Happy Birthday Shannon!

Shannon's birthday was our number one priority today, right after school, work, crew practice, and formal Seated Meal. We got the party going as the sun went down, and there's Shan in the background helping the son go down for the night. Cassidy was very helpful in decorating mom's cake.

"I have no idea what this present is! What could it BE?"

Why we don't like coming home from Vacation....

Yeah, that's a big ol' hole in our kitchen ceiling. This morning the girls went down to start the breakfast process. It isn't unusual for them to spill something. So, when I joined them in the kitchen and stepped in a puddle, I wasn't surprised. But, it wasn't them and I concluded that it was the result of a hastily made sippy cup that night. I wiped it up, and walked away for a bit. Only to go back into the kitchen and step in a new puddle. I assumed I had missed a spot and bent down to clean it up only to be rewarded by a drip on my head. I looked up and was rewarded with another little drip on my head and my first glimps of what promises to become one big problem. When I left for work this morning it looked like a baseball sized blister on the ceiling. I came home to the huge hole...and this isn't the only one. In order to locate the source of the drip, our helpful maintenance men also cut a Brogan sized hole in his bedroom wall (it is located just above the kitchen). Turns out that our plumbing is fine...the sprinkler system on the other hand, NOT SO MUCH. At this point, we don't know how extensive the damage is, but it's all good. They are sending over another group of guys tomorrow to fix things. Brogan is intensely interested in all the cool tools, ladders and interesting noises that have suddenly come into our lives. As far as disasters go, we know this isn't a big one. But, it's new and blog worthy. We'll keep you posted.

Why we love campus...

Grandpa reads us stories (Snow White and Robin Hood)


Lori helps with homework


Legos!!

"I drink alone, yeah with nobody else!"

Brogan here: Father has been ill and mother has her hands full with Thing 1 and Thing 2. Tonight's bedtime preparations just took forever, so I took matters into my own hands. After ascending the steps solo (it's no big deal, I do it all the time now) I took my blanky and bottle to the rocking chair and decided I would put myself to sleep. Honestly, it's hard to find good help these days.

Spring?

Spring in our neck of the woods comes with snow banks that are still 5 feet tall. But, it was warm (51) on Saturday, so we spent time outside


Sadly, Brog didn't appreciate what a big deal the warmth was and he was determined to put his hands in the snow, step in every mud puddle he could locate and even made an effort to color the snow with the chalk.

Cass and KK made their first hop scotch of the year. I'm sure there will be many more to come.

What a crock!

We are pretending it is spring here. Of course, the official day is March 20th, but we are all eager to see the snow melt and the wearing of these shoes appropriate. It will certainly not happen by the 20th, there will still be snow covering the ground, but it is starting to warm up. This weekend it was in the 50's! The girls declared it the beginning of Summer. So hopeful.

It was bound to happen....

For whatever reason every little brother with older sisters will some day find themselves in the position of having their hair styled by enthusiastic siblings. At least I can say that the girls thought ahead enough to just use black clippies and avoided adorning Brog with bows, butterfly barrettes, and an over abundance of ribbon or pink. I suppose this is the manly approach to playing hair salon. And, to Brog's credit, he did put up quite a fight. There was a lot of ruckus in the bathroom before I could reach them and make this discovery. Even with clippies in his hair he is one cute boy.

Cassidy Snowboards

I pulled Cassidy out of school early today and we drove to Pat's Peak, our tiny (think Whaleback) local ski mountain. Their smallest boots and board were a perfect fit for her and she did a terrific job. There were lots of positive comments directed toward her by kids and adults older than her who were struggling to learn to snowboard. 

Oh, and some high school girls tried to hit on me: "Are you new here? I know all the instructors..."

 

Half-Birthday Girl!

Kayla's school celebrates "half-birthdays" so those of us with summer time birthdays aren't snubbed. As the celebratory 4.5 year-old, Kayla was the official (note the crown) patron of snack time for the day: "Powdered donuts and cider for all my friends!"

 

Spring Break!

Brian is on spring break for the next three weeks; lots of things to do and work on, so we got started right away.

Wear Vader mask while watching Spongebob Squarepants on couch: check!