Happy Easter! and Fourth of July! and Birthday! and Halloween!

I have no excuse for not updating. We've had a blast of wonderful and photogenic events since this last volcano. I could smugly say that I just have better things to do than update my blog, but we all know that's not entirely true. I HAVE been trying to stay off of facebook, which basically means keeping my laptop shut. So that's kinda part of it.

For Halloween we were the Ice Family. CJ was the Ice King, Bee was the Snow Queen, Annika was the Snow Princess, and Eric was Ice Man.

Lots of glitter and blue accents. Gorgeous dresses which were hand-me-downs from RebeccaMarie. We went trick-or-treating with Miles (karate kid!) and Ella (princess!) and James (James!) and Jen (Jen!). Then we met up with Grandma (Williamina Shakespeare!) and hit the Fall Festival at North Haven Church.

Here's some photos of the Good Times!

Thar She blows!

For Eric and Mommy day we made a VOLCANO! We created the form by dipping brown and green streamers into paper mache and draping them across an empty popcorn jug.

It was a blast.

Volcanic Fun

Trashy!

We went to Lakewood Hills Park for Earth Day and we picked up trash.

I must admit that there was an alarming amount of "grown-up litter" (in the form of alcohol and tobacco delivery devices) but the kids mostly ran around wearing gloves and finding candy bar wrappers. My friend Emily even thought to bring extra bags to sort out recyclable litter. Gotta love that!!

But the most eye-opening item we found was a fast-food hamburger bun. It was just sitting on the ground in perfect form. No animal would venture to nibble on that thing. yikes! neither will I, to be sure.

It was a gorgeous day outside and we were glad to be celebrating Earth Day with friends in a helpful way.

We're going to the dogs around here.

We borrowed two Westies this afternoon for a doggie playdate. We had a blast! My friend Laurie has a "teenage" and a "baby" West Highland White Terrier. Eric is in love with them.

Eric loved both dogs right away; Annika pretty much hated them for the first hour. We took them for a walk up to school to "pick up" CJ from work, and then mostly ran around in the yard with them. They are fun to play with and they play with each other which is hilarious. After a while Eric lost interest and started working in the garden just as Annika was warmed up enough to enjoy the running and the jumping and the licking.

I tell you what, though: The best part about the doggie playdate was learning that we like dogs on a short-term basis. They should make all prospective dog owners undergo a short-term trial. We will definitely ask to have them over again sometime soon.

talk about 'yer all-time backfires!

 
 


This is my sweet baby. Sometimes she's a frog, sometimes she's sleeping beauty. She's destined to be something great.

Yesterday I tried "the marshmallow test" on my two children. (you know the famous test where a grown up gives a child a choice between getting one marshmallow now or getting two marshmallows later? And they almost all choose "now". But the ones who choose "later" grow up to be disciplined and successful. And rich and beautiful. Or something. I don't remember. But it's impressive.)

So. Instead of marshmallows, I offered Trader Joes cookies. One now, or two after nap. Annika wondered, "Can I have one now and then one after nap?"
I was obligated to respond, "No. One now, or two later. What do you pick?"
Annika says, "Two later." and walks into the living room. I look around the corner at Eric to discover his choice. The boy is finishing the last bite of his cookie.
I guess he chose "one now. as in RIGHT NOW!" Oh dear. So much for delayed gratification.

But that's not all! During nap time, CJ came home for 30 seconds in between work and class. What did he grab for his snack? That's right. The entire box of Trader Joe's Cookies. So after nap, Annika runs to redeem her prize...and gets NOTHING!! What have I done??! What have I taught my sweet baby?

"Delayed gratification is for CHUMPS, Annika. Get what you can as soon as you can get it."

A Long Time Ago...in a Galaxy Far Far Away...

...the Sorensens went to MEXICO!


Yikes. That feels like a very long time ago.
We enjoyed ourselves immensely!! My parents generously welcomed us to their timeshare in Puerto Vallarta and even gave CJ and me the master suite! The place was gorgeous, with a big deck overlooking a charming pool patio and the ocean. We enjoyed fish tacos at Marismas, walking on the Malecon, swimming in the pools, and running on the beach. Eric and Annika were super travelers; during the plane ride they calmly entertained each other, and during the week they became proficient at hopping on and off of buses.
Eric's favorite thing in Mexico was "getting pumbled", which is when he and CJ stand at the shore and let the waves crash on them. Eric needed his daddy to hold him up; the break was severe! Annika's favorite thing was "making sandcastles and staying in that pretty room". Bee's favorite thing was practicing her Spanish. Cj's favorite thing was playing soccer on the beach with Eric.

We made some great memories. Here's some pictures.

gotta do more than walk-n-wave.

We watched part of the Opening Ceremonies last night. As per usual, I got a bit choked up watching the Olympic Athletes march into the arena. I explained, "They have worked so hard to get there! They have trained and practiced a lot, and NOW HERE THEY ARE!!" Eric frowned as he carefully watched them walk and wave, then decided, "I don't think they had to practice THAT much."

Eric is definitely my son.

Today for Mommy and Eric day we went hiking at the Maplewood Nature Center. It was a gorgeous day and the snow was powdery and sparkly. It was magical out there. We saw lots of great animal "evidence" (thank you Ms Jeske for that word!! We LOVE to find evidence!!) and even spotted some wonderful birds. A bald eagle soared above us for quite some time. We saw a pileated woodpecker and another fluffy woodpecker whose name I have since forgotten. We found a rabbit nest (the evidence was a hole in a tree stump surrounded by scat scat and more scat. We took a photo of that) and saw numerous types of tracks everywhere.
We got super cold and our toes were frozen (shocking!! My 15-year old Sorel boots don't keep my feet warm anymore!!) but we tramped on and on. We had a ball.

