Chloe's imaginary friend

Chloe has concocted an imaginary friend, and it is super cute. I don't remember Maddie ever doing this! The friend's name is "Bad Guy." But, as Chloe frequently emphasizes, she's not bad at all. That's just her name, Bad Guy. According to Chloe, she looks like Matilda from the movie of the same name. Chloe talks to Bad Guy on the phone and is always saying that she is knocking on the door and wants to come in. She invites Bad Guy to spend the night, and plays with her and Madison (who plays along, knowing full well it isn't real). Kinda random, but cute too.

JR's surgery

Don't have a ton of time to write (The Office is coming on; that's all-important), but I wanted to mention that JR had his second knee surgery last Thursday, a week ago. So far, he's recovering normally, but probably won't be released to return to work for at least another 6-8 weeks. In the meantime, he's doing some excercises at home and taking it easy while he heals from a rather invasive surgery. They lengthened a tendon and removed a chunk of stray cartilege. The doc says it's very similar to Greg Oden's injury last year. I'm SUPER busy taking care of him, the house, the kids, and the magazine, which is why these posts will probably be sparse for a while!

24 Hours Away

JR was wonderful enough to take over the kids and household while I got away for 24 hours or so with Julie. We would like to do more "staycation" features in the magazine, which requires us to visit resorts (for free) and write articles about them. So Julie and I made it a girls' "weekend." (even though we did it on Monday and Tuesday) and headed off to explore Skamania Lodge, in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. We spent the time discussing business stuff and relaxing, sleeping in till 10 Tuesday morning! And the best part? I came home to a cheerful family and an incredibly clean house. Thanks babe!

I also need to congratulate my brother Andy and his wife Holly. I'm an aunt again! Owen Brad Kartchner was born Sunday evening! He's perfect, if I do say so myself.

Family Pictures, finally!

On Tuesday my great friend Julie (also my business partner with the magazine), who is incredibly talented in all things visual, was kind enough to take our much needed family pictures. We hadn't had any done for over 2 years, and you can imagine how much kids change in that time! Needless to say, the pictures came out fantastic, and I'll be forever grateful to Julie for taking the time to do this for us! I'm saving the best for Christmas greetings, but here is a taste: