Andrew cracks me up sometimes.
Today, on our way to his tumbling practice (which he loves, even if he has a hard time following all the instructions), I asked him if he liked living in Cedar City. To which he responded:
"Yes! I like . . .
My preschool. I like my Ike. [our neighbor and Andrew's best friend]
And I like to ride my bike."
He didn't even realize he was rhyming until I pointed it out to me. Then he tried to rhyme "car" and "cat." (And here I was thinking he was showing signs of a budding genius).
On the way home, he told me that he really wanted to see how big his brain was. When I asked why, he said, "So I can see how smart I am."
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Same old story
We don't have much to report on this week--you already got the most interesting part of our week in the videos I posted a couple days ago!
We (meaning mostly I) have been busy. I'm working on a project with a deadline next week--luckily Dan was kind enough to play interference with the kids yesterday so I got a substantial amount done. However, this wasn't the highlight of the week, that's for sure.
We had some friends over for dinner Thursday night (a family we knew back in PA--in fact, they inherited a lot of our baby stuff when we moved). It was fun to catch up with them.
Yesterday Andrew had another soccer game, after a nearly two-week break. Unfortunately, his coach couldn't make it and she called to ask me to substitute. (I know, right? That's the first thing you think of when you think of me: substitute soccer coach). At least Dan helped me with the warm-ups, and it turns out there's not a whole lot of know-how required to coach four year-olds. You just try to keep them pointed in the direction of the goal and shout lots of encouragement. It's a good thing we don't keep score, because I'm pretty sure that we got hammered yesterday. We only had four of our five players: Andrew, who's a bit of a ball-hog (if we're being totally honest), but at least he goes for the ball; another little boy who's also willing to run for the ball, but he's a little small; and two other boys who might as well be picking daisies for the interest they take in the action. And we were playing a team with at least three or four fairly aggressive players, so you can probably already envision the outcome. It wasn't pretty. But the kids had fun, and that's what counts, right?
We (meaning mostly I) have been busy. I'm working on a project with a deadline next week--luckily Dan was kind enough to play interference with the kids yesterday so I got a substantial amount done. However, this wasn't the highlight of the week, that's for sure.
We had some friends over for dinner Thursday night (a family we knew back in PA--in fact, they inherited a lot of our baby stuff when we moved). It was fun to catch up with them.
Yesterday Andrew had another soccer game, after a nearly two-week break. Unfortunately, his coach couldn't make it and she called to ask me to substitute. (I know, right? That's the first thing you think of when you think of me: substitute soccer coach). At least Dan helped me with the warm-ups, and it turns out there's not a whole lot of know-how required to coach four year-olds. You just try to keep them pointed in the direction of the goal and shout lots of encouragement. It's a good thing we don't keep score, because I'm pretty sure that we got hammered yesterday. We only had four of our five players: Andrew, who's a bit of a ball-hog (if we're being totally honest), but at least he goes for the ball; another little boy who's also willing to run for the ball, but he's a little small; and two other boys who might as well be picking daisies for the interest they take in the action. And we were playing a team with at least three or four fairly aggressive players, so you can probably already envision the outcome. It wasn't pretty. But the kids had fun, and that's what counts, right?
Friday, September 24, 2010
Singing time
For some time now, I've been wanting to capture Evelyn's singing on video. She's at that charming stage where she gets most of the words right, but the tune's a little off (and some of the words). But mostly, this is for my mom, who said she was going through Evelyn withdrawals.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Sky Fest
Between preschool, school, and other random projects, this week has been busy.
Andrew started a tumbling class this Monday--if you ask him (or even if you don't), he'll be happy to demonstrate his new-found somersault skills. He loves it. I'm not a huge fan of physical activity (as you can perhaps tell!)--I exercise because I know I need to and I like the way I feel afterward, not because I enjoy it--but watching Andrew's pure joy in moving his body makes me wonder if I'm missing something. (His lesson in primary today was on talents: Andrew told us his talents are for soccer and for tumbling.) The hardest part of tumbling for Andrew will no doubt be waiting until its his turn to take the floor.
I don't think tumbling is Andrew's only talent--he has a certain flare for creative and imaginative construction. This is what he and Evelyn put together while I was cooking dinner one afternoon: a train (notice the tea set, puzzles, and dinosaurs).
