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We have had an absolutely beautiful week here in El Paso. I feel like I am still getting my head on straight from the holidays, but life is good.

Last weekend we spent some time at the big park on post... we had a picnic followed by a run at the soccer field. Joe says that Therese may have to get a soccer ball for her birthday... As you can see, it was a BEAUTIFUL day in El Paso!

I think these pictures were taken by our in-home mini-photographer, David. A character study, of sorts. Dad was reading about the Northwest Passage... a book that he thoroughly enjoyed.

We got a webcam for Christmas so that we could see our immediate family once in awhile... and the kids are enjoying it, because when we have our computer hooked up to our TV they think that they can do tricks on the couches and pull out all their toys and have a bit of show-and-tell... not realizing that the small camera is only on top of the computer. On another note, however, it has truly been a blessing to chat with family in a more personal way.

I decided to get a few pictures of the kids during one of their very favorite times of the day... bath time! I was careful of my camera angle... as you can see. They LOVE to "swim" for as long as possible!

As you know, the Librandi family has frequent dance breaks in the house. This one was greatly enjoyed by all. Yeah... we've got moves!

We were super excited to get a wonderful package from some dear friends whom we met at Leonard Wood and who are now about as far away from us as physically possible. The kids each got a little angel doll, who now sleeps with them at nap and night time. And they are SO CUTE!

Oh... one of my big projects for the week was organizing our home library. Yes... we have lots of books. I actually attempted to Dewey Deminalize them! It was a half-hearted attempt, but I at least understand where everything is now! And yes... I love my label maker!

Therese helped me vacuum. She loves doing anything with mom - even being slave labor!

We had a little "ordeal" with the Camry this week, so while we had the car in the shop we spent a couple hours at a little park/field on post. We just camped out and enjoyed the sunny day.

Gotta love that smile!

And you have to catch a good game of horsey whenever possible!

I love these pictures because they are actual "kodak moments" of the kids reading their books. They both love to pull piles of books out and go through them each, page by page.

Play Dough Time!

And dad brought home a couple big boxes from work! They were soon transformed into the kids' first box house!

David catching a quick nap with "Acka" in the bedroom portion of the house.

Oh, and if you hadn't officially met "Acka" yet... here he is! He is often David's companion around the house... along with his trucks and tools.

And here are a couple shots from our Mini-Photographer, Therese Marie.

We had some finger-painting fun yesterday morning. They got the paints for Christmas and this was our first time busting them out. I must say, they weren't near as messy as I imagined them. The kids' shirts were actually spotless when the pictures were complete! I'm not saying that will ever happen again, but it did increase the chances of me agreeing to use them more frequently!

A quick trip to the park yesterday led to much fun in the slide... even including dad!

Here is his front half!

And here is his back half being attacked by munchkins!

We had fun.

And then we had a little friendly race between brother and sister. Due to their differing leg lengths, David was given a significant head start...

...But Therese soon closed the gap and passed him...

...And then David got confused which direction he was supposed to be running in...

But there was, in the end, a clear winner.

And yes... it was another beautiful day in El Paso.

We had a chance to visit a bit of a backyard petting zoo at a soldier's place. The kids enjoyed the pot-bellied pig as well as the 3 chickens.

The kids are always excited for Sundays, because Sundays, as a pretty solid rule, always include candy and a movie here. Today had extra anticipation built in, however, because they knew that we had ice cream cones! And boy did they enjoy them! I think David ate every last bit of his while being in a completely reclined position on the couch, actually!

Well, that is it for us for the time being!

Love, Us.

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Happy Ordinary Time! Yup, you can always tell when Joe has extra time off... I am completely absent from the blog scene and I fail to take pictures of anything.  So... I am ashamed to tell you that I have absolutely no pictures from actual Christmas day... NONE!

It was great, though! Our main family gift was our first TV, and a DVD/VCR player from my parents made for a very fun Christmas season.  The kids did get a little addicted and used to watching a couple videos every day, but I think that now they are enjoying playing full time again. Some of our favorite flicks from the season included: Kung Fu Panda, Winnie the Pooh, Kung Fu Panda 2, Veggie Tales, and Sister Act 2.  And apart from videos, all of us also had numerous dance breaks to the tunes of "Straight No Chaser" - I actually listened to their CD at least once, probably more like 3-4 times every day!

I did get a few pictures of the kids enjoying a couple of their Christmas goodies.  Therese got some lacing cards and with a little bit of direction, she is actually really good at them!

 

And all of us enjoying making and remaking the train set. 

I tried to have tasty treats throughout the season. Here is a random shot of one of Joe's favorites: Lasaga with spinach and mushrooms!

Dad had to purchase his "bus driver cap" for an event he had to go to with the company, so after we got it all put together the kids had to try it on...

The kids and I were invited to a 4 year old's birthday party, and it had a theme. The girls were to dress as their "favorite princes" (Therese isn't in to princesses yet, so she just dressed as a general foofy gal) and the boys were to dress as their favorite super hero (David is also not in to this type of thing yet, except for maybe Larry Boy and Jesus, so we found enough stuff in the costume box to make him a pretty cute sherriff/cowboy)!  Unfortunately, the cowboy fell asleep on the way to the party...

... and unfortunately we were the only ones that followed the theme... not even the birthday boy (pictured here) joined in!  Oh, well! They were cute! 

The cowboy was prepared for anything... from a broken fence to a varmint to an outlaw!

I DID get a few Epiphany pictures! 

The kids have been enjoying numerous tea parties recently... this one consisted of hamburgers for breakfast! - and of course every baby doll available also had to participate.

I made "donuts" for Epiphany breakfast... but without a donut pan they turned out more like blobs of donut-tasting stuff.  But anyways, what was important about them was they they were Epiphany donuts... and Therese found the one with the baby Jesus in it! Actually, two days previously, at a local home-school meeting, she found the baby Jesus in their Epiphany cakes as well! I guess she has her mommy's lucky streak!

David decided to show you what our fridge currently looks like...

And mommy caught him red-handed here playing with stuff on mommy's desk! 

And just a couple days ago they got really sticky-handed enjoying cake from a baby shower we went to! Jess was the mother, and her husband went to OCS with Joe - they are now also stationed here and are expecting their first in less than a month!

Oh... and how could I forget! Our main Christmas present for the kids was "big kid Legos"! We actually did all 12 (this year 14) days of Christmas - every day the kids got to open up a present that consisted of a small bag of Legos and an individual box of cereal - it was quite fun.  But anyway... here is Joe with his first extreme Lego creation... it was pretty awesome!

I know I've written before about how great of buddies the kids are, and this morning I consciously made an effort to get the camera out and document a quick moment of their time together.  It was a little chilly this morning, but they bundled up and headed out front with their baby dolls. They just chatted and laughed and  played so well together!  Here they are sitting on the bench outside the window munching on fruit snacks and chatting.

Once again, sorry for the lapse in time. We love you all so much!

Love, Us.