BIG Tyeson!

Big Tyeson turned 4 last week...

WORD!!

This was the picture Tanya sent in the email invite.  She showed it to Tyeson who thought his red eyes looked really cool.  Hey, who needs red eye correction anyway?

This boy has some of the longest eyelashes around.  And some charming blue eyes to go with them - when they aren't red. And cool. Just can't believe he is already four.

What a goof.  He has two big brothers to keep up with and lets just say he can definitely hold his own.

See, there's Jackson in the background, almost ready to lightsaber his head off.  We had the party at Mom and Dad's so that Dad could join the insanity fun.  Doesn't he look good?  Prayer is powerful stuff.

Well, Nate and Tanya have their hands full.  Full of crazy, whacky, all-boy-all-the-time fun.  And a lot of love too.

May the force be with them. 

Naked

Harry got a haircut.  I think he looks much better.  He, on the other hand, is not sure what to think about all this.  He looks like he feels naked and exposed.  He looks a little uncomfortable and embarassed.

 

Sometimes he looks at me like, "Mom, where did you put my hair?"  Maybe I just have an over active sense of guilt. 

But he drags his little sheepskin blanket out of his kennel and takes it along with him wherever he goes. He won't even lay on the rug anymore - he needs his blanket.  Just pitiful.

Maybe guilt looks better in sepia. Have I really become one of those people who take endless pictures of their dog?

Maybe.  It's OK, Honey, it will grow back.  It's just hair.  That's what my mom always told me after she took one last whack at my crooked bangs.  Maybe that's where all this guilt is coming from. Or maybe it was the Barbies.  None of my Barbies survived long with their full head of hair.

Signing off,

Guilty, Cold and Naked in Iowa

Hang a Right at the Moon

I had a hard time with Barney. Sir Topham Hat was a little stern.  The Backyardigans, well, they rock! So for the last 6-8  weeks that Sweet Marissa and her team has been preparing for Marsville and infamous link-up day, I have been humming "We're Going to Mars" by the Backyardigans. Just call me Uniqua.

The kids in the 4th grade class were divided into teams and each team was given a system that would need to be addressed if they were to actually live on Mars.  Marissa was part of the communications group, aka the "Cool Communicators". 

They came up with RoBob, a little robot communication pet that would shoot the messages off to earth and then show the return messages on his screen.  A cute and effective use of duct tape I might add.

Sweet Marissa then had to give a presentation to their class about RoBob, and she did a fine job.  So did Kyler.  Marissa and Kyler did a great job presenting - TOGETHER. (wink, wink, cough, cough).

But before any of that could happen, each team had to construct their "pod" or Mars habitat with 6X8 sheets of plastic, a whole lot of duct tape, a couple of box fans, and some furious praying by their parent volunteers.

And, by gump, it worked.  All six of them worked and were successfully linked together with a series of tunnels and doors and a whole lot of hot air.

It was so cool!!  What a great hands-on way to learn! Not only did they learn about Mars, but also time management, public speaking, and working together as a team. 

After each group had given their presentations, they had lunch.  Each team of five could only have 9 ounces of waste.  Let's just say everyone ate their crusts off their PB & J's that day. Then they got to go in this little jobby up above and check out the constellations.

Really, how fun is that?  The Captain was home and loved every minute of it.  He happily crawled into one of the pods and hung out with the kids as they gave their presentations.  Once again, great job 4th grade teachers! Thanks for all your hard work!

Now, I am going to secretly listen to my Backyardigans CD and jam out with Tasha, Uniqua, Tyrone and Pablo and Austin.

We're going to Mars

It's millions of miles away

But if you leave real soon

The shuttle will shuttle you there today.

Just hang a right at the moon.

We're going to Mars

We're going to Mars

Out in space the gravity's gone

So please keep your seat belts on

We're going to Mars...

Pefect Pairings Psalm 51:7

Psalm 51:7

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

We're having a hard time keeping Harry "clean" these days.  Spring is here and so is the mud.  Anybody got any hyssop?

Check out Baloney for some more pairings and feel free to leave your own.  Happy Spring!

What is the Most Wrong with this Picture?

A) The fact that I am about to be strangled by the pastel yellow baby seat and my mom chose to take a picture instead.  I was a colicky baby. Maybe she thought I had it coming.

B) As an adult, my cheeks are still that big.  I should have grown into them by now.

C) What on earth possessed my mom to buy and then go on to actually display those fake "blue" grapes on her table as a centerpiece.  Seriously? I know it was the seventies, but those have to go.

I am going with C. Those grapes disturb me.