High Five for Friday (1.16.15)

1. Congratulations to my Green Bay Packers! Will and I threw our support behind Aaron and the Pack as they took on the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday afternoon, but watching football at home isn't quite the same when Tom isn't there to share in the excitement with us. I also need Tom around to help figuratively and literally absorb some of Will's enthusiasm; every time the Packers scored, Will performed his own "Lambeau Leap"…directly onto me. I may have both a sprained finger and a mild concussion as a result. I'm so glad we'll be able to watch the Packers against Seattle together next Sunday afternoon!

And to my Cowboy fan friends...let's still be friends, alright? 

2. Saturday, January 10th was our anniversary, and I mentioned in last Friday's High Five post that Tom explained the day to Will and Hallie as the day we exchanged vows, yes, but also as our family's birthday. I wanted to do something special with the kids that day, especially since 1,000+ miles separated Tom and me from one another, so we picked up a little cake, sang "Happy Birthday to Us", and blew out a few candles after each making a wish for our family for the coming year.

Turns out Hallie didn't quite grasp Tom's anniversary explanation...throughout the day she told three people that she was celebrating her 11th birthday.

3. Before our anniversary/family birthday party, the kids and I enjoyed a really lovely Saturday. We worked out at the gym, Will played at a friend's house while Hallie and I shopped for a gift for Tom and then met friends at the movies (we loved Into the Woods), both kids and I shopped for friends' birthday presents at Target, and then we had dinner and played with friends at Chick-fil-a. Despite its fullness, the day was relaxed and fun. I appreciated time spent with my kiddos on what was probably our last "free" Saturday for a while, and felt grateful that our day included so many different friends.

4. We have participated in The Big Event - the largest one-day, student-run service project in the country and a way for TAMU students to collectively say "thank you" to the residents and communities of Bryan and College Station for supporting them during their time at the University - for the past three years. (2012, 2013, 2014) Though we've hosted different students each year, our experiences have all been positive, both in the terms of the work done in our yard and more importantly, the impact the students have had on Will and Hallie.

After last year's day of service, a number of local friends mentioned to me that they'd never heard of The Big Event or didn't know they were eligible to participate. I promised to next year (this year) share the sign-up link here so that they would know when to register.

If you live in the BCS area, consider participating in The Big Event. The benefits to everyone involved are tremendous and long-lasting! Click here to register.

5. Happiness Highlights:

I finally agreed to let Hallie wear her "wedding dress",
as she calls it, around the house. Once wearing the dress,
she happily spun herself in circles for 30 minutes straight.

The beautiful bouquet of flowers (and bar of
chocolate) Tom sent me on our anniversary.

Right after I took this picture she pointed her finger across
the room and told me to "get out of her way" in her sleep.

They're SO desperate for snow! Last weekend they wore
snow pants to the park, but, as you can see by their short-
sleeved shirts, it wasn't actually snow weather outside. (It
wasn't actually short-sleeved shirt weather either, but Will
warms up quickly and Hallie didn't want to be left out.
She put her coat back on right after I took this picture.) 

I can't stop taking pictures of Tux sleeping with the kids.
They slept like this for 10 hours straight on Monday night.

Happy Friday, friends!