tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54606086964178054012024-03-05T03:54:38.106-08:00A Tale of Two Fikelingsakamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-51297575169885565752012-08-16T10:23:00.003-07:002020-01-11T17:09:15.382-08:00I moved my blog!I moved this blog to Wordpress, since I have a store blog on Wordpress, and that makes it a little easier for me to post. Come find my blog at <a href="http://www.twofikelings.wordpress.com/">www.twofikelings.wordpress.com</a>!akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-81680823430339778912012-04-29T15:44:00.000-07:002020-01-11T17:14:14.319-08:00It's Baseball Season!Last Saturday we had Jack's first baseball game. This year he's playing farm ball, which is little more like baseball as you probably know it--except that the coaches pitch. He loves baseball, and he is pretty good at it too, so it's fun to watch him. He achieves a feeling of success when he catches a ball, or hits a pitch, or gets an opponent out, and you can see it on his face. When he finished his game last week he walked up and saw his audience and had the cutest grin, because he knew that he played well and that his family had watched him. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrOyh3DMYGnilgon9JxdEFrasbsANx1g-Z0lhqJ6jBHjmw42TrhPn0uSBvXDpoXQottiuHaEvWtLvZy8LXqNtOt39L8nsRkRLf8HueCMRMVfRWBUsd-G3m-Mz1nOSzRkMW5lMeGoOHs9U/s1600/IMG_5180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrOyh3DMYGnilgon9JxdEFrasbsANx1g-Z0lhqJ6jBHjmw42TrhPn0uSBvXDpoXQottiuHaEvWtLvZy8LXqNtOt39L8nsRkRLf8HueCMRMVfRWBUsd-G3m-Mz1nOSzRkMW5lMeGoOHs9U/s320/IMG_5180.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Will and Caroline were pretty cute watching the game together.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1deQyolqPEAPRnoobk8hyphenhyphenQ5Q5vck9NbcecXREvZj6g5BWqXhfSv-0CSzqXQtnaqb9J8asOZQKQCh0gzpRudcvlmWTwXFETCama527L5JKRws90PvheaTV4UFEY7vZe_-8Dj1mj0Zeq2w/s1600/IMG_5190.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1deQyolqPEAPRnoobk8hyphenhyphenQ5Q5vck9NbcecXREvZj6g5BWqXhfSv-0CSzqXQtnaqb9J8asOZQKQCh0gzpRudcvlmWTwXFETCama527L5JKRws90PvheaTV4UFEY7vZe_-8Dj1mj0Zeq2w/s320/IMG_5190.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkcfpiJ5ZfsCwdeyWMlGhaGzbEr34kgeQUj6qPOv9X8Ks0e4PaoNPagloDd4QyxtjcBvYn43KJopL5VKkVzd2mEUysml65qYa4YDwGXVsiZaAowQGsP_qerHjlC08Q9SyFbVVKYBic3B0/s1600/IMG_5310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkcfpiJ5ZfsCwdeyWMlGhaGzbEr34kgeQUj6qPOv9X8Ks0e4PaoNPagloDd4QyxtjcBvYn43KJopL5VKkVzd2mEUysml65qYa4YDwGXVsiZaAowQGsP_qerHjlC08Q9SyFbVVKYBic3B0/s320/IMG_5310.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I WILL get to third before the ball does!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80MXweDIyAyEbO5TLXAE1cIIXFhK2LhJ8ptKZPVZAaK4jPNXz0N2oF5nMl83ZZ_JpfT8W3flBWXQSXlqO2iKTPxYmhkfocve7zwoWxzOioBRBF93sajdHTpTau_Ie75ixoj1BzNGDiDU/s1600/IMG_5314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80MXweDIyAyEbO5TLXAE1cIIXFhK2LhJ8ptKZPVZAaK4jPNXz0N2oF5nMl83ZZ_JpfT8W3flBWXQSXlqO2iKTPxYmhkfocve7zwoWxzOioBRBF93sajdHTpTau_Ie75ixoj1BzNGDiDU/s320/IMG_5314.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hustling Home.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVb84nzkZA47FeAZNSzVdiVDbV9opElMWiiPXZXlmLcucdBBJwftw4YyQJFXf8MBfZBJ33YIUB-bvNJbhWUp6vquHaePGOWWKipM3c_ap8SnuD0iDJO2aChROuD3GSX1zxi0_rYSEXoYI/s1600/IMG_5316.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVb84nzkZA47FeAZNSzVdiVDbV9opElMWiiPXZXlmLcucdBBJwftw4YyQJFXf8MBfZBJ33YIUB-bvNJbhWUp6vquHaePGOWWKipM3c_ap8SnuD0iDJO2aChROuD3GSX1zxi0_rYSEXoYI/s320/IMG_5316.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my favorite sights: watching Trace<br />
feel well enough to help out.</td></tr>
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I took a few pictures, but mostly I watched the game. There's more to watch this year as they attempt to field the ball and make a play. You need to know which base to throw to, and what to do if a fly ball is caught. The mental part of the game is a lot more complex this year, and I think Jack learns something new each practice and each game. Where is the shortstop position? How to always cover your base. Which is the only base you can run through? What is a foul ball? <br />
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Jack works so hard at school, and he does well, but I don't think he often has a feeling of success. In baseball he has that feeling, and he knows that he can do it: so it's a joy to watch. Go Red Sox!akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-51530753112665849162012-04-19T21:19:00.004-07:002020-01-11T17:14:33.561-08:00Summer is coming . . .<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtIgU-wAZRk-dtxJOvCWLkX4lCiDzwVCAYhUOKEBBEfBiCCA7_XEJ4UoUf7g3EMpFom0OUA4xzi7ix6rhIObo-XHLU7HltsotN1KvyxyxSsTfLF0ihsR1ppSOvGMlIMw_BgqljFa2-z78/s1600/IMG_5270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtIgU-wAZRk-dtxJOvCWLkX4lCiDzwVCAYhUOKEBBEfBiCCA7_XEJ4UoUf7g3EMpFom0OUA4xzi7ix6rhIObo-XHLU7HltsotN1KvyxyxSsTfLF0ihsR1ppSOvGMlIMw_BgqljFa2-z78/s320/IMG_5270.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watermelon salad. Sure, it's not yet the season, <br />
but I was evoking summer! </td></tr>
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I am truly a summertime girl. I love all the seasons, and especially the cycle and the movement as we switch between them. But the warmth of summer, with her promise of an abundance of fruits and vegetables is my favorite. <br />
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Today was the first day this year that has said summer is coming. It actually felt warm outside (and there were eight inches of snow on the ground a mere week ago!). We didn't resurrect the outdoor cushions yet, but we put the glass back in the patio table, and we ate dinner outside.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfzfF0Li0e2ZoDkvMIG8X3OOvX1mR-gvm0tBCHayv4CeaCFYylYY1KliIVReUUJVRSFKDwDPUwiHlMJByXUn-Qj2btEmIjbPpHs8EWr-Uzhhw2OIbggdYeiJ8RCb9ZXSVBhHtalcXnK-0/s1600/IMG_5269.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfzfF0Li0e2ZoDkvMIG8X3OOvX1mR-gvm0tBCHayv4CeaCFYylYY1KliIVReUUJVRSFKDwDPUwiHlMJByXUn-Qj2btEmIjbPpHs8EWr-Uzhhw2OIbggdYeiJ8RCb9ZXSVBhHtalcXnK-0/s320/IMG_5269.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Around here we call these "big fat nasty burgers" <br />
The rule is: once you pick it up, you can't put it down!</td></tr>
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It was lovely to send the kids in to wash their hands, and to otherwise not stir from the back porch. Both kiddos were filthy--they'd been playing outside for hours in the dirt, and the evening finished with baths for all.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjici0AEb4KoZqSDXJKePXHsYPXoCGSo7x_wXbuwRoHyDte9hnohKqXj3Ext_bTokW0S3EF615UNorQ3ycZDVmtYMMNf9Slt8I805LR0VWcofwiUyyxpYGSfNXVkQpmq-LL_M8PYsNxLsI/s1600/IMG_5272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjici0AEb4KoZqSDXJKePXHsYPXoCGSo7x_wXbuwRoHyDte9hnohKqXj3Ext_bTokW0S3EF615UNorQ3ycZDVmtYMMNf9Slt8I805LR0VWcofwiUyyxpYGSfNXVkQpmq-LL_M8PYsNxLsI/s320/IMG_5272.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caroline's strategy was to eat her burger in pieces: <br />
first the bread, then the meat.</td></tr>
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In other news, we're looking forward to Jack's first baseball game on Saturday, and it appears the weather is going to cooperate. He's on the Red Sox this year, a farm team, so the coach pitches to them. Trace has been helping with the team a little, and Jack loves to play catch in the yard.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNrjPvGj0luo4CUKOpS6dJ30XAJmGRR4plam9b-qKRDK_vFP2BKo5fvMN7-eOyVLuPzWZjPWn9v9zLLIlMMCVoZPlAe-K9fCL2hi6OaZmy3tPMcwxS5O5HzognXmvZvNAlTKCNa9Tc-3M/s1600/IMG_5271.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNrjPvGj0luo4CUKOpS6dJ30XAJmGRR4plam9b-qKRDK_vFP2BKo5fvMN7-eOyVLuPzWZjPWn9v9zLLIlMMCVoZPlAe-K9fCL2hi6OaZmy3tPMcwxS5O5HzognXmvZvNAlTKCNa9Tc-3M/s320/IMG_5271.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you fit that in your mouth Jack?</td></tr>
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I hope wherever you are the the weather is sunny and there's a hint of summer in the air!<br />
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akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-54164121999731062262012-03-25T20:51:00.000-07:002020-01-11T17:15:18.367-08:00A Crafty Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today was a crafty day around our house. Jack had a cold, so we stayed home, and took the opportunity to paint canvases and decorate them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4vPk3ht958is5gs177BCoBnbePRfhXJe1qD86jlmCZeepP2Lg1n2O-Asim71QZyIrVRR__3hYzReUMkKljCud2hsAFPmRkwoHia6fQlyXXS-vq_6nk-J_uhfGA6_caWoMWoh_nOD3EfU/s1600/IMG_5225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4vPk3ht958is5gs177BCoBnbePRfhXJe1qD86jlmCZeepP2Lg1n2O-Asim71QZyIrVRR__3hYzReUMkKljCud2hsAFPmRkwoHia6fQlyXXS-vq_6nk-J_uhfGA6_caWoMWoh_nOD3EfU/s320/IMG_5225.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Caroline chose two small square canvases, which she painted pink and purple. Jack painted one larger piece turquoise.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgldIFe4-y8zCXDl8g-th1DaJxsHQKYmf8U-oqO17PxgJmu72HoNNeSoWSUbJYZTktgIhlP4p6uLK21BhD7M3haUA9VkjAwD6kuKNlJ4M5Zsr5dG7gICy7ZyVuMVgQG3xC5HIPu1sSnKs8/s1600/IMG_5231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgldIFe4-y8zCXDl8g-th1DaJxsHQKYmf8U-oqO17PxgJmu72HoNNeSoWSUbJYZTktgIhlP4p6uLK21BhD7M3haUA9VkjAwD6kuKNlJ4M5Zsr5dG7gICy7ZyVuMVgQG3xC5HIPu1sSnKs8/s320/IMG_5231.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiShlWsZPLhfzvXOmKPAhUTlKYDFNZ0csBg3P9lkFbC9MD3gZyC2PPgEjIERRcwYzJLFYOIHXV5b09NmlAWByqrjRZ5B61b-Yqc4tcWchp9OOhDOxxr1P2MkPlPuJeePD3KQnj7RAEUTI8/s1600/IMG_5232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiShlWsZPLhfzvXOmKPAhUTlKYDFNZ0csBg3P9lkFbC9MD3gZyC2PPgEjIERRcwYzJLFYOIHXV5b09NmlAWByqrjRZ5B61b-Yqc4tcWchp9OOhDOxxr1P2MkPlPuJeePD3KQnj7RAEUTI8/s320/IMG_5232.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Then we took stencils (which each child had chosen) and black Sharpies, and added a silhouette. Caroline chose two horses:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlPeF5yMX0YcyAj5Z5GnDS3ZbsCzh2fc_ucguecKRzm0kfkj7AY6qKk-pcXnfODyJVwqyoE9X077kdXGE8VEmoBDapf94W-iAKis_lFSqRqWB3THTQbdEe6yNQ0DIHfNoMTL8AEWOijxo/s1600/IMG_5234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlPeF5yMX0YcyAj5Z5GnDS3ZbsCzh2fc_ucguecKRzm0kfkj7AY6qKk-pcXnfODyJVwqyoE9X077kdXGE8VEmoBDapf94W-iAKis_lFSqRqWB3THTQbdEe6yNQ0DIHfNoMTL8AEWOijxo/s320/IMG_5234.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQE-7hFuwWoVwqFa8zF0mC3p4eFx-qlgrmY2uikRfQztwKK2lO49wDb47CfkpErNUqgdAytnMmcEsL6mJvI_9JVGX1T_b865iteiUx4aPmNOqRENcLG4Yd-CLNL_Pm-u7IFQYERyueusY/s1600/IMG_5236.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQE-7hFuwWoVwqFa8zF0mC3p4eFx-qlgrmY2uikRfQztwKK2lO49wDb47CfkpErNUqgdAytnMmcEsL6mJvI_9JVGX1T_b865iteiUx4aPmNOqRENcLG4Yd-CLNL_Pm-u7IFQYERyueusY/s320/IMG_5236.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> And Jack chose a hummingbird with flowers. Didn't they turn out great? It was a very simple project for a snowy day.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqms7ueS3pXoxoCwuvkMxrX2y6nHaJwAfb9Ls0-LAGQAlsVmAn_Lq6EDa_7biSzvZJGPR5a63al5foheMZpc-FrRTwpLREC3BQO2HIv77awen5abDt5g20Ne7lzci6loQITl-CPdDYTMs/s1600/IMG_5240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqms7ueS3pXoxoCwuvkMxrX2y6nHaJwAfb9Ls0-LAGQAlsVmAn_Lq6EDa_7biSzvZJGPR5a63al5foheMZpc-FrRTwpLREC3BQO2HIv77awen5abDt5g20Ne7lzci6loQITl-CPdDYTMs/s320/IMG_5240.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now Caroline didn't make it in any of these pictures, and that's because she was busy making another craft with her Dad. That's right, Mr. Trace Fike made a craft today. In fact, he did much more than that: he actually made a poncho for his daughter, complete with "puff balls and flowers," as she requested. Apparently Trace and Caroline had a conversation last night about a poncho that her friend Marilyn has, which she likes. He told her that he would make her one today, and so he did. Can you believe it? I thought he was kidding when he told me--but no, he was serious. And so, the pictures of Trace and Caroline:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoeVzxzQ3R7ehx38jIi579yLxS03ShtuJl2ulIzr5nvC-QtR1tiqM-DLy5nqnKCcbGWNChPHAfqGq2K22u4UwdKz-eV2C01uuTTZRd2rnmA6d3w-rDpA8E12r8zqQToQeGnkh3a_e2qMw/s1600/IMG_5221_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoeVzxzQ3R7ehx38jIi579yLxS03ShtuJl2ulIzr5nvC-QtR1tiqM-DLy5nqnKCcbGWNChPHAfqGq2K22u4UwdKz-eV2C01uuTTZRd2rnmA6d3w-rDpA8E12r8zqQToQeGnkh3a_e2qMw/s320/IMG_5221_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Of course you use a tape measure to make a square of fabric!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRzOBNfyLinLgWXlfHNEolcZ6uN-Xc4U-Obk6tyiKIW4jX3_ha5660Bj-9NNfvNT9gcyGV2G9J1BSTeiklVCeCi1Zc2yeLe_OFlzwZExTNQQJnHKnQ9yYEncEHOWDfv6eEWnNzNH3vVdU/s1600/IMG_5223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRzOBNfyLinLgWXlfHNEolcZ6uN-Xc4U-Obk6tyiKIW4jX3_ha5660Bj-9NNfvNT9gcyGV2G9J1BSTeiklVCeCi1Zc2yeLe_OFlzwZExTNQQJnHKnQ9yYEncEHOWDfv6eEWnNzNH3vVdU/s320/IMG_5223.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Careful measuring.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> First try-on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Final draft, with pom-poms and a flower, as requested. And yes, he made the poncho for Barbie too. This is one amazing man that I married!</span></div>
