rachel has a very large belly, but still gets around alright. Addy learned how to climb out of her crib last night. Jackson is the only one of our kids who understands the mechanics behind throwing a ball. Evelyn lives in a fantasy world full of monsters, princesses, ice skaters, and Clifford, the big red dog. I have not run more than a mile in the past 4 months and I am starting to feel out of shape. Life is good.

 Here we are watching the fire burn down. The big blaze-o-glory part is done already. We didn't have the camera for that part. Sorry- I guess you just had to be there to appreciate it.

Evelyn and Jackson found some rather large sticks and decided that they were bad guys who needed to skewer the pregnant mama. It was funny watching Rachel try to run from them while they chased her around the yard. :)

Well, here we are on New Year's Day. A lot has happened in the last year. Here's a quick run-down:

January: Rachel got NIC certified- a HUGE step in her professional growth.
February: Evelyn turned three. I studied all month and then took the written board exam to get my license.
March: I took my clinical board exam. I flew to Idaho to interview for jobs. My mom found out that she had cancer, went in for surgery, and beat it.
April: I was hired for my first real job as a real dentist- although I still won't start for a few months. We begin to pack up our house for the move.
May: I graduated from dental school- a HUGE step in my professional growth. We moved to Idaho. We visited family in Utah. Rachel had her birthday.
June: We continued to visit family in Utah and in Idaho. We found out that Rachel is pregnant with our fourth child. We took a week-long vaction to Mexico.
July: We stopped visiting family and actually moved into our new rental home in Post Falls. I got my dental license and started my new job. We had a blast exploring our new surroundings in Northern Idaho and instantly fell in love with the place.
August: Continued exploration of our new stomping grounds. We purchased our first house (our dream home). I had my birthday. Family came up to visit us.
September: Addy and Jack turned two- Mom and Dad are terrified. We drove to Salt Lake to attend Shannon's wedding.
October: We spent time with family and friends in Utah. I placed my first implant (a dental thing). We had an awesome Halloween. I made a trip to Vegas to get more dental training and to visit extended family.
November: We finally moved into our new house. We spent most of the month trying to organize all of our "stuff." We had Rachel's family up for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time with them. I also got a new job that I will start in January.
December: We went to visit my famly for Christmas and had a great time. I came home from this vacation and quit my job.

It's been a crazy year. Life is busy. Life is good.

Now, for those who read this blog regularly, the events of December may come as a total surprise- so, let's go back and fill in some of the details. First I'll describe our amazing Christmas vacation, and then I will elaborate on the job thing.

For Christmas, I worked a short day on Friday and as soon as I got home we threw the kids in the car and started driving to Rexburg. I nearly froze to death after realizing that, when driving in a car for seven hours in the middle of winter, it IS a big deal when the passenger side heater vents are stuck on A/C. I finally got smart and covered the vents with duct tape- but now our car looks a little trashy. At least I'm here to tell about it though.

Anyway, we had a great time with my family. Griffin and Ashland came up from Oklahoma for the hollidays and it was good to see them and their cute little girl, Zoey. Christmas morning was fun with the kids, who have reached the age where they can actually appreciate it. Also, on Christmas Eve, we had to teach Evelyn about Santa Claus. Somehow, in the middle of all the the chaos, and in our desperate attempts to focus on the religious aspects of the season, we forgot to tell her what the fat guy in the funny costume really does. She could, however, tell you every little detail of the Nativity story. I don't know whether I should feel proud about this or if I should feel like a failure. I'll opt for the former.

On the day after Christmas, most of us piled into the car and drove up to Harriman State Park. My mom and Allison graciously volunteered to stay at home with all the kids. It has been tradition every year to spend a day cross-country skiing at Harriman. This year we took tradition a step further though, and instead of just spending an afternoon, we actually rented a yurt and stayed the night. It was fun to ski into the cozy little hut, and then to use that as a home-base as we explored other areas. It was fun to stay up late (at least it seemed late) playing cards and talking with family in such an intimate and fun setting. It was a fun trip, and although it didn't last long, I think that the memories will trancend the tests of time. That was me, trying to wax poetic. But it's also true.

Okay, now for an explanation of the job thing. First, let's go back a few months. If you have been paying attention to this blog, then you will have noticed every once in a while that I will make a reference to my job. Here are these references, compiled in chronological order, for your viewing pleasure:

July 10: "Actually, I don't think things could get any better. Things are perfect. Perfect job, perfect house, perfect location..."
July 17: "As good as things are, there are still some parts of my job that come with a bit of stress. Most of these come from my obvious youth and inexperiance in 'real world dentistry.' ... after a few weeks I will fit very nicely into the way the practice works."
July 31: "Some people have been asking me how things are going at work. And I have responded that I am learning a lot in a very short period of time."
August 28: "This week can be summed up in two words: FUN and STRESSFUL. As for that last word, we'll just pretend it's not there. We'll get to that some other time."
October 3: "On Monday I flew back to Post Falls so I could work during the week. That’s a whole other story that I won’t write about here."
November 24: " Work has been interesting...more on that later."


