Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

This was our big snowstorm of the year (knock on wood)! This great hill is the kids' school playground just down the street. Brilliant of us. 

 On MLK Day we went on a hike with the Finch's. I am not sure how anyone finds this trail, maybe you have to be a native and just find it by instinct. The kids and I got to practice praying while driving lost for 20 minutes. Thankfully the good Lord and a helpful government website got us there.

 Here we are patiently waiting for a pick-me-up, in other words, a sugary snack.

Life is so good with cousins. This was before they started playing ping-pong back and forth with their bodies. That was not a good time in their lives.

It must be my sprinter's instinct, but here we are at the end of the trail and it was the only time I was at the front of the pack.

Is this winter?

Carl was so excited to get involved in Grandpa's new giant dirt pile. This picture was taken before the three inches of clay/mud stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

Playing tug-of-war is super fun. It was my job to advise the kids on how to beat Craig, and lend a helping hand as they needed it.

I don't think we've even put the bikes away this year. Alice and Carl both graduated to bigger bikes. Then if that wasn't enough, they created a serious obstacle course. Carl is "ripping" some 2 by 4's on his saw horse "table saw" in the lower picture. He doesn't let the fact that he has to make his own cutting noises stop him from having a good time.

We got an order of beans and lentils. My helpers were very enthusiastic -- I think I've finally swept up the last of the mess.

Christmas & New Years Family Fun

I think that it's always a good time to make graham cracker gingerbread. Some people who will remain nameless, but wear striped green and white shirts, think they make great snacks. Hence, some buildings didn't make it above the foundation. 

 Ryan figured out how to fit everyone in our house for New Years dinner. We still have one more card table that we didn't use, so at least 4 more people are welcome next year.

 We were able to use those tables for crafting area beforehand. So much fun, so little time.

The First Noel

Happy Birthday Alice!!!

Alice chose to go to our local hardware superstore to build some frames for her daddy-daughter date. She was so excited that she got to go on her birthday no less. That girl knows how to wield a hammer with gusto. 

 I tried something new for Alice's birthday. I let her decorate her birthday cake by herself. Let's hear it for paintable, edible Frozen decorations. I merely watched, and tried to limit the finger-licking.

 We hosted a party for Ryan's work, and even though the food was delicious and the people were great, I am ashamed to admit that I only got a picture of our trash can. It's a little embarrassing, but what a festive trash can!

 Happy Birthday Alice, Ryan and Spencer!

Texas or Bust

Over Thanksgiving we went and visited the Johnson's in Texas. We had a great time gawking at the ducks and making faces at the fish. Carl can do an exceptionally good fish face, complete with gulping down bread sounds.

It's hard to get a good picture of lots of kids. It's even harder to get a good picture of kids facing the sun, nay impossible. 

Here we are enjoying an old trolley ride. 

It's so fun to be downtown on a sunny day!

We were so very excited to go to the Daiso store while we were in Dallas. The anticipation alone got us through the 14 hour drive the day before. It brought back good memories of the Daiso we used to shop at in Japan, where we'd find all of our dollar-store treasures. 

The star of this picture was actually intended to be the heron standing in waterfall. Sadly, he's hiding behind the railing.

We had a great time at the Johnson's! There has been talk among the kids of going back to the central market for more balloons.

The Kitchen is Finished!

It is so nice to have a deep double welded sink! Dish washing is such a pleasure now. We sing like Snow White while we clean because we're so happy. We've got a great marine edge so water just all flows right into the sink, despite our kids best efforts.

The wall below turned out to be my favorite. Our contractor was nervous that the cabinets were not all the same height. But had the cabinets all been the same height we would not have reached any of items in the cupboards without the use of stools, chairs or elephants. Our electrician loved it and said it looked like the Detroit skyline. 

Can anyone see where the chimney used to be beside the fridge? And the inspiration for the color scheme? The best orange clock ever made.

Happy Halloween! Happy Birthday Carl!