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akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-80600839387738079162011-11-06T13:26:00.000-08:002020-01-11T17:16:10.330-08:00Toby Tiger<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We have a cat, and we get to keep him forever, as the kids say. This is to distinguish him from the stray, who only comes by once in a while. We picked him up from our local animal shelter last Thursday, and he's been warming up to us a little more each day. He might be nocturnal: today he played with a rubber ball from 4 am to 8 am, and he's been sleeping ever since. He likes to hide and sleep up high. Right now he's resting in a cupboard in Trace's closet: at least three feet off the ground. Most of the night he was sleeping on the bed with Trace and I--he's pretty friendly at night. And boy oh boy, his purr machine works perfectly: he can purr for hours during the night. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">After tossing around a few names for a day (including Topaz, November's orange birthstone which would be appropriate but difficult to pronounce, don't you think?) we settled on Toby Tiger. So here you go, meet Toby Tiger.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack cuddling with Toby Tiger.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKw1UKs4jUubXEfR-VpqKazSAV_lhB91z90wKhs4XXjWbO1UnA_Lu7RXvvcwtmdFsJdBVXhZ_PONuhxoMTJLBkoKrKPuolLc7WVzhbe7OegQgyslPuFw77ApP-0yI9Zmoo71K1JKfiGdo/s1600/toby+tiger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKw1UKs4jUubXEfR-VpqKazSAV_lhB91z90wKhs4XXjWbO1UnA_Lu7RXvvcwtmdFsJdBVXhZ_PONuhxoMTJLBkoKrKPuolLc7WVzhbe7OegQgyslPuFw77ApP-0yI9Zmoo71K1JKfiGdo/s320/toby+tiger.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comfortable in Trace's closet.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIoaOkRlYs0PQOjQMH7iQtuOPAbe_0xV4-wGMMZ1ZOFuzGg8A5DpFPVmEaL2kYGmPMqJWOibqutWNv_UuPEssoyBeWvSv-Q3XGdwIlNfwypzHSNimOIMFmWSyqGKBNPFH1Nan2qdZirC8/s1600/sleeping+comfortably.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIoaOkRlYs0PQOjQMH7iQtuOPAbe_0xV4-wGMMZ1ZOFuzGg8A5DpFPVmEaL2kYGmPMqJWOibqutWNv_UuPEssoyBeWvSv-Q3XGdwIlNfwypzHSNimOIMFmWSyqGKBNPFH1Nan2qdZirC8/s320/sleeping+comfortably.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sleeping together. Too cute!</td></tr>
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akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-16636728059968029642011-11-02T08:05:00.000-07:002020-01-11T17:16:29.565-08:00Halloween 2011<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Halloween is a busy day around here. There's a preschool trick-or-treat around the downtown stores, and then in the evening we always trick or treat around our neighborhood. This year was no exception, although it's hard to believe that after six years, this will be my last year taking a child around downtown. These kiddos are getting big!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This year Caroline was a character from her newest favorite book, </span><a href="http://www.ladybuggirl.com/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ladybug Girl</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. The girl in the book is even named Lulu, and since we call our girl Carol-lou, or Lou, or Lula, she seems like a perfect match. Caroline was extra excited because she had outgrown her rainboots last year, and we've been waiting for her size to come in at the army surplus store down the street--and on the weekend before Halloween they finally did: so my ladybug girl had ladybug rainboots to wear just like the ones in the story. I don't think you can see them in any of these pictures, but they might make it into some other photos this winter. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vVmWLDfb0phbu6_gky1oL9SaoB3BwtkoCpvINpqkRtor8NZKB7HuqzoutcDsP29Poe8BBhrJ-Vq2fZBEeFfHG6ht8XtHhP708I-iI02cH3i6zFRTHZK3BewRUvpfa_MLrnn4eHHgTJY/s1600/IMG_4787.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vVmWLDfb0phbu6_gky1oL9SaoB3BwtkoCpvINpqkRtor8NZKB7HuqzoutcDsP29Poe8BBhrJ-Vq2fZBEeFfHG6ht8XtHhP708I-iI02cH3i6zFRTHZK3BewRUvpfa_MLrnn4eHHgTJY/s320/IMG_4787.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jack was a pirate again this year, with the addition of his talking parrot, which was fun to take to school. He was wanting to be something scary, and we decided that the parrot startling people would be scary enough (just ask Grandma Jo--once the parrot said something when she was babysitting and the power had unexpectedly gone out. That parrot can be scary!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The rest of the pictures tell the story of our day. First we have Caroline with her best monkey friend Marilyn, ready to go visit the downtown shops.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Lindsey, Graham, Marilyn, Caroline and I. Check out the next picture for an explanation of my outfit. I am awfully lucky to have such a close friend who lives so near, and with kids similar ages. Marilyn and Caroline also go to preschool together, and they're such good friends that Linds and I have both mistakenly called them Mar-oline and Car-ilyn.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Caroline as a pumpkin. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Do we look alike? Could we be sisters? We were Waldo for Halloween--or actually one of the other girls at the store, Khrista, was Waldo, and we were the imitators. Or maybe we were Wenda?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Two kiddos ready to go trick or treating around the neighborhood. Doesn't that pirate look tough? He's pretty good at saying "Arrrgh matey," "batten down the hatches," and "shiver me timbers." Trace even taught him a pirate joke: where do all pirates come from? Arrrrgh-kansas. I'm not sure Jack knows why it's funny, but he repeats it with a nice growl!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oh, in the middle of the day Caroline had her Monday ballet practice. In the midst of getting two kids, their costumes, and a Halloween snack for Jack's class (</span><a href="http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/apple-bites-688193/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">this</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> was easy and cute, but time-consuming), I forgot Caroline's ballet bag with her ballet and tap shoes in it. The first part of her class is ballet, and then the last fifteen minutes they work on their tap moves. I ran home and got her shoes, so I missed the ballet, but I thought I'd share this video I took of the little girls, in costume, practicing their tap to Kermit the Frog's Happy Feet. Too cute!</span></div>
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akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-58659297417332735182011-10-25T22:12:00.000-07:002020-01-11T17:17:28.275-08:00Caroline can ride a bike!<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's still October, so hopefully Grandma Jo can see these videos. Caroline has been getting really good on her balance bike, so today we went for a bike ride and voila! she's a bike rider. Aunt Becky stopped by this afternoon by surprise and we went outside to demonstrate Caroline's new skill, this time with a camera. Here's three videos of the novice bike rider and her brother. In the final video she's trying to get started uphill, and you can see how her balance bike skills come into play: she gets herself going (eventually), and I never help her. She figured this out on her own, because she wants to ride in the Agony with her Aunt Becky someday. Well done Caroline!</span></div>
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akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-84842180761132021352011-10-25T21:55:00.000-07:002011-10-25T21:55:08.267-07:00The Cat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saturday at our house, we've had a cat. She showed up on Saturday, and by yesterday she was a well-loved member of the family. Today she has disappeared again (and yes, we called the hotlines and reported a found cat--and ran an ad in our local paper and radio station) and we are once again a pet-less family. We sure had fun with her while she was here!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_lC8EoJxa2giX6Dxp-SRt33eA1AlOcrIIZiPBqrLAV742XOKY4sGBEBcCQ-KauPKsgquw2gww1Y2CYSuDqFuVZvrEY6vABN6qaTawY8Xr2mTR7BTrsCeIuRCZEc-BvUVw44YBkatAds/s1600/IMG_4635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_lC8EoJxa2giX6Dxp-SRt33eA1AlOcrIIZiPBqrLAV742XOKY4sGBEBcCQ-KauPKsgquw2gww1Y2CYSuDqFuVZvrEY6vABN6qaTawY8Xr2mTR7BTrsCeIuRCZEc-BvUVw44YBkatAds/s320/IMG_4635.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Reading a book with Trace and Caroline.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNgr1Z8dWuXHGDGyUMy-XSqujq_f2GrS1XYYtclqgbuWMlmS82JWmU7re2ruOLO32py14P9XA0x3npRN0wZBnaAIxFT3Bi8DP-Fvc21W4QLrZs4IrQEVeqCdJ9FFPAnXrqzQb63dPZekA/s1600/IMG_4732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNgr1Z8dWuXHGDGyUMy-XSqujq_f2GrS1XYYtclqgbuWMlmS82JWmU7re2ruOLO32py14P9XA0x3npRN0wZBnaAIxFT3Bi8DP-Fvc21W4QLrZs4IrQEVeqCdJ9FFPAnXrqzQb63dPZekA/s320/IMG_4732.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Making herself comfortable on the couch.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaakYr_ajpf-RQ8pHs5WGDCshOtlqWgG95RHVWyycosXfHBji5lzZO2vYyK_glJAmigaRhcP2jarMQAaWwPtAkIOWO_tz2IaF1XyTjFwnQRohZ-6sTtP2Ucu00aiYlqCrvD9AbI7czl4g/s1600/IMG_4729.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaakYr_ajpf-RQ8pHs5WGDCshOtlqWgG95RHVWyycosXfHBji5lzZO2vYyK_glJAmigaRhcP2jarMQAaWwPtAkIOWO_tz2IaF1XyTjFwnQRohZ-6sTtP2Ucu00aiYlqCrvD9AbI7czl4g/s320/IMG_4729.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Sleeping with Jack.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirGjvnehp4R1SF3RLRnyEbaNsjzYUVzKcHVqDu-rf2bfyTuH6haG8Tc-lee8TSgz0YpPXklN_d2Cl_fdpALoMqyGTXcviKuO1sC1yaLO-hJsplsINkWOVZNT_yoqUWeHHXqlwBdQDaW3U/s1600/IMG_4730.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirGjvnehp4R1SF3RLRnyEbaNsjzYUVzKcHVqDu-rf2bfyTuH6haG8Tc-lee8TSgz0YpPXklN_d2Cl_fdpALoMqyGTXcviKuO1sC1yaLO-hJsplsINkWOVZNT_yoqUWeHHXqlwBdQDaW3U/s320/IMG_4730.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> At some point in our relationship, Trace assured me that he wasn't a cat lover. Clearly that was not true!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj12w4JKSXGD3k9YsQtVVUDxXHtSQHk-JqLKiNJDvMVIGTBbEYwgY5QDGW5ue5WgfCvOeACk6JMIXqJM7RSKcNueJCs75gEJlpSt9aCCrNbM6YL6aPVaLxSQf8_xPrxBxmxEw1PjrX-JH8/s1600/IMG_4720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj12w4JKSXGD3k9YsQtVVUDxXHtSQHk-JqLKiNJDvMVIGTBbEYwgY5QDGW5ue5WgfCvOeACk6JMIXqJM7RSKcNueJCs75gEJlpSt9aCCrNbM6YL6aPVaLxSQf8_xPrxBxmxEw1PjrX-JH8/s320/IMG_4720.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Playing outside--she even caught a lizard for us (perhaps to endear herself to Trace?), and then lost it in the house. I'm choosing to believe the lizard went out the door, because I can't find it!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We all enjoyed the cat so much, don't be surprised if we adopt one soon. She was charming.</span></div>akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-73767804337495641122011-10-25T21:21:00.000-07:002011-10-25T21:21:48.261-07:00And furthermore . . .<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9w1HLK-xP5eHBOc7qp1PsYKVsY2jdCG-i-wUtM3h8r2jnjBVWcN1FWx_b1qMEYEg4SFr1ihKWbvtbDpnuM-E-VMCboKsxPO-Z5yYYdbxZFvSAVV3hjaO5f8B2_mwxTBWi77U87HlGWQ/s1600/pumpkins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="156" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9w1HLK-xP5eHBOc7qp1PsYKVsY2jdCG-i-wUtM3h8r2jnjBVWcN1FWx_b1qMEYEg4SFr1ihKWbvtbDpnuM-E-VMCboKsxPO-Z5yYYdbxZFvSAVV3hjaO5f8B2_mwxTBWi77U87HlGWQ/s320/pumpkins.