Spring!

The crocuses are blooming!

The day the crocuses bloom has got to be
one of the best days of the year!
Winter won't really last forever.
Even if there's more cold and snow before Winter gives in,
Spring is on the way, and nothing can stop it now!

Cannon's Birthday

Wednesday was Cannon's FOURTH birthday! He is getting way too big. But I tried to talk him into being three for another year, and he wouldn't go for it.
So we had a party or two (or three) for him so that he could turn four.
I do a little home preschool with some other moms, and it just happened to be at our house on Cannon's birthday, so we had a little preschool party. Cannon doesn't seem to mind being the only boy in the group, and I'm sure those little girls enjoy learning more about sword fighting and cars. :)

For his birthday, Cannon received quite a few additions to his Cars collection. As he started opening them he stopped and said, "Wait! We have to make a list!" He ran and got a pencil and started marking them off on the back of one of the packages. (You know, where they list all the cars you don't have yet, but really should want.)
He was most excited about the "Loser." He's been really really wanting a loser for his birthday. Yes, I know. There's something not quite right about that. But if Lightning McQueen is going to win every race, then you have to have a car that's going to lose, right? (And Chick Hicks is lost right now.) So that would be the yellow one second from the left: RPM #64 - the loser.

Dragon Dance

We went to Ben's Pack Meeting on Wednesday
where he received his Bobcat.

Yeah Ben!

It was the Blue and Gold Banquet,
and the theme was Chinese New Year.
They had a cool dragon there for the kids to do dragon dances with.
Only adults could be the head, but you've never really seen a dragon wiggle 'til you've seen one with ten cub scouts inside.
Here you have a video of the best dragon dance of the whole evening.
(And no, I don't know what Ben is doing. Carrying the train? Maybe he couldn't fit inside.)

Wrestling

The wrestling season for second graders in Richfield is only four weeks long, but Ben loved every minute. He won about half his matches, but they give everyone a medal just for showing up. Here is a short sample of Ben's wrestling prowess.

Beach Board

Jef is way excited about his latest product, so I thought I'd share a few pictures. It's a beach board. Basically a surf board with wheels. And the pictures are deceptive because it's actually quite large. It measures 46 inches. (A regular skateboard is about 31") The wheels are built specifically for sand, and it's going to be used for kite boarding. But if the wind died, and you wanted to do a little surfing, you could just take the wheels off, and voila! Your surfboard is ready to go.

Big Snow

The other night we had the most amazing snow storm. The snowflakes were HUGE!!!

Jef caught one snowflake on his coat sleeve to prove how huge they were. It was amazing!

So then everyone had to rush outside to play in the snow, even though it was late and dark. The coolest thing was to try and catch them with your mouth.

Chinese Chess

The latest craze at our house is Chinese Chess. Jef bought a set in China, but it took the long way home, so it just arrived at our house. The main differences I can see between Chinese and Rest-of-the-World Chess are that:

1 - There is a river down the middle of the board. No bridges. But that doesn't seem to stop any pieces from hopping right over it. It must be more like a stream.

2 - One side has a king, and the other side has a queen. Sorry, I can't tell you if they're married or not.

3 - All the pieces are the same shape and size (at least on our set), but have Chinese characters on them. And since we don't know the real names of the pieces, we have named them for what their symbols look like, such as the crocodile, the elephant, and the dead fish piece. (At least all these animals could easily cross a river.)

Old Stove New Stove

Well, we were all sitting at dinner one evening

-no one was in the kitchen-
when suddenly we heard a loud POP
from the kitchen.
We hurried in and checked the stove,
but all the burners and the oven were off.
Then came another loud POP,
and smoke started rising
from the burners, the knobs, the little indicator light -

YIKES!

So we quickly unplugged it,
and never dared to plug it back in.

The poor thing is at least 50 years old, probably more like 60.
It came with the house, and has served us well for over eight years.
May it rest in peace.

The new stove -
Well, it is just the coolest!
I can now fit two pie pans in my oven without tipping one!
(Actually more)
I can fit four loaves of bread instead of just three!
(Probably more)
I can use any size cookie sheet I want instead of just size small.
(I can even bake three sheets of cookies at the same time!)
I now have FIVE burners on my stove instead of three!
(The fourth burner in the picture is actually some kind of sunken soup pot, or something. I filled it full of water once, turned it on high, and about four hours later it was steaming a little.)
AND there is now a window in my oven door!


However, with progress you always lose something, and in this case I have lost three things I miss very much.
In the old stove there were three drawers
where I kept all my pots and pans.
(A very useful feature in a kitchen with no cupboard space.)
The old stove had this cool little light above the stove
that was so very nice.
(It took about $50 and about 4 hours of Jef's time to install an acceptable substitute.)
AND the old stove had counter space included!
(With the loss of the old stove, we are down to about 6 square feet of counter space)

But all in all, I am ECSTATIC to have officially entered the 21st century.

Winner!

Emily won second place in the Farm Bureau's Essay Contest
for her brilliant composition entitled
"What Farmers Do For Us."
She got a certificate and ten whole dollars!

Here is the written part of her essay.
It's really not the same without the pictures, but oh well.
The words are good, too.

Farmers grow plants and food.
And some grow cotton.
They send them to stores.

Farmers work hard to keep us alive.
and they kind of help us brethe.
I LIKE FARMERS!

Farmers use tools.
and machines.
Some are to harvest.
Some are to plant seeds.

Farmers use tools especily tracktors.
And they sometimes use hoe's.

Thank you for all you do.

RSV - Really Scary Virus

Well, yesterday I took the two little girls to the doctor because they had been quite sick over the weekend. Jennie was already feeling much better by the time we got there,
but Lydia wasn't doing very well.

The doctor sent us over to the hospital for an RSV test and to measure Lydia's oxygen level...

... and 27.5 hours later, we came home.


She tested positive for RSV, and her oxygen levels were too low, so they kept her there until she was doing better.
When we first arrived, the doctor all the nurses were telling me that this was not an overnight fix, and that she would be there for 3-4 days, and could possibly have to stay for up to two weeks!
But she decided to just get better.
One night on oxygen was all it took.
Her lungs still aren't clear, and we'll have to keep giving her breathing treatments at home,
but at least we get to sleep in our own bed tonight!
Hooray!

The Extra Mile

After yet another heavy snowfall (I am SO ready for Spring),
Cannon volunteered to shovel the sidewalk.
"OK, sure, have fun."
How much snow can a three-year-old really shovel?
But might as well let him try.
Well, when I thought to check on him a while later...
He was almost to the end of the block!

He was determined to go around the corner
and half way down the next block
-- all the way to Grandma Judy's.

But when he started veering off and heading towards the intersection
(he would NOT believe me that he was no longer on the sidewalk)

I suggested we go in for some hot chocolate.

HOORAY FOR CANNON!
My little Superman.

China TidBits

I've been wanting to post some of Jef's pictures from China, but he's still waiting to get some from his brother. (Long story there.) But here are just a couple of highlights.

Normally I would not recommend traveling half way around the world just to take a picture of someone else's potty, but this is the toilet in a public restroom for both men and women.

And this is a police car. I hope they aren't involved in too many high speed chases, don't you?