My THREE reasons....

Today is MOTHER'S DAY and  These are my three BEST reasons for celebrating:

Our photo shoot quickly deteriorated into a hugging festival.  These 2 actually ended up falling over, there was SO much love.

Hugs for Cassidy....a touch less full contact.

                                                Seriously, this looks captures it all:  

He does have a mellow side.  It's just rarely caught on film.  But, here his is all chilled out and OH SO HANDSOME.

Just the 2 of us....

Cassidy went to her very first sleep over this weekend.  While she was gone, Kayla and Brogan accompanied us to Brian's art show opening.  Here they are waiting for their ride:

KK likes to get all dressed up.  Accessories are her favorite.  She told me that she tries to visualize her outfit before she puts it on.  She has rules.  Her favorite is the "pop of color" rule.

As Faculty advisor to the Student Arts Association, Brian drove the SPS red mini-bus.  Brogan and KK got to ride in the bus.  This was a real treat for them.  It all started well, and just went down hill as illustrated in the following images:
Effort to entertain ourselves quickly deteriorated as the novelty of a bus ride soon wore off.  Brogan was very upset that there wasn't a movie on board and protested quite clearly (see bottom right image below).  KK resorted to the more mature form of entertainment: performance art. 
As a whole it went as well as could be expected.  The kids dutifully walked around the museum in about 40 seconds and then demanded snacks.  Fortunately the grounds for this museum are wonderful and I was able to escort them outside to run and play....until Brogan decided that throwing rocks at the building was more fun the walking around the building.  They ended the night sitting in a corner each with a plate of snacks and under my watchful and glaring eye.  Next time we get a sitter.

The boy's new style

Brogan has decided that it's time for a new style.  He's going for the porcupine look....and seems to be succeeding.  Of course, it doesn't last long.  He likes to burrow his head and it ruins the spikes fairly quickly.  But, he sure looks cool while it lasts.

Spring Break

It's spring break.

Our family LOVES to go candle pin bowling.  

The balls are just the right size and weight for little hands.

Kayla is jumping in this pictures...hence the pretty impressive hair style.

Brogan is one cool dude.  He L-O-V-E-S bowling.  He even has his own set at home

that is responsible for hours upon hours of fun.

He cheers for everyone and gets very excited when he does "a nice job".

Cassidy was the perfect score keeper!

Fun to have Friends join us as well.

Sheldon....

KK got to bring home Sheldon, the turtle from school.  He travels home with each of the Kindergarten students for a weekend during the school year. They get to keep a journal and write about all the fun things they do with Sheldon.  KK took him everywhere with us.  He was treated to a Fancy Nancy party at Boarder's, lunch at TGI Friday's, several walks, dinner at the dining hall, church, and a shopping spree to get him a new outfit (athletic shorts and a baseball cap, something every turtles wardrobe needs to be complete).  It was a very sad day for KK when Sheldon had to be passed to the next student.  

Better late then never....

We were fortunate to have beautiful weather for Easter this year.  (Some years the ground is still covered in ice and snow!).  We had an egg hunt at our friends' home.  They have the perfect large open yard surrounded by trees, a tree house, flower patches, etc.  The eggs were hidden all around the yard (I'm quite certain we missed a few and they will one day be discovered).  The kids enjoyed scampering over rocks and searching under bushes to find their treasures.  

Dig This!

So the guys from facilities knock on the door and ask us to move our car so they can install a new street light. To Brogan's enduring delight they proceeded to drive a backhoe onto our front walk and rip into the lawn. When the trench was done they invited Brogan to climb into the digger (sans keys for safety).

Oh happy day for those of us who really dig construction vehicles!

First park day 2010

SO excited that the weather is warming.  We are happy to see that the snow is all gone (though the ground is still soggy) and it is only March.  For the past few years we have enjoyed snow banks until mid to late April.  Not this year.  We are crossing our fingers that we have seen the last snowfall of the 2009-2010 season.  

