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Jan 6, 2013

Cell phone stories

Whenever I download photos from my phone, I chuckle at the randomness that is my life.

We took down Christmas decor on New Year's Day.  Well, everything but the tree went down.  The naked tree hung out, in all its needle-dropping glory, for a few more days.


Last time snow rolled through town, we were lazy bums and didn't shovel the driveway. We didn't appreciate the unfortunate placement of our driveway when we bought this house; it doesn't get much sun in the winter and therefore collects and retains ice quite consistently.  On Friday the boys and I took advantage of an above-freezing afternoon and tackled the driveway.  When I say tackled, I mean it.  Zach had the brilliant idea to use a sledgehammer to break up the ice.  Tyler grabbed the ax (hang onto your hats, grandparents; no limbs were lost).  We made great progress!  The ice cracked into chunks, so we just shoveled it up and heaved it away.  Excellent work, boys!



Speaking of winter weather, our van has been the dirtiest in all the land.  It was filthy before Christmas, but then all the car washes were closed because the daytime temperatures were well below freezing.  On a warmish day (maybe the same warmish day as the ice escapade), the kids and I waited for about 30 minutes in the car wash line.  It was a fun outing, silly as it was.




I had to pick up a "deliver to store" pair of jeans that I had ordered online.  Somehow I delayed the errand until Garry went back to work, so I took all of the kids.  As we waited for an associate to retrieve the pants from Customer Service, I observed my scraggly (darling) children and chuckled to myself. We are quite a sight out in public.  I saw lots of people counting heads as we walked by.  I promise I directed Lexi to dress more warmly.


Isn't this clock awesome?  About a month ago (at least), one of the kids threw a ball at the wall right next to the clock and one of the hands fell off.  Now it is impossible to tell the time.  There is a way to fix it, but it involves about 30 minutes and 16 screws.  I just can't deal with it.  But it's a fun conversation piece with visiting friends.



Tyler spent some time this week playing with his "Disgusting Science" kits.  He had a great time reading instructions, measuring ingredients, boiling things on the stove, and producing chemical reactions.  One activity was designed to mimic digestion, and a balloon was the stomach.  I had to leave the room when the balloon vomited its contents onto a paper plate.  Ew.


I have saved the best for last.  Last week Kate begged (begged, I tell you, in that wordless way of hers) to wear Lexi's swimsuit.  I helped her put it on over her clothes and she toddled around in it for hours.  At one point I found her kneeling on the dining table and playing a harmonica.  It was hysterical.  I stood behind her and laughed for at least five minutes.  Then I walked around the table and saw her face and laughed some more.



You're welcome.

5 comments:

Lars said...

That last photo was hilarious, adorable, and delightful! I loved the whole post. Wow! Gavin's gotten tall.

Shannon said...

Now I'm not the only one with a clock on the wall that doesn't function properly. Ours stopped working well over a year ago (maybe two?) but it can't be fixed. However, it's a nice looking clock! So, on the wall it stays....

Eric Farnsworth said...

I cringed when I saw the axe being used to break up the ice on the concrete. I guess Zach has a project for his 2nd Class rank advancement: Demonstrate how to safely sharpen an axe. :)

Grandma said...

I noticed Tyler had on shorts while shoveling snow and breaking up the ice. Silly boy:) Kate is hilarious!

Colleen said...

Such fun little updates! My kids can't seem to get into winter weather clothing either, so they are often out in shorts. Oh well! Adam spent 6 months looking at houses with our real estate agent before we could finally buy, and one of the things he learned during that time was the best orientation for the house in the winter, thankfully the one we liked best was facing the right way! But then, my kids would LOVE to sledgehammer some ice! Kate! So adorable!

pass it on!

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