Seen all together, these references tell a story. Here, I will fill in the details of that story.

I realized pretty quickly after I started working that things weren't quite what I was expecting. Just to put the comments in context- my official start date for my job was July 13th. It became apparant very quickly that this office practiced dentistry a lot differently than the way I had been taught in dental school. At first this didn't really bother me too much, as I was expecting it to be that way. After all, dentistry is a business and the doctors have to turn a profit in order to stay open. But the more I learned about the practice I was working in, and the more I spoke with other doctors, the more convinced I became, to my utmost relief, that I didn't have to be operating under these philosophies to make money.

Basically, I reached a point relatively early on where I knew that I didn't fit into the practice. Without being too negative, lets just say that I felt like the ethics of the practice, and of the owner in particular, were in need of some serious reform. Also, I question the legality of some of the things that went on, and I was guinely concerned that if the practice ever came under scrutiny that I would be implicated. That, obviously, would be less than ideal for my future plans.

Add to that the fact that I am pretty firm in my own beliefs and ethics, and I drew a disheartening conclusion. If I didn't find another job then the result of my continued employment could only mean one of three things: I would either be forced to compromise my own standards, work would continue to become more and more stressful as the tenuous relationship between myself and the practice owner ate away at itself, thus overshadowing the joy I found in the actual dentistry part of my job, or they would be forced to fire me. I didn't like any of these outcomes, so I started looking for another place in the area where I could work.

I had several opportunities- but none of them seemed right for me. See, for the most part I still loved my job. I loved interacting with my patients and I really loved doing the dentistry. I could truly say that I enjoyed going to work everyday, especially knowing that I was not in a permanent situation with the office policies. So I didn't feel like I had to take the first thing that came along. I looked at some other employment possibilities, and I even considered buying a practice for myself. In the end though, nothing seemed to be right. And that was fine. There is a lot of truth in the saying that the best time to look for a job is while you've already got one. I could afford to be patient. And then I saw the ad for an office in Coeur d'Alene that was looking for a new associate and I gave them a call.

This practice was amazing. The owner is one of the best dentists in the state of Idaho (as least if you are going by credentials) and his practice shows it. They have all the latest technologies and are doing all the coolest stuff. Somehow, I'm guessing through a long process of hard work, trial and error, quality education, and pure luck, this practiced had figured out how to thrive doing dentistry exactly the way I could see myself doing it 5-10 years down the road. They had it all together, and it just "worked." And so I said "yes."

I am excited to work at this new place. I am excited to see what it is about their practice model that works so well. I am excited to push myself clinically to do more advanced procedures. I am excited about the mentoring that I will receive, and I am anticipating that I will learn a lot here that will have a very positive influence on my entire career. I am excited for the interaction I will have with other doctors who are at the top of their field, and to draw from their years of experiance in building myself into the best doctor I can be. I am excited for the emphasis on quality dentistry and predictable, well thought-out treatment planning. I am excited for where this new job might take me.

So on the last day of the year that we were open (Friday), I walked into work and told them I was leaving. It seems fitting, to have this happen at the end of the year- like it's all tied up in a nice little package or something (it also makes it easier for tax purposes). Next year marks the start of a new adventure (with my job, at least), and while I am a little bit anxious, I am mostly just looking forward for what new opportunities might come my way because of this move. Tomorrow is my first day at this new job. Wish me luck!

Here are a bunch of pictures of our Christmas Vacation.

Sledding:

Yoga:

Christmas Morning:

Skiing:

 Yurting:

Happy New Year Everyone!

Well, I just checked the mail and we got a bunch of Christmas letters from friends and family and it made us think that we should probably do one as well. Since we waited so long, however, we are just going to put it up on our blog instead of mailing it to each person individually. Yes, it’s lazy. Yes, it’s cheap.

And yes, it’s very, very efficient (We’re being “green” this year and saving paper. If you feel so inclined, I would encourage you to print out our picture and hang it on your refrigerator for all of your friends to see.)

So, without any further ado, here’s our year in a nutshell:

I worked really, really hard and took a bunch of high-stakes exams, jumped through a lot of bureaucratic hoops, graduated from dental school, and got my dental license. Meanwhile, Rachel was busy being social and stuff, while at the same time raising our three wonderful kids and getting NIC certified (a crazy hard national ASL interpreting certification test). We moved from Cleveland, which was a bittersweet event in our lives, and hung out with family for a couple of months before I started working. During this time we went to Mexico and considered throwing the whole “dental” idea out the window and just living our lives out on the beach in a foreign country. Also, around this time we found out that Rachel is expecting our fourth child- a girl- who is due on February 16th. We’re pretty sure that her name will be Maren.

