Day 2 of February Vacation--

After breakfast, showering, and other household tasks, we loaded the crock-pot and took a quick trip to Target! I hate going there, only getting a few items and spending a fortune! Are prices going up or is it me!? We grabbed two birthday gifts; one for a friend of Christophers and another for our nephew/cousin Alex. Next we raced home to have lunch.

Anneli drank from her Princess cup and ate her favorite Dora Soup from her Princess Bowl.

Christopher wrapped the presents.

We then spent some time enjoying the beautiful winter day. We blew bubbles with Anneli's new Cinderella Bubble Blowing Machine. Yes, she's into Disney Princesses if you can't tell! :) Then I packed Anneli into the stroller and we treked to the Post Office to mail Alexander's Birthday Present to New Hampshire!

It was a little windy, but it felt good to get out and walk with the kids. Christopher walked all the way there and then he got a lift back. Lazy bum! (He's hiding because he's a little embarassed to be in the carriage, but it didn't stop him! He rode in it the entire way home!)

We got home and Christopher constructed a LEGO Police Helicopter with a little help from me and Anneli.

Next was Craft Time. We made Easter Cards! (Since Easter is only a little over a month away!) I gave the kids 7 shapes and we had to make a rabbit with them. (Tangram Puzzle) I gave Christopher a sample to guide him and we did it!!

Christopher's rabbit was lying down.

Anneli's Rabbit was standing up!

Here are the finished products!

Anneli had so much fun she made six of them in a row. I helped her with the first two and by the third time she could do it on her own! Fun, fun, fun!

By that time we scurried around to pick up toys. Shaun arrived home and our Crock-Pot BBQ Pork was done! Thank goodness---what will we do tomorrow!???

Total Eclipse of the Moon--February 20, 2008

Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we will be able to see the Total Eclipse of the Moon tomorrow night! I love the pretty red color of the moon during a Total Eclipse!

The Eclipse is supposed to be visible for us starting about just before 8:45 p.m. EST. and will last only a few hours--just after midnight. The last total lunar eclipse visible from the entire continental United States occurred on August 21, 2007, but the next opportunity to see a total lunar eclipse will be on December 21, 2010--that's almost three years away!

I used this website to explain a Lunar Eclipse to Christopher---hopefully he'll be able to see some of it tomorrow night! :)

Be sure to check out the sky tomorrow night!

Day 1 of February Vacation---

Today was Presidents Day and the first day of February Vacation. The weather was warm (high fifties) but rainy, so we met our friends the Armistead’s and Gull’s at the Children's Museum in West Hartford. It was fun—the kids always enjoy the museum especially with friends! Anneli always loves the UTC Wildlife Sanctuary and the animal demos. She hasn't stopped talking about touching the Chinchilla. Christopher was looking forward to the new exhibit, "Excavation Station". The kids had a ton of fun in there! You walk through a cavern into the exhibit hall or should I say geology camp complete with field tent, Jeep and seventeen-foot long juvenile Tyrannosaurus Rex with long, pointy teeth, claws and scaly skin! Here you can explore dinosaurs, fossils and rocks! The kids enjoyed sifting through gravel and sand for semi-precious stones in the museums sluice. As you sift, the sand goes away and leaves the gems behind. Christopher enjoyed this--he loves mining and brought home a few rocks for his collection! Next they enjoyed dressing like archeologists and digging for dinosaur bones. It was fun to watch all the kids as they wore their vests, eye goggles and working hard with their brushes and other excavation tools to unearth the fossils. It was a great start to our vacation! Hopefully the rest of the week is as fun! :)

The crew hard at work!

Anneli digging for bones!

Thomas (Ana's friend) putting Safety Goggles on Christopher!

Archeologist Chris ready for exploring!

What did you find??

Watch out behind you!!!!

Still digging!!

Mining for gems!

My friend Jemima, sifting for gems with Christopher and her little boy Thomas playing with the water pump! How does that thing work!

Anneli building with LEGOS!

Christopher's LEGO Race Car--definately a MUST at the museum!

Chris, Thomas and Anneli having a blast with the balls in the Idea Zone!

Happy 71st Birthday "Soup Mem"!

We hope you have a great Birthday!

We love you!

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Why do we call her "Soup Mem" you ask??

The kids call my Memere, "Soup Mem" because when the kids were little and she was feeling better and living in Massachusetts she used to make and can Chicken & Rice (with carrots and somtimes peas) for them by the case loads. YUMMMY! They absolutely loved it and they have called her Soup Mem ever since!! Thanks Soup Mem!

Hide and Seek!

Today after church we raced up to Massachusetts to Aunt Donna & Uncle Jim's house to visit with Soup Mem and Ray with my dad. We don't get a chance to see them very much since they moved to New York. They came to Massachsetts to attend a wake and funeral for Rays brother-in-law so we thought we'd catch up with them--especially since tomorrow is Soup Mem's 71st Birthday. It was a fun visit!

The kids had fun running a loop in Aunt Donna & Uncle Jim's house and playing Hide 'n Seek with my cousin Laurie. It was fun to watch Anneli--she'd count to seven, Christopher would hide and then she'd yell, "hear you or not, I come!" Then the next time she'd count to six, the next five and then eventually she wouldn't even give poor Chris time enough to hide, she'd just yell, "hear you ro not, I come!! Everyone was laughing! They thought she was a riot. I love sharing our little ones with our family!

**I'm sorry there are no pictures! I did bring my camera, but I left my compact flash card in my computer! Dummy!! I've been doing that a lot lately! Next time I'll take lots of pictures!

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

My Candy Heart Says "First Kiss"

You're a true romantic who brings an innocent hope to each new relationship. You see the good in every person you date, and you relish each step of falling in love. Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a romantic dinner your sweetie cooks for you Your flirting style: friendly and sweet What turns you off: cynics who don't believe in romance Why you're hot: you always keep the romance alive

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

Princess Anneli goes to School!

Today was a busy day taking pictures for the yearbook at Christopher's school. We first took pictures at 11am of fourth graders doing some fun classroom activities and then we went back to school for a Town Meeting/Assembly at 2pm. Anneli came with me and look how she dressed!