Embarrassed at Red Robin

"Happy Birthday...happy, happy birthday..."

On turning 11.

I love this 11 year old. I told him today that I remember very well being 11. I thought it was absolutely the best age. I thought I was very smart... and had a great life... not too many responsibilities ...and lots of possibilities. I decided then for some crazy reason that my multiples of 11 years would be my best... so 11, 22, 33. I told Levi my next birthday was going to the beginning of an exceptional year. He said "Are you going to be 44?" When I said "Yes" he hung his head and said "That means you're going to die soon." So I threatened to not let him have any of his birthday presents.

A Grandpa Gift

Levi can count on really cool gifts from his Grandpa...one year it was a bb gun. This year he got his very own band saw. So we go from "You'll shoot your eye out" to "You'll cut your finger off!"

Team Gear

A year's worth of fan gear.

Picky Eater Extraordinaire

Okay...I understand that some children won't eat crust on toast. But to not eat crust on a pop tart? That is a new level of picky eater. (Hint: It wasn't the birthday boy.)

Birthday Morning

Starting the day out with a sugar rush!

Birthday Breakfast

I told Levi he could choose anything for his birthday breakfast. This morning I drove him to Fred Meyers early and he selected... chocolate milk, poptarts, and grapes. I never, ever buy poptarts. Happy 11th Birthday, Levi!

My first car

OSU Socratic Club Debate

Ethan and I are taking a trip to Corvallis a week from Monday to watch two philosophers debate the existence of God. It is a debate sponsored by the Socratic Club of OSU. Todd has done a couple of their debates in the past. The philosopher representing the Christian view of God is William Lane Craig, a philosophy professor at Biola University in California. Anyone else want to go?

Levi's favorite reading material

Tin Tin is a traveling reporter who goes around the globe having adventures with his dog, Snowy. His travels span political and historical events, fantasy and science fiction adventures, as well as thrilling mysteries (description borrowed from Amazon.)

What Natalie's been reading

A Tale of Two Cities

Ethan finished reading "A Tale of Two Cities" yesterday. I told him I'd take him out to breakfast and talk about it when he was done. Now he has to memorize several of the more profound lines in the book including "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...." and "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." What a great book!

Welcome Guest

Our friend Tovi came over to play Wednesday. You have to love a guest who is absolutely thrilled to be in your home. It was his first time to come over without his mom. Usually it is his older brothers who come over to play with the boys. He jumped on the trampoline, played basketball, ran around outside a lot, ate two grilled cheese sandwiches, and answered trivia questions. He liked my cooking and didn't notice my messy house. He can come back to play anytime.

Spring! Sun!

Bubbles for the little boys.

Picking crocuses in the lawn.

Running the Steam Engine Models with Grandpa

Grandpa and Grandma's new camping trailer

Grandma and grandpa have a new trailer. Natalie especially loves it. Her one criteria at the moment for a future husband is that he won't make her go camping...but I think she might change her mind if she had a bed, a microwave, and her own shower.

Natalie's been baking again.

I feel a little sorry for people without sweet daughters who bake. Natalie's latest creation made with grandma: cream puffs.

She obviously doesn't know how Uncool Pintos were.

My first car: A brown Pinto just like the one on this t-shirt. Natalie says it was cool. Levi says "That is a nice car." Obviously they do not have a clue about Pintos. Bottom of the 70s and 80s car pecking order. I suppose if I tell them that they blew up if rear-ended they would be even more impressed.

Valentine's Day Cinnamon Rolls

I made a special treat for breakfast this morning. Unfortunately, I had to wait for the smoke to clear from my kitchen before I could take this picture. The pan I baked these in was too shallow and sugar and butter began to ooze over the sides to the floor of my oven where they caught on fire. I tried to blow the flames out but I needed to continue baking these for another 5 minutes. By the time they were done, smoke was billowing out of the oven door.

When I went to bake a Papa Murphy's heart shaped pizza for lunch, the smoke started spewing out again. I think I am going to have to clean my oven... Rats!

Watching the Olympics with Stacie

Reasons not to take my eyes off the boys for a second

Hmmm. Someone got into the candy.

How many dumdum suckers can a two year old eat at one time?

George Washington's Wig

A fun little project in Levi's American history class.

Manly Cooking Lessons

Levi made meatloaf for dinner several nights ago.

So we all got to eat a delicious meatloaf creation shaped in an "L".

Trip to the Dentist

Yucky abscess!

Tools for inspection.

Numbed from his eyelids to his chin!

First flowers

Cente brought me a dandelions...CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? I am not ready to begin the battle of the weeds for my lawn. However, I do love little boys presenting me with dandelions.

Climbing trees

Cente, the tree climber.

Marcos, the want-to-be tree climber.

Cente, the tree climber teacher.

Tulip shoot - victim of the tree climbers.

How Ethan does the dishes

Ethan has the kitchen as his chore for the month. He was in there with the door closed so I thought that maybe he was doing an extra great job and wanted to surprise me. I was surprised all right when I peaked in and there was still a sink full of dirty dishes and Ethan on the floor reading a book. "I just have to finish this chapter, Mom."

Sweet poetry

With Valentine's Day looming tomorrow, my children have been expressing their "affection" for each other in rhyme....the "roses are red" type rhyme.

No one can accuse my kids of being sentimentally syrupy about this day of love. In fact, many of their creations are down right rude. I think they miss the whole point of the holiday. Valentine's Day cards should not include rhyming pairs such as "You' and "Poo."

I am not exactly sure what it means if you receive one of their creations. But if you do not receive a homemade Valentine's Card from my boys, it might mean they love you.

Quoting Emma

Jane Austin's "Emma" just concluded on PBS's Masterpiece Theater. I watched it with all my kids although the boys made sure to protest loudly enough to be manly about it. My favorite scene is towards the end when Mr. Knightly rebukes Emma for unbecoming behavior. His best line is "Badly done, Emma, .....badly done, indeed."

Today, from the backseat of our van, I heard Ethan "Badly done, Natalie..." I looked back at him in my mirror. " 'Emma' quote Ethan?" He grinned.

I have a feeling we are going to be hearing "Badly done..." around the house for a season.

SuperBowl Treats

Natalie and I decided to make some special treats to eat during the Super Bowl: guacamole, hot chicken wings, bacon wrapped dates, and chocolate cake. Yum!

Essay Workshop

Natalie spent all week begging me not to make her go to an all day writing workshop on Saturday. Fortunately for her, she has a mom who becomes more resolved about the importance of a thing the more loudly her children protest. So Natalie spent from 8:30 - 3:30 listening to writing guru, Andrew Pudewa, and writing essays. He was brilliant, not just for his writing instruction, but for the rabbit trails he took, challenging the students to take responsibility for their own education, to study logic, to not go into debt to attend college, and on and on.

The parting speech he gave the 200+ students alone was worth the price of the workshop. Natalie's first comment coming out of the class was "My whole youth group needed to hear that!" He spoke of patterns in history, of the progression of events our country, and of how this generation is complacently heading into a time when we are going to have the 'pay the piper.' He challenged them not to live for the pursuit of money and comfort... I had better stop trying to quote him as I won't do his speech justice, but it was brilliant. And after overhearing it as I waited to pick Natalie up, I was motivated to parent and teach my kids more intentionally so that they will be better prepared to live in the time God has placed them.

A fun poem

I like to have my kids memorize poetry. I am enjoying working with Levi on "The Cremation of Sam Magee" by Robert Service.