In June, we moved to Coeur d’Alene, ID (actually Post Falls) where we lived for a stint in a smallish duplex next to a truck stop. That was…noisy, but also a lot of fun as we discovered what a wonderful corner of the country we had moved to- I think that God designed this place with us in mind. Also, I started my job and can honestly say that I love going to work every day. Yes, I am a total dental nerd. After living in our yard-less rental for about three months we finally found and purchased the house of our dreams where we hope to be living for the next several years.

3-year-old Evelyn is finally starting to adjust to her new surroundings even though we’ve been living here for half of the year. The move was actually a little hard on her, and she still asks from time to time when we are going to see her Cleveland friends again. She is involved in pre-school though and is making a lot of new friends. One thing she has definitely caught hold of is the fact that we live in a great place for outdoor recreation, and has taken a strong interest in camping, hiking, swimming, rock climbing, and “campfireing.” She is definitely a daddy’s girl (and I am writing this letter, so I can say things like that).

Adalie and Jackson are two-year-olds in every sense of the word. Cute, lovable, noisy, and curious, they have definitely “taught” us how to baby-proof a house. Nonetheless, they love having the space to run around that our new home offers, as well as the large backyard and swing-set. They are both growing up faster than we are able to keep up with, and it is fun to watch them as they grow into real people. Jackson has a very sweet personality and loves to give hugs, whereas Adalie is spunky and defiant and loves to wrestle. We love both of them.

Well, that pretty much sums it up. For those who are interested in knowing more about our very exciting lives, check out loganandrachel.blogspot.com where a certain person who happens to be a very good writer, father, and husband, shares his thoughts and stories on a weekly basis about family life.

In closing, we wish you all a Happy Christmas. We are so thankful for all of our friends and family who have shared their lives with us, and we pray that 2012 will be a great year for everyone.

God bless,
-Logan, Rachel, Evelyn, Adalie, and Jackson

Here is the promised family picture for your printing pleasure.

Illustrated by Evelyn Hazard

A couple of weeks ago we went and got a Christmas tree and decorated it. The next day when I came home from work, Rachel suggested that we put the tree on our front porch, or the roof, or the garage, or anywhere that was out of reach of the kids. Thankfully they have started to do better with the tree and we are all getting excited for Christmas. Rachel's been going crazy with her sewing machine for all of the presents she is making.

So, this week Rachel has had some exciting developments. She is starting to get back into the interpreting world! She met a lot of people around the area who are interpreters, she went to an interpreter's gathering/workshop, she had two community jobs, and she may be starting up more regular work at North Idaho Collage in the pretty near future (but not until after the baby comes, so not too near.) Anyway, I am excited for her. She is a wonderful mom and wife, but she is also so good at so many other things that I am glad she is able to take some time for her own personal and professional development too.

Anyway, it's going to be a quick post today because Evelyn is waiting for me to make peach cobbler with her and we want to finnish before Addy and Jack wake up from their naps. Here's some pictures.

 Pajama Party!

 I got in on the action too even though I wasn't wearing my PJ's.

This is pretty typical of Addy this week. She is crazy. She is overly dramatic. She cries a lot.
Oh wait- she's a girl!

Real Life

Well, this week has been awesome but unfortunately I can't write too much about it. Don't worry- it will all come to light in due time. Until then, just be patient and know that life is good. And no, we are not having twins again. That would not be awesome. That would be frightening.

So, besides the awesome part, we also did some fun things. We had our ward Christmas party. We (Rachel and I) went to the temple. We had some friends over to our house for dinner. Nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary- but just an overall good week.

Since it was a pretty normal week, I want to pull out my soapbox for a little while and write about something that has been bothering me lately (I warned you last week that this was coming). So, what is the thing? Guys. Not all of them, but there is definitely a certain minority that is giving the rest of us a bad name.

Sometimes, I want to walk up to a guy and punch him in the face just to get his attention (and I'm really not a violent person), and then tell him to join the rest of humanity in a little game called "real life." And no- the Xbox is not real life. In fact, nothing with a screen qualifies as "real life" material- not the TV, not the smart phone, and definitely not the computer. Also, real life is not to be found in a book or in a magazine. And it shouldn't be exclusively in the workplace, although it does come into play a little bit.

