"Craft Weekend"

Years ago, Kathleen, Bethany, and I established a tradition of spending a long weekend once a year together. The orginal premise was to finish any projects we hadn't gotten done in the last few months. It didn't take long for that to be pushed to the wayside. These days we just CALL it craft weekend-- but what we really do is party, eat junk food, and laugh till late at night. When Mom and Jana moved down here as well, they were added to the party. This year Bethany had a newborn (Welcome to the family Lincoln!!!) so we decided to hold it at her house in Colorado, rather than making her travel. We had a blast! Highlights of the trip were painting Emmalines room, and taking a beautiful walk around a nature preserve thingy near Bethanys house.
Dwight did a great job taking care of kids and household while I was gone. There were several instances of bodily fluids- but he conquered and reigned supreme. I'm pretty sure frozen pizza and unlimited cartoons reigned supreme as well. ;) Till next year ladies!

Happy Birthday Cassidy!

It seems impossible, but Cassidy entered the world 12 years ago! At two days overdue, and 7lbs 14 oz, she was my only late baby, and the biggest by quite a margin. Her colic was fearsome to behold, but happily it is only a distant memory now. Since 12 is one of the lucky party years ( we only have birthday parties at ages 5,8,12, and 16) Cassidy was excited to plan a party with her friends. She served pizza and cheesecake in the backyard. It was breezy enough that we had to take the cheesecake into the playhouse to be able to light the candles. This was followed by yard games and a movie ( Kung Fu Panda) shown on the fence when it got dark. Cassidy is quickly leaving childhood behind and growing into a really fun and compassionate young lady. Love you Sassy Lou!!

A New Addition to the Family

Introducing : Oreo! Joey worked and saved to earn herself a hamster. She fell in love with this little black and white one. Its coloring inspired Joey to name her Oreo. (Aren't all black and white childhood pets named Oreo?? I can think of at least 3 dogs I have known by that name) So far the cage has been cleaned regularly, and Oreo is well taken care of.