A Decade of Anthony

Anthony turned ten in April.

It was a pretty low-key affair, just a party of six and a double chocolate cake with malt balls and chocolate things on top.

Anthony got a Lego set and some Bears gear...

...and a new camera! Happy snapping, Anthony.

He probably should have gotten a haircut for his birthday. He and Paxton show off some wild 'do's after bath time.

Happy birthday buddy!

Out Like a Lion

I thought March was supposed to go out like a lamb? Not this year.

We got our biggest snow storm of the winter on March 24th. I know it's old news by now, but I  just came across some pictures and wanted to share.

It started snowing on Sunday afternoon. By evening we had 7 1/2 inches. Kenrick measures.

Doesn't that look cozy?

By morning we were living in a winter wonderland. Twelve inches total. Snow day!

Everyone stayed home and started digging.

It was pretty warm - perfect for packing and stacking and sledding and tunneling and frolicking. The kids had a ball. Dad helped. Building snow forts in March did seem a bit surreal, though.

Anya doesn't care if it's March or Septober- snow is fun to munch any time!

Aren't Mommies Great!

Lately Paxton has taken a great interest in spelling and he's getting pretty good at sounding words out and trying to come up with letters that fit.

This morning as the older boys were getting on the bus Andrea spotted a crayfish in our yard. A big one. This generated much excitement (I'll try to post some pictures later) and the kids enjoyed watching her set up a temporary home for the ugly crustacean to keep it safe until we could toss it back into the creek.

Later, as Paxton was finishing his breakfast and talking about the events of the morning, his curiosity about this new creature got finally prompted the logical question.

"Mommy?" He said; "How does a crayfish spell?"

Andrea sounded it out for him and he thought that over for a while. Then exclaimed,

"Wow, Mommies can spell anything!"

Practice

Our little three year old is a very busy girl. Between ordering Paxton around, trying on every piece of clothing she owns, running full tilt from one end of the house to the other, and singing nonstop at the top of her lungs all day long she generally keeps things interesting. A few days ago we heard the water running in the bathroom and came to investigate. The play dishes were getting a good scrubbing.

We'd like to think that she's practicing to help in the kitchen, but really she just likes to play in the water.

Three's A Charm

The Pandemonium Clan celebrates one birthday a month for the first four months of the year. The third month and the third birthday is for little Anya. In two thousand thirteen, she turned three.

Guess who likes Hello Kitty? And yes, that is a birthday cookie.

We had a little family party to celebrate the occasion, complete with a couple of clowns. Oh, wait. Those are her brothers. Two of the clowns look on while Anya proudly shows how many fingers she is.

What to get for a girl who loves pink? More pink! How about a fancy handbag, a fluffy tiara, and pink boa to compliment the tutu? Oh, and don't forget the Chicago Bears t-shirt. (She's not a princess all the time)

Did you notice the fancy wrapping paper around the big box in the back? Anya didn't either. But she's delighted by what's inside. Her very own doll house!

Thanks Cliff and Mary Faye for the panda book! Cue cheesy grin.

After Kenrick and Daddy assemble the doll house, Paxton and Anya get busy decorating.

Happy Birthday little Princess!

Squirrel Watching

With the (gradual) coming of spring in our parts, the squirrels have emerged from their winter quarters and are busily dashing to and fro trying to remember where they stashed last year's nuts and generally getting reacquainted with each other. Two little squirrels in particular seem to have taken up residence in our back yard and Paxton and Anya have enjoyed watching them from the library windows. They even named them. One is Sam, the other is Sally.

Twelve for One

Last month we celebrated Kenrick's 12th. T-minus one to Teen. Wow.

His birthday was on a Thursday, so he had a few friends over after school for some pizza and cupcakes.

Then later in the week, he got the cake (and candles) he really wanted. It's hard to blow out candles when you've got the giggles.

The big present this year was a mountain bike. One big enough to grow into. We picked it up at the REI in Chicago while we were up there last weekend, I don't think he's stopped grinning since. His feet do touch the ground, but just barely.

The official portrait:

The Pandemonium Four, February 2013

 

Paxton's a Handful

He's a handful in more ways than one, but today I mean that's how old he is.

The big day was actually last month sometime, I just haven't had a chance to get a post out until now.

Anyway, buddies Samuel and Adrian came over to help celebrate and a good time was had by all. Paxton was so excited to open presents he could hardly see straight.

Here's the Official Five Year Foto.

Happy Birthday little buddy!