See, I have noticed that so many people (most, but not all of them, guys), seem to have totally lost connection with reality. Here's a news-flash for you guys- REALITY IS GOING TO HAPPEN- with, or without you. You can't choose not to play- that's not an option. But by pretending that it is, all you are doing is allowing yourself to lose at the game. And that might be okay with you, and that's all fine and good, but it's NOT okay for your wives and your kids.

You made the decision to take on the responsibilities of a family, so step into the game and start playing your hearts out for them. That's what a husband does. That's what a father does. Your families need you to be present- and that means taking an active role in their lives and not just being another piece of furniture that your wives have to clean around and that your kids have to watch out for. And it is sad that while they are sitting there begging for you to notice them, the fake little man on the screen gets more of your attention than they do. Really, it's disgusting. Stop doing it. It makes the rest of us look bad.

Okay, (deep breath). Now I'm going to step down, slide my soapbox back into the closet, and finish this post so I can have the rest of the night to spend time with my beautiful wife.

Have a good week!

Here's Evelyn giving a haircut to Jack. They both really liked this. A lot.

One of the many reasons that I love my backyard. Beautiful.

Ok- it's been a busy week. We did a lot.

First things first though. I'm sure that the pending results of the gingerbread house contest have been weighing heavily on everyone's minds. Well, here's the bottom line. Team A won. The official count was 21 votes for "A" and only 15 for "B."

Now for the part you've really been waiting for: who was on which team?

Team A:

Team B:

As you can see, it was a guys vs. girls thing. And it shows. I think it is really intersting that, except in a few rare instances, guys voted for team B and girls voted for team A. I also think it is interesting to note that the audience for this blog is mostly female. I'm not trying to make excuses or anything- just stating a fact.

I also think it was interesting that Lindy, one of my dental assistants, said that she thought I was on team B. I asked her why. Her response: "It just looks like it was built by a doctor or an engineer or contractor or something." I kid you not. Those were her exact words. The irony? I, of course, am a doctor. Brandon was a contractor and is also a mechanical engineer. Wesley is going to med school. I think she had us pegged pretty well- but she didn't know any of that when she made the comment.

She is right though. It DOES look like it was made by more "analytical" minds. It was really interesting to listen to the two teams talking as we made the houses. It was something like this:

Team A: Oh- that is such a cute little boat, giggle, giggle. We need to put a person on it!
Team B: So, 39 minus 7 is...alright, and add 4 to that...okay, minus 3. Got it. So there we have the possible dimentions of the exterior walls.
Team A: twitter, twitter- what a funny little marshmallow man!
Team B: Now, structurally, what kind of candy would work well for the internal cross-bracing?
Team A: Oh, oh- I know- we should make a PALM TREE! That would be awesome!
Team B: ...and to reinforce the walls we can use Ritz crackers. Go get a ruler and a level so we can draw a structural footprint.

All said and done, I would say that both teams did a great job and that we had a lot of fun doing it. Thank you to everyone who voted, and thanks to Rachel's family for making our Thanksgiving such a good one.

On to the next subject. "Campfiring." This is Evelyn's word, and it has stuck in our family. On Tuesday night we used left-over graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows to make s'mores. Evelyn loves that we can do this in our back yard and she was very "helpful" in teaching Jackson how to effectively start things on fire using a flaming marshmallow. Addy was grumpy so we put her to bed. She will have to campfire with us a different night.

Also, this week, not to be outdone by the grown-ups, the kids made their own gingerbread houses. Well, technically I made the structures, cheating just a little bit with a hot-glue gun for the sake of time, and the kids decorated them. They all won awards too: To Jackson goes the best decorator award. Evelyn earns the "tell-everybody-else-what-to-do-but-don't-do-much-yourself" award, and Addy gets the award for eating the most candy without allowing it to come anywhere near her gingerbread house. It was a fun activity.

We also made some upgrades to our house this week. The biggest one is that we now actually have some furniture in our family room! WooHoo! Rachel has been searching diligently on Craigslist for couches ever since we moved here, and finally she hit the jackpot. Two matching microfiber couches in great condition, the color matching perfectly with everything else in the room while also being dark enough that you won't be able to notice little stains (not that we'd ever allow that to happen...), and the couches themselves being comfortable enough for me to easily fall asleep on either one of them- Final price: $50 for the set! I have to say, I sometimes make fun of Rachel for speinding so much time browsing the offerings on craigslist, but she did good on this one!

Well, this post has actually gotten pretty long. I was going to step onto my soapbox and rant for a little while about "Real Life," but I guess you'll be spared my personal opinions until a later day when we've had a slower week. Too bad.

Here are some pictures. Enjoy your week!

 You'll notice small snowflakes in the first picture. The kids got cold after a while so we came to our other "campfire" in the house instead.

Even with the couches this room still feels massive. We need to get a pool table or something...one day.