Let’s add up your list, shall we, Tonka?
Wii Remote
Camera
iPod
Shoes
Makeup
Soap
Deodorant
Stuffed Animals
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It’s like throwing money down the drain, ripping it up, chewing on it, and spitting it out.
So I guess we can add money to the list of things Tonka has destroyed.
She’s lucky it was a George and not a Jackson.
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Love is blind.
Love is expensive.
Love endures dollar breath.
Now, this is more like it. Snow, snow, everywhere you step. We finally got dumped on and I don’t have to shovel it.
That’s what kids are for.
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Hey, Greyson. How’s all that hard work coming?
Back breaking, physical labor and all?
Ring a bell?
Sawyer’s out here helping too, isn’t he?
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I guess he’s too busy to comment.
I see a replay of Ralphie and A Christmas Story.
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Speaking of Christmas, we have yet to undress our front hedges.
These are all-season lights. We’re waiting for Easter.
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This is why the kids are out here. They’re using the shovels to build a fort. We really pay a service to shovel our driveway–you just can’t believe everything you read on the internet. I could take these pictures and make them say anything.
But I would never do that.
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“Hey Mom, I just wanted to say thanks for having those fresh blueberry crepes with whipped cream waiting on the table for us this morning. I don’t know how you did that and your exercise bike all before 5am!”
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That’s really sweet of him to sing my praises but you want to know how to tell if they really love you?
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When they tire of snow fort building and decide to venture around the corner to the treat store,
will they remember that a Skor bar is your favorite?
Do they even think of you at all, now that they are out of your sight?
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Why, yes. Yes they do.
Not that I would eat this whole double bar, mind you.
But it can be crushed up and put in your chocolate chip cookie dough.
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Happy Monday, everybody!
Their floor was covered with blocks and little figurines.
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It looked like a mess to me…
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But clearly–
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Someone was in charge. And I bet it was this guy.
I might adopt his stance next time I have something authoritative to convey.
Who would fail to take you seriously if you were staring them down looking like this?
Clean your room, now!
I have to wait how long to see the doctor?
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I’m usually this guy.
There are 20 people in line and only one cash register open? I’ll just stand here, and wait my turn.
I always admire people who are more ninja than I.
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Here’s a whole pile of them, just waiting to take on the world.
But we all know who’s really in charge…
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Even the ninja eventually meets his master.
Remember the two lines Todd painted on the canvas?
It was going to be a present for Grandma and Grandpa.
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Here it is half finished. He’ll do the rest when we go back to visit this summer.
Until then, it sits waiting on the wall, wondering what it will eventually be.
We feel a kinship, this painting and I.
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Grandma’s house faces these trees, where the squirrels live. They come over for breakfast.
Grandma loves to feed the birds, and the squirrels horn in on the bounty.
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We sit around the breakfast table and watch all the little birdies eat. Sometimes there will be as many as 8 squirrels out there too.
And sometimes, there will be a hawk. Word gets around. Grandma’s bird feeder turns into a bird-of-prey buffet.
It’s the circle of life all in a 10 yard radius.
Since Grandma’s not too keen on turning happy little birdies into little happy meals she usually shoos the hawk away…
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He turns tail and leaves as soon as he hears the back door open.
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This is a hill that borders Grandma’s property. And this the reason the kids wanted to bring their skateboards.
We forgot the skateboards.
How convenient!
They could have burned off hours of energy out here going down hill, but the daredevil in them probably would have landed them in the emergency room.
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This has nothing to do with Grandma’s house, except that we pass it on the main road. Every time we go by, I crane my neck to get a better look. This house is intriguing to me. I want an architect to draw up plans so I can rebuild it sometime, somewhere.
I love the porch, but do you think it would make the house too dark inside? It blocks a lot of light.
Light wins in the end for me. Photographers need light!
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So I’ll just feel sorry for it instead. Poor old abandoned house. I think you must have lived a grand life at one time, with your big old barn and many acres.
I wish I knew your story. The Life of a House– somebody ought to do the history.
I can tell you the history of OUR house–
Toddlers to teens to not-enough-room. We’re bursting at the seams.
Maybe a house like this wouldn’t be so bad after all!
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We’re home now and finding places for all the new Christmas toys.
Apparently, I do not know the correct usage of a battle ax,
but that’s tomorrow’s post…
It’s a treasure chest.
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He decorated it.
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And filled it.
With treasures from Grandma’s yard.
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He’ll take these home and draw them in his sketchbook.
And possible leave them out on the table where the cat will eat them
and I’ll be cleaning up cat vomit for weeks.
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But with a face like this, who cares?
I never could have said that before I became a mom.
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That’s what parenthood does to you.
