Lonerblog

My friend Sarah had this link on her blog, so I decided to try a few quizes. I thought this first one was especially amusing....

Which Disney Villain Are You?

You are Captain Hook. The crusher of dreams. You are Disney's one and only funny villain. But don't discredit the evilness that is Captain Hook. You do your part in scaring little children and teaching a generation of adults to yearn for childhood again. Cuz hey, you just want to fly too.

Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Which Disney Hero Are You?

You are Tarzan. You feel out of place when you venture away from your home and into the heart of the city. Your whole life you've been trying to fit in with the styles and trends, but now you're starting to realize that it's OK to enjoy simplicity. Watch out though! Someone your complete opposite is about to enter your life.

Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Sunday, March 23, 2008

The Golden Egg

We have had lots of fun at our house over the last few days celebrating Easter. Yesterday we went to a brunch and egg hunt at a friend's house. Adelaide really got into the spirit of picking up eggs and got really mad when she had to stop at 12. She quickly got over it when I let her eat some candy out of her eggs, but then she just wanted to carry around her basket the rest of the day, periodically eating candy. It doesn't get much better than that! Tristan and Alicia were more concerned with looking for "The Golden Egg." The special egg with a big surprise ($10 worth in quarters) in it. Neither of them found it and Tristan almost didn't get his 12 normal eggs because he was too pre-occupied looking for "The Golden Egg." Reguardless, fun was had by all.

This morning the kids had to hunt for their baskets which were hidden by the Easter Bunny. Tristan and Adelaide always seem to enjoy the challenge, but Alicia seems to struggle with this tradition every year. No matter how easy we tell the Easter Bunny to hide her basket, she still seems to get frustrated when she doesn't find it right away. We had to play the hot-and-cold game with her which I think just frustrated her even more. Oh well, we can't win them all I guess.

As always, my Mom did an excellent job picking out Easter dresses for my girls. Alicia actually already had this dress which was given to her by a friend. My mom unknowingly sent a matching dress for Adelaide! She must have been inspired! Or lucky....either way, my girls looked VERY beautiful at church today.

The Big Build

Daniel arranged for his vacation to fall at the same time as the kid's Spring Break, but since we didn't seem to have the funds to go anywhere, Daniel arranged to make a little extra money instead. Our good friend, Brian, has 17 acres of land about 30 minutes south of our house in Columbia, Tennessee. He's been wanting to build a rough (no plumbing or electrical) cabin on his land, so Daniel got pumped up about the idea and recruited my dad to be the master-mind behind what we now endearingly call, "The Big Build."

Believe it or not, Daniel worked worse hours as a construction worker than he does as a doctor. They left at 7:30am and wouldn't come home until 8:30pm or so. I tried to do a few fun things with the kids so they didn't feel totally jipped out of a Spring Break. We went to the Adventure Science Museum, the zoo, Jump Zone (a big place with a bunch of moon bounce type things), and of course, to see "The Big Build."

It's a 16 x 20 ft structure with a 6 ft porch. It also has a loft on either side of the upper level which is connected by a cat walk. The original plans only had a loft on one side of the cabin, but that's how it goes in construction...everything can be subject to change.

We all went down on Thursday to see the progress, and that is

when my dad sustained his first injury. He was using the power nailer (need I say more?) and got one stuck through his finger and into his palm. Supposedly he kind of looked at it, grabbed the end by his teeth, pulled it out, finished nailing whatever he was nailing, and then came down to have the good doctor take a look at it. I quickly became the nurse on the scene and we worked together to get the bleeding stopped and my dad medicated and bandaged up. Five minutes later he had on a new glove and was back to work. Does that sound strange to anyone else??? Hello???? He pulled the NAIL out of his HAND with his TEETH and then went right back to WORK! Now, that is dedication. Hopefully that will be the first and only injury.

It's coming along quite nicely and my dad will be here a few more days at least! Daniel goes back to work as a doctor tomorrow and Tristan and Alicia are back to school!

This is the back-side of the cabin on Thursday. They were just starting on the roof.

This is the back view from the other side on Saturday.

And here's the front view, also on Saturday.

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Daniel's 30th Birthday

Daniel turned the big 3-0 yesterday. He is pretty low-key when it comes to his birthday, so he didn't want a lot of hoopla. So, we just kept it quiet and nice. I offered to make him a dinner of his choice, but all he wanted was to order pizza. We shared dinner with some friends, had cake, and Daniel opened his 2 gifts (a blue iPod shuffle and matching headphones). Tristan, Alicia, and Adelaide all made him cards and Tristan drew a portrait of Daniel (photographed below). It was all very sweet and nice. Daniel got everything that he wanted! Friday night we went to a surprise 30th birthday party for one of his co-workers and when they found out that Daniel's birthday was the next day, they re-lit the candles to sing to him and another guy whose birthday is on the 17th. Daniel was beet red the whole time...it's just not his thing. So instead of subjecting him to total discomfort, I decided to be respectful and do his 30th the way he would want it done....I probably won't be as nice when it comes time for his 40th!!!!!

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Snow Day

I thought I'd post a picture of our latest snow. It doesn't nearly compete with Cari's last snow, but school was still called off for Tristan and Alicia!!!! This all happened last Wednesday, so I'm a little behind, but I've been sick for the past week and a half, so cut me some slack! It was actually really great to have Tristan and Alicia home, because I was feeling particularly awful that day, so I stayed in bed while they entertained Adelaide. It was wonderful.

As you can see, our snow is actually a light dusting that obviously didn't even stick to the roads. But if there is ANY possibility of ice ANYWHERE in the county, school is called off. I chuckle when I think of my school days in Calgary, Alberta. School was NEVER called off...even when there was ice and many feet of snow. My older brother and sister and I had to walk to school (up hill both ways...I'm not kidding) no matter what the weather was like. I was only in kindergarden and 1st grade, so I had short legs and couldn't walk as fast as my brother and sister, so I was often yelled at to "hurry up" all the way to school. We had to go back home for lunch, so this process occured 4 times a day. When we got to school, they'd make us take our boots off at the front door and spend the day walking around in our stocking feet if we didn't bring shoes to change into. Ahhh, such fond memories....

Needless to say, it's a little different here in the south!!!!

Be Cute!

About 2 weeks ago I discovered that Addi's hair is long enough for a single ponytail! I thought she looked so grown up and cute that I had to take a picture. She LOVES the camera. I would say, "look cute" and she would pose and smile...it was quite the photo shoot. She kept asking me to take more, but I cut her off at 7 pictures. Afterall, she's only 2!