The Wilder Life

I just finally finished reading The Wilder Life, by Wendy McClure.  It was really one of the most perfect books I've read in a long, long time.  I loved the Little House books as a girl, though the later books were just never as good to me as the earlier ones.  I've so enjoyed reading the first two books with Elizabeth, and dream of a Little House tour to some of the homesites - even more so after finishing The Wilder Life.

There's one passage in the book that was just so perfect, I had to capture it here:  

In my mind, the world of the Little House books just went up in smoke at the end, their heroine disappearing into clumsy ordinariness and ignominy.  It had always trailed off with a vague, unspoken disappointment. It's the kind of story we learn over and over again about everything in the world: your life starts out as a wide open frontier that you explore until the forces of time or history or civilization or nature intervene, and then suddenly it's all gone, it all weathers and falls down and gets built over; everyone dies or moves away of becomes a grainy photograph, and yes, at some point you just get fat and fall off a streetcar.  Progress - it dumps you on your aging and gigantic ass!

Harry Potter has interrupted our Little House books, but we'll be on the bank of Plum Creek soon.

A girl's life

Last week, I walked a neighbor girl home after a playdate that ended in tears.  Another girl had been here too, and the Rule of 3 was at play.  It seems whenever 3 (or an odd number) of kids play at a time, it's all too easy for one child to feel left out.  And when it's 3 girls?  It's all too likely one (or more) will be left out at one point or another.

I explained to the dad what I thought had happened and he nodded, yep, the power struggle.

And I replied, this is exactly why I did not have that many friends as a child.

Seriously, the emotional manipulations at play are too much for me at 45, and completely overwhelmed me at 8.  I did have a few good friends growing up, friend with whom I'm still in touch today.  But a couple of them had a y chromosome, and the others were pretty calm, even-keeled females who didn't deal with a lot of drama.

Now I'm sitting in the quiet house - E has gone off on the second half of a playdate.  Another girl came here, along with a third friend.  The three were only here about 80 minutes, but I spent at least 60 of those 80 minutes talking variously to each of 3 girls, encouraging her to just play together with the others.  At any given time, one of them was arguing with the other two.  And if they weren't bringing their grievances to me, they were loudly arguing over who was in the wrong.  And it kept continually shifting over time.  It was exhausting.  How they stand it is beyond me.

Seriously considering imposing an only one friend over at a time rule!

fandom, Andrew style

We've really enjoyed Andrew's love of all things sports, especially football.  It's too bad we took the extended break from blogging, because I'd like to remember when we realized that at a young age he could tell us which teams were playing and who was winning, because he figured out - entirely on his own - the score box shown on various networks.  Right now, he can identify almost all pro football teams, and a large number of college, though he doesn't entirely get the difference between the NFL and the NCAA.  His favorite team has been UVA, until this year.  Last year, he loved UVA's quarterback, whose nickname was Rocco.  Well, Rocco transferred, so Andrew ha been mad at UVA for "firing their best quarterback."  Miffed, he's varied his favorites over the season.

Because of his deep love for cardinals (have I never written about that?  In addition to sports, he enjoys birdwatching, and is really into cardinals), his new favorite team is the Arizona Cardinals.  We traveled to Arizona this past October to visit a friend and he's still annoyed we didn't go to a football game there.  But his second favorite team is often FSU, thanks to a great season and lots of opportunities to watch on TV (and a desire to please Mommy, too).  (His other teams are the Bears (to please Daddy), or sometimes the Redskins, again for Mommy.)

Anyway, Sunday night, at dinner, we had this conversation:

M:  Guess what - tomorrow night FSU is playing in the championship game!
A:  Really?  (munch munch on dinner)  Who are they playing?
M:  Auburn
A:  Is Auburn any good?
M:  Well, Auburn is really good.  I'm a little nervous.
A:  Auburn is going to win.
M: What?! Why do you say that?
A: You said they were good.
M:  Well, FSU is really good!
A: (munch munch)
M: FSU has the best team! Auburn has won two games on last second, weird plays! FSU has really good players!  The FSU quarterback won the Heisman!
A: (munch munch, unmoved by my increasingly strident arguments)
Daddy:  starts interjecting to also chime in that FSU is good
A:  (munch munch, completely unmoved)
M:  A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK FSU WILL WIN!  [the line, at that point, was FSU by 9]
A:  (completely flat tone)  I don't.