Cat vomit? I can do that.
Want to capture expression on your kid’s face? Throw some of these on the floor, and challenge them to a game…
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I guarantee, you will find something to shoot.
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You don’t even have to move. They do all the work.
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And they don’t even notice a camera is recording it for keeps.
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I can’t say this strategy will help your game.
He won.
By a lot.
But I think I won in the end. Because now I have these shots to remember him by,
and to show his kids when he plays with them some day.
Pick Up Sticks will still be around then, right?
They’ll just have to make it sound more exciting, to compete with the market–
Pick Up Sticks: The Game.
I was minding my own business focusing on this fence post, when lo and behold…
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Greyson came driving by in the truck.
On the road.
Driving.
Greyson has only driven the truck in the pasture, so this is a big deal.
My boy is driving.
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I guess you must be feeling pretty cool now, right Greyson?
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Yep. Prit-tee-cool.
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But not as cool as Granddad who volunteered his driving instructor services.
Back in Canada they do things a little differently than we do here in the states.
I’ve heard you must obtain your driver’s education privately in order to get your license.
I’ve also heard it costs upward of $1000!
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Time for the changing of the guard.
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Because Granddad is not teaching one student today, but two!
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Boss girl is having her turn.
She might be telling Granddad how to drive by the end of the lesson.
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I wonder if the big sister attitude combined with all the hard earned wisdom of her 16 years on this earth will make an appearance today?
Nehhhhh.
The challenge with using my camera away from home is that I’m missing all of my nifty after-effects programs.
I have no way to alter, to enhance, to nudge these into the nice zone.
But it didn’t stop me from wandering about Grandma’s property, looking for the unexpected.
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I found some great subjects, but publishing them without any adjustments was hard for me.
I feel like I’m sitting behind a well-dressed person in church, and their tag is sticking out at the neckline.
I really want to lean forward and make that one little adjustment.
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I wonder if anyone watching out their window would be puzzled what I’m finding out here in the dead of winter?
I do miss my tulips.
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The wind whipped up the crest of the wave, or these fluffy headed puff-puffs as the case may be.
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Wind is good for whipping up hair, too.
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Super model blooper.
There ought to be a website.
Now that I think about it, there probably is.
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Hello!
Evergreens in your face. I know some kids like this.
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Twined together in unity. I know some families like this.
Or maybe it’s being slowly strangled.
I guess it depends on the day.
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Controlled chaos. I know some households like this.
Isn’t it amazing what nature can show you?
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Now usually, centering your subject works against you, but in this case I think it works well.
If I were crafty, I’d pick him and turn him into a little lion to sit on a shelf.
With my luck, my kids would play with him and leave him on a chair for me to sit in.
I’m glad I’m not crafty.
Oh! I promised you a teenage moment.
It’s actually better as a whole post–
so we’ll see you tomorrow!
My favorite part of opening presents is watching the kids’ faces.
I love it so much, Todd had to tell me to get the camera.
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I wasn’t even thinking of capturing Christmas morning. Who truly can?
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Although, this face does a pretty good job.
Best gift?–
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Probably the Julian Smith hoodie.
(And I DID just yell across the house, “do you spell ‘hoodie‘ with an ‘i-e’ or a ‘y’?)
(I WISH there was a way I could know. How I wish there was a way!)
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Grandma had these ready for Christmas morning breakfast.
Krispy Kremes are like eating a baby angel (as Tim Hawkins would say).
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Christmas Day is over, but the holiday lives on while we’re still here, back in our beloved homeland with our family. Does it sound weird to say, “homeland” when we’re talking about America?
You’d think we were referring to Slovakia and that we wore wooden shoes.
Wooden shoes or no wooden shoes, more pics of our homeland coming up next!
And a bonus teenage moment!
I was outside capturing Grandma’s yard on camera when I stopped in my tracks so I wouldn’t startle the wildlife I found around the corner.
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If we’re really quiet we can observe it’s behavior.
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Wow, I’ve never seen one doing this in the wild before.
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Let’s see if we can get closer. These guys are really skittish.
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Shoot, our cover is blown!
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We’ll have to revert to a previous point of observation to remain inconspicuous.
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Darn it.
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The good news is he’s not fleeing.
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Oops, I spoke too soon. Looks like we’ve scared him off.
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And he’s headed right this way!!
I’ve heard of this before. Instead of escaping they actually come toward you.
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Usually when they’re starving and not finding enough food in their natural habitat.
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Your only defense is to throw as much food as possible on the table. This attracts others of their kind so you better get out of the way.
I better go.
If you don’t hear from me tomorrow, call animal control.
She's the worst dog in the world, and she's ours. 