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In case you thought the pumpkin fun was over, here's a shot of the four additional pumpkins we've carved in the last week. I actually had nothing to do with these pumpkins, beyond buying them. The amazing Ford truck was of course done by the talented Will Fike, and I believe that the other three were done by my creative husband. From left to right we've got a crow, Jack's spider, the cat, the Ford, Lightning McQueen, and Snow White (did you know Disney has free pumpkin templates on their </span><a href="http://family.go.com/disney/pkg-disney-parties-and-holidays/pkg-pumpkin-templates/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">website</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">--apparently Trace does!). </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg7knVQncwGYgKZgX0ZW_sNpWst72gUHRhCW_eZVNEVaq64GyxNuuoYn2vq35DcylLijcrEUTQEMbEQnAIllMmRybp7yi_u3qij2oFxlhYnWUXUGLtIHH7cEr4APjJ1v-U_EVm6HW8hSQ/s1600/IMG_4735.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg7knVQncwGYgKZgX0ZW_sNpWst72gUHRhCW_eZVNEVaq64GyxNuuoYn2vq35DcylLijcrEUTQEMbEQnAIllMmRybp7yi_u3qij2oFxlhYnWUXUGLtIHH7cEr4APjJ1v-U_EVm6HW8hSQ/s320/IMG_4735.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Will working on his truck which he drew freehand!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-55483132930469357392011-10-20T13:03:00.000-07:002020-01-11T17:18:13.379-08:00Pumpkin Fun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQHfDFQhBnKX6Lq9Cut_pTg_FNHWocMK5c-vQy-W1fQcsyrUAZ8kq913DGrrMl7WhzeuN_WP-0ib9NkRJ1yf6sYJu1SxWqcUsW6ngXv_n0qEP89zMhHHIsBLijWerf7Jx4QlvnCKTHbw/s1600/IMG_4698.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In their four and six years, my kids have never carved a pumpkin. They've painted them, drawn on them, and decorated them in other ways, but we've never carved one before. Come to find out, Trace has never carved one before either, so this was a first for our family. We all had a blast!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> These first two pictures are the pumpkins the kids did themselves, with sharpies. This one is Jack's, and this pumpkin came out of our garden! Jack made it scary with silver sharpie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is Caroline's, and it's intended to be cute. I think she succeeded! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These are the bouquets the kids have been picking with fall flowers and leaves. Aren't they sweet? One has been added every day this week. The little perfectly round pumpkin in the middle came from our garden too, and we're convinced that it's the cutest pumpkin ever--but we might have a little gardener's pride.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is Caroline scooping out the innards of her pumpkin. She didn't love doing it like I thought she would--she said it felt like spider webs. I told her it was more like spaghetti, so then she was willing to help.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCVOGpl115mKsyCnHtOyk27rTbgYow2AET02yhJIXFJrRXokc-kEocn6BK7mCWDxTXgNSMEub6wq76jgDYG0iV2V1Atu54A3955sNnRjDCsXpl-o1Oq7dVARKC4374WTpG3KtDIC8M1Ns/s1600/IMG_4659.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCVOGpl115mKsyCnHtOyk27rTbgYow2AET02yhJIXFJrRXokc-kEocn6BK7mCWDxTXgNSMEub6wq76jgDYG0iV2V1Atu54A3955sNnRjDCsXpl-o1Oq7dVARKC4374WTpG3KtDIC8M1Ns/s320/IMG_4659.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trace used the big knife and cut the pumpkins open. I guess I have these two pictures in the wrong order.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0cj1AgRTQn9BnmKVqdG2ix8ysu_IBRgEs23xeefXZnnU_2BW43PjGWWwuRnhkwu92MIp2_xVwka5XnlX3JAPTL6CaS0Ye3oUee_Rbdnjixl5g1jfxMm_6t1iqdqUVmeKl2djBya2ff28/s1600/IMG_4654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0cj1AgRTQn9BnmKVqdG2ix8ysu_IBRgEs23xeefXZnnU_2BW43PjGWWwuRnhkwu92MIp2_xVwka5XnlX3JAPTL6CaS0Ye3oUee_Rbdnjixl5g1jfxMm_6t1iqdqUVmeKl2djBya2ff28/s320/IMG_4654.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Caroline took this picture of Jack and I working on his spider pumpkin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jack worked hard on this pumpkin. We printed a spider template from online, traced it, and then carefully cut it. He and I worked together, and our hands were tired by the end!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In this picture he's showing the scary drawings he did on this lid of his pumpkin. There's a spider and a few jack-o-lanterns.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Av5AHId2-arfKHlNePS4SBg_7-5h-TbGLfv2RLsBsx2GbhdweQBzHqbv6OWaTPTDxl5DSBg1HiTI1AWvyvsG2zxFPUMquNY9i4ETAV9aC7g4gXTqLCcRnXIYURXvynbBi7obIyXto_A/s1600/IMG_4692_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Av5AHId2-arfKHlNePS4SBg_7-5h-TbGLfv2RLsBsx2GbhdweQBzHqbv6OWaTPTDxl5DSBg1HiTI1AWvyvsG2zxFPUMquNY9i4ETAV9aC7g4gXTqLCcRnXIYURXvynbBi7obIyXto_A/s320/IMG_4692_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trace carved Caroline's pumpkin, with her input. She had chosen a large pumpkin, and then she wanted it carved into a kitty cat. That was a little complicated for a four year old, but she was willing to watch Daddy work on it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trace working hard. I think his hands got tired too!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Posing for me with their pumpkin. Cute!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtAaNBUJSPtdVC-pyTobu3wJCLm0Unl8CWazs_U4MsA-0TN9qeb4q-VqhTtt92W14ek-g2iZBMCYebd_OPHv6dVMHTx0u64X7UN2dK7VhF2D4_xaIDBrz19-Lr4MW7OtIuPopdK4TxdlI/s1600/IMG_4701_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtAaNBUJSPtdVC-pyTobu3wJCLm0Unl8CWazs_U4MsA-0TN9qeb4q-VqhTtt92W14ek-g2iZBMCYebd_OPHv6dVMHTx0u64X7UN2dK7VhF2D4_xaIDBrz19-Lr4MW7OtIuPopdK4TxdlI/s320/IMG_4701_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While Trace and Caroline were working on the cat, Jack turned his pumpkin around and drew his own face and then carved it entirely himself. Here's his proud smile for a job well done. Now he's got a reversible pumpkin: spider/jack-o-lantern.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jack's pumpkin face.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Two lit pumpkins sitting on the front porch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Putting in the candles was the best part--both kiddos had a giant grin when they saw these faces smiling at them! It was great fun for all of us!</span><br />
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akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-52644168814213256562011-10-08T17:42:00.000-07:002011-10-08T17:42:04.996-07:00For Grandma Jo<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My mom asked for videos of her grandkids, since her internet is half price in Papua New Guinea this month. I wish my internet would go half price for a month! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a video I took of Caroline yesterday, explaining what she and Jack had been playing for the last hour or so. While she's talking she's attempting to fit a phone, a pig pen and a small baby doll into a water bottle holder that's around her waist. She's wearing her helmet because she was originally riding her bike--so she's very safe. Here you go Mom: in the words of a four year old.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzYlmrmmolvMAp-LpkUFVfR6wpcQU9RPId3ectokalLmwKp_A65xNhMVZThWV--0Zb4ldn6Hn_g0LFT4RUwvQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-90588676559592703992011-09-25T21:05:00.000-07:002011-09-25T21:05:06.812-07:00Joyful Kids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday we decided spur of the moment to head up to Lake Tahoe for an overnight trip. We made it there in time for dinner, and then a long session of putting the kids to bed. This morning they were both up early and eager to get to the hotel pool. For over two hours we all played in the water--even Trace was able to get in for a bit--and relaxed as a family. It felt like twenty-four hours to me,with no dishes to wash or laundry even a remote possibility. My only job was to play with my kids. That makes me relaxed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I think the best part of our quick trip came after lunch, which we ate on the shore of Lake Tahoe. It was a wonderful meal, followed by a walk outside on the beach. The waves today were as big as I've ever seen on Tahoe, so I wasn't too worried about Jack and Caroline getting wet--it was really windy, with threatening clouds overhead. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I was wrong. They started simply playing with the waves, staying out of the water, especially Caroline, who was running away from them before they got within four feet of her.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqS_cubQS87Gy_OS_7K1stsnETjjYl1TNlXoKlhq1985kLLyvVvsQyzlopefu0gbS_JMEHhsj0vIP2tMWWLJAKZEqPWvQFrkniX-yfh5vyhQQ5lB4F25cyojMuiMDfY-xktD1eAWWxvg/s1600/IMG_4520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqS_cubQS87Gy_OS_7K1stsnETjjYl1TNlXoKlhq1985kLLyvVvsQyzlopefu0gbS_JMEHhsj0vIP2tMWWLJAKZEqPWvQFrkniX-yfh5vyhQQ5lB4F25cyojMuiMDfY-xktD1eAWWxvg/s320/IMG_4520.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Jack's still dry in this picture, but getting close to the waves, with a feather "treasure" in his hand.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28qBEyQ-rFsefXw-snb52G1IshXBr7Ycl24jxkgHaMmdNWgwdL8Qg6IZJZMyQbUIwGQzsUqXDXIf8xC_djN2GwAqznphxTpRHoJKqlhwvW1dSmZ3iWLcHr-5fYMHtC09z7o1fUCUtI6g/s1600/IMG_4524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28qBEyQ-rFsefXw-snb52G1IshXBr7Ycl24jxkgHaMmdNWgwdL8Qg6IZJZMyQbUIwGQzsUqXDXIf8xC_djN2GwAqznphxTpRHoJKqlhwvW1dSmZ3iWLcHr-5fYMHtC09z7o1fUCUtI6g/s320/IMG_4524.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Trace watched all the action from up by the firepit, with his foot elevated. Caroline kept running up to tell him about the waves. In the last eight weeks Trace has been at home since his surgery they've become fast friends. It's a sweet thing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Then Jack kept getting closer, and his sister did too!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They played chicken with those freezing cold waves, laughing their heads off, for as long as their mother would let them. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE15h_REPojlol_0IVBnd5hu_D-vYSItKruFBT1hSoaecD6X12Ort_4Sp1Oqxyq_wh25kF7EejWEja8PUW6xh9EsUQaqqNTLclDtRhGeApCJV-Wiel6SYh6w9O01prHb9eUEthJP-R5vw/s1600/IMG_4548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE15h_REPojlol_0IVBnd5hu_D-vYSItKruFBT1hSoaecD6X12Ort_4Sp1Oqxyq_wh25kF7EejWEja8PUW6xh9EsUQaqqNTLclDtRhGeApCJV-Wiel6SYh6w9O01prHb9eUEthJP-R5vw/s320/IMG_4548.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Caroline is wet now!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNjJAUIQI3k9__FpSEyRBIJnHVf9kQcw5ShZFlKCFQVYgpmDLMKvopGKVfwcqdAli_lkyYXru3GtnYvuNNdAr31oi6qrYjoQ5sgivFeEZIxh_ExQ2elA1F8810etl7DZU6MI3pAYz0xdI/s1600/IMG_4558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNjJAUIQI3k9__FpSEyRBIJnHVf9kQcw5ShZFlKCFQVYgpmDLMKvopGKVfwcqdAli_lkyYXru3GtnYvuNNdAr31oi6qrYjoQ5sgivFeEZIxh_ExQ2elA1F8810etl7DZU6MI3pAYz0xdI/s320/IMG_4558.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> You can see how choppy the water is in this picture.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4mtpNM5rpg5tksiFtA-uZgkRrjXxu4Ie_B75w4PWK_2aBEqsOhaGBQy9hN6foRUlN-iuY7aUe5i7MEEN_xDTNXVerdVt6hpfN1ZjBSqKuq8A8nF7l7Z3n0cJcBui6abVddt5l4UNP0y4/s1600/IMG_4560.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4mtpNM5rpg5tksiFtA-uZgkRrjXxu4Ie_B75w4PWK_2aBEqsOhaGBQy9hN6foRUlN-iuY7aUe5i7MEEN_xDTNXVerdVt6hpfN1ZjBSqKuq8A8nF7l7Z3n0cJcBui6abVddt5l4UNP0y4/s320/IMG_4560.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The ballerina was slowly getting braver, and following her brother further in.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJ-qpP09JWrw9t6PBSw66hLGuGCApCKanb4XzS0TMnnd4d-zvk5_cYemk8lADX5nJkMRMg5kcynBE70m9K2krgbjf0inGOY9Z6hc5CfdY7C3BMAkGTjawk4FDQ7oSBDHcRsklcIJ9CPw/s1600/IMG_4561.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJ-qpP09JWrw9t6PBSw66hLGuGCApCKanb4XzS0TMnnd4d-zvk5_cYemk8lADX5nJkMRMg5kcynBE70m9K2krgbjf0inGOY9Z6hc5CfdY7C3BMAkGTjawk4FDQ7oSBDHcRsklcIJ9CPw/s320/IMG_4561.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jack is about to get whacked with a big wave. I think this is the one that knocked him down. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDASAm8maYB_RLDzQZI_4JO37ijzkTP1XL0XA8CT7l2TF_JZtqbcQFK7UmHO-jC7kq7V7hD5XWtruzYTBS_p_AGM-AXJL7p0jE1xJPESN5enC1kSaX0BXO9CWzQiSE7QItG-iapeYciMI/s1600/IMG_4562.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDASAm8maYB_RLDzQZI_4JO37ijzkTP1XL0XA8CT7l2TF_JZtqbcQFK7UmHO-jC7kq7V7hD5XWtruzYTBS_p_AGM-AXJL7p0jE1xJPESN5enC1kSaX0BXO9CWzQiSE7QItG-iapeYciMI/s320/IMG_4562.