On three wheels

He was SO happy to graduate to this ride. He did a great job.


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2013 Tour deCatur

Carter has been training for this 1 mile run for weeks. The morning of the race was cold and pouring rain. We gave him a choice, and he did it! He and Thomas ran the whole thing in the rain. And then T ran the 5k, also in pouring rain. John and I were there to watch both strong finishes!



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Visit from Uncle Rob

We had a great visit from Rob last weekend. He joined us to cheer at Carter's soccer game and for a trip to the zoo. He drank and ate all the unnaturally green things I gave him. He taught Carter to play darts (inventing rules that put them on a level playing field) and lost gracefully at Monopoly.








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After Dinner Mag

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Airplane Love

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He is all of these things...

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MLK Community Service

Just getting around to posting this... Carter and Thomas participated in a service project with Thomas' work on MLK day. Check out this short video where they appear several times!

Mama Helen and Mimi Vist

Mama Helen and Mimi made a visit to us in January. They arrived just in time to help us deal with the aftermath of our robbery, so, in a sense, the timing was perfect. We were so happy to have the help and the distraction - and also, of course, to see them!

I didn't take many pictures, but here are a few:

Carter and Mimi were the big winners, as usual

On top of the building Thomas is working on

Valentine's Dance Party

Carter and I had a private Valentine's dance party. I took the video below of Carter doing his thing. You really want to watch the whole thing. You are welcome.



After arriving home from Boise (more on Thomas and Carter's ski trip another day) after midnight the night before, Thomas had a 6:40am flight to NYC on Valentines' day. It was just a day trip, so he made it home in time for our traditional (11 years running, as best we can figure) Valentine's dinner, but he missed the dancing.

Double artichokes this year. Double the healthy in our once-a-year otherwise-fried feast.

We were robbed!

Oh, how I wish I was referring to a figurative robbing. Alas, it was a literal house robbery, on Friday. Thankfully, it happened while we were at work and school.

There are, of course, lots of bad things about that, but here's a look on the bright side, at a bit of humor that the situation wrought.

ONE
As the cops were checking the house, young Officer One stepped into the kitchen and took a look around...

Officer One: (with urgency) Officer Two! Get in here! We've got blood! (gestures to John's booster seat)

Officer Two: (rolls eyes) I'm pretty sure that's ketchup.


TWO
As I explained to Carter what was happening inside our house...

Carter: Who do you think did it?

Me: I don't know. Who do you think?

Carter: Justin Bieber. He stole Maggie's mom's dance moves.


THREE
Later that night, as Thomas and I worked to clean up broken glass and put things back in drawers, my  mom and Mimi took Carter out to dinner (they arrived about an hour into the investigation - such lucky timing to have their help!). At dinner, the fates smiled upon Carter, and he won a stuffed animal from one of those claw machines. Here's a picture of his very colorful, and fashionable (?), stuffed elephant.

The next day, Mama Helen was pressuring him to decide on a name for his new friend.

Mama Helen: What have you decided to name him?

Carter: Fast Elephant.

Mama Helen: Why 'Fast Elephant'?

Carter: Because he had to be fast to catch that cheetah.