End of an Era

When I think back on the last 13 years of my life there have been a lot of incredible changes; getting married, having kids, moving to a new home to just name a few. Throughout all of these changes, there has been one constant (besides Brian). One thing that has been there for me through everything. Something that sometimes played a major role, like when we took Addy home for the first time, and sometimes in a less significant role, but nevertheless always constant. If it were up to me, this something would be around for a major future change as well, like when Addy learns to drive and gets her license. However, all good things must come to an end, and today is that day.

It was just over 13 years ago that I bought my first car (I didn't buy Mama Cass) and today I had to say good-bye. I don't particularly care about cars, but I honestly was thinking I would keep this car until Addy could drive and it would be her car. It is hard to believe how much our lives have changed from when we first got this car.  It saw me through every major change of the last decade. I know it's just a car and I know Brian, and especially the kids, are not at all sad to see it go. But, I am and I think she's earned this tribute.

We are now officially a family in the 'burbs. Brian now drives a minivan (he calls it a "man-van"), so I have his old car and so we say goodbye to the Mazda. Or "Mommy's stinky car" as Cameron calls it. She will be missed, even if it's only by me.

Ski Season

Yesterday Adelyn and Brian headed up for their 5th day of skiing together at the mountains this season. I am so impressed with the time and energy they've put into this ski season because it hasn't been easy. The drive is always a challenge and they've run into every possible scenario there is. On a good day it takes 1.5+ hours to get there, but they've had plenty of bad days too. Once the traffic was so backed up by 8:00 am that they just called it and turned around. Yesterday, they were on track to get there by 8:15 (meaning they left the house at 6:20 am) and then were stopped for 2 hours for avalanche control on the pass when they were only a few miles away from the slopes.
All of the hard work has paid off though and Addy is doing great! She's mastered the green slopes and even has done a few of the blue ones. The chairlifts are no big deal, she knows how to turn and she hardly falls at all after a full day of skiing!
I am so proud of the work this girl (and her daddy!) have put into this ski season.

Where Oh Where?

A couple of weeks ago we had Cameron's parent teacher conference. It was so enjoyable to listen to his teachers talk about not only what a good student Cameron is, but what a good friend he is. They gave examples of how he is always helping other students and is a real leader in the class. I thought I couldn't be more proud of my son, but then his teacher mentioned how he is probably close to be able to read. I mentioned that he actually had a book at home that he had been practicing and was reading the entire thing. His teachers asked if Cameron wanted to bring it in and read it to the class and Cameron said he wanted to do it the very next day!
Brian got video of Cameron reading "Where Oh Where Is Huggle Buggle Bear" to his class and I've was speechless! Cameron did an amazing job reading the entire book to the class, even taking time to show them pictures throughout! I am so proud of this amazing little man. Makes me wonder where oh where that little boy went because he is growing up in front of my eyes!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Recently we received a wonderful surprise in the mail from Aunt Heather. She had made the most amazing sweaters. For Chickens. Our Chickens. Sweaters for Chickens.

So it only feels appropriate that on Valentine's Day, we recognize the love we have (really Brian & the kids) for our chickens, Blitz & Potpie. Heather was so thoughtful she even included a 3rd sweater for when we introduce a new chicken to the flock.

Photos of our adorable loved ones (plus Addy & Cameron).

Thank you Heather! They are amazing!

Cover Models

These pictures are old now, but several months ago a friend of mine took some amazing pictures of the kids. Brian took them to the "shoot" and said they were so good he couldn't believe how lovey they were for every picture. They came up with their own poses and props and loved every minute of it. When I saw the pics for the first time I couldn't believe how grown up they look. Especially Addy, she looks so grown up to me in these pictures. Where does the time go?

Game Time

We won't talk about the "big game" that happened when Papa was here so we'll focus on all of the other games we played.  The kids got to show off their bike skills on the way home from school and Cameron got to show Papa his baseball skills. They did a lot of Legos and read a lot of books. Cameron showed off his new reading skills and Addy impressed with her math and typing skills. While the game that should not be mentioned was a disappointment, the silver lining is that Cameron came in 3rd place in his football picks (in a league my Dad does every year.) Both kids picked teams at the beginning of the year and by the end of the year Cameron had 3 of the 4 team from the play-offs picked. No matter who wins the SuperBowl Cam wins (and beat Papa in the pool!)
The kids got to school Papa in SORRY and they got him to play "I Can Do That" which is a Dr. Suess game that is great if you are a small child, less so as an adult. This post will never do it justice, but we were playing that game on Papa's last night here and he had a terrible pain in his neck. But my dad is a fierce competitor so he wasn't going to let a little pain get in his way of a competition. He drew the worst combination of cards (if you're an adult) which meant he had to crawl under the trick-a-ma-stick. Never to say he can't do something, my dad proceeded to shimmy his way under the stick, while clearly in pain. I was laughing so hard I could hardly breathe, but the whole time I was worried we were going to have to take him to the Dr. after because he wouldn't be able to move his neck. Luckily he made it through and could say "I can do that" when it was all done.

Party with Papa!

My Dad came to town last week (we missed you Kathy!) and we had a great time. The kids had been looking forward to this all month and were so excited to show Papa all of their new stuff and skills. They got to open some belated Christmas gifts and even got to go shopping with Papa to pick out their own stuff. One of their gifts was a set of dominos so they learned how to play that and Papa learned how to play Mexican train. We all went to the zoo one day and saw tons of cool animals. Of all of the animals at the zoo, the otters are the kids favorite. Hard to believe it, even though it was in the 40's the whole time, my dad was complaining about how cold he was. I would think all of those below zero days would have prepared him better!