This weekend was the annual Sky Fest. We were tipped off (thanks Jodi!) that Friday morning was the best time to go, as the crowd was smaller. Unfortunately, we arrived just before seven (when the event was supposed to start) and no one was really there but the pilots and crew and they hadn't even unloaded the balloons. (Also--and this memory makes me cringe, still, which is why I recount it in parentheses--we found our way into one of the pavilions where there was some food laid out. I didn't see any signs specifying who it was for, so I assumed it was available and let the kids pick out a few items, until a woman asked me--nicely enough--if we were part of one of the crews. I was immediately horrible embarrassed and tried to shoo the kids out; Andrew protested, "But there was still something I wanted!" Next time we'll know better.)
For the first forty-five minutes or so, the kids were much more interested in a nearby playground. But when they began inflating the balloons, the kids were more than willing to leave the playground and watch the sea of balloons rise around them. (It really was pretty spectacular).
We ran into Jodi as we were preparing to leave; Evelyn and Sam had a bonding moment (they were walking side-by-side--of course, by the time I got my camera out and focused on them, they were doing their own thing).
Andrew absconded with the camera and took lots of random photos (a chain, a shadow on the grass, half a balloon), but he did get this one of Evelyn.
Other than that, we've had a pretty quiet weekend (lots of grading on my end): some house chores and a department picnic (mine). Luckily, Dan is actually friends with a few people from my department and the kids found friends there, so we all enjoyed ourselves (aside from the wind, which was relentless).
In other, unrelated news, I had my first post yesterday for the Segullah blog as an official contributor/staff member.
Andrew started a tumbling class this Monday--if you ask him (or even if you don't), he'll be happy to demonstrate his new-found somersault skills. He loves it. I'm not a huge fan of physical activity (as you can perhaps tell!)--I exercise because I know I need to and I like the way I feel afterward, not because I enjoy it--but watching Andrew's pure joy in moving his body makes me wonder if I'm missing something. (His lesson in primary today was on talents: Andrew told us his talents are for soccer and for tumbling.) The hardest part of tumbling for Andrew will no doubt be waiting until its his turn to take the floor.
I don't think tumbling is Andrew's only talent--he has a certain flare for creative and imaginative construction. This is what he and Evelyn put together while I was cooking dinner one afternoon: a train (notice the tea set, puzzles, and dinosaurs).
This weekend was the annual Sky Fest. We were tipped off (thanks Jodi!) that Friday morning was the best time to go, as the crowd was smaller. Unfortunately, we arrived just before seven (when the event was supposed to start) and no one was really there but the pilots and crew and they hadn't even unloaded the balloons. (Also--and this memory makes me cringe, still, which is why I recount it in parentheses--we found our way into one of the pavilions where there was some food laid out. I didn't see any signs specifying who it was for, so I assumed it was available and let the kids pick out a few items, until a woman asked me--nicely enough--if we were part of one of the crews. I was immediately horrible embarrassed and tried to shoo the kids out; Andrew protested, "But there was still something I wanted!" Next time we'll know better.)For the first forty-five minutes or so, the kids were much more interested in a nearby playground. But when they began inflating the balloons, the kids were more than willing to leave the playground and watch the sea of balloons rise around them. (It really was pretty spectacular).
We ran into Jodi as we were preparing to leave; Evelyn and Sam had a bonding moment (they were walking side-by-side--of course, by the time I got my camera out and focused on them, they were doing their own thing).
Andrew absconded with the camera and took lots of random photos (a chain, a shadow on the grass, half a balloon), but he did get this one of Evelyn.
Other than that, we've had a pretty quiet weekend (lots of grading on my end): some house chores and a department picnic (mine). Luckily, Dan is actually friends with a few people from my department and the kids found friends there, so we all enjoyed ourselves (aside from the wind, which was relentless).In other, unrelated news, I had my first post yesterday for the Segullah blog as an official contributor/staff member.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Veggie Tales
(Cue music . . . "If you like to talk to tomatoes, if a squash can make you smile . . . ") But actually, we're not really talking about animated vegetables, merely about the prominence of vegetables in our life last week.
