Decorating A Temporary Residence



There are a lot of things that I do not like about our temporary living situation (especially during the winter, because the fun of having a pool is no longer an option). 
However, there are a few perks:
-Decorating is easy, just stick up anything you want, anywhere you want.
-It isn't our house, so it doesn't matter how messy it gets or if anything is damaged*
* Which means...We know it is temporary, so pretty much anything goes.



I don't know if it is normal or not, but the kids do not really play with toys very much.  They spend most of their time drawing, writing, and making crafts.  They could do something crafty all day long, if they had enough supplies.  This is great, but also messy.  (Again, a positive thing about apartment living, because - who cares if paint is on the carpet or tape is peeling off the paint on the wall?!)  This could drive me a little crazy in a new house though, so maybe I should start steering their creativity into lego building or something more clean?

Happy V Day!

 

Happy Valentines Day everyone!



All About Jamie

Jamie is the Kindgergarten star of the week.
Here is what she will share about herself.

Sharing

Just thought I'd post this one for documentation's sake.  They actually still kind of enjoy sharing a room right now...to the point where they want to share a bed sometimes. (Not all the time. They still have separate beds - we aren't that crazy.)  I'm also not sure how much longer they can stand being in the same room.  So far so good and hopefully only a couple months to go.
Anyway, since they still like each other for the most part, I figured I should post proof, because I seem to remember not getting along with Joel once we got a little older than the age they are now.  (This is Janet speaking...David can speak for himself, on his sibling relationships during the elementary years.)

Tag

You would think that it would be difficult to play tag very competitively in a 2 bedroom apartment...but they find a way.

 

7

Dawson turns 7 on January 30. 
Wow, I think I lost track of all that time somewhere! 
We had a birthday party for him at a Plymouth Whalers game, with some of his friends.  They had a blast...as you will be able to see below....

 

Shooter the Whale

Ryan . Brandon . Danny . Julian . Dawson . Mikey . Josh . Jack

Brandon & Josh (our neighbors)

Ryan & Jack (friends from school)



Ryan (friend from school)



Jack (friend from school)



Mikey (friend from school)

Julian & Dawson (friend from church)

Danny (friend from school)

Grandma V keeping Jamie entertained

They had a great time, even though the Whalers lost in a really long drawn out shoot-out.

The bad news is...after going to bed that night, Dawson woke up at 1am with the flu and is in rough shape now.  Tough way for the poor kid to spend his birthday weekend.

Daddy is Home!

Something the kids worked on this afternoon.

Trying to keep from being too bored (which equals crabby), while cooped up in this apartment...

Ice Fishing with Grandpa V

Shoes & The Office

Ever since Jamie got the multiple pairs of princess shoes for Christmas....she wears them as much as possible.  It is pretty odd to have a tom boy on the top and a princess on the bottom.  She could care less about brushing her hair, but the shoes are very important to her looking and feeling pretty. 
Also, this area pictured is her "Office" (or hiding spot away from everyone behind the sofa).  The apartment is feeling smaller and smaller everyday...so any possible hiding spot to get away from everyone is in high demand.
Also...side note - Auntie Kim: those big balloon things from Christmas (top right corner) have driven me absolutely nuts for the last 2 1/2 weeks.  So they just randomly had an accident with my scissors one day.  Please, no one make mention of them again, since no one has asked me about them since they disappeared. :)  They were fun while they lasted! Thanks A lot.

Christmas With David's Family

We had a fun couple days at David's parents house over the Christmas weekend....

Cookie Making

 

Stratego Playing



This is just a reminder to myself (and others maybe) not to throw away any of the kids handmake ornaments, no matter how junky they seem now.  Look how cute this one from young David is, that I found on his parents tree!



Josie, Jamie, Daniel, Dawson, baby Peter, Nathan, Caleb

Just the Boys

Treasure hunt to get to the big gifts.

Two of Jamie's favorite gifts: princess earmuffs and goldfish.