It's so important to have a nature buddy. I'm glad mine is my son.

Beauty is Everywhere.

Each Monday is Annika and Mama day. Today for Annika and Mama day, we played "salon". We had a nice fanfare about making an appointment and getting seated and having tea and being very fancy and formal. I began by setting her hair in rollers. As I set her hair in rollers, she proceeded to tell me a story about how she is an orphan and has no parents and she lives a thousand miles away and doesn't have a car and it took her three hours to walk to the salon. She was hoping that maybe I would be her mommy.
Let me get this straight: Today, for Annika and MAMA day, you want to play salon and tell me to be the SALON LADY so that you can pretend you HAVE NO MOMMY and ask THE SALON LADY to be your new MOMMY.
alrighty then.

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but we had a great time doing fingernails, hair, makeup, and applying random liquids with bits of cotton. She did my makeup and hair afterward. I smell like a watermelon, after having been the recipient of half a bottle of tangle-free spray. :) she likes to spray stuff.
She's the best girl ever.

Merry Christmas, One Week Late!!

I tell ya' what. I have to choose to either enjoy Christmas or be completely prepared and have everyone looking great for each event. This year I chose to enjoy, so a few things slipped through the cracks. But for the most part we arrived places at approximately the appropriate time, and most of us were wearing clothing (or a tutu...). And it was great.

Here's our Christmas Letter in website form. CJ is our techie genius.

whoa! what happened there??!

Happy Birthday Annika, and now it's almost time for Christmas. yikes!

The kids are giggling in the tub. Nothing spells F-U-N like bubbles, a snorkel and mask, and a bucket. They are really getting along nicely these days...they're best buds and I just love it.

We had a terrific Halloween as a family, and didn't even let illness get us down. Poor Eric missed TWO harvest parties: the one at his Nana's school and the one at his own school. But he was well in time to go to church and we all went as a family unit: Mary Poppins and friends. Annika LOVED her long blonde wig (as a matter of fact she was wearing it just today!) and Eric just loved collecting candy and wearing something that didn't require constant re-shifting.

Today our favorite thing in the world is this video:
we've watched it several times, and I believe you will, too.

Well I promised myself that I would just do an "easy post" to break the spell. I've been feeling too busy to post because I have it built up to be this big requirement and if I have that much time then I should tackle the laundry or the dishes or...bum BUM BUMMMM! my DESK!

So I'll go put a load in the washer and clear off the table now. the desk is gonna have to wait a little longer. I told the kids we'd watch the video again after they get out of the tub.

Happy Birthday Annika!

Miss Laura knows how to give a birthday blessing!

Annika had her Birthday Blessing today at preschool...

She was calendar helper, then she sat in the special chair and wore her birthday hat while they sang to her and looked at her special poster. Then (and this was her favorite part) they sprinkled glitter on her head and sang a special Jesus blessing song to her.

It's raining today...hence the boots. I sent her real shoes in her backpack but she apparently prefers the boots. :)

my kitchen is jellified

Annika and I made jelly! Our back-door neighbors grow grapes (in addition to being 70-year-old superhero bike racers), and were kind enough to share.
Annika got tired of all the boiling so after a while she watched a movie.

I only started the kitchen on fire one time. Not too shabby!!





Who's hungry for some toast?

Captain Hammer

This is why my husband is a perfect high school teacher.

























This week is homecoming week; today was "dress like a superhero day".

CJ chose to dress like Captain Hammer from Dr Horrible's Singalong Blog.

Jumping Into a New Era!

Well, I did it. I sent my babies off to school. I was a puddle most of last night and half of this morning.










































My verse, which I recited all day and asked my family to pray for me:
Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say it again: Rejoice! (yes I did clap-clap)
Let your gentleness be evident to all; the Lord is near. To not be anxious about anything, but in everything through prayer and petition, and with thankfulness, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

I rearranged Eric's room while he was gone. A new room for the new era. His bed is lofted now. It's pretty cool. I found some precious things to weep over while cleaning out under his bed. It was an appropriately cathartic project to tackle. He loves his new room! He loves his new class! God is Good! All the time!!

How old is he??

You might think this post is going to be about Eric and the milestone he is soon to cross.

But it's not.

It's about the fact that Cj and I just went for a 23 mile bike ride with our back-yard neighbor, who is 70 years old and has several vertebrae of his spine fused.

I am drenched with sweat after struggling to keep up with the men for two hours. INSANE!!

It was a gorgeous day for biking or just being outside in general. Everyone and their neighbor (in our case, literally!!) was out. But I spent most of my time gritting my teeth and looking at my front tire as I dug deep to pedal faster. woo! That man is a machine.

The kids were absolutely hilarious in the back of the burley; I truly didn't mind being way way WAY behind the guys because I think it was more enjoyable to listen in on the shenanigans than try to engage in boy talk.

The leaves are changing color already. This is the best weather I've seen all summer. And the best, best, BEST part? Cj is picking up Outback To Go. Dinner is on its way!!

Who needs a gym?

When I was at the cabin I needed a workout but didn't want to go on a long run. I used some tricks I had learned from my personal trainer, Mary. It turned out to be a really fun workout and I did it again with CJ and the kids when they arrived. CJ added one special component to the workout... only a man would think of something so wonderfully absurd.

He documented the whole thing so I'll be lazy and send you there to see it.

The best part about exercising with CJ was the positive energy we got from each other and our nutty children. The kids were running to and fro, trying to lift various things and racing and cheering. It was really great. Sometimes I think I should be sad about my kids getting "too old to cuddle", but there are so many new and fun things to experience as a family. They are charming and interesting, and we have a lot to look forward to. And we'll be healthy together! :)