So, yeah, there was that.  I was pretty nervous that FSU could pull it out, and now completely convinced my 5 year old had predicted the game.

Monday night, Rich worked with Elizabeth on her homework assignment that we had all break to do but waited until the last night, and Andrew and I watched the game.

When Auburn went up 21-3, Andrew calmly observed: "They are crushing us."  And it was at that point that I decided it was time for him to go to bed.

(But when he came into our bed in the middle of the night, I was pleased to be able to tell him he had been wrong and Florida State had won the National Championship. So there!)

Happy new year!

Well, I lost steam for NaBloPoMo, but it's a new year and a new chance at blogging.  So here we go again. It's been a hectic holiday season - Rich and I both came down with colds right before Christmas.  My sister arrived, and we spent Christmas Eve here. Thanks to her and Meg, I achieve done of my major holiday goals - wrapping presents before Christmas Eve.  And we got good seats at church, so Christmas was a success!  After unwrapping presents Christmas morning, we headed to my brother's for more presents.  Then we drove to family in DE, where we received more presents, plus did a little post Christmas shopping.  Then the little guy got sick, so on our way home from DE we stopped at the pediatrician to discover it was strep, which meant we also stopped at the store for the prescription.  We dumped off all our new possessions and frantically packed because the next morning we took off for Florida, where we acquired still more stuff. 

So today, on the second day of driving home, we were all eager to see home again.  But knowing what was waiting  - a destroyed house, presents and packages everywhere, and not to even mention a dead Christmas tree - we weren't really all that eager. 

Over the busy holiday , I didn't even get a chance to crack open my book, but the title taunted me: Happier at Home. I would dearly love to be happier at home, but after driving 1000 miles over the past two days, we weren't that happy to walk into this:

And that's just one small glimpse!  We made a slight dent, and the kids were able to open some presents they had only admired thus far.  So it's going to be a busy week.  And maybe then I will have a chance to read and figure out how we can be happier at home.  

This post was inspired by Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin where she runs a nine month experiment to create happier surroundings. JoinFrom Left to Write on January 6 we discuss Happier at Home. You can also chat live with Gretchen Rubin on January 7 on Facebook! As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes.

1st lesson

Tonight was Elizabeth's first piano lesson, and it went really, really well.  Even if the piano was in the middle of the dining room and the lesson means pushing back dinner a little.

One of Elizabeth's good friends on the street started piano last year, and initially I was going to contact that piano teacher.  But then a former music teacher at Elizabeth's school started giving private lessons as her main business, so without hesitation I contacted her the very next day after I bought our piano.

Last year, Elizabeth's school offered a free music class for first graders one afternoon a week after school, taught by her new piano teacher.  She seemed to like it a lot, which was great.

At one of the last lessons I asked Ms W how things were going and she said it was all great.  Elizabeth was a lot of fun to have in class.  Then she paused and added, she is going to be something as a teenager.

And of course, my mind immediately went to, omg, she is going to be a handful, she is so stubborn and determined and willful now……..but before I could say anything in response, Ms W continued, "she is a really cool kid, you can just see she's going to be a really fun, unique teenager.  Can't wait to see how great she's going to be."

And I was, simply put, floored.  That may be the single greatest compliment I have ever heard about Elizabeth.  We struggle, often, with our determined and fiercely independent and stubborn daughter.  But those very traits that exasperate us so much can also serve her very well in life.  Ms W gave me a great reminder of that, and I remain grateful for that reminder, something that I've tried to keep front of mind since.  It's not always easy, but it's important to remember.

There's a lot of space between the first lesson and being able to play the piano.  And we have a lot of practice time to get through.  But she's off to a great start.

sunset

And this one did make it to Facebook - there are some benefits to dog walking.

I love our neighborhood and living in the city - most of the time.  There are some negatives - the cost, the crowding, how some things just simply aren't as convenient.  But those are more than balanced by the positives - the walkability, the things that are convenient, the ambiance of our neighborhood, and our community.  

There's just one thing that isn't fixable - I miss seeing the sky.  The entire sky, skyline to skyline.  When we drive to the Eastern Shore, that is still home to me - my heart is lighter because the world is just so much more wide open.  

The way our house is situated, the western sky is mostly blocked, which is really frustrating when there is a tantalizing glimpse of a perfect sunset.  But even a glimpse of this sky was a spirit lifter.  