 This year the kids voted for Scarlet Macaw, Blue and Gold Macaw, Fairy and Fireman. One of the great ironies of life became apparent: if I didn't have kids I would have finished those costumes in one afternoon, but without kids I would never have made them.

How do kids learn how to be zombies? I have no idea. Rest assured that Ryan and I don't wander around the house in zombie style, at least not before the kids go to bed.

Sometimes you get so excited for your costume that you wear it whenever you can. And here is Carl learning a little about fire safety. 

Carl turned three! Ryan and I are still amazed that he is alive and are happy to report that he is not as risky as he used to be, or maybe he is more sneaky about it.

A little know benefit of growing up is that once you're three, the voting volunteers are willing to give you no less than 5 stickers at the polls. Who did we vote for? Our lips are sealed.

Baltimore or Bust

 A few weeks ago we took the kids up to Baltimore to visit their cousins by way of Shenandoah National Park. Among other things, we learned on this trip that when a road is described as "scenic" it also means th road "may cause nausea for everyone in the car except Dad."  As you can guess, we had to take a lot of stops to "enjoy the scenery."

They had some great hikes that the kids really enjoyed. We even managed to sneak up on a mother dear and her two fawns. This was only possible because A) the deer live in the campground and routinely ignore humans, and B) we were warned by the hikers in front of us to proceed quietly. 

 At one point in the hike we had a choice between Bearfence Rock Scramble or the Bearfence Viewpoint hikes. Can you tell which one we chose? This particular hike probably took a year off of Ryan's life, but the kids and I had a great time. It's hard to stop jumping from rock to rock once you get started. Carl did a great job, since he's been scrambling up things since he was 10 months old.

Our next stop was Baltimore to visit our cousins and enjoy some less dangerous past-times.

We loved the aquarium and thankfully no one has started having nightmares about sharks.

Balitmore or Bust

 A few weeks ago we took the kids up to Baltimore to visit their cousins by way of Shenandoah National Park. Among other things, we learned on this trip that when a road is described as "scenic" it also means th road "may cause nausea for everyone in the car except Dad."  As you can guess, we had to take a lot of stops to "enjoy the scenery."

They had some great hikes that the kids really enjoyed. We even managed to sneak up on a mother dear and her two fawns. This was only possible because A) the deer live in the campground and routinely ignore humans, and B) we were warned by the hikers in front of us to proceed quietly. 

 At one point in the hike we had a choice between Bearfence Rock Scramble or the Bearfence Viewpoint hikes. Can you tell which one we chose? This particular hike probably took a year off of Ryan's life, but the kids and I had a great time. It's hard to stop jumping from rock to rock once you get started. Carl did a great job, since he's been scrambling up things since he was 10 months old.

Our next stop was Baltimore to visit our cousins and enjoy some less dangerous past-times.

We loved the aquarium and thankfully no one has started having nightmares about sharks.

Around the house

It really isn't as cold in our home as it may look from this picture. I had just bought winter outfits and toilet paper (which the kids were in charge of putting away). Who can resist trying on new cloths on such a soft bed?

It is so nice to have a dragon to help you make cookies. 

While Amber and her big boys have been tackling the grueling bicycling merit badge, I've had the rest of her kids. I discovered really quick that kids who are working are easier to watch.:)  Our yard has almost unlimited possibilities for work (and the kids like earning nickles in exchange).  In this particular picture we are in the process of moving 1 ton of rocks from our front yard. The kids also washed all my windows on a different bike riding day. 

Carl loves monitoring yard work and keeping track of inventory. Jane is still picking peppers for us to eat. I think she just does it for the purple basket.

I made a pizza with olives, green peppers, pineapple and ham and called it the Hackett Supreme. The kids said, "What a great name! Those are all the foods that we all love!" I consider this to be a sign of great parenting since Ryan detests olives and I hate green peppers. Clearly they haven't noticed subtle signs on our faces when gulping them down as fast as we can. Ryan and I gave each other air hi-fives for that one.