Captured

Remember this?...a proud moment for me, my beautiful boy, a stunning setting...

The photo, taken in December when Ellis took to cross country skiing has been captured on canvas by my artist Aunt Becky.

I wish the detail was better portrayed here, but I wanted to show how it hangs in the boys' room above Phelan's crib and straight across from Ellis's view in his loft bed. How we love it! Thank you, thank you, Aunt Becky!

Vehicular Madness

The sun rises on part of the fleet

So, you're making gingersnaps but we're out of butter. Dammit. Gotta get to Kyle's Market and pick up some butter, because lawd knows we're not waiting one extra minute for cookies hot out of the oven. In fact, around here, this pretty much constitutes an emergency. Let's go!

Inclement weather? We have a sled and a sleigh; all you have to do is hitch up a horse. Of course, if you want to be lazy about it, the 4wd Subaru or hideous turquoise truck will also do in a pinch. You just pick your pleasure. Feel like imbibing in the sort of luxury only a beige 1999 Chevrolet sedan can afford? Kar 1 and Kar 2 eagerly await. You don't even have to learn how to tell them apart. Or maybe you want to take the whole fandamily, in which case you can take either the van or the 17 bikes, along with one or both of our bike trailers attached. Or the motorcycle. Or the forecart. We just want you to have options. Or the hay wagon. Or a stroller! Or if time is not an issue, the riding mower would give you a one-of-a-kind scenic sort of adventure, THE STRAIGHT STORY style. You can even hook a kid on a sled to the back. It's not like we haven't done it before.

Owain laughing

December 2009, Owain and Ellis were having a normal moment at the table. Julianne, what level of humor is this on the humor index?

Astronaut Owain

Astronaut Owain from the end of December 2009.

What would the Lorax think?!

It has definitely crossed my mind...that the Lorax might pop out of one of these logs and give us a good talking to. But we did come by this wood the honest way. A good neighbor up the way thinned out his woods and offered us this beautiful oak for firewood. 12 cords for a good price, and with our woods waning on firewood and that shiny new splitter waiting in the quonset building, it was a great deal.

Needless to say, Jay and Chris have a lot of work ahead of them with all this wood to split and move. I'm not even going to pretend that I am responsible for managing any of our firewood. All the glory goes to our men here, and their blood, sweat and tears do not go unappreciated.

We've also entered the crazy March pre-spring weather. While the boys still need to wear caps and jackets, 40 degrees and sunny is definitely warm enough to play legos on the deck! I'm fully aware that we will likely get another 12 inches of snow before winter is out, so there may still be more time for skiing and sledding before plants go in the ground!

Little P is especially fond of being outside...much happier sleeping on his dad's chest in the Baby Bjorn than screeching in his crib, that's for sure. I have a feeling I'll be scurrying around at an even faster pace once Phelan is truly mobile. Crawling seems only days or weeks away!

Welcome, spring!