And maybe, just maybe, there will come a day when we actually get a rooftop deck.  No time soon, sad to say, but eventually.  

parenting fail

One of the reasons I stopped blogging is because I really like Facebook.  It works for me, my whole family is on, and it's a quick and easy way to put things out there.  I meant to post this to Facebook this summer, but forgot, so a quick a easy blog post.

We saw a lot of movies this summer in the theater - it was a fun family outing on a weekend night, and there were some really good movies this past summer I'm glad we saw.

Anyway, standing in line to get popcorn one night, I noticed Elizabeth staring up at this very large promo poster:

Mommy, is that The Beatles?

OMG, Parenting FAIL!

Cozy

As more and more of Elizabeth's friends got sucked into Harry Potter, I decided we'd hold off a little bit  and revisit another old friend - Laura Ingalls Wilder.  One of my friends said to me that she HATED reading the Little House books, because it was like watching paint dry, there was nothing interesting about smoking deer meat, and there was simply too much detail without enough story.

So I picked up Little House in the Big Woods with some level of trepidation.  The interesting thing to me about reading children's book now is having the capacity to evaluate the writing choices of the author and the ability to step back a little and put the book into a historical context, as well as imagining the adult perspective of the child's view.

I've decided that Beverly Cleary and Laura Ingalls Wilder are essentially the same books.  What both authors do well is to focus on the family as a unit, and the smallest child's place in that family.  They remind the reader of how special it feels to be inside a circle of love - the love a child feels for her parents, the love of a family together.

One night this summer I was reading aloud from Little House in the Big Woods and got to this passage:

[Pa] had curried the horses until they shone.  He had swept the wagon box clean and laid a clean blanket on the wagon seat.  Ma, with Baby Carrie in her arms, sat up on the wagon seat with Pa, and Laura and Mary sat on a board fastened across the wagon box behind the seat.  

They were happy as they drove through the springtime woods.  Carrie laughed and bounced, Ma was smiling, and Pa whistled while he drove the horses.  The sun was bright and warm on the road.  Sweet, cool smells came out of the leafy woods.  

As I read I could picture the little family setting off on their adventure.  In the back of my mind, I was admiring Laura (or Rose's) ability to set a scene so vividly with so few words, while also wishing I was riding along with them.

Suddenly, Elizabeth interrupted me with an outburst:  "Oh, I want to be them!"

Indeed.

Books

I have intended forever to do a post (and many posts) about our reading.  I was a voracious reader and no lie one of the best parts of parenting is revisiting the the books I loved with Elizabeth.

As she approached age 5, I kept telling her we were going to start reading chapter books, and she would protest loudly that she DID NOT like chapter books and would not listen.  I pulled out a staple I knew she'd love - Ramona!  And soon after her 5th birthday I started - and for the first few sentences she protested over my reading, but then suddenly was enthralled.  We would read at night before bed, and during the day I'd find her carrying the book around, parroting reading it to her toys or to no one at all.  Beverly Cleary uses the word "scowl" a lot, which was a new word to Elizabeth, but one I heard her repeating over and over - she would speak a little jibber jabber when pretending to read aloud, but throw in scowl and Ramon and Beezus and a few other key words.

After the first few books in the Ramona series we read more classics - A Cricket in Times Square, Ralph and the Motorcycle, Charlotte's Web, the Bunnicula books.  For a while I joked that we weren't reading anything published past 1980.  We did dip into the Magic Treehouse books for a while, but mercifully she got bored with them (but I bet we'll have to revisit with Andrew).  Based on a friend's recommendation, we even read The Hobbit last fall and over the winter.  It took a while, and I wasn't sure it was a good choice, but she was immediately in love with it.  Doesn't hurt that it has one of the best opening sentences in all of literature.  I'll have to write more on our adventures with The Hobbit in December (when the next movie comes out).  I tried once to start The Wind in the Willows but she was not at all interested, so maybe we'll try that again later on.

We've spent some time with the Disney Fairy books, which are good enough in their own way.  The one popular series I simply could not read was the Junie B Jones books.  Like fingernails on chalkboard, and I have discovered I share my hatred with all of my book loving friends.  AND, I also discovered everyone I know also corrects Junie B Jones's atrocious grammar while reading - it's like simultaneous translation, reading the crappy writing and correcting as you read aloud.

I'm already off NaBloPoMo pace - Sunday was too beautiful to spend any time blogging, so writing this Monday and backdating.  So I will end here and divide what would have been a long post into two.