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Caroline running.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkZQC0QinSO-WH6kLw_B5ZqQF_S7zXNlSvlWeRjPEmtoONV305viLl9ygi2ew_cFRgiLOy0mjKVYr537gjJrEPK4t2sgfdIqhx3_dCey3zHVs1_1Mh7I-bKOj8IPuzjcY0vCcH_ZIK-A/s1600/IMG_4570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkZQC0QinSO-WH6kLw_B5ZqQF_S7zXNlSvlWeRjPEmtoONV305viLl9ygi2ew_cFRgiLOy0mjKVYr537gjJrEPK4t2sgfdIqhx3_dCey3zHVs1_1Mh7I-bKOj8IPuzjcY0vCcH_ZIK-A/s320/IMG_4570.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> This doesn't even look like Caroline because she's contorted her face in such a gleeful manner.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzlE43CuzpwmOir7RKHW7cCvez1v-tYh6ZngAo8Rfg9GtvAl1-5ISadOpmuyyIPIwu8YTOnA6p1v7FdUYBsT74zZCCFanVZDygfzXgmLYSiwXBAiq-mfY5Snsxrz4u6-sPB-ys3FKY8k4/s1600/IMG_4571.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzlE43CuzpwmOir7RKHW7cCvez1v-tYh6ZngAo8Rfg9GtvAl1-5ISadOpmuyyIPIwu8YTOnA6p1v7FdUYBsT74zZCCFanVZDygfzXgmLYSiwXBAiq-mfY5Snsxrz4u6-sPB-ys3FKY8k4/s320/IMG_4571.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Not a good picture of Jack, but don't you love that toothless grin? Notice his entire face has been splashed at this point.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Eg1YVAcrWKeCEMIfJIxOQZ6pRe2pcFba0mK-TM59biluYWR0qTeJN7WF9ZR_i9TOs79z1Be-UZgI0Oz8OpbAmo919upoBQUx_YViBxicwWZciz_sOGPQm97Bz5QQ2m7IQYNv1j87AR4/s1600/IMG_4574.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Eg1YVAcrWKeCEMIfJIxOQZ6pRe2pcFba0mK-TM59biluYWR0qTeJN7WF9ZR_i9TOs79z1Be-UZgI0Oz8OpbAmo919upoBQUx_YViBxicwWZciz_sOGPQm97Bz5QQ2m7IQYNv1j87AR4/s320/IMG_4574.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Whoa, now you're getting deep enough to make me worried about needing to come in after you!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUS8C47wQnE4SK6WthIZcrpiKsJW7P3TJAx_9jU3uj07Af20OvQtosgXIrGvdJ7qDq7ZS2C6WXGmETI0WklnvVKuQLZvCQxIeWQIUxolvFqok4dOoD5eQjFot6GYHd5K4TNo-4CBqEab4/s1600/IMG_4575.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUS8C47wQnE4SK6WthIZcrpiKsJW7P3TJAx_9jU3uj07Af20OvQtosgXIrGvdJ7qDq7ZS2C6WXGmETI0WklnvVKuQLZvCQxIeWQIUxolvFqok4dOoD5eQjFot6GYHd5K4TNo-4CBqEab4/s320/IMG_4575.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Time's up. Two soaked and happy kids!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjl8qJJbEOPzSZGMGsD1ZnoRSCk7HP5m1y8yTWK8-J9nsSUnZ56pn8_VfnCmyfLLQDfCx8z0TJI1Jt6c1XigTHaoGXTfTWTDbtmYj0W8e3vpDvqk1qJAVMunF_NxyXhHceWjPzehbYlC4/s1600/IMG_4578.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjl8qJJbEOPzSZGMGsD1ZnoRSCk7HP5m1y8yTWK8-J9nsSUnZ56pn8_VfnCmyfLLQDfCx8z0TJI1Jt6c1XigTHaoGXTfTWTDbtmYj0W8e3vpDvqk1qJAVMunF_NxyXhHceWjPzehbYlC4/s320/IMG_4578.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's my saggy bottom girl, climbing the incline to the car. They were so happy, and Trace and I were so delighted watching their capers and giggles. We couldn't have had a better Sunday morning!</span></div>
akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-8463731375117915462011-05-28T10:42:00.001-07:002011-05-28T14:46:01.055-07:00Friends<div style="text-align: center;">I've known Betsy and Lindsey since we went to high school together--actually I've known Betsy since we were in the church nursery at the same time. I know that I am extremely privileged to have such true and longstanding friends. </div><div style="text-align: center;">We now each have two kids, a boy and a girl each, and Betsy has one more coming in six weeks. Yeah for new babies! </div><div style="text-align: center;">Yesterday Linds and I, who both live in Nevada City, drove to Foresthill to visit Bets. We took this passel of kids to the park. Here are a few pictures I took on my phone of this second generation of friends playing together. Who would have pictured this back when we were in high school? And how did we become older than eighteen anyway?! </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPzd5ZT4jm1_LvjP-j9TahKEliLdttyKphFnJWobhT0mdGY4wF03DYiludiPnhOaeb03g5m-rU3TRxDImzkFPmGXx_Z_fUlALogTXGH7IkHgUi2tnO_8QCleZzAuXm8pwSfb4LSmF9cA/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPzd5ZT4jm1_LvjP-j9TahKEliLdttyKphFnJWobhT0mdGY4wF03DYiludiPnhOaeb03g5m-rU3TRxDImzkFPmGXx_Z_fUlALogTXGH7IkHgUi2tnO_8QCleZzAuXm8pwSfb4LSmF9cA/s400/2011-05-27_16-13-04_159.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caroline, age 4</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtH5ADsK5OvWNFin87cAk13mk2Y7t0ewybMgUA2qBiItaFqtumdBfSuLTMXvuFQ3KOkqPDlKxt09WcRajes326CQ4oGUmigiKq3vsQxGsYPIvpZ_B4-sFKmlSjtTLgAm6-9oadqEW674g/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtH5ADsK5OvWNFin87cAk13mk2Y7t0ewybMgUA2qBiItaFqtumdBfSuLTMXvuFQ3KOkqPDlKxt09WcRajes326CQ4oGUmigiKq3vsQxGsYPIvpZ_B4-sFKmlSjtTLgAm6-9oadqEW674g/s400/2011-05-27_16-31-45_199.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elizabeth, age 4</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSZj8tY5DB32zPGb8l-fb6xsjaDjnuHLGBHrNGumSXcUKJAUtEU71qzDkzOQ-dGTYsr0a4IsH8INu0u1rZXmKzopZfmBGhevuYrNlepQI1B0Qv-KtkPW27A6GiKruJJn-fHxIKg83jF4w/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSZj8tY5DB32zPGb8l-fb6xsjaDjnuHLGBHrNGumSXcUKJAUtEU71qzDkzOQ-dGTYsr0a4IsH8INu0u1rZXmKzopZfmBGhevuYrNlepQI1B0Qv-KtkPW27A6GiKruJJn-fHxIKg83jF4w/s400/2011-05-27_16-17-56_354.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackson, almost 6</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCNCG0e_2mDGnMePIFPjknv5T9dJVj7yuoAEFN0mGNnZuKsBEpTKb4Ggs-8_oyDbXxCgU0rB_fi4grxsAK8nsXPyDOnQQFqc6ZEHUO_vzn81CjU7zbhIjWRUFO_vQJIf0f7BK7-fDZpUY/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCNCG0e_2mDGnMePIFPjknv5T9dJVj7yuoAEFN0mGNnZuKsBEpTKb4Ggs-8_oyDbXxCgU0rB_fi4grxsAK8nsXPyDOnQQFqc6ZEHUO_vzn81CjU7zbhIjWRUFO_vQJIf0f7BK7-fDZpUY/s400/2011-05-27_16-19-37_882.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrew, age 2</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlgyQHxBXh_Eqrtwaq8RwN1bC8fbpRpbRMK90PrqieoK_VEpt-l28GpLCEu5SR6aThV0hw3is5jhn9whREoKB6qQY9dvwnJux6-TmtZsaYvq1k_e-tAiMXT7iytPuVafjoporcLHcHFF4/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlgyQHxBXh_Eqrtwaq8RwN1bC8fbpRpbRMK90PrqieoK_VEpt-l28GpLCEu5SR6aThV0hw3is5jhn9whREoKB6qQY9dvwnJux6-TmtZsaYvq1k_e-tAiMXT7iytPuVafjoporcLHcHFF4/s400/2011-05-27_16-21-02_204.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graham, age 1 1/2</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvUyLMMTXsXB1MNVCtEaznSGm6b0lSERj47t06LMcXf_1jdYklVkk-p2XTaSXIKFhN_U80EtJVlmokp0JcsdR1nDG1ZIkHCwpUyiYaoWI03-U8xOBMkIGyj1nOQWk3Z9T2VruPkSSW2gA/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvUyLMMTXsXB1MNVCtEaznSGm6b0lSERj47t06LMcXf_1jdYklVkk-p2XTaSXIKFhN_U80EtJVlmokp0JcsdR1nDG1ZIkHCwpUyiYaoWI03-U8xOBMkIGyj1nOQWk3Z9T2VruPkSSW2gA/s400/2011-05-27_16-12-45_431.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marilyn, age 3</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsT4DC12uMbBWlLgctWZV2_poqwjy_nF9zRFhB134hJCmOOYYdLiUE4dyrR1cnieQ0pOOPS9cvuolg6qtWzKM0chFsfYvEPM80iIChvtsARIE6GalMR_bEIUyHp1rJBGLJ0Qb6R0zYYY/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsT4DC12uMbBWlLgctWZV2_poqwjy_nF9zRFhB134hJCmOOYYdLiUE4dyrR1cnieQ0pOOPS9cvuolg6qtWzKM0chFsfYvEPM80iIChvtsARIE6GalMR_bEIUyHp1rJBGLJ0Qb6R0zYYY/s400/2011-05-27_16-29-53_527.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lindsey and Betsy, age . . . well, not 18!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="clear: both; font-size: xx-small; text-align: center;">Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8</div>akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-26361714286360177032011-05-16T16:49:00.000-07:002011-05-16T16:49:57.648-07:00A Snowman in May<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last night, just before bedtime, Trace and the kids went outside to build a snowman. After a few minutes, I followed them to take a few pictures of their creation. It was harder than I thought, since by the time I got outdoors there was a snowball fight going on between Trace and Jack. I got a lot of pictures like this:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ24EtV2Tmow8IQuMjOQDN3BWniThqRSv-BGQu-MXAgCBsJdHYPtG6s006pOuINS_hqfIU-s9yXzfBFQ3fvq9I5ZVl3WRtFWRxHYU1EcIW5yV0de4HN6z2vEyKWa_s2DW46tvWuEoa9cE/s1600/IMG_3724.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ24EtV2Tmow8IQuMjOQDN3BWniThqRSv-BGQu-MXAgCBsJdHYPtG6s006pOuINS_hqfIU-s9yXzfBFQ3fvq9I5ZVl3WRtFWRxHYU1EcIW5yV0de4HN6z2vEyKWa_s2DW46tvWuEoa9cE/s320/IMG_3724.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Caroline already had her pajamas on, so she added a hat, boots, and mittens to complete her ensemble. We had to look for the mittens, since I had already put them away for the year. Apparently I was premature in my switch to summertime accessories!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJfBUXgPWSRGo8MWCdtYif46Rjvwie9LvERV_AZQJ2W13mCu3KbGum_lTLKF4HML3Odfw5LDg-KesVOUPOURQyXQLlXhA4mO4CkTBDuFw8vnNAoZ6upgJzGwNEXFbh-KC_UC4HHjx-Iwk/s1600/IMG_3731.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJfBUXgPWSRGo8MWCdtYif46Rjvwie9LvERV_AZQJ2W13mCu3KbGum_lTLKF4HML3Odfw5LDg-KesVOUPOURQyXQLlXhA4mO4CkTBDuFw8vnNAoZ6upgJzGwNEXFbh-KC_UC4HHjx-Iwk/s320/IMG_3731.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Caroline was entranced with the snowman, maybe because they were the same size.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg056wmhlYl9sdamuQmYGh9rI8_o3DR_NHDG4viyVWOagj-BBTxUZJh8z_brFyui7nRq5To7UY2d3q0ANWfBcLcxue5CY4J-j-J737CG5a9luxF-5DRC1Tm8EI1LjgUFFzTxZh77C519eY/s1600/IMG_3735.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg056wmhlYl9sdamuQmYGh9rI8_o3DR_NHDG4viyVWOagj-BBTxUZJh8z_brFyui7nRq5To7UY2d3q0ANWfBcLcxue5CY4J-j-J737CG5a9luxF-5DRC1Tm8EI1LjgUFFzTxZh77C519eY/s320/IMG_3735.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Putting on the final touches--wait, weren't those sticks supposed to be arms? Do your arms come out of the side of your head Jack?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimAd5QFjX3J6l4TZKGvS2wT3Q4_QzdAowKFGhnw7E4Lzr7K-LMwTpP8MYVH6bHrJa186lZyzHGf4hx8xf-indaF-fryzCyjzFH2qw0yesKdUP71-nbvrJMoR59Y8Memk-09KxtTpoHC74/s1600/IMG_3737.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimAd5QFjX3J6l4TZKGvS2wT3Q4_QzdAowKFGhnw7E4Lzr7K-LMwTpP8MYVH6bHrJa186lZyzHGf4hx8xf-indaF-fryzCyjzFH2qw0yesKdUP71-nbvrJMoR59Y8Memk-09KxtTpoHC74/s320/IMG_3737.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Coming back across the yard after visiting the "stick store" as Caroline named it. Only since she doesn't say "s," you can only imagine how hard that was to understand!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQSKhNytuk2xnTIskpGQYLP9aGl9d8HkRypyijjEH5JL7a1ojYmBsRMXzzH-P4hUK8igFBGU1Vwd7a4hJmFfpzoTFT847XfgN4pJkyYoPIaL9lYDFisuUS9B5IAghJ81wtuOL6apCpz9w/s1600/IMG_3740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQSKhNytuk2xnTIskpGQYLP9aGl9d8HkRypyijjEH5JL7a1ojYmBsRMXzzH-P4hUK8igFBGU1Vwd7a4hJmFfpzoTFT847XfgN4pJkyYoPIaL9lYDFisuUS9B5IAghJ81wtuOL6apCpz9w/s320/IMG_3740.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Run from the snowballs Jack!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-v7MClahxWWFK198VzRQdduttslz6dqangENuOVffGcltH4srkpyKNmPnZ5Qn6_Jlu-Pbr1c3bdBBRxihItXX8dlQXH5UW7UjWnbRXCEtvfAkWqyc9LUhnQwXZDM2W8547n3orWyHF8/s1600/IMG_3744.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-v7MClahxWWFK198VzRQdduttslz6dqangENuOVffGcltH4srkpyKNmPnZ5Qn6_Jlu-Pbr1c3bdBBRxihItXX8dlQXH5UW7UjWnbRXCEtvfAkWqyc9LUhnQwXZDM2W8547n3orWyHF8/s320/IMG_3744.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I tried to get a posed picture with Mr. Snowman, but everyone kept talking.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijBJBujwR2AJsYeYjn8vx7QKwooXgCse47XwzOr-g-CkhmnpwJpyU5OGuEs2EOY1j5qrDWY2d_HUgnNWAa921yf2FKQHtCXDnfS_N1BkrgZaNTTfLpOL0CXBIsA5HahwPUdjvFDudIsak/s1600/IMG_3747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijBJBujwR2AJsYeYjn8vx7QKwooXgCse47XwzOr-g-CkhmnpwJpyU5OGuEs2EOY1j5qrDWY2d_HUgnNWAa921yf2FKQHtCXDnfS_N1BkrgZaNTTfLpOL0CXBIsA5HahwPUdjvFDudIsak/s320/IMG_3747.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> This one was cute, but I was done taking pictures as soon as this snowball hit me. I took off running!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQyI9zZzfC8jFxV_mhfZ1GEATTh0PPv57aG6RVIQn0zLOBCCnH_Qti2RBnbzpobPoHWLoQ3ovkK24srtWmLaEbFxxVhyphenhyphenuDyfoJFIJOVegjuuutzF5GHV65SggQOypCh5vnSrYfAOMUPQ/s1600/IMG_3749.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQyI9zZzfC8jFxV_mhfZ1GEATTh0PPv57aG6RVIQn0zLOBCCnH_Qti2RBnbzpobPoHWLoQ3ovkK24srtWmLaEbFxxVhyphenhyphenuDyfoJFIJOVegjuuutzF5GHV65SggQOypCh5vnSrYfAOMUPQ/s320/IMG_3749.jpg" width="302" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy May!