Playing

Here are a few pictures of the kids playing with some of their new gifts after Christmas and birthdays.  They have enjoyed playing with other things, too…I just don't have pictures of all the enjoyment!

I know I'm super behind on the blog…but that seems to be a constant state these days instead of an exception to the rule.  I'll try to post a few more pictures soon.

Savannah

Benjamin says, "Daddy, could you go to Savannah tonight and get some pralines because we're out of pralines and Grandma can watch us while you're not home. "

Good Stuff in There!

Jonathan was getting into the car with a huge smile on his face, and our conversation went something like this:

Me:  That's a huge smile  - I like it.  What's the reason for your big smile?
Jonathan, still grinning:  I don't need a reason to be happy.  I only need a reason to be sad.
Me:  That's a pretty good quote.  Did you read it somewhere, or did you make it up yourself?  Is that original material?
Jonathan:  Calvin and Hobbes.  There's some good stuff in there!

Noah's Animals

Benjamin told me that the animals were eating all the kinds of food that they wanted.

Tagging Along

Jeff still has a job that involves quite a bit of travel, and it comes in spurts.  We can enjoy a long stretch of time without any trips, and then suddenly he will have three or four trips across the country in one month.  January has been a big travel month, but something unusual happened this time…I got to tag along!  He had one conference to attend that didn't include him presenting, or hosting a booth, or…any of those things.  He just attended and built relationships.  AND, Jeff's mom agreed to come watch our kids so I could go with him.  AND, the conference was in Miami.

Even though it was hard to be that far from the kids for a few nights, I was very thankful to be able to get away with Jeff.  We hadn't been away from them for multiple nights since having three kids.

Here is a blurry picture of the view from our hotel room.  There aren't many pictures of us together, because Jeff actually was working while we were there, but I had fun relaxing and we had fun playing while he was in between work times.

Here I am reading by the pool.  During the four days of travel, I read four long books.  It was fantastic. My sister said she wanted a bikini shot of me.  Considering I don't have a bikini and don't take many selflies, particularly when I am wearing a bikini, she was out of luck.  :)

The high was around 80 each day we were there.  A cold front blew in the day that we left, which was perfect timing!  I did most of my reading and relaxing at a park with this view over the water.

We took in some culture while we were there and went to this art museum.  They had the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever tasted.

We really liked these hanging columns covered with plants.  We thought some miniature versions in our backyard would be great.

We didn't take many pictures of ourselves on the trip…but we did capture this reflection of ourselves in polished Formica (I am not kidding) that made us look about three feet tall.  Thankfully, we don't really look that squished!

Here's one of us with one of the exhibits…not squished!

One evening, we had a very special and fancy dinner overlooking the water.  It was amazing.  Great conversation, delicious food, relaxed atmosphere.

Here are a couple more pictures overlooking the water.

Jeff took this picture.  I always seem to have wet hair in pictures.  Probably because it's after lunch by the time my hair is finally dry most days.

On the way to the airport on our last day, we took a detour and drove to Key Largo and took in a little sea kayaking, although we really were not on the sea.  Key Largo was nice to look forward to except that anytime anyone mentioned it, or I even thought of it, I got that really annoying Beach Boys song in my head.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'll spare you the agony by refraining from sharing the song with you.

We ate breakfast at this "hole in the wall" (an expression my kids never understand) and took a picture of the sign because my grandma's name is Evelyn.

This is one of the mosaics I saw on my many walks to and from the park where I spent a lot of time reading.  The mosaic is entitled "Alice Goes Back," which was an apt description of our return to our real life.

We had such a wonderful time and were so thankful to be able to go.  Huge thanks to Jeff's mom for doing the huge job of caring for our kids, and to my mom for giving Cheryl some relief when she needed it.  As much as we enjoyed our trip, we really missed our kids and treasured the time together when we made it home!

What to Do with Your Sister's Tutu

Polar Bear Club

Jeff was compelled to start a Polar Bear Club at our house on New Year's Day.  However, he is the only member of the club.  He invited our neighbor and our kids, but nobody would join him.  You can see why.  The pool is not heated!

Popular Mechanics

Jeff had read about something he thought would interest Jonathan, so he was eager to tell Jonathan.  But when he began to tell Jonathan about it - 3D printing of chocolate - Jonathan stopped him and told him "I've already read about that."  In Popular Mechanics.  He's already making good use of the subscription that he got for his birthday from his grandma.  (I do preview it before he reads it, but so far I've just had to tear out some inappropriate ads.  And he devours the rest!)

Jonathan's 9th Birthday

Yes, our boy turned nine.  So many special friends and relatives made him feel so loved, and I promised we will get thank-you notes out to all of you.  Really!  But, the first step is blogging about it, so here goes…

Jonathan wanted a Lego Chima party.  I groaned inwardly.  And also outwardly.  There just didn't seem to be many ideas out there for making it a Chima party, so it was mostly a Lego party.  Jonathan said that all we needed to do was make a Chima waterfall out of streamers.  Of course!  I put him in charge of that.

I sprung for a little silicone candy mold to make Lego guy candy for party favors, and I was thrilled with the results.

Jonathan was showered with gifts that he loved…before, during, and after the party.

We borrowed a Lego guy cake pan from our neighbors, and my mom made him a Lego guy cake.

Doreen made Lego cookies.

I could not throw a party without help from my mom and Doreen.  It's all I can do to get the house picked up in time!

Yep, the banner for the boys worked again!

Here are the party favors.  I was pretty proud of them.  The Lego company graciously provided free Lego Club magazines to put in each favor bag.  And we added a few more goodies.

I asked Jonathan to use Duplos to make some little holders for forks, markers, etc., and he made a carry-all in the shape of an airplane instead.  That's my boy.

 I have a ton of cute pictures of the kids at his party, but I don't have permission from all the kids' parents to blog their pictures, so I'll have to ask you to use your imagination.  It was fun, trust me.

When each kid arrived, he/she colored a Lego name tag, like Jonathan's shown here.

They helped make Lego pizza.  The mini pepperoni is supposed to look like the bumps on the tops of Legos.  You can pretend that they do.  :)

The kids made Lego-shaped boxes that I found online.  I didn't realize that the cutting would be so difficult for a lot of the kids, but I think they still enjoyed it.

I had made Lego guy-shaped ice cubes out of Kool-Aid, and the kids were fascinated by melting them. I didn't know this would go over as well as it did!

The kids made Lego cars and raced them down a 6-foot table that had one leg extended.

Of course, Jonathan loved opening his gifts, and his friends gave him some really sweet gifts.

Nine!

Here we are after the party, with our boy that we love so much.

And here are a few more pictures from his actual birthday, which was after the party.

Well-Checkups for the Boys: Stats

I took the kids to the doctor for the boys' well-visit checkups.  I'm thankful to say that everything went smoothly, all three kids behaved well, and there weren't any surprises.  Jonathan, at age 9, weighs 64 lbs. and is just over 54" tall.  That puts him in the 50th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height.  I think that's a good place to be, especially considering how tall he started out!  Benjamin, at age 3, weighs 41 lbs. and is 40" tall.  Even though Benjamin has been trailing Jonathan's stats for his whole life, he has now passed Jonathan, who was 38 lbs. and 39" tall at this age.  Benjamin is something like 90th percentile for height and 97th for weight - I'll have to double-check.  The doc was happy with how they look and how they are growing, and I'll be happy that, God willing, I won't have to have them looked at again until next December.