Due to the fact that I ordered the "Japanese pack" to go with our typical Bountiful Baskets produce order, and that, while Bubby and Poppy were out of town, we'd inherited some of their garden's bounty, our fridge was literally overflowing with produce this week. Eating our way through it (we're still not done) has necessitated some creativity on our part (well, and some recipes courtesy of the Food Network). Among all these sources, we ended up with: two cabbages, a head of lettuce, a bag of swiss chard, two bags of green beans, tomatoes, four or five eggplants, three or four zucchini, bok choi, nappa cabbage, daikon (A Japanese radish), snow peas, bell peppers, two melons, a bag of plums, sweet potatoes, bananas, nectarines, green onions. Oh, and a bag of peaches from our neighbors. (This was before we discovered that our peach tree actually *did* produce a dozen or so peaches). We're still working on all of it.
Sunday afternoon, in lieu of our usual feast at Bubby and Poppy's, we invited our neighbors across the street, and Dan made a chicken-based stir fry and tempura vegetables. It was his first time making tempura, but I thought it turned out really well (especially the onions and sweet potato!)
Here are our kids with the neighbor kids, Isaac and Zoe. Isaac is fast becoming Andrew's favorite person, and Evelyn calls Zoe "my Zoe."
I kept trying for a better shot of the kids, until Andrew finally rebelled.
Monday's theme was also about food--although in this case, the food was of the fair variety. We got persuaded by our neighbors and a mutual friend to go to the Labor Day parade in Parowan. It was actually a pretty good parade--it even had some floats (something we didn't see at our last local parade). The kids enjoyed it mostly because there were other kids to hang out with--in addition to Isaac, Andrew had his other friend, Zander. (I find it funny-and convenient--that two different friends from the English department have boys near Andrew's age). And Evelyn had Zander's sister Sydeny and "my Zoe."
Dan and I had to laugh a little at one of the opening floats: the theme of the parade was "County Pride," and one of the first floats featured this theme prominently, along with a lovely rainbow constructed out of balloons. Since this is rural, conservative Utah, we're guessing that the float planners weren't aware that for most of the country, the combination of a rainbow and "pride" would equate to something else entirely.
Evelyn sitting on "my Zoe's" lap. (Actually,she and Sydney took turns).
The three amigos.
Street dancing:
Afterward, we headed over to the county fair. Since Dan and I were both feeling nostalgic for the Grange Fair, from our PA days, I think we'd already set ourselves up for disappointment--there was really no way this fair could compare. After devouring some fair food (hamburger and fries for Andrew; Dan and I split some Hawaiian style chicken and pork with rice; and we all ate some funnel cake) we went to inspect the amusement park portion of the fair. This was something of a letdown--overpriced, dusty, and crowded. (What else was I expecting?) Dan took Andrew on the ferris wheel while Evelyn and I rode some strawberries (akin to the teacups at Disneyland, but enclosed). This, it turns out, wasn't such a good idea. I don't normally get dizzy, but one of the other women in our "strawberry" was getting quite queasy, and complained about it to the point that I started feeling so too--and the ride went on forever! Dan and I were glad to get away when our tickets ran out, but Andrew cried. You would have thought all the hope and brightness drained out of his world.
Moving on. That night, in attempt to use some of the vegetables Dan had prepped but not used the night before, we (I mean, Dan) made "okono-miyake" (according to Dan, literally: my favorite things)--it's a kind of pancake with vegetables, with mayonnaise and bulldog sauce on top. The kids had cheese sandwiches.
Tuesday night we made a pasta soup with swiss chard and meatballs. (The meatballs were left over from a previous meal). That night was also another of Andrew's soccer games: they played a team that actually sort of grasped the concept of passing, so needless to say, the other team won. Andrew still enjoyed himself--although we might need to work with him on the whole concept of modesty. This was the first game where the coaches actually enforced the three player per side rule (actually a good idea--otherwise the kids tend to knot up around the ball and fall over), which meant that Andrew had to sit out a couple of times. The first time he got pulled out, he started to cry, "But I'm the best player on the field! They need me!"
We brought the treats this week--I thought it was funny how intently these five little boys (Aidin, Cedric, Tanner, Andrew, and Gavin--all two syllable, British names) devoured their grapes during half-time.