The Harvard T-Shirt

Brian was on vacation for 3 weeks in March.  During this time, he did a lot of painting.  He also spent a lot of time with Brogan.  As the days went on, it became increasingly obvious that their time together was starting to have strange effects.  They started dressing alike.  Maroon shirts and tan pants.  Blue shirts and jeans.  Even their hoodies matched at times.  We've decided it might be time for Brian's wardrobe to "grow up" a bit.

These pictures were taken on the Matching Maroon day.  Brogan LOVES this shirt.  When he wears it, if you ask him what it says, he will reply, "I'm so smart".  Well, I guess he is SO smart. And super cute as well.   

February Vacation Day 5

I know...this is a really late post.  I forgot these were on my camera though.  I realized it today when I downloaded the EASTER pictures I took.  So, late as these may be, it is for documentation purposes.

The very last day of February vacation was interesting.  Why?  Because Thursday night there was a very big storm.  Trees were ripped out of the ground, some simply cracked in half...many fell and took with them the power.  Although we were not hurt and our home was safe, we were some of the many who lost power for multiple days.  We lost it for 3 days total.  The kids didn't even notice during the day.  They were super excited because we did lots of projects.  Thank goodness Grandpa and Lori had bought the kids several kits for Christmas.  We started Cassidy's indoor creature garden, Kayla's sea monkeys (which are now huge a

nd thriving), and enjoyed painting Cassidy's horse model.  

When it started to get dark, we collected all the candles in the house.  It is the only time Brian has appreciated my candle collection.   The kids were very excited but we didn't stick around home.  We went to visit friends and stayed until bed time.  The kids were asleep by the time we got home, and didn't get to appreciate a night without power.  It was better for everyone this way.  Brogan spent a lot of time defending and protecting the stuffed cat collection.  For some reason he was obsessed with this.  He tucked them all into bed with him.  I wish I had a photo of this because there is an impressive collection of stuffed kittens in our home.  It was difficult to identify the toddler among all the stuffed kittens.  

And so ends February vacation.  The kids will get an additional week off at the end of April.  We are hoping that we don't have any storms during that week.

Have you heard?

So we can now officially make this announcement.  Brian has been awarded a sabbatical for the 2010-2011 school year.  The original "deal" we made 10 years ago was that we would spend this sabbatical on the West Coast near family that we don't get to see often.  As life happened, 10 years of life to be exact, our plans changed.  We bought a house in up-state New York and for a time considered spending our sabbatical year there.  It made sense, right?  Why buy a house and then NOT live in it?  One answer: WINTER.  We changed our minds.  Up-State New York winters are NOT for us, but the SUMMERS and FALL are amazing.  (We'll get back to this in a moment though).  Our next plan involved us staying right here in NH and moving just up the road (or down, depending on your orientation).  The girls are enrolled in a charter school that we L-O-V-E and is very difficult to get into.  If we leave, we loose those spots and will only get back in if we win the "lottery".  Literally.  They have a lottery for the open spots in each grade.  There is only one class per grade. The odds aren't in our favor.   Another big bonus:  I love my job.  Not just like it a lot.  LOVE it.  A lot.  It seemed logical to stay here.  It seemed like it was in everyone's best interest. It was comfortable and known.  But....once again...plans changed.  One day we were talking.  "Remember our original deal?  10 years here:1 year in WA?  What happened to that idea?"  and suddenly, without even a single moment of doubt, we knew.  And so, we have come full circle.  We're moving west for the 2010-2011 school year.  Check it out:

We are ALL excited.  We are amazed to find that rent is almost 1/2 of what we were going to pay here...but we are getting SO much more.  Pools.  Tanning beds (really!?!).  Racket ball courts.  Fitness Centers.  Nationally ranked Elementary School.  FAMILY....3 miles away but in a different STAKE!  (Crazy!)  Tax free shopping across the river in Oregon (woot!).  GREEN.  Lots and lots of GREEN.  Rain.  Lots and lots of rain.  A rare snowfall or 2.  The ocean.  The mountains.  Volcanos.  Amazing Forests.  Even MORE family (not quite as close, but close enough for monthly visits).  