</span></div>akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-8512763909089371472011-05-14T09:24:00.001-07:002011-05-14T09:24:46.451-07:00Girl play<p><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpQLqa3rUG_1Uqt2AI9iJinjP6v1dhpXhlOSTWPkWwFDLwDYhDL0cNGKZ7oApHNwm5zQGwqNhZZY3sHijMWxAbKiJgNedLfZAu6hyQ8b5fWRipseG-KESJEyJnMfnubjr3lq_kKEnYPY/'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpQLqa3rUG_1Uqt2AI9iJinjP6v1dhpXhlOSTWPkWwFDLwDYhDL0cNGKZ7oApHNwm5zQGwqNhZZY3sHijMWxAbKiJgNedLfZAu6hyQ8b5fWRipseG-KESJEyJnMfnubjr3lq_kKEnYPY/s400/2011-05-14_09-18-43_617.jpg' /></a></p>This morning Caroline was playing shoe store. Jack has never thought to spend his time trying on shoes. She had baby dolls all lined up, with shoes on each. It's awfully fun to have a little girl! <div style='clear: both; text-align: center; font-size: xx-small;'>Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8</div>akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-31646605170680041672011-04-30T22:51:00.000-07:002011-04-30T22:51:42.947-07:00Number Five<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Number Five is Jack's t-ball number. His team is the Nevada City T-Ball Giants, and today was their first game. It was also the Spring Carnival at his school and the Car Show downtown, so it was a busy day for our family. The highlight, though, was definitely this game. Jack was so excited to play, and the other spectators and I agreed that it was the best entertainment in town. The clueless kids were so stinkin' cute! It was their first game, so there was a steep learning curve. They were tackling each other (literally) to get the ball, so eager to play. Well, the pictures tell the story better than I can . . .</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgyR_2vv622IdS_PTs6y0mWq75v3WQiXjS_OMYU1Zl1xm7SSLx8DYt683VNRhQvTlegnbZ6Fv7vYSJ05M8DgcR6jP6CoK8qqa9ukJ8KBUr-BZ88zJP455e-Uq0uSlMIxU9vKFdVdIjSMU/s1600/IMG_3628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgyR_2vv622IdS_PTs6y0mWq75v3WQiXjS_OMYU1Zl1xm7SSLx8DYt683VNRhQvTlegnbZ6Fv7vYSJ05M8DgcR6jP6CoK8qqa9ukJ8KBUr-BZ88zJP455e-Uq0uSlMIxU9vKFdVdIjSMU/s320/IMG_3628.jpg" width="213" /></a></div> Warming up before the game--Jack hits it hard into the fence.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKxNWj3enkbFiffI1IrHzDMMZYtD_tO-rxcRBvNqVD7Y_2dPXPyeHRw73u0bzcIKIyrgbuaJv2L0rWgjEqLBnq3Y4mwUJvKTI9rKreeBE5mAyZU-ot3Fb7Hml5AiANH4kjGF59rQEsa3Y/s1600/IMG_3636.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKxNWj3enkbFiffI1IrHzDMMZYtD_tO-rxcRBvNqVD7Y_2dPXPyeHRw73u0bzcIKIyrgbuaJv2L0rWgjEqLBnq3Y4mwUJvKTI9rKreeBE5mAyZU-ot3Fb7Hml5AiANH4kjGF59rQEsa3Y/s320/IMG_3636.jpg" width="213" /></a></div> The first inning Jack got to play first base. It's a tough position when you have never done it before, and never even seen it played. First is pretty much the only position that matters in t-ball, since every player hits on both teams, and they each take one base at a time. There are no outs, but the ball goes to first every time. He made several good plays--and missed the ball coming at him several times too. My favorite was when the first base coach for the other team held out his hand for the ball and Jack gave him a high-five instead. Giggle.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihAeQMyodDNkiieC5GYNS1nI9k_7o9TbG4IB72CzPoJPLlUjDHEz6K3MDLeZhyphenhyphen4ytj9DYN41JdMHal7BC4XdaRJGGTh8rP1dGI13rFM7es26YtD44b9LQNXusLWSGR8_N-JgOSvKkM_dQ/s1600/IMG_3650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihAeQMyodDNkiieC5GYNS1nI9k_7o9TbG4IB72CzPoJPLlUjDHEz6K3MDLeZhyphenhyphen4ytj9DYN41JdMHal7BC4XdaRJGGTh8rP1dGI13rFM7es26YtD44b9LQNXusLWSGR8_N-JgOSvKkM_dQ/s320/IMG_3650.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Trace went out as the second base coach for the second two innings.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpvaRm3Ye-SyqzLzR5X5xM2wnW-2alm6tvQCF7mFUzpmHhyphenhyphenO_vkRuMmF0lDofoCchNrlMhM32AIksCD3JTJDzNJnnS69algXIN-ZxN3sJ1g7aKGIE7xBJYAJ99INZXkAnjyMZY5JSliK8/s1600/IMG_3651.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpvaRm3Ye-SyqzLzR5X5xM2wnW-2alm6tvQCF7mFUzpmHhyphenhyphenO_vkRuMmF0lDofoCchNrlMhM32AIksCD3JTJDzNJnnS69algXIN-ZxN3sJ1g7aKGIE7xBJYAJ99INZXkAnjyMZY5JSliK8/s320/IMG_3651.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Jack running for home.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIe1KwETTilzT28rzKCSV2dlvx15ibMAVmXGGfOLF5ootwrosIH3_XwKw0EB-jJp7Ws0avrgLDebm6XsJPgymzUqK4T1-XTdup8ZsTu0RcXBHyYRhRKMgC0anr-lIv9CJhTUaTdQMzQg/s1600/IMG_3657.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIe1KwETTilzT28rzKCSV2dlvx15ibMAVmXGGfOLF5ootwrosIH3_XwKw0EB-jJp7Ws0avrgLDebm6XsJPgymzUqK4T1-XTdup8ZsTu0RcXBHyYRhRKMgC0anr-lIv9CJhTUaTdQMzQg/s320/IMG_3657.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Jack had a whole bench taken up with his cheering squad--and we were loud.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP8e-yrUyRtQegPOeM65zix9DgdEBVIaCOs2QsNy33bOHZNKR-flxwzMu6ezZrVAE0Ixl2ou8BFWwDQgX382LXYXvwN8MzXPzMSDBcNO1t2L7WpBMMdd0LjNxsqABeNHdBbBRdkrweVzI/s1600/IMG_3663.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP8e-yrUyRtQegPOeM65zix9DgdEBVIaCOs2QsNy33bOHZNKR-flxwzMu6ezZrVAE0Ixl2ou8BFWwDQgX382LXYXvwN8MzXPzMSDBcNO1t2L7WpBMMdd0LjNxsqABeNHdBbBRdkrweVzI/s320/IMG_3663.jpg" width="213" /></a></div> Looking up to see who's cheering for him.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqphiDcfiDrGO1NDT8UYOXAbKiaQau44ZjB946wvngPg6mnJ5WumAfcEw6V50bMjL6uokDfELN0Bf-XHf5TmF1s4VHc6fWoF7AEy5RhFu6QCcWjQpLLHdQFx_TeZp8PWZpzGrrPvio3c/s1600/IMG_3670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqphiDcfiDrGO1NDT8UYOXAbKiaQau44ZjB946wvngPg6mnJ5WumAfcEw6V50bMjL6uokDfELN0Bf-XHf5TmF1s4VHc6fWoF7AEy5RhFu6QCcWjQpLLHdQFx_TeZp8PWZpzGrrPvio3c/s320/IMG_3670.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Waiting to run to third with dad.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2OvY4PjTXL0xCgH2Ta7dN7fsPs2xDF7PVnGuZf1pFZEWwOMJTrhD_JXHV9dPr1kDDmEWak-x-XR56RV2DEzLQLLzZpAtfPJhzOlCBu7KWfKNCLoNq1MnBSCmaH-HMh4flKWb09AtkDEA/s1600/IMG_3675.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2OvY4PjTXL0xCgH2Ta7dN7fsPs2xDF7PVnGuZf1pFZEWwOMJTrhD_JXHV9dPr1kDDmEWak-x-XR56RV2DEzLQLLzZpAtfPJhzOlCBu7KWfKNCLoNq1MnBSCmaH-HMh4flKWb09AtkDEA/s320/IMG_3675.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Go Giants! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD5GwWp2w2PIJbte6eZyTx1sXaZ3Z98ot-6TBkx347GNrkZUATQtdUqy5x7SZ4H6k1MjwxNUhKxt0UQWQKK-9KAnAbrkKoDJFW17E_R4n-74U8wcCdAMoD0MIYMxNFQOwzZRC6ve4fbSg/s1600/IMG_3682.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD5GwWp2w2PIJbte6eZyTx1sXaZ3Z98ot-6TBkx347GNrkZUATQtdUqy5x7SZ4H6k1MjwxNUhKxt0UQWQKK-9KAnAbrkKoDJFW17E_R4n-74U8wcCdAMoD0MIYMxNFQOwzZRC6ve4fbSg/s320/IMG_3682.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Chewing on bubble gum after the game with his fans.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYEHIByjXPfHa8mE4kty9fwEnDX09iLxMxbE0TTE-6cwkD3wIeHZ3h6bVSm7p75IvKLKVBH-vx2mPACqlqoBbdtYgTqZNpA25HaPbZh7zViBX_-roiihDgj9udx_Aq6m-HzVuiL1ESd-w/s1600/IMG_3687.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYEHIByjXPfHa8mE4kty9fwEnDX09iLxMxbE0TTE-6cwkD3wIeHZ3h6bVSm7p75IvKLKVBH-vx2mPACqlqoBbdtYgTqZNpA25HaPbZh7zViBX_-roiihDgj9udx_Aq6m-HzVuiL1ESd-w/s320/IMG_3687.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I love this picture, of Trace, Jack and Caroline sitting and watching the next team warm up. They were much older, and Jack wanted to stay and watch, but after watching them warm up for twenty minutes, we decided to head home. It had been a long day. Good job Jack! I'm proud of you.akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-32235787601133397922011-04-23T08:12:00.000-07:002011-04-23T08:12:02.528-07:00A Day with the Wards<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday my kids got to spend the afternoon with their friends Marilyn and Graham, while their mom took her mom to a doctor's appointment in Sacramento. We're all glad that Gigi is recovering well from her surgery, but shhh! don't tell, but I don't think we missed them at all. These four friends had so much fun playing together that I thought I'd share the photos I took of the day. These are in chronological order. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxjxQjCvAl7j1AzeuzUY1ha4gJcc4o3wyyCpWuMv7seCDUWMWIsSqpqezfRj78Af_BcAGTCfFsi_m8K9TlbdqSWamToayjlg-nsH5qBLIkfFMKId0cyHwvHpPwjL96WOD-q7NCtKy6hGM/s1600/IMG_3417.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxjxQjCvAl7j1AzeuzUY1ha4gJcc4o3wyyCpWuMv7seCDUWMWIsSqpqezfRj78Af_BcAGTCfFsi_m8K9TlbdqSWamToayjlg-nsH5qBLIkfFMKId0cyHwvHpPwjL96WOD-q7NCtKy6hGM/s320/IMG_3417.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First they played dress-up and I took pictures so that we could make a frame craft later. Do you think the lizard and the princess are good friends?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieXDBcj_BKPS5zIIthNTMwTJ-L-xJTIu6hGFJapWNG3KwyR9xhogj5oXVe_mBrPk4JMUv4FQjTE0SP26JXZTNj1-NYrnDcNP14CmQF37Y2qE_I7PtkbK2wUQltYTjSLM0tmXi5bavc1GY/s1600/IMG_3431.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieXDBcj_BKPS5zIIthNTMwTJ-L-xJTIu6hGFJapWNG3KwyR9xhogj5oXVe_mBrPk4JMUv4FQjTE0SP26JXZTNj1-NYrnDcNP14CmQF37Y2qE_I7PtkbK2wUQltYTjSLM0tmXi5bavc1GY/s320/IMG_3431.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Miss Caroline in her elephant costume which she loves--it's size 2T and somehow she can still squeeze herself into it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotuql206-qd_oyk3SfxNNV1usDookwTKr3flt8Un2EVson7b6L1yggnQzd_ssKvXbKA1edXITLeE4ASemXybUuE6IXp3htaLUO_gf8qs5Zxt3_0emBBejQVP65SqDifP_smSiY9cjabE/s1600/IMG_3433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotuql206-qd_oyk3SfxNNV1usDookwTKr3flt8Un2EVson7b6L1yggnQzd_ssKvXbKA1edXITLeE4ASemXybUuE6IXp3htaLUO_gf8qs5Zxt3_0emBBejQVP65SqDifP_smSiY9cjabE/s320/IMG_3433.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Three kiddos all dressed up. It's awfully hard to get a snapshot with all three looking at you/smiling. I can't imagine how professional photographers take family photos. Experience I guess.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gkkGyXxvd6u9Ck7M2IRNE8dfnt_aQAF70BoOV2-UTDIU9Y32bKgqXh5AHk82mEm16nesoFy6OsKo8-Zrz4uOtJxF3e2VkblD1I6hxTX22xzdfvL9c2Ix4kKEWo3FhyphenhyphencfHvU_89gGxrA/s1600/IMG_3442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gkkGyXxvd6u9Ck7M2IRNE8dfnt_aQAF70BoOV2-UTDIU9Y32bKgqXh5AHk82mEm16nesoFy6OsKo8-Zrz4uOtJxF3e2VkblD1I6hxTX22xzdfvL9c2Ix4kKEWo3FhyphenhyphencfHvU_89gGxrA/s320/IMG_3442.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mister Graham was willing to wear a hat for about 30 seconds, and he was very serious about it. This was pre-nap, which may explain the look.</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_cYCXm-5cAeMswhFYfK6gcOulX8N_0LmzxAfXmFmyKBn3Hz8XV_8AOhb6gkZQezDXBbBp5ykVC0sbTuEHBcYntYCInC4kKnJ9MSb6_TgU_SdSDCZK8PoDArKJAxsaOjLbC0tPEWUFn9U/s1600/IMG_3444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_cYCXm-5cAeMswhFYfK6gcOulX8N_0LmzxAfXmFmyKBn3Hz8XV_8AOhb6gkZQezDXBbBp5ykVC0sbTuEHBcYntYCInC4kKnJ9MSb6_TgU_SdSDCZK8PoDArKJAxsaOjLbC0tPEWUFn9U/s320/IMG_3444.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jack the lizard is one cute boy, but I may be a little prejudiced.</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjchjugN1g7tlNX3tO2Ri0hygV5C4uS8uSXzMuWICuPY3-A2QNw4SD-i4ZsrTXhOJDuWqYDyLzmNLDDBnOr04IueWcNRfncC9BGeF5GEeWkJ8wygAJm7z7Cl-30tMzqEll2-zpQH1IMcog/s1600/IMG_3452.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjchjugN1g7tlNX3tO2Ri0hygV5C4uS8uSXzMuWICuPY3-A2QNw4SD-i4ZsrTXhOJDuWqYDyLzmNLDDBnOr04IueWcNRfncC9BGeF5GEeWkJ8wygAJm7z7Cl-30tMzqEll2-zpQH1IMcog/s320/IMG_3452.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;">Gluing buttons on popsicle stick frames.</div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjaSgpRizHgnuCmojRVWiRGj1v1_KqDv9s2I1LDBw_-IZ2I4hQUi5cUCU7_QHvkoqSCyNA4pZXx8ILKSX5VDcJoX6F8DvbTvOiBe-TKOL4S7Jd1ncGNFwtROq5VfdaCxnSHUmKjj5okhU/s1600/IMG_3456.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjaSgpRizHgnuCmojRVWiRGj1v1_KqDv9s2I1LDBw_-IZ2I4hQUi5cUCU7_QHvkoqSCyNA4pZXx8ILKSX5VDcJoX6F8DvbTvOiBe-TKOL4S7Jd1ncGNFwtROq5VfdaCxnSHUmKjj5okhU/s320/IMG_3456.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;">Marilyn has an amazing sense of order and an ability to concentrate on detail work that you don't often see in a three year old. She glued on her buttons and said, "now I will wait for my friends to finish." Darling!</div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIi9RuDDnNk8zaxqQt_3ab4zYxyQnFsk_aG6-CIee23LL4b5fIntv967qi5rITSJnjzZIZRiSVa-R0S_b8MDBiJMffKlB9ylySI9-CVazLPPR-_4aSCGm0hWLJE7CjE0CZLftJXawhimQ/s1600/IMG_3461.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIi9RuDDnNk8zaxqQt_3ab4zYxyQnFsk_aG6-CIee23LL4b5fIntv967qi5rITSJnjzZIZRiSVa-R0S_b8MDBiJMffKlB9ylySI9-CVazLPPR-_4aSCGm0hWLJE7CjE0CZLftJXawhimQ/s320/IMG_3461.