Oooh La La Zoey

As you know, last week Breckyn got a hair cut. Well, when we got home from the salon Z really really wanted to get a cut too. So I called and got her an appointment for today. She was begging me to go as short as my hair. I've been holding her off on a super short cut for over a year. So today I swallowed my reservations and let her do exactly what she wanted to do. So here she is before...

My baby in her cutie piggies.

Here she is after. She looks pretty happy, huh?a side view...

The back...
She pulls off a short due with sass!

Indiana Emerson

Emerson has been earning prizes for his hard work. Up until now he has been getting chocolate or a hot wheels. The other day I saw the Indiana Jones whip on clearance. It was $20 marked down to 4$. It just so happens that Em has been begging for this since before Christmas. So had a series of days set up for him to earn this puppy. It worked like a charm.

He is feeling the coolness with this bad boy. All the kids are begging him to borrow it. It has the theme song built in with a whip sound. Oh yeah, be jealous people!

It also came with a free DVD of Indiana Jones highlights which we had to watch after family night last night. It was part of the treat section of the lesson.

Here is another picture of our cute puppy. Last night I was cleaning up the kitchen and got antsy to unload the dishwasher. It was still super hot but I wanted to get it done. When I started to unload the top, Rusty climbed in and went to sleep on the nice hot door. I let him sleep for a while cause who can blame him in this cold weather.

My new best friends...

Last Friday I was in charge of the treat for our movie date night. I was scouting out some things last minute at Target and I came across this little beauty. Ben and Jerry's half baked ice cream. I bought two different kinds so Tim and I could swap flavors. I'll have you know I intended on sharing this but it turns out-- it was SOOOOOO good. Tim only got one spoonful before I hid the rest in the freezer. Then I took care of the rest of it Sunday night when he was out on church business. It's a concoction of chocolate and vanilla ice cream with chunks of brownie and cookie dough that is completely divine! Ben and Jerry, you are my new best friends!!!

I've gotten a little carried away. I went back to the store today to pick up a little more for our FHE treat tonight. I know, I need help. But when we Magill girls like something, we ride that train until it's dead. All aboard ladies!

Legoland in Elkhorn...

This is what my kids are doing whenever they have free time. They love them some Legos.

They have created a Lego world in the basement and you'll never guess who is the ruler of that world.... Ok, you're right, it's B.

This little goober has a specific passion for building Lego ships for his Lego guys to ride in.

They have put some serious time in on this land. They even have laws for this world. (yeah, B made those up too...)

Pretty cool!
This is what they are doing when they aren't playing with Legos. No surprise there either.

Our little doggies...

Jodi and I have had a whirl wind of a week. We have been potty training and getting use to our new lives as dog owners.

This is Rusty....

and this is Lu Lu.

They like to hang out and do lots of fun puppy play together.

This one is Rusty. He likes to sleep like this. He is so my dog.

Our cutie doggies in action! Z is still a little skiddish about the dogs and Em tells her, "It's just a dog! They don't do much!"

B's hair cut...

I'm tucking Breckyn into bed the other night and she says, "Mom, I don't want to be the same old Breckyn any more. I want to spice it up a little!" She had decided that her hair was too blah and she needed a little "style." So I got out my hair magazines and we went through and she picked this...

She wanted a wedge with a little bit of an a-line. She also wanted it stacked in the back.
It turned out pretty cute!

...for the full effect.

Puppy Power!

I'm at Kohl's today shopping for bras and I get a frantic call from Jodi. She has been searching the internet for weeks now for the perfect dog. However, she keeps flip flopping about the actual purchase. Today was the day. The perfect dog was up for dibs and it was only a 45 minute drive away. She tells me that I'm suppose to talk her off the ledge. So, I cancel my plans and go with her to the appointment she has set up to "meet" the dogs. When we get there they have two different kinds of dogs and five puppies to choose from. As soon as I see the dogs I fall in love with one in particular. I tell Jodi that I'm going to get that dog-- end of story. It was love at first sight. Keep in mind that Tim and I have had this discussion through the years and it always ends with Tim telling me we will NEVER have a dog. I've conceded to his decision and not really thought a ton about it. There are pros and cons to each.... blah blah blah. But this dog was calling to me! So I tell Jodi that we need to break for lunch and come back when we have thought through it properly (you know with those cute little faces out of sight). I make a quick call to Tim and he caves reserving the right to pout about it. So-- I got a dog! Does this girl look happy or what?!?!

He has been so mellow and good.

He is a yorkiechon and the biggest he will get is 10 pounds. He doesn't shed and he is really quiet.

Since I named all of the kids, I thought I'd let Tim name the dog. I let him choose between Rusty or Scrufty. He liked Rusty. So I'd like to introduce you to our newest and last addition to our family, Rusty the dog. Welcome!

We had a little time yesterday with school cancelled and I took a few pictures of the Barlow kids.

This is my favorite of Maddie. She is looking very sophisticated.

The many faces of Chloe.

Jodi's Birthday!

Today was Jodi's birthday. We had plans but the kids had the day off of school because of the weather. It was -40 degrees with the wind chill. So we made the best of it and had some fun together anyway.

