Tackle Dummies

As usual this time of yesr, turn down the volume unless you LOVE cicadas.

Conor had his first practice with full pads the other night. He came home and told me "I really want to play tackle, but I don't do it." Meaning he doesn't tackle people in his everyday life (which we encourage, actually) so he doesn't really know how to do it. (Neither do most of the boys on his team, but that goes unnoticed by him). So today Jon borrowed a tackle dummy, and they worked on it a bit. Now if he can just transfer those tackles to another kid, he'll be set. (It does help to get him a bit ticked off. Should you need to do so in the future, I recommend asking "Are you wearing your glasses?")

The little guy is pretty good too, if enthusiasm counts for anything.

GSRP

The members of the Ground Squirrel Relocation Program.

Their team leader. He told me (after the first relocation) that they took him to "a new home he will love. With lots of shade trees, and water to drink, and he can dig his own home. And he will never be able to find his way back here again."

Grips

Apparently they hurt more than just ripping your bare hands, so we'll see if they make another appearance.

An Interview With Almost 4 Rowan

As recorded by Ellie. And I heard it. The ninja/handstand answers were immediate and completely unprompted.

Measurements

The boys got measured for their tuxes for the wedding. There was, as anticipated, some grumbling from the big one. (The little one was happy to be going to the mall, and really would have liked to have picked out some clothes while we were there.) Even after all that grumbling, there was still a huge grin when he tried on the jacket. I didn't quite catch it, but trust me, it was there.

Helmet pt 2

We've learned a little about buyer's remorse around here. Conor bought a Captain Rex helmet with his allowance. I made him wait 24 hours, and he still wanted it. I asked him before he "opened" (read: destroyed) the box, and he still wanted it. About 5 minutes into playing it, he realized it was ridiculous. That was a fun day. There are therefore no pictures of Conor wearing the helmet. Rowan balances it quite nicely.

It begins

Football practice started last night. Football is different from basketball around here, in that the "draft" assigns you to a team, instead of your Dad talking to a guy who has a spot. So unless your Dad is the head coach or assistant coach (and he's not - woo hoo!) then you get the team you get. This year Conor ended up on a team with 3 other boys from his class. I'm not sure how that happened. Normally there's not another kid from his school, much less his class. So he's even more excited than usual.

I'm telling you - style

Please note the shirtless look. And you can't quite tell, but the boots are on the wrong feet. This is how he and Jon pick up the kids.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of 4th grade. It's not really raining. I used my old camera, which apparently really is not working. So pretend it's not so gray, okay?



The guy who was most excited about school to start again for the big kids.

Style

"Fashion can be bought. Style one must possess." - Edna Woolman Chase

New bikes!

For their upcoming birthday, the big kids got new big bikes. They each went on a separate shopping trip with Jon, and both came home with bikes they LOVE. Even this guy has a new (to him) bike.

Powdered sugar

Every once in awhile, powdered sugar donuts are a special afterschool snack.

On the Monday of Spring Break we made our usual trip to the library. Everyone picked out books, and they stayed in the library bag when we got home. Except while I was making dinner, and had cut the boys off of the ipod and the DS. Then both, unprompted, got out books to read. A Star Wars book for Rowan, of course, and coincidentally, a Star Wars graphic novel for Conor.

Twisters Meet

Ellie had another great meet. She got 5 medals (and they weren't participatory, either!). She took 2nd on beam, and 4th overall, which is her personal best. And she smiled on the podium!

Spring Break Trip #1

Ellie had a meet in Cedar Rapids, so we left town the night before and stayed at a hotel with a pool. As far as the kids were concerned it was the best vacation ever.




It took Rowan quite awhile to warm up to the idea of actually getting in the water.

And in retrospect, maybe those goggles were a bit too tight. He never complained, though!

Mismatch Day

Conor missed school today to go to the state basketball tournament with Jon. That's probably a good thing, because I know he would not have embraced "Mismatch Day" nearly as much as this girl. She came up with her outfit entirely on her own, including the shoes and hair!

Geek II

There's really nothing I can add here.

PS - The tub is clean. I promise.

End of Basketball

At the end-of-season pizza party for Conor's team, his coach gave each of them HUGE trophies for winning the state AAU tournament. It's currently the incentive that Conor uses to get Rowan to play a game of basketball.

Artist of the Month

Ellie was Artist of the Month in February, so a photo of her and her artwork was displayed in the office all month. And if you are in Dewey Ford during March, look around. I'm pretty sure her work is currently displayed there.