Wednesday night we had hotdogs (original, I know--but I had a Relief Society dinner that night and spent so long on the side-dish that I didn't have energy for anything else) and vegetables gratin (which, ironically, didn't have any real vegetables in it--tomatoes, squash, and eggplant, all of which are technically fruits if you classify them as containing seeds). It was pretty good, but probably not worth the labor (I had to sautee the vegetables individually before baking the dish).
On Thursday, I took Evelyn to her first dance class (one of the local dance studios offers a free parent and tot class). I was initially a little weirded out by the little girl culture. I thought I was bad, dressing Evelyn up in this little number--but this was a model of restraint compared to some of the little girls, most of whom were wearing ruffled tutus, earrings (!), sparkly shoes and/or (in one case) a tiara. But Evelyn loved it (and I discovered that not all of the moms were as strange as their over-dressed daughters would suggest), so we'll probably be going back--regardless of how little I like seeing myself in the mirrored wall.
Thursday night's dinner was another split dinner: eggs for the kids; stir-fry (with leftover vegetables and sausage) for us.
Friday morning we had play group at our house: Issac and Zander (who both have afternoon kindergarten) were both there, along with Sydney, Andrew's friend Caleb (who's in Bubby and Poppy's ward and also in Andrew's preschool class) and Caleb's brother Eric, and a couple of other friends. My kids were in heaven--and the adult conversation was nice--although it's always amazing to me how quickly that many kids can undo all of my cleaning.
Dinner that night: stuffed cabbage stoup, courtesy of Rachael Ray. I was hoping it would be something like the stuffed cabbage I remember from my mission, with less work--and I have to admit it was reasonably good. Of course, her portion sizes are ridiculous--what was supposed to make four servings will be going on its third meal tonight (we had it yesterday too)--and we'll probably still have extra.
Yesterday morning we spent the morning doing yard work (Dan) and cleaning the storage room (mostly me--although everyone else helped put stuff back once I was done cleaning). It hadn't ever really been arranged--we just put our food storage in around whatever boxes were left down there from moving in. All that is changed now--everything has been organized by type, and it feels pretty good to know that our supplies aren't actually that bad. We're not fully stocked yet, but we could probably make it two or three months if we had to.
The process wasn't entirely painless, however. Andrew offered to help me move things off the shelf, and, without thinking to give him any instructions, I agreed. Not two minutes later, Andrew came out to where I was arranging things on the floor outside the storage room, holding a big glass jar of grape jelly. "Uh oh," he said, "Mommy, I just dropped a jar of jam." (I had had two big glass jars.)
While I may sound calm recounting this, I'm afraid I wasn't very happy at the time. I ordered the kids out of the storage room, and set about cleaning up the mess. Glass and jelly make a pretty awful combination--one I hope I don't have to repeat anytime soon!
The other calamity of the morning was mostly Evelyn's doing. I was trying to rearrange a couple of shelves and the kids were just outside the storage room, where almost everything that had been on the shelves was reposing. I heard Andrew say that Evelyn wanted a popsicle--I responded (somewhat absently) that she couldn't have one now; maybe when we were done. I assumed the subject was dropped, but I continued to hear vague murmurings of popsicles, and I suddenly remembered that an open box of otter pops (not yet frozen) was one of the things on the floor by the kids. I dashed out just in time to see Evelyn spraying green juice all over her skirt (and the carpet) as she tried to open her "popsicle" for herself. (Andrew also had a partially opened otter pop, but his hadn't spilled as much). Urgh.
Luckily, Dan came in about then to help and we were finished in short order. And I got to escape for an hour or so in the afternoon, for Jodi's baby shower (although this is her fourth baby, it was her first girl, and her friends wanted to throw her a shower), where I got to eat some yummy salsa and a really rich, gooey brownie. Chocolate can make almost anything look better, I'm convinced.
