Disappointing Day

Elena just asked me when we are opening presents. I told her that she would get presents on her birthday (Thursday). She then informed me that it's "Presents Day," and she wanted her presents. I made it about ten words into my Abe Lincoln speech before the tears started to fall. Happy Presents Day to all of you!

Marcus Has Learned Some New Words

We decided to go to the cabin this weekend. Karen has a student in McCall, so we decided to go despite the weather forecast of rain, snow, rain, and more rain.

The highlight of the week may have been the bobsled course. I stomped out a course and turned the kids loose. You can see one of their runs below. After their last run (on the second day) I decided that helmets might be necessary in the future.

At the last minute, we decided to invite E and M's cousin Katie. Marcus kind of did his own thing while the girls played together. Here is  a picture of him after he stole the hat I was trying to dry out.

When we first arrived at the cabin, everyone needed to use the bathroom. I had boots, snow pants, and snowshoes packed so that they were easily accessible. There was at least 30" of new snow since our last visit. It is about a 70 yard hike from our plowed parking spot to the cabin. As I was putting on said items, the kids were getting restless (read: screaming). Karen grew impatient and strapped on some snowshoes. She wanted to carry Marcus up to the cabin right away. She made it about six feet from the car before she fell down. I heard her scream, and I looked over to see Marcus barely above snowline, like a floating watermelon. Karen had lost her balance and fallen to her back to prevent squashing the watermelon. Seeing that the watermelon was safe, I secured my gear before rescuing them. After the initial f-bomb following the fall, I heard at least two more while securing my snowshoes. I picked up Marcus and Karen made it half-way up before falling again in the deep snow. I had to turn away so she wouldn't catch me laughing. Every time we walked by the spot over the weekend, Elena would point out the spot where Karen flopped around in the snow. I would laugh and Karen would glare.

So, on to the new words Marcus learned. We were eating breakfast when he stole my fork and said, "MINE!" It only took three weeks of daycare for him to learn that one. And no, he didn't learn any new words from Karen over the weekend.

Subaru v Honda

While I was driving to work today I was rear-ended by a lady driving a Honda Accord. Don't worry, my Subaru is mostly ok. I think I will be ok as well.

So here is Exhibit 1, the Honda Accord. Note the puddle of antifreeze near the driver's side tire.

Exhibit 2, Subaru Outback. When the cop walked up to me, he said "Wow, looks like you came out ahead on this one!" I will need to replace the bumper but it could have been a lot worse. 

The lady who hit me works at Chick-Fil-A. She has served me there several times and is very nice. I think a free southwestern chicken sandwich is in order! 

Applebee!

I have mentioned previously that Marcus loves to dance. He really loves to dance. I finally got around to taking some video of what is pretty much a daily occurrence around here.

Fondue Anyone?

And the uncharacteristically clean big sister. She doesn't like to waste chocolate!

Ice Fishing

I recently decided to join the ranks of ice fishermen despite the fact that I have ridiculed them for years. I have decided that they are onto something.

It started last weekend when Luis and I fished Lake Lowell. We did some research, put some gear together and gave it a try. We caught some perch and ended up fishing both days over the weekend. I caught 12-14 perch each time. You can ask Luis how many fish he caught. I'm pretty sure it was zero. Anyway, I decided that it was time to take Elena this weekend. Here we are ready to head to the lake.

We drilled some holes and got set up. Every time I drilled a hole, she would shout "Water" once the hole was finished. I set up 5 rods and she learned to work the set, jigging each of them on occasion.

Luis and Katie showed up a bit later. E and K were messing around and E stepped into a hole and spilled her lunch onto the ice. She screamed "OW, it HURTS!" for a while. We had only been there for 20 minutes. Ten minutes of that time was spent taking her to the bathroom once we were finally set up. I managed to salvage the situation with a spare mitten and a hot pack. She walked around in this mitten for over 2 hours.

 I was really impressed with Elena's interest in fishing. She learned to clear the slush from the holes and jigged the rods as needed. The sun came out for a while, so E and K took off their coats and ran around in t-shirts.

 

Fishing was really slow. The girls caught a fish apiece.* Here is a picture of E posing with Katie's fish. E's fish is visible in the background; I failed to get a picture of her when she caught it.When E caught her fish we debated releasing it. She opted for taking it home. She and Katie named it Jack. I'm pretty sure Jack is a girl.

 
*Luis managed to hook a fish which was actually landed (by Katie). Note that is was caught on a lure I gave him. I think we should give him credit for getting the skunk out of the bag.

Never Again

I got off of work a little early today, so I took the kids to Target to do some shopping. I let them each pick out a toy. Elena chose a spinny-thing and Marcus got some wiffle balls (he loves baseball).

When we headed to the checkout, I went straight for the shortest line. Bad idea! Once we had all of our items placed on the conveyor thingy, I noticed that the person ahead of us was disabled. I tried to step in front of Elena's view, but it was too late. The next thing I heard was, "WHY IS THAT LADY WALKING FUNNY? DADDY......" She only got it out once before I was able to wrestle her to the ground with a choke hold.

We finally get out of the store, I buckle the kids into their car seats, and we get about 10 feet away from the parking lot when Elena announces that she has to go potty. I immediately tried to redirect her focus. Me: What are you going to do when you get home?
E: Play with my new toy!! Hurray!
Me:What are you going to do if Marcus wants to play with it?
E: NOOOO! He can play with his balls!