Happy First Birthday, Anya!

Anya turns one whole year old today. Wow.

She's the cutest little girl ever.

So what did little Anya learn this year? I mean, besides everything she knows. Well, she learned how to walk and how to squawk. She learned about bottles and blankies and cute little shoes, about grandpas and grandmas and kitties and spoons. She learned about bath time and hugs and jammies with feet, about grapes and bananas, how to sleep in a car seat.  And she learned about big brothers. Who love having a little sister.

Anthony gives her a push.

An early birthday present generates much interest among the boys.

Andrea finally gets to put pink on a cake.

 The birthday girl gets her own.

 Which, after some hesitation, gets devoured with gusto.

Presents are always special, but a giant card from Anthony is especially so. "I even put some pink in it" he proudly proclaimed.

If Anya could talk she would say "Thanks to everyone who made my first big day a bunch of big fun!"

"Now, see ya later..."

Miss Mischief

All was quiet this morning . That's usually not good. Where's Anya?

Andrea found her in our bathroom with the toilet brush in the toilet, toilet paper spread across the floor and a guilty look on her face.

Yesterday she threw Paxton's shoes in the garbage...

Help Wanted

Seriously. The two littlest chaos makers seem to be getting the best of Mommy lately. Anyone got a day or a week to spare?

Yes, those are the chairs in the front room, flipped onto their noses for perfect little hideouts for Pajama Girl and her sidekick Stinky.

Blizzard 2011

That's what all the TV networks called it: BLIZZARD 2011! Often accompanied by dramatic music.

I generally don't have much patience with media hype, but I'll give them a pass - this one was a doozy.  It started snowing on Tuesday afternoon with the wind howling out of the north-east and it didn't stop until this afternoon. Here's what we saw out the front window this morning.

The boys and I went for a short walkabout, but it was pretty miserable with the wind blowing. Check out the drift against the back fence.

I started shoveling. Kenrick and Anthony started tunneling. Here they are against the drift at the front walk. By the time the wind stopped blowing, the peak of that drift stood as high as my chest.

The wind made some pretty wild looking shapes with the snow.

The drift in the driveway was so deep that I had to cut through it one block at a time. The kids took advantage of the abundance of building materials to make a strong fort - complete with a tunnel entrance!

I don't think we'll get the trailer out any time soon.

I spent pretty much all day shoveling, but I finally cut a slot to the road. The sixty foot drive had four feet of snow at one end and about two feet at the other end - a total of about 20 cubic yards of not-so-fluffy fluff that I had to heave into the air.  My back is shot.

To Do List

To Do:

1. Finish writing about our Epic Winter Vacation
2. Take more pictures of Anya with her lopsided toothy grin and her flyaway hair
3. Paint the kitchen
4. Start packing up our house again

Packing up you say? Yes, I'm afraid it's true - we're moving again!

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that the machine program at work that I moved us up here for got suspended. At that time, our hope was that we could work on temporary assignments for a few months until the acquisition of Bucyrus International was finalized. We were instructed a few weeks after that, however, to start looking for permanent positions within Caterpillar and to assume that the Mining Shovels program would not be back any time soon.

Long story short: today I accepted a position in Decatur (Illinois) with the Large Mining Trucks division.

We don't know for sure what the timeline for moving looks like, but shouldn't have to go anywhere until school is out. In the mean time ... where did I put all those boxes that we had around here a few months ago?

Paxtonspeak Chicken

Andrea was telling me the other day that Paxton was having a hard time saying the word 'kitchen'

"He keeps saying 'chicken' instead", she said.

We were all standing in the kitchen, so I decided to test him out.

"Paxton, where are we?"

"We're right here!"

All right, I guess I'll have to be smarter than the average three year old.

"Where are we standing right now? Where do we eat lunch?"

"Bedroom!" "Hee-hee!"

"No! What room are we in? Right now! Are we in the basement?"

"Nooooo!"

"Are we in the kitchen?"

"Yes. Chicken!"

"Say kitchen. Kitchen. Ki - Chen."

"Chi - Ken!"

(Everyone rolls on the floor laughing)

Epic Journey 2010, Part 3: Winterland Adventures

The weather in McCall was delightful during our time there - snow, snow, and more snow!

The first order of business was to build an epic snow fort. Matt, Sally, Shanna, and the kids are on it. The middle of the fairway in front of the house is the prime spot, naturally.

