Monday, March 22, 2010

Surprise SNOW DAY!

We were surprised to wake up on Sunday to a LOT of snow on the ground! Of course, the kids did not waste a moment in enjoying it! :)










A Few "Sweet 16" Moments

AMS was elated to receive a
floral delivery from her
Grandparents!

Following are just a few snapshots
from AMS's birthday lunch
at Fuddruckers.








And dessert was at Krispy Kreme.


I have been terribly busy living "in the moment" so I really don't have more pictures to share at the moment. AMS is such a socially involved person, that her birthday reflected that, meaning that she wasn't really around *us* a lot on her birthday. It was a Sunday, to begin with, and she had to be at church by 8 AM since she is in the Praise Band (as a singer) for her youth group. Once at church, we are separated until it's over between 11:30 and Noon. We let her chose lunch at whatever place she wanted (Fuddruckers, as you saw from the above photos) and then we treated her to Krispy Kreme for dessert since it's been MONTHS since we'd been there.

Then, it was off to AWANA Games practice for Summit. While she was at practice, we got Icees and cupcakes from SAMS and took them up to share with all her teammates following practice. She seemed to love that, but I did not take my camera. I was living in the moment. :)

The following day, we treated her and two friends to a day at 6 Flags. Since we didn't go, I have no pics from that day unfortunately. She did have a delightful time, though. :) Perhaps you can see some of HER pics on her Facebook page. After 6 Flags, Simon took them to get Fro-Yo (a Gilmore Girls thing) and then brought them back here to hang out a short while. She loved the day, which was her "birthday party."

What WE did in order to create memories with her is give her 16 gifts in about 16 days. Quite a few went together since she wanted to redecorate her room for her birthday. She is actually still working on that and her last gift will be when she finishes. She has enjoyed the work (and there was a lot of it since her room in now purple!) and the fun on creating something new. She has a definite artistic bent! Her room is coming along very nicely and I will send pics when it's complete. Others were things she had either really been wanting (ring, cd...) or would make her laugh (Hoops & Yoyo audio card...).

It has been a fabulous 16 days celebrating such a SWEET and WONDERFUL blessing to our family. God gave us a GOOD GIFT, INDEED, when he gave us AMS!

Safety Week 2 -- K9 Rescue Field Trip

Sit & Stay was the title of this field trip, during which a local K9 Rescue Group taught our students how to be found if lost (whether in the woods, the mall or anywhere else). It was a MOST EXCELLENT field trip and one I think we'll always remember.

JSS was front & center (newly buzzed head),
loving animals as he does.
COS was sick, so she
was unable to attend.
JSS was delighted to be picked as a volunteer
for a demonstration! What a thrill that
was for him! Below, sizing up the
competition between kid & canine.
Then, it was a race to see WHICH
could SIT first...
JSS WON!
He received a "prize" for beating the dog.
Below, a demonstration on how to recognize
the "good guys."
Below, a demonstration on how to help
the search teams locate you. Keep aluminum
foil & a towel in your trunk. Before you
start each outing, simply put some foil on
the folded towel and get a good imprint
of your shoe's sole. Then, in the event
that you come up missing, they have an
imprint of the shoes you are wearing!
After, they let EVERY SINGLE KID
get one-on-one time with the K9's.
Below, a bookmark to remind the kids
of the rules to being found (just
one of the freebies they handed out, along
with a whistle, caribeaner, stickers...).
JSS enjoying more one-on-one time...

Simon turns the big FOUR-OH!

We threw a surprise birthday party for Simon's big 40th and following are random shots that I quickly took to remember the occasion by...though since a more diverse group of characters has never convened before and probably never shall again, the evening is indelibly seared into our memories...with or without photographic evidence.


Below: Guests arriving for appetizers;
Simon beginning to realize that we're
throwing him a surprise party (not
his favorite item on the menu)

The prodigy spawn of one of our guests,
whose method of greeting may be an acquired taste.
In come the in-laws...mine, that is.
Simon loved having his family here,
even if it was by surprise design.
(Note the ravenous beauty in the foreground
in her recent natural state of feeding frenzy,
ensuring that Spawn 2.0 receives adequate
nourishment to perpetuate the genes in
the above photo of the original Spawn.)

Ahhh, the Spawn incubator smiling
pretty for the camera
(or is she perhaps sending a warning,
GET AWAY FROM MY FOOD!).
AMS, able to calm even the most
savage of beasts. Perhaps when
she is finished with the aforementioned
incubus beside her, she can gentle
the birthday boy's own minion in front of her.
Birthday boy's little sister...
She looks up to something,
does she not?
New arrivals...

Enjoying some appetizers...

...and some conversation...


before the concert!They brought Simon up and
sang Happy Birthday to him!


After the concert,
cake and conversation at our house...
most of which was designed to "roast"
Simon, but ended up with him supplying
most of the roasting to himself!

He DOES have the best stories!

Little hostess cutting the cake
and serving.