Young Rembrandts

I couldn't scan the construction paper "mat" very well because it didn't fit on the scanner, but here are some pieces of art that Elaine, Jeremy, and Alex made at school. Jer's mat was orange and Alex's was yellow. They really added something to the art, but they are still cute without.

Family Picture

Dave has been annoyed that our family picture is so small.  So here it is full size.  Nov. 2007.

Kids' Creativity

Here are some of the kids' creations on photo booth. It is so much fun for them.

Dipping Berries

Strawberries were on sale bigtime last week, so I bought a bunch. I also had to try the dipping wafers they had next to them in the store. I remember from 10 years ago Lynann Ellsworth bringing chocolate dipped strawberries to a YW activity and it has taken me this long to recreate the experience.

You can see how much Ben liked them. He hesitated at first but was the last one standing, so to speak. None of us were spotless, but he takes the cake for really jumping into the chocolate.

Boys Room Revisited

I decided that I could never keep the boys room clean and the beds all made nicely for long enough to trick everyone into thinking it was an ad for PBK, so I might as well just show you what it looks like. I can't get a nice shot from the entry into the room . . . but that is because of the angles of the entry. So instead you get a nice shot of the window with toy boxes underneath, but sideways because I don't know how to rotate it on the blog. Benjamin is the only one who allows me to put the quilt on his bed. Eventually we will put stuff on the walls. Good stuff. And get some beanbags or something. And a rug.

Central Vacuum

How do I love thee, let me count the ways . . .
to dust the fan, the blinds, the desk,
and even the armoire
is oh so simple with a hose
that reaches everywhere.

For the past several nights I have been in misery trying to sleep. I can fall asleep fine, then I wake up for several hours in the middle of the night with an allergic attack. Last night it was particularly bad. I imagine it was because Dave rearranged items on his "desk" without paying attention to the dust he stirred up. So today I started at the top of the room and I'm working my way down. There will be nary a speck of dust left. Hopefully I can sleep again tonight.

Jeremy started swimming on Elaine's swim team. He is quite good. He only knows backstroke and freestyle so far, but he is learning breastroke and butterfly. He also wants to play summer soccer. Alex is doing baseball. I missed the first registration for swim lessons at the Y, so I guess I'll attempt to teach Ben when the water gets a little warmer. Liam doesn't care how cold the water is, and he swims with his floaty suit just fine. Last year Ben could swim independently for about 10 feet, but he has yet to submerge in our 74 deg pool this year.

I'm going to start lifting weights at the Y with Dave's second cousin Sharee Jackson Williams. She did the Casa Grande Triathlon last fall, and will be training again. Hopefully I'll have the nerve and gumption to train with her.

TTFN