The golf course next to the house has a network of trails that are kept open in the winter for hiking and cross-country skiing, so we took advantage of that while we were there. Our condo is on the left, epic fort on the right.

Once the perimeter defenses have been set up, the troops can relax. Good job guys!

The first of a few family pics. It was nice to have the whole crew together.

Matt brought his bongos, much to the kids delight. Anthony keeps the beat.

We checked out a local tubing hill. It wasn't near steep or dangerous enough, but the kids enjoyed it. It was nice to have a rope tow for getting to the top of the hill. Shanna kicks back.

A Sunday Morning Picture with Grandma and her grand's.

Sunday afternoon dinner at the local (only) Chinese restaurant. Paxton approves.

Next up, ice skating. McCall has a great little rink right downtown with a view of the lake and the mountains in the background. Everyone except mom and Anya skated. Paxton enjoyed pushing a stack of buckets around the rink.

Sunday evening brought a few more inches of white stuff to the area, just in time for Monday's much-anticipated visit to the local ski hill, Brundage Mountain. Kenrick, Anthony, and Cooper tried out the snowboards again. Mia decided to try skiing. The adults tried to keep up.

A couple of times that day I looked over at my two boys with their snowboards and big smiles and my heart got all up in my throat and I thought, "This is really cool." It was cool.

The conditions were perfect and the kids did really well. They fell a lot, which is normal for a snowboard, but they kept getting up again and by the end of the day Kenrick was linking turns and Anthony was getting down the hill without catching his edge and I was tremendously proud of them. Here we are taking a break before heading down the hill. Sally and Matt hung with us for a few runs - Matt's on the far right and Sally's standing - and offered much encouragement to the budding boarders.

Mom took a nap with her youngest grandkid.

We didn't sit around too much during our time in McCall; many of our evenings were spent doing some kind of epic event or crazy contest. One such contest was the more-difficult-than-it-sounds Transfer The Cookie From Your Forehead To Your Mouth Without Touching It Challenge. Only two of us got it on our first try (including yours truly). Paxton demonstrates.

On our last day in McCall, we all gathered for one more picture in the snow. The epic fort served us well and we left it with warm memories and with hopes that it would provide the same for the next group of intrepid explorers.

The last day also brought another foot of snow in the mountains, so Sam, Sally, Matt, and I altered our plans slightly and went back up to Brundage to take advantage. It was some of the best powder I've ever boarded in, a fantastic day that I won't soon forget. My cheeks were sore from the big dumb smile that was plastered on my face all day long.

Sally floats through the trees. Whooo hoooooo!

So from McCall we returned to Boise, gathered up our luggage and headed back to Idaho Falls to spend New Year's with Andrea's family - the last leg of our journey and the last gasp of 2010. 

Say Again?

I was just sitting down in my comfy chair this evening after supper when Kenrick hollered from the kitchen,

"Dad! Paxton just stuck a cup-cake in his eye!"

Ship Mates

Let's head home, Captn' Anya, there's no intelligent life here! 

Gut Check

There's nothing like an emotional roller-coaster ride to start your year out right. A week that began with the warm glow of family in Grandpa and Grandma's house and the anticipation of getting settled in to our new house and new job, and that favored us with a relatively uneventful drive home from Idaho, quickly turned to mush. We got a decent night's rest on Monday, but Tuesday morning dawned way too early in a time zone that's an hour ahead of what we'd become accustom to and so I threw down some coffee and made sure the kids were upright before heading into work. Andrea got Kenrick and Anthony ready for school, hoping to get a nap before going in to pick up some groceries, but the bus didn't come when it was supposed to. So, she scrambled to get Paxton and Anya dressed and took the boys in to school herself. It's only a few miles, no big deal, and there's a small grocery in town, so she stopped off there, but when she got home she realized that her key was still with the house sitter and she'd locked herself out. To make matters worse, she'd left her cell phone in the kitchen in her rush to get the kids to school. So she tried to get in one of the windows. Fortunately, she chose one that I was going to replace anyway. After lunch, she was just putting P & A down for a nap when the phone rang. Kenrick isn't feeling well, could you please come pick him up? Great.

So she calls me on her way home from the school to tell me all this, just when I'm about to call her to tell her that we've just learned that our machine program has been suspended. As in, wrap up the work you've been doing for the last three or six or nine months, forget about the work you were thinking about doing for the next six months and get ready to start looking for a temporary position to keep you busy while we wait for the largest acquisition that Caterpillar has ever made to be finalized and figure out how these overlapping product lines are going to play together. Ah come on! Seriously!?

