Playing Catch(up)

Yes, the Kings are alive and well. Just busy. I'll try to give a quick update on each member, and then provide some pictures as proof that we're still around. :)

Dave started his new semester of classes on January 13, and his schedule this time keeps him much busier than last semester. He kinda had a rough start because we got back from Arizona at about 2 AM on January 13, and then his first class started at 9:30 AM. Plus, he hadn't been able to get any of his books, so he had to wait for them to come in the mail for a couple weeks. He's finally starting to get caught up in all his classes, but it's taken a lot of work! He's taking a Constitution class, a psychology class, some kind of business information systems class (computers), and a financial accounting class. His financial accounting sounds the hardest to me, but he loves it, and I'm so glad! There have to be accounting people out there to make up for the others (like me) who would rather not have to deal with that kind of stuff. :) (I'm really pretty responsible about spending money and stuff, I just hate having to actually write out a budget and all that.) Other than school, Dave has been busy being an awesome husband and father, and we are so grateful for him!

I've been keeping busy too. Since Dave has classes on Tuesday, Wednesday night, and Thursday, I've started substitute teaching on Mondays and Fridays. It was really hard on me the first couple of times, because I felt like I was being a bad mom by leaving Gracie, but she and Dave have really enjoyed the time together and are becoming best buds because of it. :) I've only had one "nightmare" day so far, so for the most part I'm enjoying the work. I love that it pays a good amount of money, but I can choose when I work and when I don't. Other than subbing, I've been trying to be better about cooking healthy meals for our family (to make up for all our unhealthy holiday eating!) and trying to get the house better organized.

Gracie has been busy playing outside (when it's not rainy), becoming more independent, and talking up a storm! In December she finally started putting 3- and 4-word sentences together, and it's been so fun to see that growth in her. She's so proud of herself when she learns something new or gets us to understand what she's saying. She's even been known to clap when we finally "get" what she's trying to tell us. :) One of my favorite sentences happened a few weeks ago. She was playing the piano (our keyboard) and wanted some company, so she said, "Momma play p-nano too?!" It melted my heart, and of course, I went over and played with her. (Oh, and to answer your question, Abby, Dave and I both took piano lessons when we were younger, but neither of us got very far, so we both want to learn to play better.)

We had fun celebrating Valentine's Day together last week. Dave and I went out on Thursday night (we traded babysitting with another couple in our ward, who went out Wednesday), and we ate at Red Lobster. It was so delicious! Since it wasn't the actual holiday, we didn't have to wait long for a table, and we got to just sit and enjoy each other's company without a toddler trying to climb out of her high chair. After dinner, we just went and walked around the mall. It was nice to have time together to just talk and laugh. :)

On Saturday our ward had a family Valentine's dance, and we had a lot of fun there too. The DJ played a lot of fun songs, and all the families were out there dancing together. Every few minutes, Gracie would run out and start grooving to the music while everyone watched and laughed. Dave and I even got to practice our ballroom dance moves on a few songs, and that was so fun! For some reason Gracie didn't like us dancing, though, so she would try and push us apart. I guess she wanted all the attention on her, huh? Oh, and we found her a cute shirt for the holiday that we just couldn't pass up:

(In case you can't tell, it says, "My [heart] Belongs to Daddy")

The next day (Sunday) was Dave's brother James's 17th birthday, and we had lots of fun celebrating with him. His big group gift was Guitar Hero for Wii, and he was pretty excited!

He had to open it up and show all the grandparents how it worked (and they were all blown away by it, of course..."What won't they think of next?" was heard several times!), and everyone had a lot of fun. We even got Dave's mom to try it out, but I won't post a picture of her because she'd probably kill me if I did. :)

Gracie wanted to hold the guitar, so James let her play with it (with close supervision). Turns out she's a natural!

Just look at that form!

James isn't a huge fan of cake, so he chose cherry pie as his dessert, and none of us were complaining! It was so yummy! Thanks for letting us celebrate with you, J!

Well, I s'pose you're all caught up now! Until next time...