Andrew-isms

At almost 5, Andrew's mostly speaking like a child, no longer mispronouncing or making up words. But there are a few Andrew-isms that persist and I don't want to forget:

- Dark Vader

- chickmonk

- wuh-lee-gee (Luigi)

- plablo (Pablo, a character on Backyardigans as well as his old soccer coach)

Yesterday I was laughing with him a little bit as he was telling me a story. He always makes one point, then says, an' DEN when moving to the next part. So he asked me why I was laughing and I copied him and he said he was going to say 'then' from now on.  An' DEN I simply replied, I'll miss it when you do.  

Back?

Wow.  Two years. There's a lot of living that happens in two years. I don't entirely know why we stopped blogging, but the longer you stop the harder it is to get going again. Do you go back and catch up?  Do you just start fresh?  How do you start again?  

I work now with a group of mostly men, who are mostly roughly 10 years older than I am. I worked on a big project this summer with two men who I genuinely like as people. Both have college age sons, and in the middle of crunch time they both talked a lot about the logistics and planning - and emotion -  of taking their kids to college. 

The day after one came back from the drop off trip, he said to me, it goes so fast. I'm telling you right now, write it all down.  Get a notebook, get something, and just write down all the good stuff. Because before you know it you're pulling up at the dorm.  

And I thought, well, I do - did - that.  I do have my notebook - this blog. This is where I should be writing it all down.  I've got 16k pictures on my computer and I know I'll never print them out and make memory books, but I can document the highs and the lows and everything in between. Or at least some of it. 

So, back for now. It's been so long blogger has totally changed and there's even an app. 2 years is a lifetime in web applications. But we can figure it out again, I think. And it's worth it. 

Descriptors

(OK, so it's January, but I'm so far behind in posting, I'm writing posts and backdating them, but tonight I had to do a book club post, so stuck this in here.)

Since both Elizabeth and Andrew were small, we've looked for short simple phrases or really, one word to describe them and their personalities. 

For a long time, pretty much ever since he became mobile, Rich has called Andrew indomitable.  And it's true, there's not much holding this guy back.  But lately, I've hit on the perfect word: relentless.  This boy is relentless when he wants something, and most particularly when he wants attention, especially a response.  Which has led to another descriptive phrase: aggressively conversational.  Let's just say he cannot be placated with a "not right now" or a "hold on a minute" or even, distressingly, a "shh! quiet in [church/restaurant/any public place that requires quiet moments]."

For now (well other than church or other public places) it's mostly fairly charming, so we just try to give him a specific answer to whatever query and hope he gets distracted by something else.  Not that he ever really does, but there's always hope. 

--
In Sweetpea news, school continues to go well, and we're confident we made the right decision in having her in a second kindergarten year.  She is in a bilingual immersion school, which means one full day in English followed by one full day in Spanish, and so on.  For one thing, in Spanish, she is gaining confidence and even says sometimes, let's talk in Spanish.  She understands nearly everything said to her in Spanish, and she can recite poems and expressions and sing songs in Spanish.  She's still shy about speaking conversationally, but the teachers report her confidence is growing.  And, she's quickly picking up reading in Spanish.  It's nice Spanish is more phonetic than English, though some sounds (like J, which makes an h-ish sound rather than the English "juh") are harder than others. 

A couple of other parents have mentioned to me they want to talk about how we decided to put her in this grade.  The birthday near the cut off is so hard - we initially decided to push her ahead because she was so confident, and verbal, and seemed ready.  But the child we saw at school events was quiet, reserved, and in the background, often non-participatory, whereas at home (and with neighborhood friends) she was loud, assertive, and very much in charge.  Now, though, her English teacher tells us that sometimes she is non participatory, because she is more mature than many of the kids and doesn't want to do silly things.  But overall, we can see she is more confident in class and we think benefits from being on the older side.  But who knows.  I think she would have been fine either way, and we're glad we have this opportunity to have her experience something new this year.  Overall, the teachers (at this school and her previous school) report she is a happy, confident girl who is quick to make friends and easily moves amongst groups of friends. 
--
I sometimes look at both E and A and wonder how their personalities will continue to develop and what kinds of kids they will be, and compare to what kind of kids both Rich and I were.  Somehow I think (and I hope!) they will have an easier path than Rich and I did.  Though it's not like anyone really enjoys the middle school years. 