Then Anthony hit his head on Thursday and came home with a headache and an upset stomach. He seemed to be doing okay by that evening, so no harm done. I spent Thursday and Friday working on wrap-up planning, making sure that a few contractors could get their work finished in the next couple of weeks, and fielding calls from concerned colleagues and various managers offering potential positions. I'm very grateful to be working for a company that has the size to allow so many options and that takes care of it's people the way it does.

We slept in this morning.

Things were looking up today. The boys are both fine, the broken window can be fixed, the house is just going to be a mess for a while, and we'll catch up on our sleep and our exercise eventually. And all is not doom and gloom at work - we're proud of what we've accomplished in so short a time, and although we're all tremendously disappointed that we won't be able see our new machines take shape this year, we're optimistic that we'll be working on shovels again. We understand the business reasons for the decision and are thankful that the direction is to 'suspend' not 'cancel' the program. With challenge and uncertainty comes strength of character. If we have many more weeks like this you'll be able to see our character oozing out of our ears. Only 51 more weeks in the 2011...

Epic Journey 2010, Part 2: Idaho Falls to McCall

The second leg of our Epic Journey started with a quick stop at Andrea's brother's place for a visit and a meal. The cousins wasted no time getting to know each other.

Next, a day and a couple of nights at my parents so that Anya can work her magic there. Grandma approves.

Grandpa with his two grand daughters.

Everyone got hugs. Even Big Teddy.

Before we went up to McCall, we stopped to eat at a cute little Italian pizzeria called Flatbread. The kids got to make their own pizza's and then watched them cook in the big wood-fired brick oven. Fun!

Uncle Sam finally got a chance to pack around the Littlest Pandemonium. Can you see a family resemblance? Hmm, maybe if you squint.

A few presents for all present. The kids approve.  Even the Boston Red Sox stuff from Sally and Matt gets high reviews.

Anthony digs in.

Sam scrutinizes the goods with his two kids while mom and dad (behind Cooper) look on.

Even dad gets in the mood. Calm down Grandpa!

Anya hugs her new kitty closely. (Say that ten times fast)

And Uncle Matt gets a turn hugging Anya.

The house we had in McCall worked very well, with a nice living room and kitchen/dining area (very important for my family) where we could all congregate, three good size bedrooms and large upstairs sleeping area with bunks for the kids and Sally and Matt (who still act like kids anyway). The back of the house featured a nice porch with a hot tub and we had access to an excellent walking path around the McCall golf course. Perfect. Kudos to the Planning Committee.

Stay tuned for Part 3, Winterland Adventures.

Epic Journey 2010, Part 1: Chicago to Idaho Falls

This winter's Epic Journey is a two and a half week road trip from Chicago to Idaho Falls then on to Boise and the little mountain town of McCall to spend Christmas with my family, then back to Idaho Falls for New Year's with Andrea's family. The van is well packed - luggage, food, activities, and three little boys full of anticipation of adventures to come. And one big boy who's ready for a vacation. And of course, one little girl who can't wait to see Grandma's and one big girl who did a fabulous job of getting everything ready for the long haul. We're off!

I guess it's a good sign when everyone is still smiling 18 hours later. The kids have slept cozy in their pajamas and mom and dad took turns getting some rest.  Only seven more hours to go!

Stop number one is Idaho falls and we're all happy to see Grandpa and Grandma. Anya gets a ride.

One of the best things about going to Grandma's house is showing her how cute you are. Anya tries her hardest.

There was some quality snow in Idaho falls, so we used a bit of quality time to construct a snow person.

We had a free day before the next leg of our journey so we decided to take advantage of the local ski hill and get some snowboards under Kenrick and Anthony. They look pretty serious, huh?

The hill was just right for the boys to learn on and they did great. The chair lift was only a double and I needed to go with Anthony to make sure he didn't fall off, so Kenrick had to get on by himself the first time he ever rode one! He did fine, and even got off in one piece at the top! Then he wrecked. Then he got up and wrecked again. Then he pointed his board down the hill and was gone. Anthony perfected the snowboard squat, keeping the distance to the ground at a minimum in preparation for impending disaster.  ("Stand up, Anthony!") He was soon spinning 360's down the hill.

There goes Kenrick!

Both boys got pretty worn out, so we were glad for our Mommy Support Crew in the lodge. Anthony took a break for a while, but was ready to go again for the last couple of runs of the day.

The adventure has begun. Next stop, Boise.