101%

Andrew got a 101% on his science fair project!!! Woohoo!

Some of the comments from his teacher were:
Great idea!
Great bibliography.
Excellent experiment (variable, controls, material list, procedure)
Great bar graphs!
Nice pictures - really adds to the effect!
I like the blue background...it stands out!

Way to go Andrew!

Snow Day Fun!

Kendyl's First Snow Day (that she could enjoy anyway!) We were able to squeeze a little wet playtime in this morning as the nice snow fell overnight, followed by freezing rain and some rain before we woke up. We caught a little break with some misting and decided to make the best of it.
Kendyl loved her sled (thanks Marianne!) and so did I. We took a nice walk to see horses, but they were in the barns. We did get to see the boys do some sleding, and take a good walk and enjoy what we could for snow covered in ice. Kendyl just sat in the sled and enjoyed the moment, babbling away, watching her brothers and saying "weeee" down each little hill.

We took the shortcut over the bridge thanks to the snow, ice, and some help from the boys to ensure our precious cargo didn't fall out!

Andrew pulled Kendyl up the hill back home, and wanted to take her sledding back down. They both had fun. I can just see them next year....

So pretty! Our bigger creek.

Shoes.....Waiting for the Snow

Funny girl! Kendyl has been REFUSING to wear real shoes for a good month (only wears the soft leather Robeez), then suddenly this week has an interest in shoes. Today she insisted on wearing them to Miss Jenn's and wore them all day. So when she wanted to go outside (her playhouse is on the deck) while Tim was cooking dinner, I figured what the heck. She is walking around like a pro, loving her new little black shoes.

Snow was supposed to start at 4:00 today (....it's 8:40 and we are still waiting). Andrew and his friends were playing outside (building a fort) and Steven was doing his homework (he had a scout meeting right after dinner). Kendyl wasn't happy with only playing on the deck for too long....

Soon she headed off to the playset.

Shortly after getting in her swing, she was surrounded by boys! They are so good with her. They were swinging her high, making her laugh and laugh. Too darn cute.

We are all ready for spring! Ok, one good snow first...I want some snow pictures with Kendyl! She has a snowsuit and sled she has never used!

How Can Life Suck and Be Wonderful at the Same Time?

No pictures. Just rambling thoughts. I'm taking a page out of a friends blog (thanks Andi!) and I'm going to try and use the blog not only to share photos and doings of the family, but also some of my thoughts and feelings. Now I don't think I can be quite as open and honest as she is, but I do need to "get some things out".

It's amazing how life can completely suck and be so wonderful at the same exact time. I guess that goes with the territory of being an adult, a parent. The stresses, the wonders, the joys all rolled into one. Here's my short list for today:

What is Wonderful:

• My marriage.
• Watching our children grow into amazing people.
• Great relationships with my children. The conversations are priceless!
• Our children are active, polite and pick great friends.
• Watching Kendyl grow, and watching her brothers enjoy her too!
• That we both have jobs!
• We have a house in an area we love.
• Our kitty cats.
• Our health....for the most part.

What Sucks:

• A few things I am not ready to admit.
• My relationship with my family (and I don't know how to fix it).
• Not making enough time for a social life.
• Letting friendships get away.
• Not being as organized as I used to be....what happened?!?!?
• Not knowing how to help a friend through a difficult time.
• Active pre-teen boys are money sucking leeches (and I'm sure it's only going to get worse).
• I'm 37 and still have acne problems!

Well, at least I am in control of some of the sucky things and can do something about them. I just need to find the motivation that I have been lacking. Anyone have any magic remedy for that?

Great Day!

Tim and Andrew are away this weekend....camping with the Boy Scouts. Yes, camping in single digit weather in January. Well actually they rent a cabin on Peter's Mountain on the top of the Appalachin Trail outside of Harrisburg. Andrew did attend his weekly diving competetion on the way out, and moved up a place. He scored great on his front twist, which he performed for the first time this week! I'm bummed I missed it, but I was there via cellphone as he was diving. He is off next week, so hopefully he can get in some good practices and keep moving up in points!

Steven, Kendyl and I are enjoying the weekend to ourselves. We spent the morning playing and cleaning at home. Steven and I challenged each other to some Mario Kart during K's nap time, then we were off to Bounce Zone for the afternoon. This is the first time I have been there. What a great place to blow off some energy! It was empty so we had a great time playing on almost all of the bouncys.

Here is Kendyl outside the 3 and under area. She loved it! Hopped right in. Thank goodness for Steven though as it was not parent friendly. I could not see in to watch her.

Kendyl decided that she wanted to see what the big kids where up to and we bounced on most of the equipment there. I got my exercise today! It was so much fun!

Not sure why he has this sour face, but Steven is such a good big brother. He kept coming over to check on Kendyl and would follow her in the equipment, bounce with her, even play on the "baby" stuff. He would help her in and out if necessary...so sweet. The three of us had such fun bouncing together. We had this bouncy to ourselves for awhile. We sat, talked, bounced, got silly, just had fun. It was so nice.

Then we went home and I made homemade mac and cheese for dinner...yumm. It's been forever. No one likes it but Kendyl and I. Now Steven and I are watching a movie and will make fresh chocolate chip cookies.

One more night to enjoy having the bed to myself.....

Diving

Kendyl was quite the cheerleader at diving, she loved to clap when everyone clapped after each dive...so sweet. This photo was actually taken after Andrew was done and we were getting ready to go, but she was a great cheerleader for the team tonight.
Kendyl watching practice before the competetion started.

I didn't take any photos of Andrew actually diving tonight as my hand were full with Kendyl, but I took this before we left. Andrew did well tonight, but he is capable of doing better (he said so). He placed 8th out of 11 boys in his age group. Andrew competes for our school district against 4 other school districts in the neighboring county.

He does diving more for the fun than the competition, and he had fun tonight at practice learning 2 new dives. That's my boy!