As Earth Right after Rain

Calvin was so happy that Grandpa could join us for his special day. They share the same birthday and so many other traits like a love of the outdoors, exploring, and Purrface.

Mason arrived in tears because he had walked by the full baptismal font and his parents wouldn't let him go "swimming."

Five Alive

Easter photos

Happy Easter! Mom and Dad, if you want printable file sizes, just let me know and I'll email them to you.

Eight and Great

Pass the Salad

Our cousins (Spencer and Andrea and kids up from Nashville) were at our house for dinner this evening, and as part of the preparations, Ivy wanted to make jello. Jello is a great science experiment about chemicals, so I swallow my (mostly irrational) aversion to food coloring and allow it. But normally we go simple- mix the box according to directions and turn a liquid into a jiggling solid.

Well, I blew Ivy's little mind today when I suggested we add oranges, bananas, and strawberries to the liquid. Apparently it's been too long since we've been at a shindig in Utah.

All day, she kept checking the jello, and kept commenting about how amazing it was going to taste, and how wonderful it all was. As soon as Bryn and Calvin arrived home from school, she proudly showed them the cooling concoction. And as soon as our guests arrived, she told them all about the exciting jello news. She was asked to give the dinner prayer and mentioned the jello at least 3 times.

And then I put whipped cream on top. She nearly lost it. This may be her birthday cake request.

As Tim has taken so naturally to saying, "Please pass the salad."

Derby Madness part II

Calvin raced his car on Saturday. He had some very definite ideas about how his car should look, and Peter helped him rough it in with a jig saw. Then Calvin sanded and painted it, and they took it to a friend's house to work on the wheels and the weight.

The first time it raced, the person (a young teenager) who put it on the track made some sort of alignment error and it clocked a very slow time. But the rest of the times were much better, and he even won two of his races. His car won the award for "sleekest" design, and he was well pleased.

Derby Madness part I

"My car is way pinker than yours." -overheard at the Activity Day girls' Pinewood Derby

Bryn participated in the pinewood derby this evening with the other Activity Day girls from three wards. Peter told her before we went that she should expect her car to come in last, since it lacked the sleek aerodynamics of the more classic racers. But Bryn was happy with the way it looked. She had opted for one that already had the roughed in cut, but then she sanded, painted, and later sanded the wheels, added graphite, added just the right amount of weight, and added more graphite).

Imagine all of our surprises when the mighty little machine won it's first race. And kept winning. And suddenly she had won the entire event! Way to go Bryn, and your little blue racing machine.

Captain's Log: Stardate -308813.797564688

We're still here. Life is moving apace and the kids are growing. Our fish had a mass die-out due to Ich, but the snails are still kicking (sliding?). We also had an aquatic frog for two days (RIP Samuel Spotter).

Peter is unemployed this weekend. He went to his last day at the Lab on Friday, and finished the day with a paper airplane contest (that he organized) which occurred on the fourth floor atrium near his office. Little did he know that his co-workers had each written him notes of farewell on their respective airplanes, and he brought home an armload of handwritten treasures. Alas, his unemployment is short-lived: he starts a new job on Monday (same field, we're not moving, and his commute is only 6 minutes longer).

I'm at 28 weeks (third trimester, finally!), anemic (I'm up to 3 iron pills a day), being actively treated for a DVT blood clot (twice daily self-administered injections of Lovenox), and wake up approximately 76 times a night. It's grand. But today Ivy ran up to me and gently patted and kissed "baby sister," so that's sweet. My math tutoring business is busier than ever. I joined a gym out of polar vortex desperation.

The kids moved into a new school after the February break. Bryn came home gushing about the grandeur of the new library. We read a book series together (Septimus Heap), and she's wondering when she's old enough to join my book group.

Calvin is being a prince about the fact that he will be awash in sisters, stating upon finding out that this one is another girl, "That's fine- I can play go get some bad guys with her just like I do with Ivy." He and I enjoyed some quality time at the local Chuckward E. Dairyproduct while the girls attended a dance with Peter.

Ivy will talk your ear off about almost anything. She loves her "habitat preschool," and comes home with all sorts of bird/nature/hiking information. For example, did you know that one of the boys in her class is very naughty and is always not listening to the teachers? Oh wait, I guess that's information filed under "other," but she's just as delighted to report about it.

MS Paint movie posters

We were snowed in for a couple of days during the February break, so the kids decided to create movie posters with MS Paint. I would watch these movies.

There were also a couple of series:

Happy Groundhog Day

"When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of [my household] and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn't imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter."
-Phil Connors, Groundhog Day