BFFs

Harry and Oliver, doing what we should all be doing when the wind is howling and the windchills are below zero ... snuggling for warmth!

Another something I love

Opus IV, the beloved iMac that connects me with friends and family, provides me with the means to earn a living, and offers a world of information at our fingertips.,

A busy Kansas Day

We saw parts of the Sunflower State on her 150th birthday, first going to Hugoton (Gas Capital of Kansas) for a rabbit clinic, then to Garden City (home of the world's biggestt hairball) and then back to Sublette (flattest place in Kansas but little else).

Sadly, we also lost our fifth baby rabbit to the same mysterious ailment that took four others. :(

Somebunny loves you

Hannah and Remus

Things I love

Harry and my Kindle

The tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth

Trelawney's other front tooth finally erupted today, after six months of threatening to do so. That makes a total of only 4 teeth, at 13 3/4 months of age.

(In contrast, Hope had 4 teeth at 4 1/2 months. A picture of Noah at this age shows eight teeth.)

A general update for posterity while I'm at it ... she only weighs 19 pounds, walks about 5 steps max at a time, and has almost no interest in solid foods, though she will snack a little. And maybe someday I'll write this all in a baby book for her. :)

Genius, indeed

Part of my stack of cloth diapers -- and these things are pure genius. Why didn't I ever try cloth diapering before? These are bumGenius! 3.0 diapers made by Cotton Babies (www.cottonbabies.com) and invented by my friend Jenn ... and SHE is a genius. They are every bit as easy as disposables, and so much cuter. :) They come in lots of fun colors, and if *I* who was an avowed disposable diaper girl can master them, anyone can.

The stack of clean diapers makes me happy to look at in some bizarre way. :) And they save a lot of money! We still use disposables half the time, but soon I intend to use cloth diapers the majority of the time.

And a free throw

Hannah also sank a free throw after the shot below. Sublette MS B and C team girls both defeated Cimarron in a battle of the birds... Larks vs. Bluejays

She shoots, she scores!

Hard to believe I got the moment with my phone camera, but Hannah scored a basket against Cimarron. Way to go, Hannahnannah!!!

What I'd rather be doing 1

Lightly dozing, like Crokshanks...

What I'd rather be doing 2

...or snoozing hard, like Harry.

Lego Mama & Daddy

The kids presented us with Mom and Dad reimagined as Lego people... Mom on the couch; Dad in his chair with a beer and remote. LOL!

Of course, there's also Hagrid in the kitchen, Draco Malfoy in the bathroom, and a house modeled after the one on Jersey Shore or something.

At least they got along for a little while, though!

My BIG project

This is something I am proud of... the Haskell Township Library remodel and addition. I served on the library board for two terms and then got elected twice to the Township Treasurer position. When I was on the library board we remodeled inside. Now after much planning over many years, we are finally adding on and really remodeling! I live next door so I have gotten to watch it daily. This will be the new children's section and classroom.

Ice, ice, baby

trees in our yard and the neighbor's yard

Uno!

Elizabeth and Mark played Uno after dinner tonight while Hannah baked a cake, and then Mark and Hannah played Scrabble Slam. The kids enjoy this so much -- we really need to make more time for game nights.

Rock-a-bye puppy

Grindle is growing fast!

Sunset

As reflected in my living room window

A Portrait of the Artist?

Ainsley said these people she drew got their big muscles from roller skating.

Forgotten photo

I forgot to add this last night. Hope's feet weren't so princessy.

My Fairytale Princess

I can't believe my baby is headed out to her first Snowball formal-ish dance. Wasn't she just a little girl headed off to preschool?

Have fun, Hope. We love you!

How I Get Through the Day

My favorite, caffeinated, no-HFCS beverage.

And a bonus: Fun With PhotoShop. :)

Sisters

My sweet Trelawney and Ainsley.

this is my first post directly from my phone... pretty slick!

Catching some Zzzzzzzzzs...

Ainsley stayed home from school today with a sore throat, cough, and fever. Grindle found her to be a comfortable spot to sleep on.

(The funny part was later, when Grindle went outside, and Peeves the Cat took the same spot ... and when Grindle returned, he sat in front of the couch and barked at the cat to get out of his spot until the two of them woke Ainsley).