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;">While our frames dried and Graham took a nap, the three other kids planted flowers with me. The best part was that the rain stopped, so after planting they could run around outside.</div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUIvv1sk223bfEha8S68AS4WU7uajl1I36TS5zww6KNmlXGdNyvPMtLdTrsNgu-nrdv-0RlAyWEbZ1UJbTTQolgjus-u8HUQvCXDYAuOEJTqTRC1_ixIu8vp6KnugbVtqXFk9UaQdU3-E/s1600/IMG_3464.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUIvv1sk223bfEha8S68AS4WU7uajl1I36TS5zww6KNmlXGdNyvPMtLdTrsNgu-nrdv-0RlAyWEbZ1UJbTTQolgjus-u8HUQvCXDYAuOEJTqTRC1_ixIu8vp6KnugbVtqXFk9UaQdU3-E/s320/IMG_3464.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;">Caroline helping plant in her third outfit of the day. She loves to get herself dressed, and re-dressed as the day progresses.</div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgss_5ev-YdaL36hfDWYFOuVnIH1nnf9lrk7NL7uwqWSfSqa6zjo8GdVPEavLoOt3SrC4vF7l1bDnb9zfqhdG_wlqZvYYlldCDIZkEShm4SEy5wVs5n_svsrliDmnZJ3t3Vj7fexWzhBKU/s1600/IMG_3468.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgss_5ev-YdaL36hfDWYFOuVnIH1nnf9lrk7NL7uwqWSfSqa6zjo8GdVPEavLoOt3SrC4vF7l1bDnb9zfqhdG_wlqZvYYlldCDIZkEShm4SEy5wVs5n_svsrliDmnZJ3t3Vj7fexWzhBKU/s320/IMG_3468.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">The finished product. They were good helpers, and my pots are full!</div></span><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ38ZARNBfmjv5NdYTBmuXT-7Uub0nrQ6syzfYRCiqL-IriHNoqvq8-V6syb9Q_vCsZBkI71OOWePp55-rmkbVVNrMFjS_4IIbXLIRrkhzBoGUKEC51W58qKt4Kk_uS78hApkg2GHgnzQ/s1600/IMG_3482.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ38ZARNBfmjv5NdYTBmuXT-7Uub0nrQ6syzfYRCiqL-IriHNoqvq8-V6syb9Q_vCsZBkI71OOWePp55-rmkbVVNrMFjS_4IIbXLIRrkhzBoGUKEC51W58qKt4Kk_uS78hApkg2GHgnzQ/s320/IMG_3482.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">We printed the pictures we took earlier and put them in the homemade frames. Aren't they creative?</div></span><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ZyCWQVULhwzTCq3b2pwCNDVjlT2tWq4uThnMn64cHqBvnF4LhZCoS_fFoeoAS16_zxAN1UZFKxrNzgLfUxAwhUCXP_xbvk25KjbgDA0VeapsmWqgi8Xbp8prk5nNdlHmytWIISlEv-w/s1600/IMG_3470.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ZyCWQVULhwzTCq3b2pwCNDVjlT2tWq4uThnMn64cHqBvnF4LhZCoS_fFoeoAS16_zxAN1UZFKxrNzgLfUxAwhUCXP_xbvk25KjbgDA0VeapsmWqgi8Xbp8prk5nNdlHmytWIISlEv-w/s320/IMG_3470.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">This was my favorite part of the day. The kids went out back and had fun "golfing," swinging, climbing and generally running around. After an hour, the girls came inside and had a bath. They were done, but these two boys, age 5, and 1.5, played golf in the backyard for another hour. Graham followed Jack around, carrying his golf club and trying to imitate Jack's every move. They were both completely entertained. </div></span><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnho8oF1yDSC-rKljnfmSy8BrUsRlmm9mW0ytv5AYJZZR-lT0JOIjzGjTcum-fPL2i068AWUzvlyRloayYRKvTrBnXkCIoLbtHlTV7vfYjfqFNHuxMud5y5JADSk4WmyxfguQiBIqT65s/s1600/IMG_3472.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnho8oF1yDSC-rKljnfmSy8BrUsRlmm9mW0ytv5AYJZZR-lT0JOIjzGjTcum-fPL2i068AWUzvlyRloayYRKvTrBnXkCIoLbtHlTV7vfYjfqFNHuxMud5y5JADSk4WmyxfguQiBIqT65s/s320/IMG_3472.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Graham and his ball.</div></span><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGAPJ3OWkkFTw4yB0EPWnqZBHRDOQoQ1mWa5nO_m9u_TXuOnEmwJ2FI5g6He0Q321rTbSOegdSu7FwnoZpoHjP7LBu5u-QgwyYqTs9P76eeOhU3Xdyfx3d_t8e4Wa0a7kiD1OSTi19J54/s1600/IMG_3474.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGAPJ3OWkkFTw4yB0EPWnqZBHRDOQoQ1mWa5nO_m9u_TXuOnEmwJ2FI5g6He0Q321rTbSOegdSu7FwnoZpoHjP7LBu5u-QgwyYqTs9P76eeOhU3Xdyfx3d_t8e4Wa0a7kiD1OSTi19J54/s320/IMG_3474.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;">Trying hard to hit it.</div></span><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbtDtM0yhsMcFswmSjLPBn-4Mr46K9NY7HUpRG6WvQqlDWSUxOwRlDMEQJZpR8Upy8J2rfdvNCU0y1ssNo_WI7sJJotzhPK-iDhF5fCRu0PrCs3IYxXQ3FCZB5wHWWutQoPbHQ_f21zUY/s1600/IMG_3477.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbtDtM0yhsMcFswmSjLPBn-4Mr46K9NY7HUpRG6WvQqlDWSUxOwRlDMEQJZpR8Upy8J2rfdvNCU0y1ssNo_WI7sJJotzhPK-iDhF5fCRu0PrCs3IYxXQ3FCZB5wHWWutQoPbHQ_f21zUY/s320/IMG_3477.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big boy and little boy, playing together.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Thanks for sharing your kids Lindsey. I'll babysit anytime!</span></div></div></div>akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-11088031772905085362011-04-22T21:54:00.000-07:002011-04-22T21:54:25.451-07:00Nightly Habits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxHTp4ODvUpXVMZUqaKatCEpYtEDfcU1abziInhcfa10sskt4bfxlDcnP4v3-xgh1ZDJwd8qVerPl3lA_0YjA6xiDO85T9692KvyRsX2u-MX5ug5LoyhibwuDnGbHEMfQQ78X_MD4TiS8/s1600/IMG_3408_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxHTp4ODvUpXVMZUqaKatCEpYtEDfcU1abziInhcfa10sskt4bfxlDcnP4v3-xgh1ZDJwd8qVerPl3lA_0YjA6xiDO85T9692KvyRsX2u-MX5ug5LoyhibwuDnGbHEMfQQ78X_MD4TiS8/s320/IMG_3408_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you can have daily habits, you can have nightly habits too, right? It might not be grammatically correct, but this is the sweet view I see around our house every night. The kids do their nighttime chores, and then Trace reads them a story--or two or three or even more, depending on the night. I usually clean the kitchen and listen in to their soft murmurs. I love this scene, so I thought I'd share it with you.</span></div>akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-23626218986815452252011-04-22T21:50:00.000-07:002011-04-22T21:50:11.907-07:00Marbelized Eggs<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So we did indeed make marbelized eggs, and it was more kid-friendly than the robin's eggs. Easier, and fewer steps. The only difficult part was using blown eggs, but with a little experience I took care of that step <em>before</em> I told the kids about the project. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTIObEXufVL54dNawCgNXJ7SbCAh1byXNxMz4GBcRxnAQ1U-1c_7f0D87IuDyoI6FHzHhBNLxK37PO28LvdwffFdBO_u5VgOqP4kQ7ntT_9sqOnqVRxqgQrHfNrlw00hMsSaOfHuEzqYk/s1600/IMG_3375.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTIObEXufVL54dNawCgNXJ7SbCAh1byXNxMz4GBcRxnAQ1U-1c_7f0D87IuDyoI6FHzHhBNLxK37PO28LvdwffFdBO_u5VgOqP4kQ7ntT_9sqOnqVRxqgQrHfNrlw00hMsSaOfHuEzqYk/s320/IMG_3375.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then we had fun making dye with food coloring, water and vinegar--they loved stirring in the drops and watching it change color. The first step was to lightly dye all the eggs. That was very hands on, because blown eggs float, so we gently spun them on top of the liquid (and yes, I was as surprised as they were, although I did realize that I should have expected that). </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Next we added concentrated the dyes by adding a lot more food coloring--also fun to stir. Finally, we added a tablespoon of olive oil, and tried the first egg.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHDefolGmXhcuEQ7l03M0C13uuwVAj-Mip2lTzod8KjJuH6M-lDw1a7izDEMZ08s6HlddqTBnhpusX9HhkE8pb7qo4XiGga-jV4vsgD0xPNFkKwoesUJ8Y257FDEth41QoNiLJBcyVcfQ/s1600/IMG_3377.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHDefolGmXhcuEQ7l03M0C13uuwVAj-Mip2lTzod8KjJuH6M-lDw1a7izDEMZ08s6HlddqTBnhpusX9HhkE8pb7qo4XiGga-jV4vsgD0xPNFkKwoesUJ8Y257FDEth41QoNiLJBcyVcfQ/s320/IMG_3377.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSj79Qp6P5lGk0dNINfvxOuWjLzc2OE6kru3mNAqFhhGm3rGKeoxZ8mXzb56OKD_IlBKFjrkVsJx8OuYYrs7getpk2ryldlyPOZGHX-yZAZheObyx95RkRd3bWci3nFSMaqQJDjyCGZVw/s1600/IMG_3381.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSj79Qp6P5lGk0dNINfvxOuWjLzc2OE6kru3mNAqFhhGm3rGKeoxZ8mXzb56OKD_IlBKFjrkVsJx8OuYYrs7getpk2ryldlyPOZGHX-yZAZheObyx95RkRd3bWci3nFSMaqQJDjyCGZVw/s320/IMG_3381.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It worked! They had lots of fun swirling the eggs, and watching the unique patterns that were created. Choosing contrasting colors was also fun and educational.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtj_56vN-3tGDz045b6yxP_DJZRNPJMOoZAyfTybeCz_xaaq2Wh85-9ZewGWwrbRd9fQpqKW7EH-53lY6Cpoi2OSbIeo80BUbAKfzGOnKhX0XTq7KC1dc5MFECYd3O8MdfP4jKUvJlycg/s1600/IMG_3384.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtj_56vN-3tGDz045b6yxP_DJZRNPJMOoZAyfTybeCz_xaaq2Wh85-9ZewGWwrbRd9fQpqKW7EH-53lY6Cpoi2OSbIeo80BUbAKfzGOnKhX0XTq7KC1dc5MFECYd3O8MdfP4jKUvJlycg/s320/IMG_3384.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRgt1K5gIdkXa0ng7R-V5cH7r1kPLEgBeH1R6Ys2KAuPj0fBf3iUyKfriifuFqX2A4wAHcXhGZ4QDSWO_SGJzCmgVrsmOmoAthyphenhyphenF4O2F84xcpa4fdZe5nG5siURwzE7Meqn4Z83bypI90/s1600/IMG_3389.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRgt1K5gIdkXa0ng7R-V5cH7r1kPLEgBeH1R6Ys2KAuPj0fBf3iUyKfriifuFqX2A4wAHcXhGZ4QDSWO_SGJzCmgVrsmOmoAthyphenhyphenF4O2F84xcpa4fdZe5nG5siURwzE7Meqn4Z83bypI90/s320/IMG_3389.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Caroline is my tactile girl, and she especially loved getting her hands dirty turning over the eggs.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-551cCOWxuyHgRmlvEqPmMCfPF4iYqFQN52V0iPSn6z7_Jc_j6tEAoEnfIN1NTxa4jjdZoiHgjIybPQ3qqp-quGRIt7oHZOXjm2ynh9_VhxcXTL_w08K5J_8Q_v17nDwwMxL1vfTyZ0/s1600/IMG_3391.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-551cCOWxuyHgRmlvEqPmMCfPF4iYqFQN52V0iPSn6z7_Jc_j6tEAoEnfIN1NTxa4jjdZoiHgjIybPQ3qqp-quGRIt7oHZOXjm2ynh9_VhxcXTL_w08K5J_8Q_v17nDwwMxL1vfTyZ0/s320/IMG_3391.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The finished product was colorful and should be very decorative on our Easter table. We haven't even broken any yet, and it's two days later already. We've all had fun turning them over to see the swirls, and both kids have chosen their favorites. It's fun to have kids old enough to do these projects!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3KF_zC3y6hluI6I8dUfPceFqdocXX_m3S2SvLZcuz_K9Nil3j6phWFwYTkS3N6_IhCDxS8U4Ju9sx0SZXVNuYA1NePNjS9jBQS5LcPuShyhQxLfwIW9wu7Y9_J_3c2lzK-kd4WXxD0G8/s1600/IMG_3396.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3KF_zC3y6hluI6I8dUfPceFqdocXX_m3S2SvLZcuz_K9Nil3j6phWFwYTkS3N6_IhCDxS8U4Ju9sx0SZXVNuYA1NePNjS9jBQS5LcPuShyhQxLfwIW9wu7Y9_J_3c2lzK-kd4WXxD0G8/s320/IMG_3396.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-79003629449401485392011-04-18T09:46:00.000-07:002011-04-18T09:46:53.502-07:00An Easter Craft<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have never made blown eggs before, but yesterday when I was looking up a chickpea salad recipe on Epicurious.com, I saw this "recipe" for robin's egg place cards. I thought the kids and I would love to make them, so I called my crafty helper (the marvelous Miss Becky Miller) and this is how we spent our Sunday afternoon. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The best pictures would have been of Becky and I (with occasional help from the two kiddos), blowing out 16 eggs. That was harder than it sounds! We were definitely all turning bright red from the effort.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">These pictures are of us painting the eggs, and of the finished product. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOTHeh9bsZxTqLEqgpMD_vPgZgHZcgGrQiKe61gWA38zP8-xSQLvKTiBKNqCAXKGQJK16aBaaTEGEQvWF4yH8dqL_5oDd5I6-rT8kf_tusk0s2mTdxb-ICwULjmghlWSSg3lEVhgjc8j4/s1600/IMG_3352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOTHeh9bsZxTqLEqgpMD_vPgZgHZcgGrQiKe61gWA38zP8-xSQLvKTiBKNqCAXKGQJK16aBaaTEGEQvWF4yH8dqL_5oDd5I6-rT8kf_tusk0s2mTdxb-ICwULjmghlWSSg3lEVhgjc8j4/s320/IMG_3352.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Jack's ready!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNqqTQLF60xrCduGDy1ttg30jGfaaTV_Sohuzn598mm8aHZOi58nLQyXpO1Er7wdAzWc7DufcH-RLYUp1eoLD7B7OE48R8vmyhXZ6831fUfzv_5CisvBZYqZYNU-1ldGYqIeJMMWgdx9I/s1600/IMG_3360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNqqTQLF60xrCduGDy1ttg30jGfaaTV_Sohuzn598mm8aHZOi58nLQyXpO1Er7wdAzWc7DufcH-RLYUp1eoLD7B7OE48R8vmyhXZ6831fUfzv_5CisvBZYqZYNU-1ldGYqIeJMMWgdx9I/s320/IMG_3360.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Caroline concentrating while Aunt Becky helps out. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPpMFBgDYsCzT1YQo_x-lO6e4_0e8mLNZS9SObo8V3PEZpJlYG1YDHFb61mU0C5q76GN5Z8JGbxNKr4O9ETSTYJHx8zWVQpq7s6R0MkzBg12XTzyW2vqpkw7IHMbBQ6RuS97dL-5stT-Y/s1600/IMG_3363.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPpMFBgDYsCzT1YQo_x-lO6e4_0e8mLNZS9SObo8V3PEZpJlYG1YDHFb61mU0C5q76GN5Z8JGbxNKr4O9ETSTYJHx8zWVQpq7s6R0MkzBg12XTzyW2vqpkw7IHMbBQ6RuS97dL-5stT-Y/s320/IMG_3363.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beautiful Becky.