State

This weekend was the State AAU basketball tournament. I know, I know - state tournament for 3rd graders? But it was pretty fun. Conor's team won first place by two points.

And who made the winning basket with 2 seconds left? This guy.

Geek

There's no other word for it.

Another meet

Ellie had a pretty productive day last Saturday. She got 2nd on beam, 3rd on bars, and 4th overall. We need to work on storage for all of her medals!

Flexible

I don't even know what to call this trick. She just came home from gymnastics one night knowing it.

New shoes

It's a fairly well documented fact that Rowan is spoiled. But I dare you to not buy him Lightning McQueen shoes when he asks you nicely.

Snow!

We've had plenty of snow for awhile, but it wasn't until last week that it was warm enough to do much with it. This was the last day before the snow pretty much disappeared.

The ipod

It's a little creepy how well he can play games on the ipod. He'll never not know a touch screen.

Callie

We had to put Callie to sleep on the 31st. She would have been 20 in April, so she had a nice long life. It was time, and I think the only person who cried was Ellie.

Outside!

Rowan has been wanting to play outside for several weeks now. Yesterday Ellie and a neighbor took him out. They tried to get him to help them build a fort, but all he wanted to do was take two steps, then hurl himself onto the snow. Twently minutes of that and he was ready to come back in.

The Wedding Party

The other day Rowan was "skating" on the ice on the driveway. I told him (in passing, although I should know that nothing is ever in passing with Rowan) that if he wanted to go skating, he should call Aunt Sarah. After hearing about that for what seemed like forever, I tried to steer the conversation to something else. (You can't really just outright change the subject with Rowan - you have to change it in degrees). I asked him what he thought he would call Stimmel after the wedding: "Uncle John" or "Stimmel". The decision? Uncle Stimmel. No word on whether that works for John.

From there, the conversation went to the actual wedding. Rowan is going to be the Ring Bear. We're working on the "er" part of "bearer" but it's slow going. I'm hopeful that by September he'll have let the bear idea go. This whole conversation took place in the truck, so at this point Ellie told Rowan that she's going to be a flower girl. Rowan responded (with the disbelief that only Rowan can show) "You're going to dress up like a flower???" Because a bear makes sense, but a flower is just insane.

Face First

See those 3 red marks along her nose? A gymnastics injury. That's what happens when you fall off of the beam and land on your face. I'm so glad I wasn't there to see it happen. Everytime I comment on it, she tells me "Mom, it's no big deal. I had an ice pack on it." And yet if her brothers brush by her too quickly, there are tears upon tears...

Ellie's first meet

First on beam in her division! She was pretty nervous going in, but has decided it's pretty fun.

Have you ever lived with an artist?

It's pretty fun. Instead of just phone messages, you get illustrated messages.

Glasses!

Conor got glasses this week. Considering Jon's and my vision, I'm surprised it took this long for someone to need them. He only has to wear them for school, but he's not happy about them at all. Until we picked them up, he kept muttering that he could see fine, he didn't need them. And then on the way home from picking them up, he noticed that there were actually blades of glass, not just a smear. So now he admits that maybe they'll be good in class, but he still would rather leave them at home.

December 31, 2010

When we put up the tree, the kids all put their own ornaments on. Rowan really wanted to play with Conor's ornaments, especially Batman. He just didn't understand that they were only Conor's to play with, and had no interest in his own. It was close to nap time, and just before Jon took him up, he cried "I don't have any cool ornaments!"

This year, before she heard that story, Sarah bought him a Batman ornament for Christmas. So now he has very cool ornaments. If you look closely, Batman's right arm is in need of some glue. He's pretty fun to play with.

December 30, 2010

This is how Conor spent most of his winter break.

December 29, 2010

Yep. Attention any way she can get it.

Decemeber 28, 2010

We're still fixing things around here.

December 27, 2010

Callie takes attention any way she can get it these days.

December 26, 2010

Rowan got a play dough set for Christmas. I don't know who was more excited - him or Ellie.

December 25, 2010

Santa brought Ellie a chair for her room. All of her presents and her stocking were on it, but it was 5 minutes before she realized it was even there!

The aftermath.

Sharing with her little brother.

R2D2!

December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas!

We ate dinner before presents, so Conor is waiting patiently.

Ellie wasn't sure what a "mani-pedi" was, but once we explained it, she loved it.

An R2D2 hat.