Gingerbread Houses

Stephen and Elise made gingerbread houses in school... they were so happy!

2008_01_27 - Gingerbread Houses

Skiing

One perk of my not-so-fun current job is that taking vacation time isn't as difficult as it has been in the past. So I took MLK Day and President's Day off and took the kids skiing both days. Those two days, combined with another Saturday mean that they're getting pretty good. Marcus only needs help if he falls down, which doesn't happen that often. And Elise can ride the chairlift now! She still holds onto my poles going down the "big hill", but she'll probably be free of those by next season.

2008_01_21 - Skiing

Marcus Is 8!

He's getting to be such a big boy! While Angie was sick with a nasty flu, the rest of us enjoyed a pancake dinner (the birthday boy's choice) and some present unwrapping:

2008_01_16 - Marcus's 8th Birthday

Angie managed to recover in time for his party, which was dolphin-themed. Marcus has been reading the Dolphin Diaries series of books and now has decided to become a marine biologist when he grows up... "so I can teach and learn"! We decorated the living room and played dolphin games, and a good time was had by all:

2008_01_19 - Marcus's 8th Birthday Party

Merry Christmas - The Sequel

Since I had the week off, we got to go to Granny and Grandpa's house. It actually took the kids a few days before they realized that they hadn't received anything from Granny and Grandpa on Christmas day!

Stephen was very proud of his "Ohio State jacket":


Granny enjoyed wrestling all three kids at once!

Mr. Subdued?

As you can see, Stephen has no trouble expressing himself:

2007_12_29 - Stephen's Many Moods

Peeling Apples

The kids just love using Angie's new apple peeler/corer/slicer:

2007_12_27 - Peeling Apples

Merry Christmas!

Ah, the joys of watching their faces as they discover Santa's surprises.

Getting Ready For Santa:

2007_12_25 - Christmas Day