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQl59TvyS5HHu2SYzKjgSnvEeueUQDPdENAp0_rZLlrwGXQfEy8xsnfrJFdkkiQPgAe291V1M5LsIoXlYw-DfU4JDlrgHbmNdFQdFn1VFKeR8gV1lC5lZ3Y-_FpHH8dWolJTKbtQ-Bsk/s1600/IMG_3368.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQl59TvyS5HHu2SYzKjgSnvEeueUQDPdENAp0_rZLlrwGXQfEy8xsnfrJFdkkiQPgAe291V1M5LsIoXlYw-DfU4JDlrgHbmNdFQdFn1VFKeR8gV1lC5lZ3Y-_FpHH8dWolJTKbtQ-Bsk/s320/IMG_3368.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Jack starting on his second set of four is wearing some paint already.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyAt1o3o4mRGZmMSTwykfiG59qpYdx2252kKOxJT1vSTcLLx2iYcEr1Ha_bn1AskNr6GYBaySPPogepaZVopLAZQsOYSldkaGQ5k-4cjVjdT8DJoGkcgkrmsr4CNAN-gfQhEd5Is9i9Ms/s1600/IMG_3369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyAt1o3o4mRGZmMSTwykfiG59qpYdx2252kKOxJT1vSTcLLx2iYcEr1Ha_bn1AskNr6GYBaySPPogepaZVopLAZQsOYSldkaGQ5k-4cjVjdT8DJoGkcgkrmsr4CNAN-gfQhEd5Is9i9Ms/s320/IMG_3369.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Hold your mouth right Caroline!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9kYMu3Rs039NdKxcg3BE6tFq_Yx3eed-wINS3z5RcZ5zJqyTRWIUNu0bzRYuBTiifiBwVJvR0FeNKMGxMIdALfBMuvGolc2r1i5syLET6G0CwubEI-e0EIUqT-HBC1vmbH8p2XOIfhs/s1600/IMG_3370.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9kYMu3Rs039NdKxcg3BE6tFq_Yx3eed-wINS3z5RcZ5zJqyTRWIUNu0bzRYuBTiifiBwVJvR0FeNKMGxMIdALfBMuvGolc2r1i5syLET6G0CwubEI-e0EIUqT-HBC1vmbH8p2XOIfhs/s320/IMG_3370.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The clever holders were a suggestion in the recipe, although the skewers that we had at home were too wide, so Becky and I modified them by taping toothpicks to the top with electical tape. We thought we were pretty clever:)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjce62MIuu5cQuYea5YZ5Hc6b2nDham6Bly-zOeIqroOvpOPEnKP9GjaeCxJSxtpp8Hu8T9DNf2wJ7xwVeU9dEvenVlBo2AwpB9sc59nx_LN0faTdBdnqie9m9QU92_9aIQyXCGYLvjflI/s1600/IMG_3373.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjce62MIuu5cQuYea5YZ5Hc6b2nDham6Bly-zOeIqroOvpOPEnKP9GjaeCxJSxtpp8Hu8T9DNf2wJ7xwVeU9dEvenVlBo2AwpB9sc59nx_LN0faTdBdnqie9m9QU92_9aIQyXCGYLvjflI/s320/IMG_3373.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The finished product. We won't put the rest of the names on until we get a final Easter head count, but we figured we'd be there for sure. The speckling turned out to be harder than I thought, so I finished that after my helpers were in bed. A fun project for sure, but probably more suited for kids a few years older. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCMOjwE13Ug_9nX2E7Kl5k9lD_iI-eZQK7WVkkAHtG4C7m7CgDeiCa-6LK6EUD3jHkhuUf0T59r6gJ8-UMgms9L6O8kzJMlzq-MOw1hMSKkL9OBnbNPNk5zsRgHb4Wz2cUf9F2tDeodfU/s1600/IMG_3374_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCMOjwE13Ug_9nX2E7Kl5k9lD_iI-eZQK7WVkkAHtG4C7m7CgDeiCa-6LK6EUD3jHkhuUf0T59r6gJ8-UMgms9L6O8kzJMlzq-MOw1hMSKkL9OBnbNPNk5zsRgHb4Wz2cUf9F2tDeodfU/s320/IMG_3374_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next I saw a marbelized egg project on marthastewart.com when I was searching for the best way to blow eggs. It looked a little simpler for kids, so we might try that later this week. It's spring break around here, and today it's raining, so indoor projects are in order! Happy Easter!</span></div>akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-49649085907325115672011-04-09T17:54:00.001-07:002011-04-09T17:54:16.875-07:00Our week . . .or so<p><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhshyGCbMzbSQPNFguyvWfpp72B-vqVqupEqybk2u7X0CFyd12JhhwyJnlMq3u2O3B235p0v8xavI8_ANM_q6UFtJem8wvYT7vspsX0STfTvAs0E1fov1nhyphenhyphenjg6baCa20I-MyIrN3bxbU/'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhshyGCbMzbSQPNFguyvWfpp72B-vqVqupEqybk2u7X0CFyd12JhhwyJnlMq3u2O3B235p0v8xavI8_ANM_q6UFtJem8wvYT7vspsX0STfTvAs0E1fov1nhyphenhyphenjg6baCa20I-MyIrN3bxbU/s400/2011-04-06_17-48-58_75.jpg' /></a></p><p><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUMwOyzMB-LO2XKDoMorZUw2acwzCSje3RHPoTy3btfHKn9PzoauWZjnJFOhQ1_VBwwXztIvR8TppkdPrps6P7H_HmLOaJfvtNAXxBcWtKXYoOWASpN3_qws55P_7H8RPiCKWJcTniWgM/'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUMwOyzMB-LO2XKDoMorZUw2acwzCSje3RHPoTy3btfHKn9PzoauWZjnJFOhQ1_VBwwXztIvR8TppkdPrps6P7H_HmLOaJfvtNAXxBcWtKXYoOWASpN3_qws55P_7H8RPiCKWJcTniWgM/s400/2011-04-02_15-14-58_726.jpg' /></a></p><p><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAZWVfXGXJtz9lgKG28AACAw47m1Lo9XVGxN3IOgaIlnfKog6R9fk9iF9HLhElekOEpuvOK8hnK5QsVgtLgpJZaCrUoV6BUwtBUI_7qTYc3_zlEoe06oZ1u-U_BwZmeG_oEVL-1BVu4Xs/'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAZWVfXGXJtz9lgKG28AACAw47m1Lo9XVGxN3IOgaIlnfKog6R9fk9iF9HLhElekOEpuvOK8hnK5QsVgtLgpJZaCrUoV6BUwtBUI_7qTYc3_zlEoe06oZ1u-U_BwZmeG_oEVL-1BVu4Xs/s400/2011-03-29_15-39-20_455.jpg' /></a></p><p><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtR3PJe_g_4o1iD_GrP3tQI3YGauYgq0qBE_Crgl35l02BNJkMtOJdghjplaI3fKUEBE7J-XQ1KeZl9NQUWvv1p5SK_sZ5U4V0RiI_-zR5LJdST7LMfRRXjTTWyH_zVmsimEzDRzvvXPc/'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtR3PJe_g_4o1iD_GrP3tQI3YGauYgq0qBE_Crgl35l02BNJkMtOJdghjplaI3fKUEBE7J-XQ1KeZl9NQUWvv1p5SK_sZ5U4V0RiI_-zR5LJdST7LMfRRXjTTWyH_zVmsimEzDRzvvXPc/s400/2011-03-29_15-41-27_821.jpg' /></a></p><p><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvVeFeg2xfdPQL4POrX8KUs3yMGABiLCtMZQ3GPZ6hbKi210MXboX0RDTjEG6ek-unEw-Jv6YvZUqpZZE6uhmcuZPgOsjo4DQ6VQivROHrQKmk3resCxcJlJPSHxr4l2wS3dQhDNC0h8/'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvVeFeg2xfdPQL4POrX8KUs3yMGABiLCtMZQ3GPZ6hbKi210MXboX0RDTjEG6ek-unEw-Jv6YvZUqpZZE6uhmcuZPgOsjo4DQ6VQivROHrQKmk3resCxcJlJPSHxr4l2wS3dQhDNC0h8/s400/2011-03-25_09-07-35_480.jpg' /></a></p><p><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaVaTwZ7Cn_IngZrps5q66vMRyEpFKJPzhL1adKPcQMjD_NsVMqXHEwdK84gcLlg4G_CwU6KmfA3Z2P-01aUWXhfVrLzi94aNmUdssNlHvvEO3IgpKZTDWECaMVnnjGpxVfbIPzZ9ErpE/'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaVaTwZ7Cn_IngZrps5q66vMRyEpFKJPzhL1adKPcQMjD_NsVMqXHEwdK84gcLlg4G_CwU6KmfA3Z2P-01aUWXhfVrLzi94aNmUdssNlHvvEO3IgpKZTDWECaMVnnjGpxVfbIPzZ9ErpE/s400/2011-03-21_18-26-14_630.jpg' /></a></p><p><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT3-bSPgZqABDiVw2ZXpLuUu9M2dHxCs03igopirvA8JbFNf1L1foDhHsoY73f7XM3vy6w244M88QNoUIDm2TMiz66LBn5808c9glaECPsW94Lx8O8t89ldUFdc8Z9QQeJwpQaejAL90s/'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT3-bSPgZqABDiVw2ZXpLuUu9M2dHxCs03igopirvA8JbFNf1L1foDhHsoY73f7XM3vy6w244M88QNoUIDm2TMiz66LBn5808c9glaECPsW94Lx8O8t89ldUFdc8Z9QQeJwpQaejAL90s/s400/2011-03-21_18-28-20_805.jpg' /></a></p><p><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGd7sp2yeiexFyDjJA53c1DQTNO6M4n2PXqklTkSS-5VZ0JnuLWm_QcPX6sL_Csk-ugD3IseMKAvDPzruKfd4VkJtKDI7z0OF_zRFKUZ9KhtKkH9iP9jSTltdlmvldBiB7SDcserMHZyg/'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGd7sp2yeiexFyDjJA53c1DQTNO6M4n2PXqklTkSS-5VZ0JnuLWm_QcPX6sL_Csk-ugD3IseMKAvDPzruKfd4VkJtKDI7z0OF_zRFKUZ9KhtKkH9iP9jSTltdlmvldBiB7SDcserMHZyg/s400/2011-03-23_16-57-01_639.jpg' /></a></p>Well this is an assortment of pictures which I've been meaning to put on the blog, but I've been too busy to do more than take the pictures. So here's an mixture of photos for your perusing pleasure -- especially for Grandma Jo who enjoys seeing her grandkids even without description. I'm posting this on my phone, so I can't see the pictures right now. Here's what I think they're about. <br/> Jack has started t-ball practice, and he loves it! It is such a delight for this mama to see how eager and confident he is. He runs to help the coach, and to pick up a bucket of balls after throwing them all. For hitting practice they hit off a tee into a chainlink fence, and last Wednesday Jack hit the ball so hard that it went through the fence. His favorite part of practice is throwing -- I think he could do it all day. He can throw further than I can! <br/> There are also pictures of both kids making cookies, a photo of Jack's muddy back at the park one day, and reading together on the couch. <br/> <br/> The video is of my crazy kiddos jumping barefoot into the snow. <br/> <br/> Oh and the funny faces are eating kumquats. Although both kids like citrus, kumquats were not a hit, as you can see. <br/> <br/> In other news, Trace has acute pneumonia and he's been at home on the couch all week, so it's been rather chaotic around here. Actually I think the chaos might be entirely in my own brain, from lack of sleep. My sweet girl has also had a cough at night, so she comes to our bed in the middle of the night -- and as my husband aptly described, I become the middle of a cough sandwich. On a positive note, they are both definitely improving daily. I might even start speaking complete sentences again soon! <br/> <br/> Until then, goodnight. <div style='clear: both; text-align: center; font-size: xx-small;'>Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7</div>akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-55837810471231857092011-04-09T17:18:00.001-07:002011-04-09T17:18:48.228-07:00Crazy kids<p><object width='425' height='355'><param name='movie' value='http://www.youtube.com/v/Yeqt94Rv2ko&rel=1'></param><param name='wmode' value='transparent'></param><embed src='http://www.youtube.com/v/Yeqt94Rv2ko&rel=1' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' wmode='transparent' width='425' height='355'></embed></object></p>This video wouldn't upload to the last post, so I'm trying it in its own post. Let's see if it works! <div style='clear: both; text-align: center; font-size: xx-small;'>Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7</div>akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-11623158443648533052011-03-19T20:00:00.001-07:002011-03-19T20:23:55.220-07:00Snowy day<div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This winter has been especially full of snowy days for us. We've actually had trouble playing outside because there's been too MUCH snow. Today we had over a foot of snow, and since Trace had cleared the driveway early, by this afternoon there was the perfect amount of snow to sled. I went down a number of times with Caroline, which she loved, but by the time I went inside to get my camera she was done. Jack, however, stayed outside for another hour or so, sledding, and even helping the neighbor shovel his drive. That's the way we spent our snowy day!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-WoqotMtP7UU/TYVtwJ6yUNI/AAAAAAAAA5g/q2_HjySUuUo/s1600/2011-03-19_15-01-03_334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-WoqotMtP7UU/TYVtwJ6yUNI/AAAAAAAAA5g/q2_HjySUuUo/s320/2011-03-19_15-01-03_334.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFu3xdozbVR7GCEbqsOJbkYOceQhw9ih-6FIMga-Y2d9QQsoj4W1KtGTP1qqHBeh97bQ-W9b34J6xkXUHLfcjDEqCjqlhqiB9FqWoC6DLr1yaP-4h4HHZ2ZT0bWaH-q7J3HUaX-Ak1rv8/s1600/2011-03-19_15-01-50_508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFu3xdozbVR7GCEbqsOJbkYOceQhw9ih-6FIMga-Y2d9QQsoj4W1KtGTP1qqHBeh97bQ-W9b34J6xkXUHLfcjDEqCjqlhqiB9FqWoC6DLr1yaP-4h4HHZ2ZT0bWaH-q7J3HUaX-Ak1rv8/s320/2011-03-19_15-01-50_508.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2TcsXNvcKRpEQOcPPlByEGGpV9FcW4wPyCmcxg7R6LaTYeXuOrhrWYZYUxzYhD9-bMIoy-bSY95hBbdKpX4LQ3hacxhHTIjYuKD-BVWdYlv257tWxbtkWd95DjOhiVlnPG5XSIPUrL44/s1600/2011-03-19_15-01-36_287.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2TcsXNvcKRpEQOcPPlByEGGpV9FcW4wPyCmcxg7R6LaTYeXuOrhrWYZYUxzYhD9-bMIoy-bSY95hBbdKpX4LQ3hacxhHTIjYuKD-BVWdYlv257tWxbtkWd95DjOhiVlnPG5XSIPUrL44/s320/2011-03-19_15-01-36_287.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div>akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-18170461109825184362011-03-13T20:55:00.001-07:002011-03-13T23:34:58.812-07:00A Four Year Old in the House<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The princess around here turned four. None of her young friends could make it to the party, but it is a testament to her sweet spirit that all kinds of grown-up friends took time out of their day to dress-up and come to her princess party. The ladies even dug in the back of their closets for old prom and bridesmaid dresses. Caroline loved how fancy everyone was, and that the boys even wore "handsome ties," as she requested. You are one loved girl, Miss Caroline!