Elise is 6!

What a grown-up girl we have! Angie was healthy this time for the gift opening on the big day:

2008_02_12 - Elise's 6th Birthday

Elise was very excited to have more outfits for her doll, and really enjoyed having Granny and Grandpa in town for her party... especially after seeing the doll house that Grandpa built for her! She chose a unicorn theme for her party and celebrated at The Bare Bowl... one of those places where you buy a plaster thingy, paint it, then pick it up a week later after it's been glazed and fired. Oh, and although Angie was healthy, Stephen managed to fall on his nose. Twice. Did it faze him? Not for more than a couple of minutes!

2008_02_16 - Elise's 6th Birthday Party

Snowboarding At Snowshoe

Angie gave me an early birthday gift... a snowboarding weekend at Snowshoe, West Virginia! I went with some friends from work: Kelly, Paul, Grey, Michael, and Trent. We drove down Friday after work, arriving late at night. Then we had a great time boarding/skiing on Saturday and Sunday (although Sunday was incredibly windy and most of the mountain was closed). The resort could be set up a bit better - there were long waits for tables at mealtimes - but it was still a really good weekend.

2008_02_09 - Snowboarding At Snowshoe

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