The first half of February 2015

We thought about starting out February with a mad dash to see the ground hog on Groundhog Day (the real one, in Punxsutawney), but alas, the blizzard schedule had other ideas. So, we found other things to do. Amanda drew a disco version of Larry the Cucumber from Veggie Tales.

 Jared took ordinary stuffed lizard and added wings (shown just behind the critter, now attached) to make a dragon.

 Jared also made a cool fish at school.

 There were magnetic robots to play with.

 And also a big, tall animal puzzle.

 The Muffins all went to the dentist. We found a train table, a kangaroo with brushable teeth, and a baby zebra. To Mom's delight, the dentist didn't find any cavities. Yay!

 Amanda kept busy with some karate.

 Mom did something she'd never thought she'd do: seriously considered buying critter clothing . . . for a cat. Bottle feeding bald kittens does strange things to people.

January 2015

Our first significant home event of 2015 came from Dad, who successfully replaced a toilet.

 Jared made slime using a kit he got for Christmas.

Jared also alerted us to the presence of a TARDIS in our area. (The TARDIS is the time machine/space ship in Doctor Who, for those who may not know. It looks like a British police box, like the one below.)

We moved up in the world technologically with the purchase of a brand new HDTV.

We also got to see some older technology: an actual payphone. Not sure if it worked, since Mom already had a phone on her, the one that took the picture.

 Amanda used the same phone camera to take pictures of a doll scene she set up. Concert performers . . .

 . . . and audience members.

Amanda got her hair done specially at a church activity.

 Mom saw a squirrel out the window.

 The youngest girls got a bit of playtime at an actual playground.

The boys' school had an author visit. It just so happened to be the author of a book that the Muffins loved to pieces (literally). It was nice being able to get an autographed replacement.

 Here's another playground we visited . . .

 . . . before the snow set in. Dad helped the Muffins build a snow man. As the snow piled up over February, the snow man was buried under the weight and ended up looking more like a beached snow whale.

Fortunately, Dad found something to keep busy with during the snowy season: a blind, bald kitten. "Bottle feed kitten" became a standard to-do-list item through the end of February. When we got him, the kitten's eyes were all clouded over and yucky. As of March 2015, both eyes are doing better, and he can see well enough to chase us around. Still pretty bald, though, being a variety of Sphynx cat and all.

Mom took Lydia and Clarissa to visit the Hartford Temple construction site one sunny day.

 

 Curtis loved having snow mountains all over to climb.

Mom, however, preferred to stay out of the snow as much as possible and visit places like the library instead.

Pet stores were okay, too.

One way or the other, we survived January.

Christmas 2014

This post is dedicated to Aunt Ree, who, along with her family, saved Christmas 2014 for our family.

Our home owning adventure had some unexpected problems, all connected to other humans, past (*cough*shoddy contractors!) or present (*cough*neighbors!). The good news as of March 2015 is that at least some of the problems might be seasonal. Nevertheless, the long and short of December 2014 was that our childless neighbors were only okay with our presence as long as they were unaware of it. The day to day struggle of living with that kind of negative environment was bad enough, but the thought of trying to have any kind of Christmas celebration in it was just too much. Mom and Dad brainstormed about what we could do and decided to call Mom's Aunt Ree (Grandmother's sister), who graciously offered us sanctuary. The Muffins were in school right up until the last minute, but they had Christmas Eve Day off, and that's when we headed for Aunt Ree's house.

It was a long day of driving. We crossed a few state lines, including the one shown below.

One of the highlights of the road trip was stopping for dinner. Mom wanted Arby's, if possible, and the car's gas light came on right when we pulled into a station that included one.

Clarissa and the other Muffins generally did pretty well on the trip, especially considering how much of the day we spent in the car.

 Another fun thing was the cheeseburger flavored chips Dad picked up to help us through the last little bit of the trip. The secret to the "burger" element? Pickle flavor on the cheese.

 At long last, though, we made it to Aunt Ree's house, and still in time for Christmas Eve. There were all kinds of yummy goodies, including a fabulous hot chocolate bar.

 There was also a giant Christmas tree . . .

 . . . and other lovely Christmasy things.

 Here we are in front of the tree on Christmas Eve.

 Christmas morning included lots of surprises for everyone.

 And, no, it wasn't a white Christmas, but that suited us just fine, considering all our driving.

Aunt Ree's house was full of family home from college. One of Aunt Ree's daughters, Launa, lives near Aunt Ree, and she and her husband graciously lent us their house while we were visiting, since they themselves were going elsewhere soon after Christmas. Here are the Muffins playing with their Christmas goodies there.

 Jared was especially excited to get a science kit.

 He used this . . .

 . . . to make a bouncy ball!

 Here's another Christmas tree (and Amanda enjoying a show).

 More science stuff Jared did . . .

 One of Mom's favorite Christmas presents: Utah Truffles.

 We went back to Aunt Ree's house for Christmas dinner.

 And then back again to Launa's house (and Christmas lights!) for a good rest after a good day.