Away for too long.

And I do apologize. A lot has happened over the last year.

Our move this past summer went smoother than I thought.  Luckily, a lot of stuff was packed because we were prepping the house for sale, but I was still astounded that we had a living room composed entirely of boxes!  Thank goodness my brothers, mom and her husband were there to help!  On the quest to free our living room, we got rid of over 20 boxes of stuff.  Funny thing is, if you asked me to name things I gave away, I would really have to think about it.  Oh hang on, first thing that comes to mind is some extra measuring cups.

I really do like the new place.  It's closer to town, and our driveway is a smaller, more shovel-able too!   The girls are sharing a room, and although I was apprehensive about it at first, they actually settle down to bed pretty quickly.

 Jillian is getting ready to start kindergarten in a couple of weeks. She's excited about starting school and meeting new friends. Her speech is coming along nicely, and we'll even speak together in French once in a while. She tried skiing this past winter, and although it was a bit of a rough start, she's looking forward to hitting the slopes next year! I'm looking forward to doing it as a family activity. I must admit I was a bit jealous sitting on the sidelines!

Susan is a little bundle of energy. Anything Jillian does, Susan's right behind her. And the kid laughs at everything.  Eating breakfast, running in circles, singing songs.  And if she does cry, it's rarely for more than 5 minutes.  Susan liked skiing as well, although she didn't like walking back to the chalet afterwards!

Together, the girls play and communicate well, which I enjoy watching.  They love their Disney princesses, and will dress up at any opportunity.  We took them to Disney on Ice and they went bonkers over it!

Michael started work at the school where he started kindergarten!  I think it's cute how he's come full circle.

I'm still studying French full time, and I'm proud of my progress, although with my naturally impatient nature, I wish I knew it all immediately!  I do love being able to have conversations in French now and not fumbling the way I used to over grammar and vocabulary.  Naturally, I still make mistakes, and I think I confused the poor girl at the gym I go to, due to mixing up some verb tenses.  But it is appreciated that I do try to speak French to Francophones.  Just please don't ask me to speak any Mandarin...I've forgotten what little I've learned!

Okay, that's us in a nutshell.  Have a good weekend!