Due to the fact that I ordered the "Japanese pack" to go with our typical Bountiful Baskets produce order, and that, while Bubby and Poppy were out of town, we'd inherited some of their garden's bounty, our fridge was literally overflowing with produce this week. Eating our way through it (we're still not done) has necessitated some creativity on our part (well, and some recipes courtesy of the Food Network). Among all these sources, we ended up with: two cabbages, a head of lettuce, a bag of swiss chard, two bags of green beans, tomatoes, four or five eggplants, three or four zucchini, bok choi, nappa cabbage, daikon (A Japanese radish), snow peas, bell peppers, two melons, a bag of plums, sweet potatoes, bananas, nectarines, green onions. Oh, and a bag of peaches from our neighbors. (This was before we discovered that our peach tree actually *did* produce a dozen or so peaches). We're still working on all of it.
Sunday afternoon, in lieu of our usual feast at Bubby and Poppy's, we invited our neighbors across the street, and Dan made a chicken-based stir fry and tempura vegetables. It was his first time making tempura, but I thought it turned out really well (especially the onions and sweet potato!)
Here are our kids with the neighbor kids, Isaac and Zoe. Isaac is fast becoming Andrew's favorite person, and Evelyn calls Zoe "my Zoe."
I kept trying for a better shot of the kids, until Andrew finally rebelled.
Monday's theme was also about food--although in this case, the food was of the fair variety. We got persuaded by our neighbors and a mutual friend to go to the Labor Day parade in Parowan. It was actually a pretty good parade--it even had some floats (something we didn't see at our last local parade). The kids enjoyed it mostly because there were other kids to hang out with--in addition to Isaac, Andrew had his other friend, Zander. (I find it funny-and convenient--that two different friends from the English department have boys near Andrew's age). And Evelyn had Zander's sister Sydeny and "my Zoe."
Dan and I had to laugh a little at one of the opening floats: the theme of the parade was "County Pride," and one of the first floats featured this theme prominently, along with a lovely rainbow constructed out of balloons. Since this is rural, conservative Utah, we're guessing that the float planners weren't aware that for most of the country, the combination of a rainbow and "pride" would equate to something else entirely.
Evelyn sitting on "my Zoe's" lap. (Actually,she and Sydney took turns).
The three amigos.
Street dancing:
Afterward, we headed over to the county fair. Since Dan and I were both feeling nostalgic for the Grange Fair, from our PA days, I think we'd already set ourselves up for disappointment--there was really no way this fair could compare. After devouring some fair food (hamburger and fries for Andrew; Dan and I split some Hawaiian style chicken and pork with rice; and we all ate some funnel cake) we went to inspect the amusement park portion of the fair. This was something of a letdown--overpriced, dusty, and crowded. (What else was I expecting?) Dan took Andrew on the ferris wheel while Evelyn and I rode some strawberries (akin to the teacups at Disneyland, but enclosed). This, it turns out, wasn't such a good idea. I don't normally get dizzy, but one of the other women in our "strawberry" was getting quite queasy, and complained about it to the point that I started feeling so too--and the ride went on forever! Dan and I were glad to get away when our tickets ran out, but Andrew cried. You would have thought all the hope and brightness drained out of his world.
Moving on. That night, in attempt to use some of the vegetables Dan had prepped but not used the night before, we (I mean, Dan) made "okono-miyake" (according to Dan, literally: my favorite things)--it's a kind of pancake with vegetables, with mayonnaise and bulldog sauce on top. The kids had cheese sandwiches.Tuesday night we made a pasta soup with swiss chard and meatballs. (The meatballs were left over from a previous meal). That night was also another of Andrew's soccer games: they played a team that actually sort of grasped the concept of passing, so needless to say, the other team won. Andrew still enjoyed himself--although we might need to work with him on the whole concept of modesty. This was the first game where the coaches actually enforced the three player per side rule (actually a good idea--otherwise the kids tend to knot up around the ball and fall over), which meant that Andrew had to sit out a couple of times. The first time he got pulled out, he started to cry, "But I'm the best player on the field! They need me!"
We brought the treats this week--I thought it was funny how intently these five little boys (Aidin, Cedric, Tanner, Andrew, and Gavin--all two syllable, British names) devoured their grapes during half-time.
