A big day for a little girl

Bryn told Peter her exciting news over the phone, and when he asked her what the tooth fairy was going to bring her, she looked at me and said slyly, "Oh, I think she's going to leave a real live kitten under my pillow."

Ginger-Cars

For a month or two now, Calvin has been pointing to seemingly random cars on the road and gleefully proclaiming, "Look, there's a Ginger-Car!" Confused, we tried to decipher what this meant.

Do Ginger-Cars have candy-shaped taillights? Is the snow on the top like icing? Is "Ginger" a racial slang he picked up from Aunt Laura (j/k, she's very PC, of course)?

We finally got an explanation the other day. After asking (for maybe the hundredth time) what makes a Ginger-Car, Calvin responded, "because it's fast as fast can be," as in, you'll never catch me. It turns out, every Ginger-Car he points out is passing us.

Today Peter finally passed a car himself, and Calvin burst out happily, "now we have a Ginger-Car!" I don't think Calvin's ever been more proud.

*Photos from a Google image search

A Fantabulous Day for a Picnic

Relatively warm temps + spring break + blue skies = first picnic of the year

We dragged Peter away from his Thesis Proposal for some football, rock climbing and PBJs. Life is good. And watch out for our Future Little Red-headed Defensive Tackle and Long-haired Running Back:

Easter Egg Artists

We stumbled upon this book at our library last year, and were delighted to find it on the shelves again this year. We give it 8 ears up.

Since reading it, Calvin and Bryn have been dying to try their hand at painting Easter eggs (well, actually, Calvin wanted to paint our car so it would look like an Easter egg).

We decided to start with paper, and maybe in a week or two we'll roll out some actual eggs for our budding artists. And if you chance to see an Easter egg driving down the road in a little while, don't be too surprised.

With my freeze ray I will stop the world

Calvin and I were engaged in an intense game of "chuck the ball at each other" (it can't technically be called "catch" yet), when Peter called him in to brush his teeth. Calvin dutifully put down the ball and said, "push pause, Mom." I'm sure this is a common phrase in most households for this sort of thing, but it reminded me of a couple of anecdotes that I need to get down for posterity.

My mom was tickled when my youngest brother (then quite young) asked her to push pause while they were reading a book. This was back in the days when renting VCRs from Skaggs was a huge deal reserved for birthday parties and special occasions.

Needless to say, I found it ironic a few years ago when the tide had turned back from technology. 2 year-old Bryn was watching a movie and a scary part came on. She covered her eyes and yelled, "Mom, quick! Turn the page; turn the page!"

The show must go on

Bryn decided her way to fortune and fame (in that order) is to be a Rock and Roll star. She's started amassing riches by fleecing the biggest suckers in the world: her parents.

Calvin asked what he could sing and she said, "Oh, you can just be the money-taker." Luckily, he managed to slip onstage unnoticed as a backup singer and dancer.

Warning: contains scenes of extreme rock and roll; may not be suitable for older viewers.

And we have a winner....

The culprit, correctly guessed by most, was this little guy:
Surprise, surprise.

The number of straws was.......10! And if you can look at this picture for longer than .5 seconds and still eat lunch, bravo to you.

Congratulations, Emily and/or Eric, you correctly guessed the number and the culprit. Vanna, let's show them what they've won:
You will be the lucky recipients of 4 Coupons, each for a free Jr. Frosty from Wendy's (our family's favorite things to slurp with straws).

Thanks for playing everyone! And special thanks for those who voted for Peter or shared lovely stories of things found in their own pipes; you totally made my day.


BTW, when I was trying to come up with a one liner about how we know Emily + Eric, it was next to impossible to sum up briefly: Emily grew up next door to Peter, took piano lessons from the same beloved teacher as me (and we had many a group class and recital together), married Eric, who is my brother's wife's brother, lived in the apartment attached to Peter's parents' house after they were married, and Eric dated my sister in a galaxy long long ago. I'm sure there are other connections that I'm missing, but those are the main ones. That's the Cache Valley Cabal for you!

Contest: Joe the Plumber

Our kitchen sink was backing up off and on, and no amount of boiling water or chemical degreaser seemed to be helping. So Peter opened up the p-trap (that u-shaped piece of pipe under the sink), and lo and behold, the obstruction was found: plastic drinking straws. That's right, plural straws.

So now you get to guess how many straws we pulled out (each one laden with grease and broken eggshells- mmmm, so pleasant), and who done it. I'll mail a surprise (no, not the gunky straws) to the first person with the closest estimate of the number of straws and a correct guess on the culprit.

Notice of Eviction

As in, hit the road Jack Frost. According to Bryn and her online calendar, which clearly notes the first day of spring, you've got about 11 days to get your stuff (including the white yuck you dropped all over the place this morning) and clear out.
Do you see how angry you've made the children?


And this is what will happen if you don't comply. Next time they'll build an even bigger snowman (if that's even possible) to stomp to the ground (move over Jack Bauer).

Halloween in March

I woke up to chants of "Halloween, Halloween, Halloween..." ringing up and down the hallway. The kids had decided 6 months was long enough to wait for the biggest candy holiday of the year.

Bryn even made a poster complete with a vampire and witch with a wicked off-center nose. Ironically enough, they both had dental checkups today.

A brief conversation with Calvin

We had all just finished up our nightly dental hygiene routines, when Calvin casually and cryptically mentioned in passing, "Oh, and I didn't even get my hands dirty when I got the floss out of the toilet, so I didn't have to wash them!"

Note to self, still true: Calvin + bathroom= no good.

When Life throws you a Nor'easter...

Calvin discovered a gourmet feast for himself and Bryn perfected her budding architectural skills.

More Sweet Moves by Calvin

Calvin's been working up a new routine. In fact, he did this silly dance for about 2 hours one morning. It pretty much sums up how we feel about being over the flu.