Squirreling It Away

Jan 2012, Jonny made a goal to save $100 to put into his college fund.

He's been holding tight to every penny and working hard to earn them. 

Once I told him he could have a dime for every stick he picked up in the back yard. 200 sticks later...

I'm so proud of him. First, because he's learning to save and sacrifice and second, because he's is planning for his future! 

What a great kid!

(And doesn't he look adorable in the old Hamtaro costume we found in the basement! It's not quite a squirrel...but close enough.)

Spring Break

Ah, the beautiful splendor of Spring!

I don't think our Spring Break has started on the right foot. Cold. Gloomy.

I did find one Springy scene in my garden. Gnomes sheltering under the daffodils.

We are pug-sitting for part of the break. This is Bruno. (Cozy keeps calling him Pluto.)

I like Bruno. He's sweet and doesn't potty in the house. :)

He also doesn't try to eat the Matt (the kitty). Matt is sure Bruno is the most terrifying creature ever.

What a chicken kitty!

So far, in addition to snow and pug-sitting, our vacation has included a trip to Costco and going to get Sofia "adjusted". (Just her back. If they did attitudes, I would take all of the children.)

On the way home, we stopped at World Market, to buy necessary items. Well, one semi-needful...at least useful item and a candle, some coconut quadratini (yum!), and some bizarre sodas. 

When we got to the car, the battery was dead. 

We called roadside assistance and then began our wait.

Luckily, we had supplies to tide us over.

Let the soda experimentation begin! 

VERY cucumbery. Not for the faint of heart.

Sofi no likey.

(Can you tell we were pouring them into a cup of ice left over from McD's?)

Next: some weird Japanese coconut drink! 

Which got the cucumber taste out of our mouths and went great with our quadratini.

Help did finally arrive....and just in time....the car was getting chilly.

Happy Birthday, Rockville Ward!

Our congregation had a carnival to celebrate it's founding.

The kids were all super-excited to go. They ran ahead of me into the building, and, by the time I got inside, they each had a big cotton candy.

I didn't quite catch how old our ward is, but they had the biggest dang cake I've ever seen!

...the bouncy-est cake too...

Oh the joy of a bouncy house...inside a giant gym, where no random winds whisk it away.

The youth ran all sort of fun bowling, knock-over-the-cans, match-the-ducks, ring toss, eat-the-doughnut sort of games. They allowed all sorts of cheating too (Cozette looked at every single duck in the pool before she finally found matching numbers!) and gave out tons of tickets.

Snowcones. :)

Sofi, holding everyone's prizes (the horses were hers!), with Annika photo bombing.

James, all decked out in his loot.

...and Anthony, looking like he just ate 4 dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts...but he's really just helping to clean up. 

Now they're never going to let me miss another ward activity ever...just in case.

Phun Without Me

I really was going to take the kids to Physics is Phun (and probably spend the entire time in the hallway, trying to entertain James and Cozy)...but I got a better offer. NICE friends offered to take my kids along with theirs. Yay! I stayed home with the littles, while the older kids got to learn about Energy and Motion.

Jonathan even brought home the demonstration potato.  

When I asked him how they got the straw through the potato, he said, "Velocity." in his most "duh, everybody knows that" voice. 

...and then he proceeded to tell me about his plans to puncture the hull of enemy starships in a similar manner. Putting that physics knowledge to work. :)

The Badmintons are in Bloom

You know Spring is nearly here, because I bought badminton rackets. Yes, I do buy them every year. Kids destroy stuff. On lucky years, I can find them at the dollar store. (The kids say these rackets aren't as good, but...same rate of destruction.)

You may drive past on a sunny day and see us "playing" (or: feebly attempting to) in the front yard. It's not impressive and we're terrible, but I think that makes it even more thrilling when you actually are able to hit that danged birdie back and forth a couple of times.

Guess who is a fascinated spectator?

Matt loves the birdies...enjoys watching them fly back and forth and attacks them with glee once we bring them back inside.

Mail

It's a while after Valentine's Day too...but, since these weren't actually done until after Valentine's Day anyhow, I'm just calling this prep for next year:

I just love the dollar section in Target. They have the cutest stuff for every season, and I don't have to feel super guilty about spending a mere $10 on it. Also, unlike any of my homemade projects lately, they are mostly finished! I just wanted to add a little something to the mail boxes I got (from the dollar section), so I found some cute rub-on letters (from the dollar section) and put the kids' names on their boxes.

Now I just need to tuck them away somewhere findable for next year.

Cozy hid her mailbox under a chair in the living room to try and keep me from putting hers away. Sneaker! 

Blue and Gold

Anyone who has a cub scout knows that the Blue and Gold Banquet is in February...and that I'm clearly lagging behind in the blogging department. Many apologies to my husband who been waiting to see Jonny's amazing "pinewood derby" cake.

Totally Jon's conception, down to the checkerboard finish line and york patty wheels.

I think our rice krispy cars may have turned out better than our actual derby car.

Can you guess who Jon got to play in the Bears skit?

I'll give you a hint:

It wasn't Santa.

Joseph F. Smith, who was the president of the LDS church when they started using the Boy Scout program.

James wanted to try the beard on too. He wanted to "look old". I told him to just wait. Most of us get to look old eventually...and it might not be as fun as it looks!

DC Zoo

My lovely, kind mother took pity on me and came to "visit" (which is code for "try to keep me from totally losing it"). We all enjoyed her calming presence and continual helpfulness. Every time I'd turn around (in between running kids from here to there and back again), she'd be making us food and doing our laundry. 

So, not very vacation-y stuff for her, but hugely helpful to me!

We did escape the house once while Mom was here. 

We took advantage of a sunny day, skipped preschool and went to the zoo.

One of the lions escaped while we were there. All of the zoo employees claim it was a drill, but 

we know better.

Little kids rode the carousel. (Sofia declined.)

Cozette only stayed on this alligator until she noticed a nearby pony.

James stuck with his initial choice and looked like one of the borrowers, bouncing through the grass on his giant grasshopper!

Jon, however, was on a different animal every time I glanced over at him! (Thank goodness for tolerant carousel operators!)

You always hope their "favorite thing" at the zoo will be some fascinating animal...

...but those animals just couldn't compete with the giant pizza. :(

Cozy: queen of the olives!

Sofia came with us very happily and walked without limping (thanks to some super-supportive doc martins) the entire time! Yea! I was so proud.

That's a big improvement from limping around or relying on crutches. She's also started seeing a chiropractor, so we're now optimistic about getting her rib issues sorted out as well. 

Hooray for potential  wellness!

Matt

We got Sofia a "therapy cat", who she named Matt. We thought he'd be cheaper and more enjoyable than actual therapy.

And, "Go to your room and cuddle your cat!" feels like better parenting than "Go to your room and eat chocolate!"