Boy themes

We still have the Martin boys over a lot. Sometimes everyone, including Cinder, wants to be read to at once.

Jack and Tyler continue to be best buds and (usually) get along famously. Towheads unite!

When needing to escape all the boys in the house, Monica resorts to something girlie, like making Barbie valentines for her friends.

Mama's Helper

When in the right mood, Jack loves to help.

Making dinner:

Cleaning out the shoe closet:

Finding his sister's lost jump rope:

But every once in a while, every good helper needs a nap:

Addiction is contagious

We spent last night at the Carters'. We brought dinner up to their place (Mia's enchilada recipe!) and hung out while the kids played.

Click here for the recipe!

Sara has a broken ankle :( so hopefully we gave Nick a night off from cooking. The ongoing highlight of the visit was stiff competition on the wii, most notably on the sports resort game that features skydiving, archery, kayaking, ping pong and more. Sara and I had many good laughs watching our husbands break into a sweat while trying to beat eachother at these activities, and I was encouraged to realize that I'm not the only woman out there whose husband is addicted to the wii!

Home Time

Well with Anton back in school he has needed a lot of time on the weekends to study and get caught up on sleep. We've cut down (a bit) on our crazy social life to give him some more breathing room. His first class is "Education Law" with a textbook so thick you could murder someone with it. He already has a paper due next week. He does find the class interesting, just time consuming. You might think I'd be suffering with these new homebound tendencies, but quite the contrary: I've got a fridge full of snacks, my new electric blanket, and at least 6 or 7 Pac Ten basketball games a week to watch on Fox sports northwest. Right now, for example, I'm watching today's UW defeat of Cal on the tivo, and will probably watch it again tomorrow. Just think of how engrossed I will be when the winter Olympics begins next month. So many sports, so little time!

Rainy-ness

It's rainy, rainy outside. Makes me not want to go to the mailbox. Normally I love the rain, but today I'm annoyed.

Pete Carroll is now a Seattle coach, which means I will have to start liking him.

And then of course there's the Husky men, who have dropped their last three games.

It's no wonder the pacific northwest sports high levels of depression with facts like these.

But despite all this and feeling under the weather, there's a little guy here holding a blanket here who just keeps wanting to hug me (no not Anton, Jack of course!)

So how can I not smile?

Go Dawgs.

Wiiiiiiiii!!!!!

Anton loves the new wii he got for Christmas. He has been doing the "fitness test" every day and brags that he is age 29 on the TV. I think he thinks it counts as a real work out.

Monica enjoys the Wii games, but mostly enjoys making and playing with the miis (characters that represent us and our friends). In the middle of the Husky basketball game last weekend, Monica turned to me and said, "I wonder what the miis are doing right now?"

Sleepy Mom

The end of vacation isn't so bad when...

You have a new backpack, lunchbox, and waterbottle to take to school...

And Nanie comes to play!

Mom and Jack

So tired...

This is what Monica (and Cinder) did the day after the late, late New Year's Eve. According to Eva's parents, the girls were up past midnight!

NYE '09

We celebrated New Year's Eve with the Dyer and Rucier families. We know the Dyers from Kennedy and have become good friends. The Ruciers both went to college (and rowed) with Anton. Coincidentally they happen to live across the street from each other in Burien. Kale spent all day smoking and grilling baby back ribs. Oh my, so delicious!

Me reading with little Emily:

Party foul: BBQ sauce casualty in the kitchen!

Playing "Outburst" girls vs. guys. The guys tried hard, but...

We are the champions!