Wednesday night we had hotdogs (original, I know--but I had a Relief Society dinner that night and spent so long on the side-dish that I didn't have energy for anything else) and vegetables gratin (which, ironically, didn't have any real vegetables in it--tomatoes, squash, and eggplant, all of which are technically fruits if you classify them as containing seeds). It was pretty good, but probably not worth the labor (I had to sautee the vegetables individually before baking the dish).On Thursday, I took Evelyn to her first dance class (one of the local dance studios offers a free parent and tot class). I was initially a little weirded out by the little girl culture. I thought I was bad, dressing Evelyn up in this little number--but this was a model of restraint compared to some of the little girls, most of whom were wearing ruffled tutus, earrings (!), sparkly shoes and/or (in one case) a tiara. But Evelyn loved it (and I discovered that not all of the moms were as strange as their over-dressed daughters would suggest), so we'll probably be going back--regardless of how little I like seeing myself in the mirrored wall.
Thursday night's dinner was another split dinner: eggs for the kids; stir-fry (with leftover vegetables and sausage) for us.Friday morning we had play group at our house: Issac and Zander (who both have afternoon kindergarten) were both there, along with Sydney, Andrew's friend Caleb (who's in Bubby and Poppy's ward and also in Andrew's preschool class) and Caleb's brother Eric, and a couple of other friends. My kids were in heaven--and the adult conversation was nice--although it's always amazing to me how quickly that many kids can undo all of my cleaning.
Dinner that night: stuffed cabbage stoup, courtesy of Rachael Ray. I was hoping it would be something like the stuffed cabbage I remember from my mission, with less work--and I have to admit it was reasonably good. Of course, her portion sizes are ridiculous--what was supposed to make four servings will be going on its third meal tonight (we had it yesterday too)--and we'll probably still have extra.
Yesterday morning we spent the morning doing yard work (Dan) and cleaning the storage room (mostly me--although everyone else helped put stuff back once I was done cleaning). It hadn't ever really been arranged--we just put our food storage in around whatever boxes were left down there from moving in. All that is changed now--everything has been organized by type, and it feels pretty good to know that our supplies aren't actually that bad. We're not fully stocked yet, but we could probably make it two or three months if we had to.
The process wasn't entirely painless, however. Andrew offered to help me move things off the shelf, and, without thinking to give him any instructions, I agreed. Not two minutes later, Andrew came out to where I was arranging things on the floor outside the storage room, holding a big glass jar of grape jelly. "Uh oh," he said, "Mommy, I just dropped a jar of jam." (I had had two big glass jars.)
While I may sound calm recounting this, I'm afraid I wasn't very happy at the time. I ordered the kids out of the storage room, and set about cleaning up the mess. Glass and jelly make a pretty awful combination--one I hope I don't have to repeat anytime soon!
The other calamity of the morning was mostly Evelyn's doing. I was trying to rearrange a couple of shelves and the kids were just outside the storage room, where almost everything that had been on the shelves was reposing. I heard Andrew say that Evelyn wanted a popsicle--I responded (somewhat absently) that she couldn't have one now; maybe when we were done. I assumed the subject was dropped, but I continued to hear vague murmurings of popsicles, and I suddenly remembered that an open box of otter pops (not yet frozen) was one of the things on the floor by the kids. I dashed out just in time to see Evelyn spraying green juice all over her skirt (and the carpet) as she tried to open her "popsicle" for herself. (Andrew also had a partially opened otter pop, but his hadn't spilled as much). Urgh.
Luckily, Dan came in about then to help and we were finished in short order. And I got to escape for an hour or so in the afternoon, for Jodi's baby shower (although this is her fourth baby, it was her first girl, and her friends wanted to throw her a shower), where I got to eat some yummy salsa and a really rich, gooey brownie. Chocolate can make almost anything look better, I'm convinced.
Sunday, September 05, 2010
pressing onward
As promised, here are some pictures from our trip north this weekend. Jacob was celebrating his birthday (as you can see) and Jeni brought some cute owl cupcakes which the kids enjoyed (okay, so they only ate the frosting).
These two (the youngest of my parents' grandkids) crack me up. I can definitely see a family resemblance, can't you?
Justin kindly entertaining my kids before church Sunday morning.
Dan took this shot of Evelyn last week--she refused to nap in her bed, opting instead for the body pillow on the floor next to her bed (the one time we moved the pillow to wash it, Evelyn--of course--fell out of her bed in the middle of the night, two nights in a row).
