NYE & NYD

A few things I am enjoying right now...sunshine in January (we don't see that often in Jan), a few extra days off, Keirah playing with her Bitty Twins kitchen, Aliyah looking at books, health, and a chance to catch up!

We spent New Year's Eve having family time. We went to our favorite pizza place...we have officially become regulars. We got a free pizza and drinks so for 9 people, it was a whopping $28.00 to eat!! Can't beat that--right? The rest of the family went off to do their own stuff, and we went to Walgreens to rent a movie from Redbox.

Josh made Chex party mix--a family favorite--and I salivated the whole time since it smelled so great! Pretty soon, we got a call that grandma & grandpa's power was out--that's a bummer...and so we told my family and them to come on over. Everyone ate some snacks and then we started playing this new Monopoly World game (the banking system is electronic). It was really fun and took a few hours. Even better, I won! Five minutes before ringing in 2009, Josh ran and got everyone something to drink and then we counted down---Happy 2009!

We stayed up late because I wanted to watch the movie we rented--which was funny. It was a 2:30 bedtime =).

The shut-eye was short as we got up at 6:30 to get ready to leave. We went up by Chicago again to do some shopping and a little eating at none other than PF Changs.

The trip was nice--there were virtually no cars on the road. The mall was pretty empty as well (such a stark contrast to the last time)! The sales were AWESOME!!! We got several things at Banana Republic, a few items at Pottery Barn, some cute things at Hanna Andersson, and a coat for Josh for $32.! Lunch was fantastic and we ordered some to take home--as usual. The drive home was as quiet as the drive up--traffic-wise. The girls slept the whole time.

We washed the car to get the salt off from our snowstorms, and then did some house-straightening. It was a fun day!!

The girls have now come out in their new tulle skirts from Hanna. Aliyah calls it her dance outfit. Keirah has it on over her new pj's. Hanna pj's were only $15!!!! The skirts were only $12!

Our Christmas tree & decs are already down as of 12-30--the earliest ever for us. It helped that the top half of lights on the tree decided to quit working. Those lights don't really last anymore. The max is probably 1 or 2 seasons. That's ok--I'm thinking that will save us some $$ on the energy bill =).

Josh has to work this weekend so it will be us girls chillin, cleanin, playin, havin fun! Happy Friday & weekend--enjoy it!