L'aventure américaine

Happy birthday, Marian! It has been four delightful years of being your mom. You make me laugh with your turns off phrase and usage of words that you don’t really know the meaning of. (“You’re so random.”) your enthusiasm for music and dancing, Disney movies and magical ponies, tattoos and stickers, thank you notes and “bucket filling” makes me love all those things too. You are smart (you know how to spell and write your name and many others) and funny (you repeat words you know will make us laugh whether it be, “poop head” or “Jesus Christ!”) and a good listener and a good friend.  You adore people and attention.  You love fiercely. You are helpful. You love pasta and ice cream and cucumbers.  And we love you. Happy 4th birthday. 

We took a field trip to Evansville today and it was fantastic. Lunch at the Hulsey’s with the kids’ favorite foods (primarily raw fruits and veg) and my favorite foods (primarily cheese). We were agog at the Christmas decorations and got to see Juanita’s (relatively) new house. A great way to spend the last day of the year. Thank you to our hosts! Happy New Year!

Sending all my healing thoughts to this superstar on the left. The manliest man who lets his great nieces brush his hair, who has stellar fashion, who reads more than most people I know, and who has a wicked sense of humor.  Get well soon so that you can stand and fish for years to come. 

Our second cocktail party with the Dickens and Jochims was a success. A much-needed, laughter-filled, trivia and cocktail party. Did you know that “jingle bells” was the first song broadcasted from space?

Just kidding. Randal isn’t a fan. The kids and I were though. We put on our fancy pants and enjoyed the nutcracker. Beautiful! 

We didn’t go go Iowa as anticipated due to multiple fevers in our house. (Marian had approximately 200; I had two; Milo and randal are powerhouses.) But, we have had a good, albeit low key week and a wonderful thanksgiving. And Marian is fever free and has the energy to prove it for the first time since Monday.  Also- in case you were wondering about the snowman. It finally melted today, never having fallen over. A winter miracle. 

What would we do without PBS kids? Milo is fully immersed in his character as Olympia from Odd Squad. Marian is fully dedicated to whatever Milo tells her to do. They saved the world from a lot of villains today.  (PS after this photo, Milo spent ten more minutes putting his costume together with a tie and red sunglasses and later a ponytail to compete the Olympia look.)