My Baby Is Four!

We quietly celebrated Seth's 4th birthday on the 15th. No big party, just us. In the midst of trying to get the house ready to sell, it was all I could handle. I did bake a cake per his specifications, and we sang and opened presents. Our new mantra is "Four is for FUN, not FUSS!"

"Boy books" from Grandma. He's very discerning about his literature!

Sorry, Dad! I don't think he'll be playing ball for a few weeks!

Is This the Saddest Thing You've Ever Seen?

Yes, the Larkins have ANOTHER broken bone at our house! We came home from Seattle last night, I sent the kids out to play in the backyard, and Seth fell off the play structure while trying to cross the monkey bars! And Grandma is coming tomorrow. So I guess he'll probably get lots of sympathy.

As a side note, the cast guys at Rebound are awesome!

Seriously!

Does anyone want to buy my super-cute house so we can move to Texas?

I Ran Away Again!

We've been working so hard to get the house ready to sell that my children have been neglected, except for me to tell them to clean up their messes or to stop pulling things out of the D.I. pile. Now that the house is officially on the market (the sign went up yesterday) and John is in Houston, I decided to get out of Dodge and head to Seattle. Our plans? To do lots of school work, relax, and not worry about cleaning up ANYTHING. My sister is a great hostess that way. I don't have to pick up every little thing behind the kids. As long as the dishes are done and she has a place to sit, she's very laid back. We will also visit the Everett Children's Museum on Thursday--they have half-price admission.

"Mom, we found a frog!"

The kids like looking in the green sprinkler system covers for frogs. Yesterday, with the neighbor kids, they were successful! The lovingly put it in a Gatorade bottle, punched a hole in the lid for air, and carried it around to everyone who would look. None of the kids would actually touch it, so they used a black tube to scoop it up and put it in the jar.

Close up of Mr. Frog in his cage

They all decided to release him into the wild after I told them that wild things don't belong at home. Here he is, hopping away.

If only he knew that I saved him from a sad death in a jar!

How About This?

My parents went to a TEA party in Kansas City last night. They had a great time, and saw lots of funny signs. My dad's favorite was:

"You can't fix stupid, but you can vote it out!"

In Honor of the Tea Parties

I saw this bumper sticker yesterday, and now I want one, too!

Easter Morning

When We're Helping, We're Happy

Beautiful Day!

Now that the clouds have returned, I can post pictures of the almost 80 degree day we had this week. We were refugees from our home while our floor was refinished, and so we spent the day at school with Hannah, in the park, and at the library. The kids had a great time.

My girls love this rolling log thing. I don't get it!

And climbing trees.

This is my favorite picture from the day. It was HOT out there!

For All You Facebook Junkies....

P.S. The tall guy reminds me of my brother.

Nature Study...at the Chinese Restaurant

I took the kids to Eastland Sushi last night to pick up take-out. By the way, that's a great Chinese place. Love the Hot and Sour Soup. While we were waiting, they investigated the Koi pond in the lobby. The fish are obviously used to people, because they come in a group to greet you, mouths open wide at the surface, hoping for food! And they have big mouths. If you ever go in there, don't miss the koi.

It Happened At the Gym

When I got back to my car this morning after my run, this is what I found. The "perp" smashed the window to steal my gym bag. Fortunately, I am one of those lame people who don't keep anything in my bag, so all they got was a grungy water bottle, a couple of used chapsticks, half a package (thanks to Ellie) of chewy energy gels, and my membership card. And the smelly gym bag! Yeah, that was worth smashing a window for....

Tiffany's bag was still in the front seat, believe it or not.

Beyond the surprising humiliation of driving a car with a broken window, this is not that big a deal. Inconvenient, for sure, but at least I'm not having to cancel credit cards this morning! And my next gym bag will be big enough to fit my cycle shoes. See, a bright spot to every problem.

My Friend Sarah

This is what Sarah brought for dinner last night...

In honor of April Fools' Day, she made dinner look like green frosted cupcakes. (It was really mini-meatloaves frosted with mashed potatoes!) Isn't that creative? My kids were impressed.

Sarah is one of those creative moms who tries really hard to do fun things with and for her kids. I am a practical mom, so I admire her "funness." Thanks, Sarah, for making our day "FUN"!