Engine Engine number 181

 We were invited to join a local group of preschoolers to tour one of our fire stations.  Couldn't miss out on a fun time like that, so here we are looking at one of the very shiny trucks they use.  In part, due to living outside of city limits, the fire fighters are our general first responders to any sort of 911 situation called in.










 All the kids who wanted to got to sit inside!  First time around Kjetil was not so sure about it all.  The second time, he figured out how to turn on lights and was enthtraled with all the knobs and buttons!

Sweetness out front posing for the perfect picture.

 Trying on the heavy coat they wear

 The all important, see a fire fighter completely in gear.  If you ever have to use their service in a scary situation, kids can be scared additionally by their appearance.  Seeing them in full gear in a safe non threatening way helps them to understand it is important to NOT run away from the scary person who has come to help you.  The fire fighter even spoke for us with his face mask on, and that was not something Kjetil like. From there on out he covered his ears, especially when they turned on the lights on the engine.  Seeing them he was concerned the siren would go as well.  Despite their promises, he did not believe them and kept his hands over his ears.  I think we'll continue to make trips in hopes the kids will come to understand and trust that emergency personnel are there to help.

Group shot with the fire fighters!

That's odd....we're odd

We're odd.  Isn't that a loaded statement?

Well it is true, we are.

And we are very close to all of us being in an "odd" year.

Our little guy turned the big 3, nearly a month ago.

 The anticipation.  The Pampered Chef box contained new trains and track. I figure his wife will one day be able to order as much as she needs from the company and he'll associated the box with trains. You're welcome future wife.

 This train tent, huge hit, is not your normal tent.

A normal tent is set up and in place.

This is a regular train with a regular schedule -the blue line I believe-and it picks up and drops people off all around the house.  Thank you Grandma and Grandpa, it's a huge hit!

 We kept his birthday pretty simple, just family and the bonus of Grandma and Grandpa, then we had some neighbors over for cupcakes and ice cream.  The boy was thrilled with it all!

 Another huge hit, for the girls' birthday Grandma and Grandpa got them new leos

And equally exciting, a bag of Cheetos!

Turning 7 was great for her!

 This year CJ got to have a party at our house with her friends.  We counted how many invites we sent out, 9 and knew of 8 for sure were coming.  So when there were 13 kids, plus our 3 running around, we wondered how we had miscounted so!

 I had planned a very laid back party. Play. Everyone got to make crowns. Eat. Presents. Go home. And it really did work out perfect.  The larger number of kids made craft time a bit chaotic, but it was fun and all the girls loved their crowns!

 Cupcakes inside ice cream cones and a scoop of ice cream on the side.  Eat was a fun event too!

Lined up on the super cool balance beam that Uncle Josh gave the kids for Christmas.  It has already been very well loved!

Sweetness will be turning 5 in a couple of short weeks, and then our beloved Panther will turn 11....see what I mean, we're all odd for the next year.  I am confident that we can live up to all the oddity there is too!

play time

We had the joy of having the kids' second cousin Jayden come and play one day a couple of weeks ago.  In this life, we rely on friends, but the rare chance to have a play date with a cousin couldn't be missed!

 The boys are only a month different in age

 Which means trains consumed most of the play.

 Since Jayden's not old enough to drive around himself, his Grandma Karen brought him, and we all enjoyed her visit as well.

 And that meant Grandma Karen got to hang out with her sister Martha, who is the grandma to the rest of the crew of kids at the play date.

The day went well and I think the only thing our kids tried to teach Jayden was how to ride a scooter.  Considering all they could have taught him, that seems pretty mild.

I had to buy a new keyboard.

There seems to be confusion as to who or how many are to blame.

One person spilled the glass of water onto the keyboard, but claims that since it was another person's water, spilling the water was not his or her fault.

The one who left the water there would like to point out that it was actually there for nearly 2 days and everyone else managed to NOT spill it during that time.

Eh.

One of the drying out methods for cell phones was attempted on the keyboard. Unfortunately not until hours after the incident, since the person who tipped the the water glass over, kept quiet about it all. 

Laid upside down on our cable box, the keyboard did begin working enough to have most, er some of the keys type correctly, a day later. Enough to log onto the computer anyways. We could check emails and "surf the web" as long as it didn't require any passwords or any sort of typing, because then it got tricky.

I did go and purchase a new keyboard.  I will admit it, I did so without consulting my husband.  I knew what kind he wanted, and for several reasons I really did NOT want that kind.

Oh what kind did he want?

Well, we are an Apple family, so for starters he wanted an Apple keyboard.  He wanted it to be wireless. And finally he wanted to buy it from a store that I try to avoid at all costs.
The wonderful thing about Apple computers, they are very compatible and any ol' keyboard will work as long as it as an USB port type of plug in.

Instead I bought, literally the cheapest keyboard I could from a big box discount store.  AND I LOVE IT!  I really do!

First, the price.  The Apple keyboard would have cost 6 times the amount I spent.  And even if I had gone with a wireless version, the Apple keyboard still would have cost over twice that amount.  Spending money wisely makes me happy.

On the off chance that water or some other sticky finger substance could get spilled, it won't be as painful to replace.

Secondly, Apple, in my humble opinion has made a mistake, in making all of their keyboards tiny! Small squished together keys, no matter if it is a free standing keyboard or built into an air book...they are tiny, and I type fast and pretty accurately, that is until my fingers start to run into each other and battle each other out for placement instead of living in harmony on the keyboard. Squished finger battles can be epic!

All this rambling just to say, not only do I realize I am terribly behind in posting, but my fingers are itching to really cruise around on this new keyboard with some new posts.

Only, it is late, I need to import pictures from the past three weeks onto the computer, followed with editing them, and then putting together some coherent and witty story.  Tonight, I am not doing that.

Tonight, this is what you get.  But I love ya, and with this new keyboard, as soon as all those other steps are done and the bathrooms are cleaned (yea, that is bad news for you, it could be a bit) I'll be right back at getting things blogged.

2012

Happy New Year!!

May 2012 bring you many blessings.

May you find yourself content and satisfied.

May your dreams (or resolutions) come true!


I have decided to go on a much needed diet!  Join me if this applies to you!

Or if you like to follow this blog and visit on a regular basis, maybe your resolution could be to leave a little love note to let me know I'm not doing this just for kicks and giggles, especially if you like to send messages through other people to let me know how far behind I am on blogging. (-ahem, Aunt JoJo)

Whether you are making grand promises or none at all, do it with gusto, and truly commit. Don't be too hard on yourself, many things take time, a lot of time. Often, baby steps are needed.

My challenge to you, no matter what life hands you, embrace life, make positive choices in your life and reach out to others.  You can never go wrong, or fail, if you do those things!

Peace to you!