At the office....

Recently, the kids got to go to the office with Garrett, an outing that does not happen very often. They love to write on the white board, sit at his desk, check out the data center, conference rooms, talk to the security guards and, basically, pretend they are "at the office". I remember doing the same thing with my dad on a Saturday morning and returning home with several photocopies of my hands, a paper clip creation and a skip in my step knowing I had just spent the morning with my dad "at the office".

Happy Valentine's Day !

This year the kids chose to make their valentines. We searched the web and came up with these ideas. Despite the fact that it cost 5x the amount of store-bought valentines and took mom alot longer to die-cut and fold, the kids loved them and they had a great time distributing them to friends and classmates. Happy Valentine's Day!

Chihuahua Dreams....

Claire loves all small dogs, especially her Auntie Em's chihuahua Star. She desparately wants us to get a small dog so she can carry it around the house, dress it up and feed it food out of her tea set. The only problem is, most small dogs don't like Claire. Despite her best efforts, she is a big dog girl at the moment and most of her running, grabbing and speaking is too fast, big and loud for such tiny animals. This picture is one of the rare moments Star allowed Claire to hold her without clawing her way out of her arms.

A picture is worth at least a hundred words, right?!

My children do not know the meaning of "company manners". They use the time spent in "company" to show off their latest karate moves, fake burps, knock-knock jokes, cartwheels and, of course, fighting. Whenever we travel to visit family or friends, the amount of time Collin and Claire spend teasing, tattle-telling, hitting and sticking their tongues out is, at the very least, tripled. This Christmas vacation was no exception. My niece Brittany captured this moment at the park in my in-laws neighborhood. Sure, it looks like they are being silly and enjoying each other. Give it ten more seconds and one of them will burst into tears while the other chants "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" to hopefully not get "busted"....

Ornament Traditions

A favorite tradition I have continued from my childhood is the addition of a new ornament every year for each of my children. When they are big and grown and creating traditions of their own, they will have a couple dozen ornaments from their youth to start them off. My mother borrowed the idea from her dear friend Sue Ford, though I am fairly confident Sue has never relinquished the ornaments to any of her children, having grown too fond of them over the years! Of all the adorable ornaments I have collected, my childrens' favorite ornaments are the two I let them pick: Barbie Princess and the Pauper and Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. I know their future spouses will thank me....