Making Syrup

Sometimes when you are walking out the door for church and make a quick decision to eat lunch that day at the local arboretum, you get surprised by their annual maple syrup madness.

We were all surprised by the fact that real maple syrup doesn't taste very good. Give me my high fructose corn syrup and imitation maple flavoring any day. Actually, hold the syrup and give me Cool Whip instead. But keep the trees--they're nice.

8 years of Graham

Eight years ago, our lives were turned upside down with the arrival of Graham Vincent. We celebrated with another Lego party (hooray for reusing decorations!), lots of Nerf guns, slingshots, and his friends from school.

We were so glad that Grandma, Grandpap, and Aunt Kim got to join us for the weekend! After Krispy Kreme donuts at school, lunch with Mom at school, a birthday party, fish with Daddy & Grandpap, opening presents on Sunday, and a special dinner, I think he was fully celebrated and we are ready to get things back to normal.

Goal!

This spring, the boys' grades earned them both free hockey tickets from the local NHL team. Unfortunately, Will (the only person in our family who knows much about hockey) was traveling and couldn't make it. So... our friend Charlene gamely agreed to come along for a new experience.

Turns out, as in all major league events, a lot more than just hockey happens at one of these games. The kids had a blast, although Chase got tired of sitting. Graham watched the game and the zamboni machine. Gabriella decided she wants to be one of the girls in the cheerleading uniform who scrapes the snow off the ice (who needs college?). The cannon was too loud, and watching their first fight was a little unnerving (WHY ARE THEY HITTING EACH OTHER???). But overall, we had a wonderful time with Charlene, and they are looking forward to next year.

All she wants for Easter...

She pulled her two front teeth herself, one of which happened at school because she really wanted a little pink treasure chest to put them in.

Having an older brother who is extremely realistic (and imposes this on his siblings) means that she has already accepted the harsh reality of the tooth fairy's true identity. She wasn't too upset--just said, "Mom, can I have my money now?"

Chase's Birthday

Chase turned 7! He opened presents in the morning...

And played with them until it was time to catch the bus.

He celebrated that evening with a trip to the free Lego build (fun coincidence) at the Lego store and some ice cream.

 Then on Saturday, we had a houseful of kids over to celebrate his birthday with a Lego party.

The only things he requested for his party were a race track and a cardboard Emmet that he could put his face through. (So... wow.) When Graham saw the Emmet, he said, "You painted this? I thought you were the worst painter in the world!"

I think it's safe to say that Chase had a good time. (It's also safe to say that we were glad when it was over.) Happy Birthday, Chase!

Painting...

We don't usually take on home projects that can't be fixed if something gets messed up. Paint, curtains, etc. are all fix-able. But this time, we painted the brick. You can see for yourself... Luckily, we are pretty happy with the finished product, 'cause there's no going back.

Before:

After:

And sometimes these two act like they get along with each other:

Caution: Caffeine

As we were riding to church yesterday, Chase wanted to spell the word "volcano". Then, as they usually do, the kids took the conversation to another level.

Chase: Let's spell 100 words of things that are dangerous to walk past.

Graham: Volcano! Mount Rushmore! Mountain Dew!