Evelyn has this thing for markers--in particular, she likes to draw on herself. This particular one makes it look like she's been getting into the vampire craze a little too young.
And of course, Andrew at preschool.
Evelyn has been working the costume thing this week--you can see her in her princess skirt (above) and a pirate costume: she also went out (again) in her Tiana nightgown and a kitty leotard, complete with black skirt, leopard-print top, a tail, and kitten ears . . . I suppose most little girls go through a phase like this. I'm just glad she's cute enough to pull it off (I certainly couldn't!)
In other news for the week: we got new windows! Actually, we got them week before last but I forgot to post that. This winter promises to be warmer than last, since we finally replaced all the single-paned windows in the bedrooms.
And we got our car back. Finally. Of the four weeks we've owned our minivan, it's spent three in the shop. (To be fair, it wasn't entirely the shop's fault--they rebuilt our transmission, put it back in and took the van for a test-drive and noticed that it was still making noise so they deduced a faulty part in the transmission; they took it apart again and couldn't find what was wrong, so they ordered another used transmission and rebuilt that for us--without charging us any more than they had originally quoted, despite the fact that it was so much more work for them). It's so nice to once again enjoy the luxury of going where we want, when we want. However, I am grateful that we live in a small town when many things (including the grocery store) are within walking distance.
What else? We survived the second week of classes and spent the first day of our three-day weekend working (what else are you supposed to do to celebrate Labor Day?). We finally tore out the ivy on the front of the house (and took out some plants with it, including a rose bush that was pretty enmeshed in the ivy's roots). The front of our house looks bare now, but we're glad we got the ivy down, since it's been on our to-do list since we moved in.
We also picked Bubby and Poppy's garden for them, since they were enjoying a lovely vacation. On our way over, we told the kids that we were going to pick food from Bubby's garden. Evelyn responded enthusiastically, "Oh, great! I love food." So do we, kid, so do we.
These two (the youngest of my parents' grandkids) crack me up. I can definitely see a family resemblance, can't you?
Justin kindly entertaining my kids before church Sunday morning.
Dan took this shot of Evelyn last week--she refused to nap in her bed, opting instead for the body pillow on the floor next to her bed (the one time we moved the pillow to wash it, Evelyn--of course--fell out of her bed in the middle of the night, two nights in a row).
Evelyn has this thing for markers--in particular, she likes to draw on herself. This particular one makes it look like she's been getting into the vampire craze a little too young.
And of course, Andrew at preschool.
Evelyn has been working the costume thing this week--you can see her in her princess skirt (above) and a pirate costume: she also went out (again) in her Tiana nightgown and a kitty leotard, complete with black skirt, leopard-print top, a tail, and kitten ears . . . I suppose most little girls go through a phase like this. I'm just glad she's cute enough to pull it off (I certainly couldn't!)In other news for the week: we got new windows! Actually, we got them week before last but I forgot to post that. This winter promises to be warmer than last, since we finally replaced all the single-paned windows in the bedrooms.
And we got our car back. Finally. Of the four weeks we've owned our minivan, it's spent three in the shop. (To be fair, it wasn't entirely the shop's fault--they rebuilt our transmission, put it back in and took the van for a test-drive and noticed that it was still making noise so they deduced a faulty part in the transmission; they took it apart again and couldn't find what was wrong, so they ordered another used transmission and rebuilt that for us--without charging us any more than they had originally quoted, despite the fact that it was so much more work for them). It's so nice to once again enjoy the luxury of going where we want, when we want. However, I am grateful that we live in a small town when many things (including the grocery store) are within walking distance.
What else? We survived the second week of classes and spent the first day of our three-day weekend working (what else are you supposed to do to celebrate Labor Day?). We finally tore out the ivy on the front of the house (and took out some plants with it, including a rose bush that was pretty enmeshed in the ivy's roots). The front of our house looks bare now, but we're glad we got the ivy down, since it's been on our to-do list since we moved in.
We also picked Bubby and Poppy's garden for them, since they were enjoying a lovely vacation. On our way over, we told the kids that we were going to pick food from Bubby's garden. Evelyn responded enthusiastically, "Oh, great! I love food." So do we, kid, so do we.
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