Honestly, since the very second we decided to do this, there hasn't been a moment of hesitation or reconsideration.  It FEELS right.  It IS right.  We will miss our East Coast stomping grounds.  Our friends and our family here too.  But, we know we are coming back.  We love St. Paul's School and don't see ourselves permanently leaving this place.  Ever.  But, if this experience has taught us anything...life happens.  Maybe we will sing a different song 10 years from now.  Which will be just in time for a 2nd sabbatical and we might as well tell you now:  We've already decided where we're going NEXT time.  And it's a whole different country.  But, we'll save that reveal for later.  Besides, we might change our minds. :)

Proud Parenting Moment

I don't have a picture of this moment.  I *wish* I did.  But the tale is worthy of a blog report and this picture actually captures the "spirit" of the moment.  Cassidy has always done things her way.  She doesn't care much about what other people think, she is comfortable in who she is.  This makes us VERY happy.  Today she came home and told me about an experience at school that made my heart melt and (I confess) I might have gotten a bit teary.  She has a best friend, "T", that she has been close to since the first day of Kindergarten.  Apparently at school today "T" decided it was cool to swear.  Cass informed "T" that is wasn't okay to say those words.  "T" kept saying them and even indicated that it was okay for her to say them and her family was okay with it too.  Cass told her that those words were NOT appropriate in her family.  Apparently Cass took quite a bit of razzing from several other kids about her determination NOT to say swear words.  When I asked her how this made her feel she very softly and carefully said, "Mommy, I know I made Jesus happy today.  That was important.  I don't need to say those words."  I know....RIGHT?  Seriously choked up mommy.  She mentioned that it isn't always easy to do the right thing and make those choices but she was glad she did it.  SIGH.  I'm so....dare I say it...."proud"....of my little girl.  She's only 7 and has a lot of life to live and certainly more moments of peer pressure to deal with, but OH HOW I HOPE AND PRAY that this little moment in her life is just a hint of the strength she will have as she grows.  

PS:  This is our 200th post.  !!!

Funny Girl

I've been meaning to post this little story on the blog...I mentioned it before on FaceBook but wanted to make sure it made it here as well.  

Kayla has got some things really figured out.  Relationships is one of those things.  Here are her "STEPS TO GETTING A BOY TO LIKE YOU" .  In her own words:

"You see, it's like this:  First you are nice to them.  Then you smile at them and they think you are cute.  Then you have to make them laugh.  Not the crazy kind of laugh but a REAL laugh."  Here she pauses to consider for a moment before concluding, "And it doesn't hurt if you give them a cookie.  That's it.  Viola.  Easy Peasy.  They like you."  Awe, the wisdom of a child.  Wanting to make sure I was staying on top of this parenting thing I inquired, "KK, have you given any boys cookies?"  With sincere exasperation she sighed and said, "No mom.  I'm saving that for when I REALLY need it."  Well, I guess she told me.  Her teen years have already flashed before my eyes and I confess to being somewhat concerned.  What's a mom to do?  No really...WHAT am I going to do?

February Vacation day 4

The 4th day of February Vacation brought rain.  Lots and lots of Rain.  So we went swimming at one of the local hotel pools.  So much fun.  The kids have asked to go back almost every day since.  I think they are just eager for summer.  Can't blame 'em any.

A new short movie

Brogan has recently found a new love.  CONSTRUCTION VIDEOS.  Thank you Blockbuster and our local library for providing such gems.  As a result he has added a few new activities to his daily "to do" list.

FEBRUARY VACATION: DAY 3

We spent the morning playing in the snow that quickly turned to a chilly rain.... 

And decided that a favorite indoor activity was in order:

February Vacation DAY 2

   Who do you think had the most fun?

   

Shave and a hair cut.....

Finished Product

Brogan got his first "big wheel".  It is, of course, a Lightning McQueen themed ride and he insisted on the helmet...which he wears ALL the time, on the bike or not.  Safety first. He puts it on and then requests, "NOGGIN" which means he wants to bump his head into your head. When on the bike he can be heard exclaiming, "Wanna race?!" and "Move out of the way!!!".  Charming.  Really.

A little late but.....