Heads Up!

Calvin has had an enamel deficiency in his lateral incisor teeth since they came in, and they were half formed and yellowish brown. The dentist has been very nervous to work on them because the tissue was so soft.

So Calvin's been on a strict daily fluoride painting regimen for years to harden up what tissue is left, and finally last week he was able to get them fixed. He did great- they numbed him up locally and he was very brave (the movie on the ipod helped). He loves his new smile and has more confidence, which I guess makes fixing teeth that will fall out in 2-3 years worth it.

Calvin has a mischievous streak, but is very moral about it. We had the following conversation on the way to Kimball's (an ice cream stand with a big yard for the kids to play in) a few weeks ago:

Calvin: Mom, I know you don't like me to climb in the trees at Kimball's.
Me: That's right, because you get covered with sap and bugs.
Calvin: Well, I've thought about it,and I just won't be able to help myself. I'm going to climb the trees even though you don't want me to, and... I'm sorry.
Me: Well, I'll be a little disappointed, but I'm glad you told me.

Finally, here's a movie of Calvin singing a song from a video we borrowed from the library (Johnny and the Sprites). Singing can be anaerobic exercise, especially if you don't stop singing even for inhalation:

Night at the Museum [of Fine Arts]

Peter's company commandeered the MFA for their 60th anniversary Gala. We took advantage of the occasion to celebrate our own 11th anniversary. It was a fancy situation, complete with valet parking, servers walking around with ou d'oeuvres, truffled honey, colorful cheeses, delicious risotto, and cake bites on sticks. We had the entire museum to ourselves (besides a few hundred other engineers and significant others).

The MFA currently has a Chihuly exhibit (blown colored glass). LOVED it, except the reeds (the big purple things coming out of logs).

The other wings were nice, too, but we toured them near the end of the evening and my super high heels (1.5 inches!) were killing my feet, and so tainted my attitude toward the other art. I will be back with sneakers. And that handsome man of mine.

FFWR

Bryn announced to us that she had founded a new club at school called FFWR: Fight For Women's Rights. She organized a march today across the playground during recess with more than a dozen kids, including several boys . She wants to send a message to the government that we should never revert to the way women were treated in the days gone by, especially with regards to job choices. She's also deeply troubled by, in her opinion, the shocking lack of female characters in books and movies.

And now, tangentially related, enjoy one of her original stories from school:

Something Fishy in the State of Colorado

We took a trip to the Denver aquarium. Naturally, we saw flash floods, rattlers, ducks, and some tigers. What else would you see at an aquarium? Perhaps you would expect more of this sort of thing:

I know, it's an awesome fish face. I took drama. Here are other pictures, some with actual fish and actual tigers:

Also, it was a very meta-fish experience, because on the day we visited, thousands of other people had the same idea and we learned first-hand what it is like to be in a school of fish. Mostly, it's claustrophobic.

But I did enjoy the other aspects, and particularly took a liking to the giant octopus. We ended the day at Cinzetti's restaurant, an Italian Fine Food Buffet with all the fine pasta, pizza, gelato, crepes, etc. one could eat. It's a good thing the next day was Fast Sunday.

There was a 60-70 minute wait to get into the restaurant, so Zack and I took Eli and Max to a pedestrian overpass above the freeway. Those boys were so excited to see all the people in the cars and trucks honking and waving at them. I'm glad they didn't notice the bloody footprint pattern that spanned the cement bridge, indicating a bloody pursuit/escape. A little disturbing.

The weekend was a blast. I had so much fun with everyone, but especially this gal:

We shared a room for much of our lives, and now that we live on different sides of the continent I miss her like crazy. It was so great to chat all weekend, watch the royal wedding together (Tivo'd), watch Obama's Osama announcement together, play with your dog and kids, eat second dinners, go for exercises, listen to Eli's robot noises, watch you eat cheesecake for dinner, and [the list goes on and on]. Thanks for welcoming me into your home and life for 4 days!

Mom, we miss you!

Guest Post by Peter, in the voice of Bryn, Calvin and Ivy.

Mom, we understand that you're having a blast in Colorado with Karen, Zack and the funky bunch, but Dad's driving us crazy. Thank goodness Aunt Laura had us over for dinner tonight and we didn't have to suffer through his cooking again. He made us eat Veggie-burgers, mom. Veggie-burgers!

And no matter how much he tries, he just can't do things the way you do. Like my (Bryn's) braids; they don't stay the way they do when you do them. Instead they're flying all over by the end of the day. And like how I (Calvin) know you would have given me enough sunscreen to keep me from getting a sunburned face. And how you're always kind and patient with me (Ivy) even when I blow out my diaper and make a mess of onesie, tights and everything. So, he tries and all, but he's no mom.

We have done some fun stuff while you were gone. Like on Friday we (Calvin and Ivy) got to go to the Discovery Museum, which was great. And we've been to the library like four times, and tons of playgrounds and stuff. And Laura and Tim took us to the zoo yesterday, which we loved! Plus there was the lake tonight, which was a lot of fun, what with the sun and the rocks and the water and the throwing rocks into the water...but still, we can't wait to see you again. So come back home, okay?

We had Dad take some pictures to show how much we love you and miss you and how tomorrow can't come soon enough. We'd ask Dad to put them in those fancy-shmancy frames that you do, but frankly we don't think he has a clue.


You can kind of see my sunburn here, mostly on my cheeks. I know you would have made me hold still and stop squirming long enough to get my whole face covered, but I guess Dad did his best.


Seriously mom, he's driving us CRAZY!


Look how cute we are; you know you can't wait to get back and see us, right?