The Arrival of Smaug

Whew--in Hobbitland, that would cause a few residents to shake in their shoes! (Well, technically Hobbits don't wear shoes because their feet are so hairy that they stay warm on their own . . . I may have to work on my analogies ;)

Regardless, we have a new underwater pet--ironic since Smaug was a very fire-breathing dragon :) The boys decided they wanted to increase our pet population with an aquatic friend (G$ still has plans to up our amphibians in the summertime via a natural catch on the back hill).

In the past three weeks they've earned almost $100 in their scooper business! Wowza! So I told them because they spent their first two weeks (mostly on pet gear, but a couple of toys as well), they have to save the next two. They are cool with that :)






This little fish was a cheap purchase--I took the Christmas flowers Buck brought home out of this vase, washed it out, and it went the fish! No tank required :) The rocks in the bottom are some decorative rocks that I bought when we moved in . . . when I was trying to be an interior decorator, lol! They've been in a crystal candy dish for a few years, but now they are the "gold" that Smaug guards :) Our Betta only eats once per week, and requires a jug of distilled water. Total investment: $10? :) They like to watch him; G$ just wants to play with him, but fish don't play well.

Graysen said, "The good thing about a fish is, if you put your finger by the glass, they move around. If they don't . . . they're dead." Zoologist in the making right there, folks :)

We Wish You ...

. . . a Merry Christmas-Happy New Year-Happy Birthday . . .

When we get together, we get all our occasions together too! Buck finished up a crazy schedule (nine days straight with just New Year's Day off) to the tune of a couple of bonus days off--four in a row! This worked out well, because we could schedule an overnight stay at my parents' house to celebrate all of the above :) Dad flew in from CA, the northern brother and sis-in-law made the drive, and the local sis and crew flooded the house with enthusiastic humanity. Oh, and there were donuts ;) Buck took two of ours and my bro CJ to do a little breakfast reconnaissance. As you can see, Brennen found one that looked sandblasted with sprinkles . . . so colorful :)

I should back up--when we arrived originally, we found my older younger brother just waking up from a long winter's nap. We insisted he put on shoes and a coat (or flip flops and a hoodie, as 16-year-olds do) and took him to get some tacos! Later, he saw the receipt and said, "$50 for tacos? That's a lot!" Well, yes. We can't seem to eat out as a family for lunch under $50 and for dinner--well, we won't even mention that ;)

I lost my train of thought . . . choo choo . . .

So, Sunday, I gave my sis her birthday gift--a pictorial collection of all the bison photos our family has intentionally taken on her behalf since she spotted the trend a few years ago :) My youngest brother opened his gifts painfully slowly, just because he can . . . :) My little nephew and Caelan also opened birthday gifts--but, I just realized we never sang or ate cake, lol! We are birthday party failures ;)

This time of year, all three on the right are 14!

Soooo cheesy--on purpose! :) You better be excited I didn't just give you cash, lol!

Funny birthday kids :)

Happy hugs!

My oldest younger brother kindly gave up this forgotten toy kit, stashed away in his closet. G$ worked on it for two days and finally got the car put together and driving via battery power. His dad might have helped a little ;)

And that was our weekend in a nutshell--good conversations, good cousin/uncle time, a little bit of video game VR immersion, and lots of laughter. It's good to be together :)

Viola!

The room has been finished for about a week now, and tonight I INSISTED ;) they clean it up to a point where photography would be an agreeable option. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get the lighting right. My flash on the big camera helped a little, but the pics still seem blurry and not quite the right tones. IDK . . . daytime is too bright and everything is washed out. I guess it looks prettiest in person with full color on the walls--tangerine, teal, and lighter teal :)

We based all the colors off of the poster behind Caelan. The girls were excited to find wall decals they liked--we kind of cheated and turned three short trees into two tallish trees, but it works :)

More Progress

Our boys have lots of hats! Generally, these hats are ALL over their room. We have their great grandpa's hat rack (it says "CAPS"), but this is not enough for our hat-wearing boys. So on the morning that Buck was busy, busy putting up shelving, a mirror, and hooks in the girls room (which is finished, I just have to get them to clean it up enough to take pictures :), he also put some extra hanging space in the boys' room. This worked out great, because we have all these hooks and such from previous usages, that have just been taking up "nowhere to put them" space. Now, the boys' cowboy hats have a nice, safe place to be  . . . their ball caps are not falling into the dirty laundry bucket . . . and I think they just need to add their *mobster* hats up there with their *chauffeur* hats, and they've got a fairly complete collection on display!

