You know your dryer is old when...

You know your dryer is old when:

1- The year of manufacture codes for Whirlpool go back to 1982 and your dryer is not on it.

2- The cover for the instruction manual looks like this:

3- The note in the instruction manual casually mentions that this may be your first automatic dryer.


I didn't realize how old our dryer was until I had to start looking for replacement parts. Maybe it is time to upgrade.

Some real snow

We actually got some real snow down here in Alabama. It's fun to watch everyone come out and play whenever it snows. When I went to pick up R, we counted at least 12 snowmen in the open grass area on campus.

The boys were also super excited to play in the snow. While driving to get daddy, V planned his snowman out down to the carrot nose. The snow even lasted until the next day, so we had some more snow playing fun.

Valentine's Day fun

I had the boys make salt dough hearts for a Valentine's Day craft.
C helped me with the dough.

Which consisted of poking the dough for a good half hour before making the hearts.

They both helped me paint.

V is very meticulous, painting each heart a different color and adding the perfect shade of glitter.


C was more intent on mixing the paint on his palette.


And eventually on himself. This was a few moments before he started painting his arms. Thank goodness acrylics are easy to wash off.


V exchanged Valentines in his class. I asked him if he wanted to buy them or make them. Of course he wanted to make them. I found some pictures online for him to color and then had him make his own envelopes. I think they turned out cute, and they kept him occupied for two days! He was especially excited when he found out that we were putting candy in them.

Make yourself comfortable...

C definitely knows how to make himself comfortable. He finds the softest place then adds a pillow and his ever present blanket. It's funny to watch him as he makes his perfect nest.

Reading time

Here is C reading to himself. It's so fun to watch him flip through the pages of his books. He always says "The end" after he finishes each one.

Christmas Time 2009

Christmas recap for 2009, late as it may be:

Ward Christmas party:

V asked Santa for animal bracelets and a pretend dinosaur (not a real one).

This is as close as C would get to Santa, but he kept a watchful eye on him.

He got a candy cane anyway, which made him very happy.

Taking Daddy to the zoo:
Daddy had the day off, so we took him to zoo.



For a special treat, we took the train ride.




There must be something scary behind the door...

Making of the gingerbread house:

The kids had a blast and ate a lot of the sub par candy. I guess as long as it has sugar...




Christmas morning:

Only a few pictures here, as these early morning pictures are pretty scary. The kids had a fun time. V's favorite part was handing out all the presents. C's favorite part was the candy, he didn't care to much about the toys until V started playing with them. Of course, within an hour, V was already asking for "something fun to do." Go figure.



Eating of the gingerbread house:

C just went for it.
Ah...much easier.

And that's our Christmas recap.

Why it's easy to get lost in Birmingham