Category: Family

Just a few decent photos of the kids making bubbles in the driveway. The weather has been a lot nicer lately, so it's been good to get outside.

Just a pair of goofy faces from Carter's last bath. I don't know that we've seen a real smile in a photo for a while now - she flips her silliness switch every time the camera comes out these days. :)

These pics have been sitting on the camera for a while, but better late than never. We finally got rid of our old steel-pipe style swingset in favor of something that is a little less of a death-trap. The kids helped put it together, as you can see, and them were quick to enjoy the fruits of their labors. Now if only it would stop raining, so we could use it again...

This past Monday was Carter's first day of preschool. She's been excited to go for a while. Lori says that when she dropped her off and went to leave, Carter didn't even notice - she was having that much fun, even on her first day.

Sean has really been into doing 'tricks' on his bicycle lately. I just can't believe that Lori let him try this stuff without having her usual Mommy-freak-out. He was really into it, too. I'm half-tempted to put some pegs on that bike, and see what he uses them for.

A couple of weeks ago, it got super-windy and we lost power for about three days. The first night, Lori and Carter slept at a friend's who still had power, while Sean and I opted to stay at the house for an indoor camp-out. It was pretty awesome. We read books by the light of a fire in the fireplace and we toasted mini-marshmallows on toothpicks over a candle. Sean kept lighting his marshmallows on fire, blowing them out, and declaring their burnt outer shells "delicious". He must take after his Grammy on that one. I don't think I've ever seen her actually "toast" a marshmallow - hers always go front the bag right to full-out flame. Right before bed, we played a solid hour of hide-and-go-seek with flashlights, which was ridiculously fun. It is so much easier to find a decent hiding spot when the house is pitch-black. That night he slept in my with me and the two dogs, all huddled together in a huge pile of blankets so we could keep warm. It was awesome - he hasn't had that much uninterrupted and unshared "daddy time" for a long time.

Last week the kids made snowmen in the yard. I think that this might be the first time they've ever made a proper snowman that was more than a foot tall. They had a really good time - there was plenty of sticky snow, but the air temperature was actually pretty balmy. The downside is that those snowmen melted in record time. I love the pinecone mouth on Sean's snowman - and the carrot hair on Carter's cracks me up too!

We got dumped on with snow one night last week. When I went outside to shovel it, I invited the kids to join me. They've never played outside, at night, while it was snowing before, and they jumped at the chance. None of the pictures really came out, but here's one anyway.

Aren't these pictures so sweet? Carter came to find Sadie. She was lying in the sunny spot in the kitchen, and Carter laid down beside her. There were lots of cute little moments between the two of them. It's so nice that the kids have finally started to take an interest in the dogs. It took five years, but it's finally happening.

The kids got snowshoes for Christmas, and we tried them out last weekend. Carter tired of them quickly - I think it was because they are so big compared to her feet, that she had trouble walking without them overlapping. But Sean loved them. When he would struggle with them a little, I would check with him to ask if he wanted me to take them off. And every time he said no, and kept going. He and I went exploring out in the woods, and did great. I should try taking him on a short hike with those snowshoes. He might love it.