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpVmT5dAnJYmUfdAuJhtn801sDuMJbzsDfMEmN2sjBp74CjDxHvsZ1zVzq9OpjoMlNEPKgvnPpFYbyBBbSsLx8cFTuWAtriHYgZfXZR1q8vKsrzIqMKamQTSfCvZnBqgBBW9JpXB6UEFY/s1600/Bday1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583792720345586818" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpVmT5dAnJYmUfdAuJhtn801sDuMJbzsDfMEmN2sjBp74CjDxHvsZ1zVzq9OpjoMlNEPKgvnPpFYbyBBbSsLx8cFTuWAtriHYgZfXZR1q8vKsrzIqMKamQTSfCvZnBqgBBW9JpXB6UEFY/s320/Bday1.jpg" style="display: block; height: 213px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583792717351167186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6wMCVhzG2CQpWpm9fRLfaM0GaN4LAFkpBWbLN_vzHBB7jGOX8c3_l4Tw7iym9x8mHfn0NUPGZeN8DRQsqEJIc4MR9wk-D91LBzUF_EpDN0YeGGXAmiozOajegjbIzkeOmO-_rWKNvJ9E/s320/Bday2.jpg" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; display: block; height: 176px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /> </div><div><div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">All the ladies dressed up. And she might be a princess, but she's still a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Fike</span>, and she requested ribs and hot dogs for her party. She's her daddy's daughter! <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583792715289607666" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzrL4esvZ1t3vef7WjqvTsbk1KMRj0zLNayFaM-LiFjthbWgHYGJXwuZ_sshBSrNcQyPLOdh2MQyyUYQBFJYbru2aLQ25SbAbIMSE0hTvV5JKU8pdJRQWtuNlX6FubO8T40EXslnk1pS8/s320/Bday3.jpg" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; cursor: hand; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583792705343400546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLMsqtC0OPZFtdn1hUjyoPodO94gdV48QiqICZCCxNHy3OVtELKGaHlSZHP8Zo_K1lUbNavg0aSDj0ViFkqTsXtzC-GlSUem6kojjQ7x_qmCkT35FXB0srKECLmYcL2DX93ga1t9gmFR8/s320/Bday4.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583804699663046722" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw7virEAA9FePZRPcddM6vJ1UNFMJz52JVj89QG49ADHSw4n4MljDQDhQsO3PB4bJvYZlVv1fB7oUqpm-8tElVm7hW_nMceFZcZ0d0JsG9p_qTmy4zuJPnLM9cETM-x916jeXnZQmJmgM/s320/Bday19.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 213px;" />The man behind all the wonderful food. </div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HKk7SRv59QSYUNUEYv7wDPb3IjkRkx8544_T9GcFnSKQPBX5IgmMKecOLOXFW4YUEl__2VpJJijY9X8rT0BpJqIXpkfHxbtn2zgpL-T-vkZ8pe1ZiHo6NjSlb7xo5TOKQ9GJ_d-2DVM/s1600/Bday5.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583790687737242226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HKk7SRv59QSYUNUEYv7wDPb3IjkRkx8544_T9GcFnSKQPBX5IgmMKecOLOXFW4YUEl__2VpJJijY9X8rT0BpJqIXpkfHxbtn2zgpL-T-vkZ8pe1ZiHo6NjSlb7xo5TOKQ9GJ_d-2DVM/s320/Bday5.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 213px;" /></a> Saying hello to Andrew and Katherine. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583790681748286946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNxnMkXhgnoyHZ2TTZod3Yo5yF0reYzVWM7E7Tq-RAy1dx0oCse0xUrzvQqGMpyYBpDHNe31QEKoQfpy8w2iUi3WCGtzCACufIsO978tZFwXs76_fdNbXMwMSDMbzsNtQKkm_Btol783A/s320/Bday6.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 213px;" />Have you ever seen a princess eating ribs before? <br />
<div><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583790672516190274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZzLzRpCV7UBF-lqrjTrob8bx0Yo75HSKxnp4XThF3k-jMZ9ix5mpuLyUCZxLPFiKL6c7zzQ-IZewL2OPbgQU0AKKoQcgxJ-GK-AF3bHB5FKhX1u80luNeLfuX1ykDf6WdtuuNaroRmL4/s320/Bday7.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" />She loved her "fancy" cupcakes! It was worth all the time I spent the night before to see the delight on her face in the morning. <br />
<div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB18Byu-GCr5DDGbHpyBa_ROguPUOKwXl_Sjxm8kaaDoqN9YbYwFgqhXIJqWCes2V4eL0z4wOgbgaFjyMA-4NN_6PM1buWINh7tpwyN_GQXq_nMtn0cMRfdGAsfwCl2Zo6Kaf19OHsK9E/s1600/Bday8.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583790669845340866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB18Byu-GCr5DDGbHpyBa_ROguPUOKwXl_Sjxm8kaaDoqN9YbYwFgqhXIJqWCes2V4eL0z4wOgbgaFjyMA-4NN_6PM1buWINh7tpwyN_GQXq_nMtn0cMRfdGAsfwCl2Zo6Kaf19OHsK9E/s320/Bday8.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 213px;" /></a> Blowing out four candles. <br />
<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnqblxNtoXZsOX9ny80gCae7Tlm04TDoSas0XwSjvNpe9jKYdEEwz5DRGEqWbK01ZIvGRYL932wbuz3lqsmHs6H8XcDm1pSgf2ANeR3uJcyYcDT4JZMkAlxsnBmtQY9_hoLNW6a96wmUk/s1600/Bday9.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583790665496119218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnqblxNtoXZsOX9ny80gCae7Tlm04TDoSas0XwSjvNpe9jKYdEEwz5DRGEqWbK01ZIvGRYL932wbuz3lqsmHs6H8XcDm1pSgf2ANeR3uJcyYcDT4JZMkAlxsnBmtQY9_hoLNW6a96wmUk/s320/Bday9.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 213px;" /></a> A sweet brother who was such a gentleman all day. He and I had gone shopping earlier in the week, because he wanted to spend his own money and buy his sister a gift. We went to Ben Franklin, on his insistence, and he wandered the whole store until he found what he wanted: some buttons for her to make crafts with. He carefully chose the pink and purple ones out of the Ben Franklin "treasure chest" of buttons, and then found some bracelets for her too. It took all his money, and warmed his mother's heart. <br />
<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLgDY7UQfZlLnsOLUnNVXN0DD_VDgXu1lizp1ca1l0Yz6IL4l7Z40PAnejI_ZjhE1gS7p3ZTmVwSqgKd8Eba3buPJgpI_6rOC_SjuS0Bd6FY8t_fhKgzERwfosqWzJAMBIYkOqgjOWoW4/s1600/Bday10.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583790053821591330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLgDY7UQfZlLnsOLUnNVXN0DD_VDgXu1lizp1ca1l0Yz6IL4l7Z40PAnejI_ZjhE1gS7p3ZTmVwSqgKd8Eba3buPJgpI_6rOC_SjuS0Bd6FY8t_fhKgzERwfosqWzJAMBIYkOqgjOWoW4/s320/Bday10.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a> She travelled around the room and opened each gift with the giver. She also saved all the bows and tissue papers: they were all fancy! <br />
<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2NRReix1VquPJMK3kj4TK2Ws9NsR8HtCuZ5U7tzC8j07owF57Hz_cjX-Iu4I0hO6x6uukjGpAytLtAmJXFGEymx8MTrTlEC5F0mi-a-lPIJUgDmVQ3XJrW8Rqw6hcRDiKoG_4KiFGbf4/s1600/Bday11.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583790050921233058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2NRReix1VquPJMK3kj4TK2Ws9NsR8HtCuZ5U7tzC8j07owF57Hz_cjX-Iu4I0hO6x6uukjGpAytLtAmJXFGEymx8MTrTlEC5F0mi-a-lPIJUgDmVQ3XJrW8Rqw6hcRDiKoG_4KiFGbf4/s320/Bday11.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a> Her favorite Aunt Becky. On a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">sidenote</span>, she told me the other day that Aunt Becky is her favorite because she makes her vanilla steamers with whip cream. Affronted, I said: "but I cuddled with you all last night when you were sick!" She reassured me with, "well you are my second favorite, Mom!" She's a cutie! <br />
<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtXeyiEkZiA82vXsPnykdqJnAqO0i9_ngoaNOZ6OMRxyNEkm61z3X9icAXFd1MSHQ7k59VW1GDJKp7C_iW8fdkHopNaQvXe29QM_Tj1oYELPXKIsK_HH8mWzK_Wn2bDO5wm5DHvQchCOk/s1600/Bday12.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583790047675066770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtXeyiEkZiA82vXsPnykdqJnAqO0i9_ngoaNOZ6OMRxyNEkm61z3X9icAXFd1MSHQ7k59VW1GDJKp7C_iW8fdkHopNaQvXe29QM_Tj1oYELPXKIsK_HH8mWzK_Wn2bDO5wm5DHvQchCOk/s320/Bday12.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a> Excited to see the kitten that she and Kim had shopped for together. You're an awfully nice friend Kim! <br />
<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nZ1fcdAX1Nx8NNCixqLFFldTnywzzOhWeWc4Eg5OcnERvQHOww7T-t8S05eKMJuFyelJiSErFH6R4qaXV1hY8d9wLif8I2eoN4w4HgeS3IILm-HH_E9_7HH52i8L6ptAaWoOfhDIf4E/s1600/Bday13.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583790041171688146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nZ1fcdAX1Nx8NNCixqLFFldTnywzzOhWeWc4Eg5OcnERvQHOww7T-t8S05eKMJuFyelJiSErFH6R4qaXV1hY8d9wLif8I2eoN4w4HgeS3IILm-HH_E9_7HH52i8L6ptAaWoOfhDIf4E/s320/Bday13.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 213px;" /></a> Gifts from "Uncle" John and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Hynndie</span>. <br />
<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsjbFi-otwGrjMCR05jmX5u_dO4X1i-aeWoHJ41BvpudeboHJ9S1xSvZiF_mAmRtN3DdPb7pNXSyS7Ixe7e79LsI6QBO1WZ6DmW9gz8CJaQiUvtNDr9mNS_VolSCRvVi7JQSN51k7ckUI/s1600/Bday14.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583790039803567954" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsjbFi-otwGrjMCR05jmX5u_dO4X1i-aeWoHJ41BvpudeboHJ9S1xSvZiF_mAmRtN3DdPb7pNXSyS7Ixe7e79LsI6QBO1WZ6DmW9gz8CJaQiUvtNDr9mNS_VolSCRvVi7JQSN51k7ckUI/s320/Bday14.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a> Opening a Giants shirt with Uncle Ted. Now she'll be ready to cheer on her team this year too!</div><div><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583789219795020658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLj2_cYZBFk-miXUYeXW_mKl4KvA3AafNjQr-V2nb-Tt89Ug3hVqLmR5GVXL4_Go6dz9SC4ZEZnajbrB2dxGvVbrGAExY4RwRDkMnZrgJTpXnAX3Okgm7Lp1cdx1ZRKmDusnCoQZ-tMjc/s320/Bday15.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" />Phil reading her the poem with pictures that he wrote/made for her.</div><div>The two <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Carolines</span>. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583789227518811842" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBhmbEuHnfqJD6ZxfNZKeiLzwpps79xqMkC3yLICTmGkrVY_0-5vb-5f0RvmGQ-bwVtgjEqQozmmlB2iMgjk7t0m0aCeHNNgLE-q6pf7TIlS4ZFQBpCSfaze457yEZRqqlc_5hKG58xYM/s320/Bday16.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /> Sitting on Papa's lap to open her bunnies. She played with them all day today! <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583789231179992466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMgerklZA81nrvbCDsHI6K6pgEvlMTU5tXw1KlRSzHSnj3iSNhv5j8AEDopul0sR1ImvNF_EQx4k_DO_ubAMzSHi2U5oG-ATyF7rwxw8UBvUmDeeGJmDfL7DhspFxlqIX-klB2lBXu2No/s320/Bday17.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" />Every year Caroline has received a book (or two) from Mike, and a dress from Ellen. What fun gifts! <br />
<div><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583789235886763794" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmKojR4emzU3_5rO3-MwNoVRq6NVvL3RnqZFo0v2u4XjDoYm-72iP4NQJQdDmKaVGzUwtdfYKowUbC7xqyPrRQRBdiAPrrKMKCd-eMFaui8PN3ZDcveYOKtWYD57Uwi0QlWvFF3C9nHM/s320/Bday18.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJHHbqsWNCCwRfhwy7hkPBZzXTQK0uGOR4fObvxU5Glet54ZWShQt1nXO7z9Qd4blY_yLrq-yfxl_x7WVadNoX8eOvwLbsKoJynzuX5bwB4qyHnqQcMPbKHiWGwh7StkmQwpICTAWyOqA/s1600/Bday19.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583789239145481474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJHHbqsWNCCwRfhwy7hkPBZzXTQK0uGOR4fObvxU5Glet54ZWShQt1nXO7z9Qd4blY_yLrq-yfxl_x7WVadNoX8eOvwLbsKoJynzuX5bwB4qyHnqQcMPbKHiWGwh7StkmQwpICTAWyOqA/s320/Bday19.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 213px;" /></a> The before picture of the cupcakes, which we enjoyed all day today too! Happy birthday to the surprise girl in our family. You're all girl, and we all love your hugs and giggles and your imaginative spirit. Four years old! <br />
<div><div><div><div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460608696417805401.post-90795147108789317932011-03-13T20:45:00.000-07:002011-03-13T20:55:12.511-07:00Jack's First Lost Tooth<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcykcpy-m2NX_DwPz97nCJGqkxUVSxSjcGiNl99QIcmm1RGw3UzufOnm8MS_RiJDGNzaS-GptvmQSczon7bgggC5ZGXn8WS4RXw132tUyYX3r6a7hEqcIQql9unkOUmuZ4YwHazkFEfMY/s1600/tooth+fairy+note.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583778027025561906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcykcpy-m2NX_DwPz97nCJGqkxUVSxSjcGiNl99QIcmm1RGw3UzufOnm8MS_RiJDGNzaS-GptvmQSczon7bgggC5ZGXn8WS4RXw132tUyYX3r6a7hEqcIQql9unkOUmuZ4YwHazkFEfMY/s320/tooth+fairy+note.jpg" /></a>
<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMMlAqJ913iazYn8teOs08tpOpvK4Ct0rEmAKkasEZS-tyDEWkZJXeynSlSUp9FUCBSQeoEAWH6RF95ht7yRPzUrHk_E3mT6d7RBCpnAoMM0uCS5uNEydKcI_DsTgw5qhGXvIKokeKMg/s1600/Jack+tooth.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583778030213733778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMMlAqJ913iazYn8teOs08tpOpvK4Ct0rEmAKkasEZS-tyDEWkZJXeynSlSUp9FUCBSQeoEAWH6RF95ht7yRPzUrHk_E3mT6d7RBCpnAoMM0uCS5uNEydKcI_DsTgw5qhGXvIKokeKMg/s320/Jack+tooth.jpg" /></a>
<div>Jack lost his first tooth yesterday, on Caroline's birthday, and we don't know when, or where. </div></div>
He gave me a hug after everyone had left the party, and he was missing a tooth! The reason it's so hard to see the missing one is that the new one had already come in. In fact, the one to the left has also come in, also without the tooth falling out, so he's had double teeth for a while. Since he didn't have a tooth to put under his pillow, he wrote a note to the tooth fairy and put that under his pillow instead. It worked! There was a gold dollar and no note in the morning. That tooth fairy is amazing! I love that the note makes sense, but would make sense with or without the tooth: I lost my tooth. Yes indeed you did my little man!akamilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17329113363409564469noreply@blogger.com1