In the Myers-Briggs world, Rich is an ISTJ, and I am an ESTP, which means we have fairly similar personalities except Rich is an introvert and I am an extrovert.  Though, for both the S and P I score so close to the middle it's hard to really say.  And, I first took the assessment when I was a senior in college, and my extrovert score was nearly off the charts.  In the (gulp) decades since, I've officially taken the assessment another 3 or 4 times and each time my extrovert score slides closer and closer to introvert.  Now, I'm close to an ambivert.  It's far too early to tell for E and A, of course.  Rich has a more classic scientist/engineer type profile, and while I emphasize the arts at this point for E&A, I have to admit I really hope they both have a more analytic, science-minded focus.

We'll see.  The fun is in the journey, right?  Right?  Isn't that right?  Don't you think so?  Are you listening?  Did you hear my question?  Do you think so?  Whoops, sorry, channeling Andrew's relentless queries there for a sec. 

Are you an introvert or extrovert? Author Susan Cain explores how introverts can be powerful in a world where being an extrovert is highly valued. Join From Left to Write on January 19 as we discuss Quiet: The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain. We'll also be chatting live with Susan Cain at 9PM Eastern on January 26. As a member of From Left to Write, I received a copy of the book. Fascinating, though I haven't finished reading yet! All opinions are my own.

Happy birthday Little Guy!

Little guy was very excited his birthday was on a holiday - Thanksgiving Day.  Elizabeth was jealous - why does he get to have his birthday on a holiday and I had to have my birthday on a Tuesday!

The weekend before his birthday we had a few friends over and a small celebration.  

 The little guy's favorite dessert is pumpkin pie, so of course we had to celebrate with his favorite. 

 On his actual birthday we were with Rich's side of the family. 

 He enjoyed being the center of attention.

And he really liked the Thomas cake! 

Sometimes we get it right

Ok, well, NaBloPoMo was a bust this year, and once again I have a creative excuse.  Last year it was a kidney infection, the year before it was the cold that never, ever, went away over 3 months.  This year it was walking pneumonia!  What can I possibly come down with next year?  

But, at least one thing went right this fall.  I was stressing over what, if any, activity to choose for them over the winter, and finally decided to just go for gymnastics.  Sure, it's a hike to get there, and a pain in the middle of a Saturday, but this is one time I can confidently say we got it right.  Elizabeth LOVES it. No more soccer for her.  We're going to stick with gymnastics or dance from here on out.  Andrew thinks it is fun and all, but the truth is he'd really rather be playing a ball sport.  But it works, and it's fun for them to be in class at the same time.  So just two quick videos from the rope swing. 

Trophy Day, part II

Elizabeth got her soccer trophy last weekend, and when we told Andrew he was going to get a trophy, too, he was beside himself with joy and excitement.  And then soccer day was cold and rainy, and it looked like the handing out of the trophies would be canceled.  At the last minute, someone offered up their office, which was close to the soccer field.  But it caused a huge rush to get there and many families didn't make it.  I'm thankful we could - Andrew was so happy. 

 He took the picture of the waiting trophies. 

There are a few kids who are almost as small as he is, but in this picture he is soooo much smaller than the other kids!  He so loves it though.  Can't wait to see Coach Pablo in the spring! 

Wordless Wednesday - movie night

Movie night = cuddle time

A Misked-up Stragety

Rich here again.  Gotta give Susan at least a couple of breaks during the hell, er, experience that is NaBloPoMo.  I also like to blog about things I find funny or interesting before they slip out of my head like a random piece of spaghetti through a strainer.  (Man, I *hate* it when that happens!  The spaghetti, I mean.)

I asked Andrew this morning if he wanted a snack.  Without delay, he said he wanted some "misk" and pointed at the part of the counter where we keep cereal, chips, snacks, and bread.  I did not want to show him how flummoxed I was at the request, so I paused and said "Sorry, little guy, I didn't hear you.  Can you tell me again what you want?"  Without delay "Misk.  Misk." With more pointing at the counter.  As I frantically, yet calmly so as not to alarm the ever-observant boy, scan the counter I spot this:

"Misk" = Mix

"Oh, the mix!  Good job, little guy."

