Oops!

Dressed and ready to go, someone decided to join the twins in the tub.

I don't think it was quite the experience she was going for ...

Who's Who

Same purple shirt ...

Attempt at the same hair style ...

Different sister. Can you tell Who's Who?

Snow Days

It's been snowing in Richmond this winter ... a lot. It's not normal here. A sign that snow causes chaos: church has been cancelled twice and my boy's went to all of four hours of school last week. You'd think we'd be going stir crazy, but it's actually been kinda nice. So what have we been doing with all this unexpected vacation time?

Lot's of playing the Wii. The kids are obsessed with Wii Fit. Robert played it for a couple hours last week and was dripping in sweat. It's very entertaining to watch everyone skateboard, hula-hoop and run the obstacle course. And getting a little workout while you're gaming can only be a good thing ...

Reading good books. Cold weather calls for it. Makes you want to forgot the mountain of projects awaiting your attention and curl up with a good read. Or in Benjamin's case, a good listen. (Our library has these new things called "playaways" you can check out. It's an audio book on a little mp3 looking device. You provide the battery and the headphones. Very cool. He enjoyed listening to "The Lightning Thief.")

Tupperware full of rice = hours of entertainment! Who knew? Actually, after I graduated from BYU, I worked in a classroom with children with disabilities. We would fill big Tupperware containers with rice and have the students find different objects in the "sand." Great tactile exercise. But then a neighbor shared a tip on coloring the rice and it was an instant hit (Thanks Emily!). We added a few odds and ends from the kitchen and the kids have been having hours of fun. (And yes, we've been doing a lot of extra sweeping ...)

And of course, we've been playing outside! Hours have been spent sledding, playing with friends and building snow forts. Last weekend, Robert and the kids built a system of tunnels in the gigantic snow pile made by clearing the roads. They shoveled a 6 foot drop straight down to the ground and then a tunnel out to the side. They had great fun with it. Paranoid Mom wondered about the safety of such an idea - picturing some kid getting buried in the snow. Apparently, our apartment complex agreed. The kids saw the maintenance workers filling in the tunnels later in the week ... oops! The snow fort this weekend was built with our picnic table as a support. It was so inviting, Robert and the kids went back out at night and crammed in to watch a movie. Adventurous and cold! I was told, though, that "it was the coolest thing ever."

Burrr, I'm sure :)

We got another call tonight ... no school tomorrow. The kids are super excited! I'm hoping to get to some of these projects - the half finished, half not stage is looking as chaotic as the weather. I did manage to get our taxes finished and filed this weekend though- hurray for refunds!

Just like Dad.

We inherited an Ipod Touch a couple months ago and have had all kinds of fun with it. It's the coveted tech toy of the house for sure. Robert has his music and calendar on it and carries it around regularly. We've downloaded various free "apps" and the boys enjoy playing tetris, waterslide and paper toss. We all check our email with the home wi-fi. The dictionary is great for an intense game of scrabble. On a lazy night, it's even our family scripture study go-to and gets passed from person to person while they read. But when I walked in the bathroom the other day and saw this, I sure had a good laugh:

Where would he get such an idea?

Have you tried ...

Stouffer's Chicken Lasagna?

It takes a long time to bake, but works great for those days when actually cooking dinner isn't going to happen. It's surprisingly tasty. Just ask Lauren. She ate a TON of it the other night for dinner. I didn't know her stomach could hold that much food. It's full of carrots, peppers and spinach - and it showed. This picture doesn't quite do the experience justice. She was covered from her head to her toes and I was too by the time I got her to the tub.

But that's okay ... 'cause it gave her lots of energy for her new trick: running around the house. And I do mean run. Eleven months old and this girl went from cruising around the room to sprinting around the house in the blink of an eye. Where does the time go?

She's adorable with dolls and stuffed animals too. She puts them on her shoulder and gives them little love taps. So fun, until she thinks she's big enough to carry loads of toys up the stairs.

Slow down there Lauren!

Family Pictures 2009

The last time we took official family pictures, the twins were one. They just turned five. To say that we were overdue for a photo session is a real understatement! We have several talented photographers in our ward. We picked one and forced ourselves to set a date. Hardest part accomplished. Well, that and the shopping around for 7 black shirts. I've always wanted a picture with everyone wearing jeans and a black shirt, but none of us had one. So, I shopped and made the girl's cute matching bracelets (that you can't even see) and the day of we frantically did hair and drove to the University of Richmond (beautiful!) Once there, it was an awesome experience. There's just something so much easier about running around the beautiful outdoors. No where near the stress of a studio. Besides that, our photographer was amazing (isisphotos.blogspot.com) and we were SO happy with the results!

What's in a name?

I've been thinking about starting a blog for quite a while. I'm really good at thinking about things. It's the getting done that doesn't get done. Now, however, I have the perfect excuse: Robert's parents are teaching English in China for a year and would love to get updates. I've had this blog "started" for a couple weeks. Cute background, new family picture -- no posts. So, here I go.

First things first, the name. I had the awesome opportunity this past October to attend a "Time Out For Women" event here in Richmond with my Mom and sisters. It was great. What did I take away from the experience? That life is more about thriving than surviving. So here we are. We are the Broces'. Striving to Thrive.