a smattering

I have been seriously out of the blogosphere the last few weeks.
Christmas, family and vacations have taken a major priority on our schedule and it has been marvelous.
Getting back to our normal routine was hard. Ok, it was actually kind of depressing.
But we're bundling up and pushing through these chilly, awful January days because we've got new resolutions and a new year of lots of exciting things to look forward to.

Since I have been downright awful at documenting our life the last few weeks {although there are pictures of our Christmas in Houston to come} here is a smattering of some of the highlights, in no particular order.
The picture above is from the amusement park at the aquarium in downtown Houston.
My sister, Charlotte, and her husband Matt sure know how to play host.
We were out and about pretty much every day before or between naps and just ate good food and lounged in their cozy house when the kids were asleep.
Although it wasn't as warm as I'd dreamed, Houston was still so mild compared to SLC and I'm kind of wishing I was there now with all the snow in the forecast for this week.
How have I lived in Utah my whole life and not learned to enjoy winter?
It's beyond me.

*Robert built Min a little personal sledding hill the other day and she was thrilled. She didn't even care that she was running right into the garbage can every single time she came down*

*This girl has discovered real, mint toothpaste and is obsessed with brushing her teeth. This is a scene I come upon daily if I can't find Minnie anywhere. I guess there are worse things to be obsessed with, right?*

*Kids in their element. Sword in one hand, dandelion in the other. Minnie was in love with these two boys, especially Bennett.*

*Like I said, obsessed with brushing her teeth...and sunglasses and being naked. This was not staged, I promise. She's just a great multi-tasker.*

*Char with her cute Lincoln and Bennett at the aquarium.*

*Downtown Houston from the aquarium and a fuzzy-haired Min with her pops.*

*Big girl bed SUCCESS! Minnie has slept in a pack n' play for the last 2+ years of her life because she sleeps in my dad's den and I was afraid she'd terrorize the place if left "uncaged." She also loved her "bed" (aka the pack n' play) and had a hard time separating with it, but she was finally ready so here we are...sleeping on a toddler mattress on the floor in the corner. To us, that's a big girl bed.*

 

*A little group selfie at the Houston airport while waiting for Char to pick us up. The girls were a dream on the flight there and we were all pretty excited about it.*

*The girlies in their Christmas jams! I was not a fan of matching these two but turns out I love it! I mean, look at them!*

*Minnie in her princess dress she got from Santa this year. I couldn't find her the other day and this is where I found her, in Lou's Moses basket. Our little sleeping beauty! It's wild to me that Min ever fit in this thing. And yes, Lou still sleeps in it and she's nearly 6 months. Like I said, our sleeping arrangements at this house are a little nutty.*

*The carousel at the aquarium with cute Auntie Char and Lincoln.*

*After waiting 1 1/2 hours for dinner in Houston these two {and all of us} had had it. Luckily we were out on the porch area so high chair racing was an acceptable distraction.*

*Three Musketeers! Hurrah!!*

We are getting used to being back in our daily grind, although we desperately wish we lived closer to our Houston cousins.
We soothed our sorrows a bit today by buying 4 new puzzles at the dollar store and a pack of Oreos last night.
Oreos and puzzles make everything better, at least to Minnie.