Happy Birthday Chase!

Chase has reached his first decade! On my birthday he told me I was "decades old." That didn't sound so good to me, but it's great for him. We love having Chase in our family. He keeps us on our toes. His ski instructor told me he has a "dry" sense of humor and she is so right. He is so good that sometimes I don't know he is teasing. He is also quite a deep thinker and asks me questions that surprise me (which if I had a better memory or kept a journal, I would be able to share, oh well.) Chase loves to play with friends, mostly they make up characters and fight or jump on the tramp. He is playing the cello this year and does not like it. Chase is in fourth grade and has become a great skier. He is tall for his age and sometimes I think he body grows a bit faster than his reflexes can keep up with. He has a contagious smile although his Principal gave him the nickname "Smiley" because every time he sees her, he frowns. He loves to play on the computer or video games and loves loves the four wheelers. WE LOVE CHASE.

Just another week

Last week I installed a new faucet all by myself and I'm pretty darn proud of it. I'm not the most handy person and frankly projects that I don't really know what I'm doing scare me a little. Before

At the same time, meeting a new challenge or doing something you've never done before is also pretty invigorating, so I just did it. I bought the faucet and got some instruction from the Home Depot guy. The hardest part was getting the old one out. The new one looks great and no drips! Yay!

After

You would think I would know how to do more home improvement things, growing up with my Dad, but I didn't take advantage of his knowledge while I was there I guess. Kenna and I were the only ones home, so I didn't get a picture of me with my head under the sink. Sad day.

These are some pictures of my kidos on the tramp. They sure love that, warm or cold. They tell the story well, one minute they get along great, the next there is a bunch of wrestling going on. This last one, I don't know---time out????This is part of a city of blocks and animals Kate, Kenna, and Chase built last Sunday. It took up the whole floor of Kate and Kenna's room. There was a hotel with a pool, stores to buy whatever at and a mansion. They wouldn't clean it up until I took pictures so they could "build it exactly the same next time."

This is what Chase spent his afternoon today building. I'm not sure why--that's just Chase.

One last sad (or not so much) note, Smokey went to heaven yesterday. We aren't sure why. He did seem to have a cold, but who knows. I wish now I would have taken a picture of him with his saber teeth. His teeth were deformed and didn't rub against each other right to ground down, so the would grow huge, once starting to go up his nose. Mike learned how to trim them after one trip to the vet cost more than the silly rabbit. Kate doesn't really seem to sad about it, which is good. The biggest problem is now they are all talking about what pet they want to get next.

This and that

My daughter was walking around the house singing, "kiss me, kiss me.........marry me" What a kid. I have to say though when you need a pick-me-up, she's the one to go to. She always telling me that I look beautiful or she will stop playing and run up and give me a hug and say "I love you so much" and then she is off again. I definitely enjoy that while it lasts. I am a wee bit concerned about her getting older and what she will be like with boys. Here's a couple pics from skiing last Saturday. We didn't realize the camera was set to black and white. Here we are eating the lunch. The lodge up there is small and on nice days, it's easier to just eat at the car. Kim brought up "the cousins" for the day. My kids loved skiing with them. I didn't see Connor or Chase the whole afternoon. And last, the hot ski Mama. I had Mike take this to show off, but it ended up in the black and white. Oh well, my stuff is black and white anyway.