yonder...

september 2008

... there is a whole lot more snow than i remember from our last trip to the 'Hole

february 2009

i don't know where his coat was, but i know ryan had on new warm, wooly socks because he packed just one pair of socks for our sledding overnighter! so i had just bought him a new pair! but at least, jacks had his hat on...

ribs will heal...

...but it is very difficult to suck wine up from the concrete! luckily, no wine was split on the treacherous, ice-laden steps...

...just later down the front of my shirt as i was laughing (snorting) at Pappy's and Pappy's dad's jokes. classy...

so glad the boys weren't around!

the "swear jar"...

we have had to institute a swear jar at our little home. i'm thinking that all of our nerves are raw from our new lifestyles, and we're vocalizing our frustrations. at our last family meeting, we decided that we would pay a quarter per word, and that we were indeed our "brother's keeper." the best part was, that when we have enough money, the three of us would go out to a "fancy dinner." ryan explained that a "fancy dinner" would entail ties for he and jacks...

so anyway in my house, when you walk down to our basement, you have two options:

1. you can turn left and go into the laundry room... this is my usual route.
2. turn left, you go into the Lego pit of despair. you know, that ryan and jacks are the only grandchildren for both of our parents. it's beyond speculation, that they are overly indulged. they are very loved by those 4 people, as well as several sets of delightful aunts and uncles. all of that loving usually presents itself in lego sets, and there needs to be a monthly "lego rake-up" of the floor.

i have seen the whole clean up take less than a hour; but this saturday, it went on and on as did the whining... did you know that i'm the meanest mom in the world? well, i am.

so after two hours of complaining and foot stomping, the basement was cleaner--you could safely walk down there without enduring lego punctures on bare feet...

jackson came upstairs, stomping down the hallway to his bedroom, slamming the door... and then there is silence for a few minutes and the door opens, jackson came back to the kitchen, grabs the swear jar and stuffs in a fiver.

he then turned to me, and said, "i was really, really mad, and i swore a lot downstairs, (tears welling up in his eyes) and i think that five dollars should be pay for everything i said."

our fancy dinner is going to be a sweet reward for all of us.