Appearances can be deceiving

Noah and Elizabeth don't look very thrilled to be here in this photo, do they?

But they were. Along with Hannah, they were excited to start the 4-H rabbit meetings up again for the year. They go to Hugoton once a month for the meetings, where they learn a lot about rabbit breeds, fur, body styles, care, etc. I don't know what was up with the frowny faces when I snapped the photo!

Notice the McDonald's cups? That's because if we went to Sonic, we'd have been late for the meeting. We did stop there after the meeting, and it took 20 MINUTES to get one hamburger, 3 onion rings, and a junior breakfast burrito. That is the slowest service on the planet ... well, second only to the Colby McDonald's.

Snow? What snow?

Yes, this is a photo of Trelawney (age 13 months) standing in the middle of the kitchen table.

Yes, I had planned on taking a photo of the incredibly dire and dangerous blizzard the National Weather Service had been warning us about since last Wednesday... the one for which we spent three days preparing ... the one that did not happen.

So instead, here is my baby, who climbed up on the table all by herself in her mismated shoes, and was rather proud of her accomplishment. She won't stop doing it, either -- nothing is safe.

Merrily we roll along

Proof positive that I did put skates on. I skated a little, but quickly found out that my center of gravity isn't where it used to be, and I was afraid to kill myself, so I didn't skate for long... maybe 20 minutes total.

Below: Hope, Ainsley, our friend Helen, and Hannah take to the concrete. It was Ainsley's first time skating.

Blurry, but you can get the sense of movement! Elizabeth and Noah enjoyed their first disco skate outing.

Is there a blizzard coming or not?

The National Weather Service and the Weather Channel seem to disagree ... are we getting a blizzard or not? Snow flurries or 6-9 inches? Well, it doesn't matter -- we are now prepared thanks to a busy day. And since we were so busy, it's time for BONUS PHOTOS of our busy day. Above, Elizabeth, Noah and Hannah start cleaning out the barn to get it ready for Peso in case of a blizzard.
Lily (above) and Luna (below) had a good time exploring Peso's pen, and messing around in his feeder (er... tractor tire) while we built fence today.

Peso, whose name should really be Pesky, bit my arm HARD today, but Elizabeth petted him anyway. He's a twerp.
Keeping the puppy company in the hay bin...
Mark drives t-posts into the ground to hold up the panel fencing. Such hard work deserves...
a party! We left the kids home with babysitters Hope and Hannah, and went out to Kennedys for a Knights of Columbus steak dinner. After eating far too much good food, and enjoying the company of people we don't get to see very often, we headed home for some much-needed rest. Just in case it snows tomorrow.

Feeding the piggy

Ainsley feeds pennies into the piggy bank she got for her birthday. If she finds enough loose change around here, she plans to buy "one hundred Webkinz."

O Come Let Us Adore Him

In honor of the Epiphany today, Jan. 6, I present ... The Nativity, as imagined by Noah through Lego.

One Stormtrooper/Wise Man brings pizza; two others bring "jewels." Shepherd Indiana Jones holds his staff to control the animals.

Baby Jesus is portrayed by Wicket the Ewok, Mary by Hope's personalized Lego, and Joseph by the dashing Han Solo. Various animals come to adore the Ewok Jesus Child.

The roof of the stable is raised in this photo; I'm including as a SPECIAL EPIPHANY BONUS!!!! two additional photos today so you can admire the Nativity in all its glory. :)

With roof down

Other side

You Can't HANDLE the Truth!

Trelawney, a little miffed that mommy left her home during CYO.

Snuggling

Grindle, who is quickly outgrowing little Seamus, hopped on top of Seamus on the couch to take a snooze this morning. Seamus didn't look too thrilled, but tolerated his 32-pound friend for about 10 minutes.

How many rabbits do you have?

Hannah gave a project talk at 4-H tonight, after which she was asked three times how many rabbits she has. I wondered if people thought they multiplied so fast that the answer would change each time?

Following Yonder Star

This is the nativity set at my parish this morning, on the Feast of the Epiphany. Words could not possibly do it justice, so here it is in all its sparkly awesomeness. :)

Jan. 1 -- Skating on Easy Street

Hope took this shot of (L-R) puppy Grindle, Hannah, Ainsley, Mark and Elizabeth skating down the ice on our street.