Before I give him the mix, though, I decide that I need to correct this issue of pronunciation.  We spend the next 2-3 minutes repeating back and forth:  "Mix, little guy."  "Misk"  "Mix, little guy"  "Misk"  "Mix"  "Misk" "No, little guy, mi-kuh-sss"  "Mi-sss-kuh"    Finally, after pronouncing every letter several times, with the emphasis on the "x," Andrew says "mi-kuh-sss." He was very proud of himself.

At dinner later that evening, we were in a restaurant with moderately loud music (great Mexican food though and a locally owned place) and I told Susan the story from this morning and said, "Andrew got it.  Right little guy?  Mix!" And I hear him repeat it, "Mix."  "That's right little guy, mix!"

To which Susan says, "Uh, he's saying 'misk'."  

I look at my boy, who is grinning with pride from ear to ear.  I smile and say "Good job, little guy."

So, there is an "apple doesn't fall far from the tree" story here.  In 6th grade I had a great history teacher.  He really challenged me, more than many of my teachers prior to that had, and did it in a way that made you feel more mature, even adult-like.  I was answering a question in class about the Germans in WWII, and I started to respond, "Their stragety was to..."  Before I could get the rest of the answer out, my teach says, "What?  Stragety?"  And the exchange goes something like:

"Yes, their stragety was..."

"Strategy"

"Uh, yes, stragety"

"No, strategy"

"Stragety"

"Stra-te-gy"

"Stra-ge-ty?"

"Stra-TE-gy"

"Stra-te-gy?"

"Yes, strategy"

"Strategy.  Uh, their stra-te-gy was..."

Now, I'm not bragging, but I was one of the top students in my elementary school class.  This could have potentially been seriously damaging to me since I also had a fragile ego.  But, it turned out that the other kids in the class kind of bonded with me a bit, as if to recognize that I wasn't an academic robot, that I was human and could make mistakes.  And, I learned a little lesson about myself - that it's ok to make mistakes and learn from them and that my teachers are truly here to help.

Hopefully both E & A will have that realization some day.  And, no Baby Bush jokes, please...

Skipper the Fast

Here's a video from June of me ignoring my persistent daughter in favor of watching Skipper off leash.  This little dog is fast - I took this video after she'd been running around a while, so she's actually slowed down here. 

I've been doing a run/walk program with my friend Libbie in the mornings and bringing Skipper along.  I have to say this morning time in the park is probably the best thing we've done for Skipper.  For a while I was dragging her along and feeling like I was asking too much of her, but lately I've been letting her off leash and been amazed by her.  She tracks along, running circles around us.  She'll run to greet other dogs, but always comes back when called, without too much delay.  I definitely do not have full control over her, which makes me nervous in a city park, but she is far better than I ever would have expected, and she obviously recognizes that she is to listen to me.

This has given her a lot of confidence.  She still hides a fair bit, and is still frightened of Rich, but she'll actually come out when people are around.  She's just still so skittish and nervous, but she's made amazing progress in 10 months.  We seem to have turned the corner on housebreaking (I hope I haven't just jinxed it!).  She's just obviously my dog, and I'm excited to work more with her. 

But, like any dog, she's got her odd quirks.  Her great love is socks.  Socks that have been worn by me, or actually anyone.  She snags them out of the dirty clothes (we have to bury them under other clothes) and hides them in her bed, and occasionally snacks on them til they are ruined. 

And, the best news of all?  Finally, finally, finally, we have won the battle of the fleas.  Whew! 

Choco-mouths

I have no idea why kids get a ring of chocolate around their mouth when eating chocolate ice cream.  Choco-mouth is a term of endearment in our house.

Today was a FULL day - we left the house at 8:30 this morning (thank goodness my sister is staying here this weekend and was able to help with the kids) to make it to Gaithersburg for a Girls on the Run 5K in which our niece and my brother were running, then my mom and I ventured to Toys R Us (with Andrew) while the rest of the crew went to my brother's house, then we went to the ice rink for our nephew's hockey game, then a pitstop for ice cream, then back to my brother's to watch the Raven's game, before making it home just before 7 pm.  E&A were exhausted, which resulted in a rather unpleasant bathtime experience.  Can't wait til Rich gets home!

trophy day

Today was Elizabeth's next to last soccer game - next week is a make up from a rain date.  Since today was a nice (though freezing!) day, Coach Eric decided to hand out the team trophies today.

It's a nice trophy - and I honestly think her last one from soccer.  Thanks to Coach Eric and Coach Janet for putting up with a lot this year (and for being so nice to Andrew, too, hanging out there on the right).