Now he can't wait to be six.

Hot Breaded Corn

This evening Andrea was teaching Anthony how to make corn bread.

"Now, we're going to double the recipe Anthony, so you will need to multiply all the measurements by two. Got it? Okay, let me get the oven heated up, what temperature do we need to set it to?"

"Um, 800 degrees."

Idaho (Couch) Potatoes

We had a pretty relaxing Christmas and New Year's vacation this year. As usual, our van did the bulk of the work, piling on another 4200 miles over the course of the two weeks carrying the Traveling Pandemoniums halfway across the country and back.

The first stop was Idaho Falls where we had a nice quiet Christmas with Andrea's folks. The kids always look forward to sledding down the slope next to Grandpa and Grandma's house, but there was hardly enough snow this year to cover the ground. They got the sleds out and tried it anyway.

Grandpa is always good for a ride behind the tractor.

We headed across the state to my parents place after Christmas and were there for a week. We didn't do a whole lot, but it was nice to spend some time with Mom and Dad. Grandma did some light reading...

And organized a couple of tea parties.

While Grandpa kept the boys busy at the Recreation Center and at the ice rink.

On New Year's Eve, we made the short trip (further) west to Baker City, Oregon to see Andrea's brother and family, a four-boy circus also bordering on Permanent Pandemonium. Their place sits on the edge of the valley with a great view looking north to the Elkhorn Mountains and east to the Wallowa Mountains.

They did have some snow and an excellent spot for sledding, so we got a good bit of fresh air that day. Stuart gives a couple of his boys a lift back up the hill with the snowmobile.

Paxton approves.

The first day of the year was spend relaxing at my brother's house and eating. Andrea's other brother and his family came over too, so the kids got to spend time with all their cousins. The adults made good use of the couch.

Looks like the cousins found an iPad...

We broke up the return trip a little by stopping for the night in Salt Lake, and then made good time cruising back across the country to home sweet home.

Thanks again to everyone for all your hospitality.

We're looking forward to a new year filled with many visitors(!) and many new adventures.

Tai Kwon Do Man

Anthony has been learning Tai Kwon Do since early last summer and has really enjoyed it. The Korean martial art emphasizes kicking and punching techniques, self defence and self control, form and flexibility. The organization that is in Monticello doesn't hold competitions, but rather judges and advances the students based on a series of individual tests.

Anthony has advanced to an orange belt. His kicking technique is really quite impressive, but we haven't been able to get very good pictures of that yet. Here's a couple of other action shots instead. 

 

 

Cat Visitors

We took a little day trip last Saturday to Peoria to visit the new Caterpillar Visitor's Center and to check out the new Costco. Lunch with Don and LeAnn and their crew topped off the adventure. A good day was had by all.

I might be a bit biased, but I thought the Visitor's Center was pretty cool. The new attraction just opened on the Peoria riverfront, next to the new city museum on a chunk of real-estate that originally had been the home of the Sears and Roebuck department store but had sat empty for a number of years while the city tried to decide what to do with it. The new buildings and adjacent green spaces are a big improvement.

Most of the Pandemonium Fam. (Kenrick's not all there)

The main entrance to the Visitor's Center is on the second floor and you immediately come face-to-tail with a model of the world's largest dump truck, the 797F. The body of the truck has been fashioned into a theater and the walkway around the sides of the truck give a unique perspective to the real size of the machine. Our first stop was inside the truck to see a short film introducing some of the Caterpillar machines and the customers who put all the big yellow iron to work.

The view from the floor is equally as impressive. The tires are just molded plastic, but are kind of fun to kick anyway.

There were a number of real Cat machines arranged on the atrium floor and the kids had a ball climbing into each one and yanking on the controls. Paxton tries out the motor grader.

Anya makes motor noises and watches for danger while Kenrick drives the wheel loader.

Four  little Clowns-in-a-Bucket.

Anthony tries out the seat of the new D7E tractor (see www.cat.com for features and prices)

Then, he tries his hand at driving one on a training simulator. I'm not sure if I'd hire him to dig my basement out or not.

I definitely wouldn't hire this crew, although you could probably drive this mini-excavator right through the door of the basement and start digging.

In addition to the machines, the museum featured history and manufacturing and technology exhibits and had displays that covered a wide range of topics from Cat brands to re-manufacturing. I realized today that I didn't get pictures of any of that. I guess you'll just have to go see for yourself.

Woe Is She

Anya is perfecting her Pitiful face. Help us all.