Most importantly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JODI!! We just love you! You have such a soft way of adding balance and initiative to our family. You rock! The kids couldn't play outside so Maddie opened her salon for business. Zoey was her biggest customer. She painted almost every one's nails. (Although most of the boys went for clear.)

...Emerson was not one of those boys. He went for metallic with a hint of sparkle. So in touch with style. Perhaps I should stop letting him watch "What Not to Wear" with me.

Zoey also opted for the spa mask. All the other kids were quite fascinated.
Do you think she loves her big cousin? I'm pretty sure Mads is her hero.

They also did a little Webkinz.

...and a lot of playing. You've gotta love a snow day!

See ya later...

Yesterday my parents left for their mission to Russia. They will be doing service and teaching for our church in Russia for 18 months. We have all been preparing for this for a while now but it didn't make it any easier to let them go. Watching them say goodbye to the kids was the hardest part. Here is the gang in their last moments. They will all be a little older and a little higher in numbers before Gram and Gramp get back.

I figure this is what they'll look like next year at this time. I have to have a little humor about it just to ease the pain. We'll miss you soooo much! We love you Mom and Dad!

Caleb turned 9!!!!

Today was Caleb's birthday and we went over to help him celebrate. First on the list was some serious sledding. Max sure knows how to wear a hat! All the kids were covered in snow. It was a cold one!
Then we adjourned to the house for pizza and cake. Isn't the birthday boy looking so old?
Caleb was very specific about his cake. He and Maddie even drew up a plan for Jodi to follow. Yeah, like I said, SPECIFIC. (If you ask me it's her own fault. She lets them watch Ace of Cakes all the time.) He wanted a layered cake with yellow and purple frosting, a football in the middle with the Vikings written on it, and frosting blobs to hold up the candles. Whew! That was a tall order and it took three women to fill it. Jodi made the cake and I coached on the frosting and Mom did the purple magic on top.
This is what the boys did.... football. Don't they look all snugly together on the couch?

Happy Birthday Caleb! You are a great kid and we love you!

another round of snow...

We got another load of snow and the kids have been frolicking up to their eyeballs in snow.

Em likes to get snow in every crevice he has.
B is sporting a new coat because she has been growing like mad.
Rugby came in for another hat change after taking a digger to the face.
Z has officially claimed stretch pants as her new look of choice. I'm trying to spice it up a little and keep her looking hip but I'm quickly running out of options. She says that jeans, "give her wedgies!" I don't know! I think I'll just let this one run it's coarse.

The Winter Blues...

So admittedly, I get the winter blues every year. Here in Wisconsin the sun doesn't shine for sometimes weeks at a time. It's very depressing and my usual solution is to get Tim to take me some place warm and sunny for a few days. This year that probably won't work out for us and so Tim came up with a better idea. He thought it might be a good idea for me to go tanning at a salon to get a little sun and lift my spirits. I thought it was a great idea.

So I eagerly go down to the salon and check out the pricing. It's $6.50 for one session of 20 minutes. The girl asks me a series of questions about my skin and I dodge my way through them to be as neutral as possible. The catch is you pay the money no matter how much of the time you use up. I paid for my 20 minutes and I'm going to get my twenty minutes! I proceed to the room with a vague promise that if I'm feeling hot, I'll get out early..... sucker!

I get in the room and face the dilemma of how much clothing I should take off. Some parts of me have never seen the sun. Other parts haven't been privy to the sun since the "birthing years." None the less, I shimmy down to my undies and slap my thighs onto the cold tanning bed wondering if this is really necessary. When the lights turn on I realize that this little piece of heaven was made just for me. The warm glow of artificial light and the quiet buzz of neon lull me into a peaceful rest. When it's over I remove the tacky shades, provided for eye protection, and blissfully return into my ten layers of clothing.

I leave the salon feeling smug that I have beaten the winter blues and have finally found the cure to the evil curse of winter. Several hours later however, I looked like this....

Oh, I got my money's worth of sun alright! I've got raccoon eyes and my winter blues have suddenly turned into the winter REDS! My previously mentioned unmentionables are now the color of ripe strawberries! I had to dig out some aloe spray and spend the evening with cold compresses on several parts of my body. Tim and I laughed all night at how stupid I looked. I miss you sunshine! Come back to me!!!!!!

It's almost over...

As our vacation comes to a close the kids have become quite squirrely. We've played every game and gone to every store. The weather has been crummy and it's too cold and icy to play outside. I'm pretty sure that we're all ready for school to start again.

Here are my baby squirrels...

Rugs has been drawing and writing a lot this vacation. Infact, if I don't spell a word fast enough for him he asks Zoey to spell it for him. (He always seems to ask me to spell when I'm really busy.)

Z has burned through a few books this vacation. Her latest passion is Junie B. Jones. She and I bought a few when we went to the mall. One of which she picked purely because she and Junie had matching shirts.

Spaz boy has really come into his own. He can finally bug Rugby and even inflict pain on his older siblings. My baby is growing up (sniff sniff).