Another improvement--the toy net is back! It had fallen down so many times that Buck was ready to kick it to the curb. But there are still a lot of stuffed animals floating around, so when he discovered some mega hooks, he was willing to give the net another try. First--I had to find it! I searched closets, under our bed, tubs in the garage, storage places, the trunk at the foot of our bed, on and on . . . nada. I started to wonder if I had tossed the net, given the prior decision to not put the thing back up--ever ;) Finally, I checked the linen closet/girls' overflow closet right next to the boys' room. There it was :) Now the boys' room feels so much cleaner because the stuff that couldn't fit in their tubs and toy box is back where it belongs because all of the stuffeds that were taking up that space are back where they belong! Hooray for organization!

Isn't it amazing how different the bill book looks at the beginning of the year compared to the end? :) I just felt the need to share . . . ;)

Perfectly Permitted

She has a tiny bit of driving experience, but not enough to want to drive much outside of a wooded park in a rural village :) Remember when she started reading the driver's manual--two years ago? :) Well, all that studying (and some online practice-test taking) paid off! She scored 100% on her first try and impressed the gals at the DMV :)

Of course, I heard all of this second hand, because this was a daddy-daughter adventure. They ran a bunch of errands for me, and incorporated this into their day. Allegedly--there was NO wait at the DMV! They took their ticket, and immediately their number popped up on the screen. How is that for great timing? She was able to smile for her photo--but was not allowed to show teeth. Such weird rules. Her plastic copy will replace the paper version in a few weeks.

Very exciting! However, when Buck asked if she wanted to drive home, or to the grocery store, or to the bank, she said, "Nope!" So far, she has not driven at all with her new permit. Buck pointed out in the back of the parent manual, there's a space to keep a drive log of all her time behind the wheel. If she doesn't get a little more enthusiastic about this process, we won't have that thing filled up before she's ready to get the real deal, ha!

Buck was surprised, when he took Caelan to Starbucks after her test, that she's never had Starbucks before! How many hundreds of times (okay, maybe dozens of times) have Buck and I gotten Starbucks with the kids present? Too funny! Quite the day to celebrate, I guess :)

Learnin'

Our handsome boy, learnin' to be patient while everyone else gets ready for church :)

The girls learnin' music with a brand new set up at the teacher's house. Now, in addition to the traditional piano, there is a full-sized keyboard, which attaches to the computer, so their teacher can play with them on his own mini keyboard. Gab is playing along with guitar in this photo, but she's at the keyboard on a regular basis. Mr. P would also like the kids to start learning bass guitar--and here I thought they were just going to learn one instrument! I mentioned the bass addition to my family at Christmas and my brother asked, "What do you get with bass?" Brennen piped up, "Scholarships!" Ha! That's what Teacher P said HE got because he knew how to play bass in high school :)

Learnin' about ancient cultures--I took a picture, because you can only keep so many dried out play-doh lessons in your window sill :) The kids made handprints, personal seals, small pottery pieces, and a variety of cuneiform and other ancient-culture writings--which are forever preserved, right here, in this picture (only :)

Learnin' to watch tv and do schoolwork? :) Ha! Well, the Rose Parade was on on a school day this year, so we improvised. There's lots of educational information on that broadcast, and hooray for HGTV, no commercials! Buck's family got to attend in person this year, and we are hoping we can join them on such an adventure in years to come! Then we can all do some learnin' together :)

More Upgrades?!

Oh, these spoiled pets! On New Year's Day, the hedgehog bumped up to a Christmas tree storage box--no more under-the-bed-storage sized tub for him! It is an improvement because he cannot climb out, he has more space to run around (and he does run!), and we can leave his wheel right-side-up when we put him back in his sleeping cage for the night. (Yes, I realize he is nocturnal, but he sometimes does not :) Now this is an improvement in many ways for Radagast, but the box is huge!! And it does NOT fit under the bed anymore. It fits right there where you see it . . . so no one can walk in the basement anymore. At least one critter is happy ;)

No, Chauncey--that is not a tasty treat--you put that tongue back where it came from! Three pets in one pic, impressive!

And what about that soft little fluff of hamster? Well Graysen built him THIS!! Brennen added one of the four wings. Each tube has windows, as do the boxes (so the boys can keep an eye on Gimli as he explores). The hamster digs this set up, but has to be watched closely for attempts at escape: "Hamsters eat cardboard, mom."

Graysen even thought to rip off the top layer of cardboard, exposing the bumps inside, to make the multi-level habitat easier for the creature to traverse :)

Peek-a-boo!

The boys have already expanded their business--now they're helping with snow removal! But for a good reason--we didn't realize our neighbor had fallen on his driveway and gotten a concussion! He also injured his arm and shoulder and needed surgery :( When the boys went over to do the puppy doo clean-up, Mr. Mark asked if they could take a run at the driveway too. It was very sweet of them to help; it was ridiculously cold out! Buck had hot chocolate waiting for our boys when they came in from their double-yard and one-driveway workday :)

And guess what they spent their money on? A sweet new cage for the hamster! It's twice as tall with twice as much to do; Gimli luvs it! I told Buck if all the animals keeping getting their living space doubled, we're going to have to do the same--and soon! Lol :)