sometimes we get so bored...

...with red rocks and sand dunes

nope.  no we don't.

going up:

coming down:

squeeze...

exit route

tada!

guacamole

L.: "Did you know, A., that your slice is only one single slice of a big huge cake?"
Me: "Why are you saying that?  Are you trying to upset her?"
L.: "No. I'm just telling her a fact."

another new "cousine"!

Sorry, I-roc, you are old news.  Like, so 3 months ago.  There is now a new one in the family to drool over and she is just lovely.  Welcome, Laurel Frances!

it's just a teeny tiny bit morbid, sort of.

I can't decide if I should give this book to P-roc for his birthday, or buy Uncle Garrett the t-shirt, or both.
There's a youtube promo, too, but I can't seem to embed it while shaking with laughter.


But wait, there's more!  These talented authors have another book out and apparently it's got a foreword by the Statue of Liberty! 

You know how people go to NYC and they either love it or hate it? Well...

second grade MLK Day composition, by L.

ABC mind puzzle

BR: "Mommy, the alphabet needs a second letter 'N.' I think there's one missing."


We'll give you a dollar if you can guess what he meant!

what did we do during our girls' weekend?

we leaned in and over for closer looks...

we took a lot of photos...

so yeah, huh.  now that I think about it, on our girls' weekend we spent a whole lot of time hanging out with boys. 

navajo class

the girls are learning some Navajo at school:

I had to ask L. for a translation: "Here is baby.  Who will make baby laugh?  Will father make baby laugh?  Father tickles baby."

quotable

BR: "What was that saint's name again?  Oh yeah: St. Thomas the A-fossil."
A. (chuckling): "Ha! Do you think he's a dinosaur or somethin'?"

welcoming committee

we hosted playgroup over winter break.  a unicorn pegasus waited
out front to greet the guests.



happy A. learns to write full sentences

"what in the heck of guacamole"

it's BR's new saying.  we don't know what it means, but we kinda like it. 



(his masterpiece--a livingroom fort)

We also like him.  We especially like that he is 4 and not 3 because he doesn't lie so much anymore.  Usually.  Except for today when he insisted that he couldn't possibly help me take the ornaments off the tree to put them back in the box. 

Whatintheheckofguacamole. Two weeks ago, I seem to remember him being pretty darn good at it...

a perfect Christmas present...

will lead to this... (it's an excited pose, in case you are wondering)

and then this... (anatomy lessons)

and of course, these...(another excuse to make more lists!)



overheard

L: "Ha! I see that you are off to fight crime!"
BR: "Who's that guy?"

a Rockwell kind of Christmas. (Ha.)

We celebrated Christmas on the 24th this year because of Daddy's work schedule.  Since the shopping and wrapping and cooking and everything else was already taken care of (ha!), we took baths and gussied up for the Vigil Mass on Saturday afternoon.  We didn't even have to rush to get there in time, either (wait..."took baths"?--ha!  "get there on time"--ha!). 

The kids sang in the choir onstage for an hour and a half and there were no public disasters or flash floods (ha).  And we came home and opened gifts and no one even complained about receiving socks (ahem).  And I didn't ruin the icing for the gingerbread and give up and just give folks plain, undecorated gingerbread this year instead (ha). 



the traditional unicorn gingerbread cookie, of course!

 

See?  Picture perfect!



Daddy's favorite gift from Christmas

it's a little wooden clothespin daddy in scrubs, of course!

Billy and Christine, remember this book?

You gave this coloring book to the kids a few years back.  Right now it is keeping

two kids busy at once, which is my kind of gift.