WHEN IT'S WARM AND RAINY IN JANUARY

Oh what do you do when it's rainy and 55 degrees in January...

   - You first feel a little gypped and confused about how your winter has been so not-wintery
   - Then you stop that thinking immediately and realize how really kind of nice it is that you are
       having a not-wintery winter
   - Then you remember the amazing rain coats and boots you thrifted in the fall for a killer price for
       your darling children...
   - Then you remember your neglected camera!
   - And then you forget all about wanting some snow and you go outside and enjoy some splashing
       around and photo time with a couple adorable little puddle jumpers!

SWEET NEW RIDE

Ok, after you finish rubbing your temples and shaking your head at the goof-ball man in this picture...

Please take note of the the little gold car parked in our second assigned parking spot.

Yes it's true. We bought a car!

It's a 2002 Dodge neon.  It has 97,000 miles on it, cost us $1800, and really looks remarkably awesome (minus the dorky spray-painted black rims. Bleck!).

AND, it's the biggest purchase our 7 years of marriage has seen yet.  So it's kind of epic.  We have't officially named it yet (though Brinlee calls it Gold Car... nice and original), but we did put new plates on it.  So it's definitely ours!

Welcome to the family Little Goldie! 

Since We've Been Home

The holidays always end up being busy and feeling a tad bit hectic.  I love them.  But, come January, it's always kind of nice to get back home and back into the swing of things.  

I had several days here at home before I had to go back to work, which was heavenly!  We got all of our Christmas stuff put away and replaced it with some cold weather decorations, including these cuties!  I got the idea here and made them with my activity day girls... and then I made a few more for us.  I couldn't help myself!   

Tim is gearing up to start yet another semester.  In the meantime he has been playing super husband and is helping me get over a bit of a "clean out and reorganize" binge.  Such a good guy.  I made him run to Pocatello with me the other day to do some thrift store perusing, and look what he found for me!  

I love this toy and really wanted one.  We actually had a ball without any of the shapes, and just so happened to happen upon all 10 shapes without a ball.  Match made in heaven!  :)  

I also came across an original Mr. Potato head which A: looked good as new and B: had all his parts!  I couldn't believe it.  Cost?  A whopping $1.65.  Score.  And Brinlee loves it!  

We do need to practice our anatomy a little more though...

Speaking of Brinlee, that girl has been all kid since we got home.  She spent 2 weeks running around like a big girl with all her cousins and now she thinks she is hot stuff.  She is getting into dressing up.  For Christmas she got some princess jammies (which are too big but she still loves), and a little owl dress.

But her favorite is Minnie.

Uncle Tyler gave her a Minnie dress and she loves it.  She was actually a little shy with Uncle Tyler, but the Minnie dress won him a lovey.  She won't wear the ears, but the dress is a huge hit.  Thanks Uncle Tyler!

For Christmas, Brin inherited her daddy's little old bike.  She's been practicing and is starting to get the hang of it.  So far she can only make it go backwards though. 

Last week she turned 20 months.  I could fill a book with everything she's learning, it's amazing!  She loves attention and constantly informs us that whatever she's doing is "money" (funny).  And, most of the time, she's right!  We find ourselves doing a lot of smiling and laughing around here.  She is, after all, the cutest!

Bargain Shopper? Yes...

...fashion designer?  Unfortunately no.

I found these two skirts the other day on sale and couldn't help myself.  The grand total for both was a whopping $9.00... that's right folks, $9.00!  Hello!!  That makes them all the cuter even!  They practically jumped into my cart.

Unfortunately though now I'm stuck in the "what do I wear with this" drama.  I am not exactly a fashion gooroo (read: I must have missed that lesson in womanhood and may be better off if someone else picked my clothes. Why aren't pajamas an acceptable all-the-time option?) And so far nothing in my closet seems to want to match quite right.  The green one isn't such a problem.  But the other one... it's not exactly brown, and it's not white, and it's getting chilly out, so... hmm

Looks like I may need to get creative... or do some more shopping  :)