Day 322

Beautiful, sunny, winter day in the 50s. The new set of shelves for the downstairs office arrived today, got assembled, put in place, and loaded up (so far). Matteo finished his Lego Piano recently. It was nice enough today to get two Prager/Torah sessions done outside. Lynn whipped up a great steak in cream sauce with roasted baby potatoes for lunch. Tracy had meetings all day today with all manner of support people for the new foster kids. Chicken tacos for dinner. Today's movies: Adrift (true story, appropriately slow, interesting twist); and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising.

Taking Matteo to his bus stop at sunrise.

Legos!

Torah Time

New set of shelves in between the uprights...

For the ever-growing Torah/Hebrew collection.

Day 321 (liftoff!)

More snow last night, but the kids did go back to school today. Jamie's been off Starbucks quite a few months now, and is trying coffees from smaller companies and/or local companies. Today's is Zeke's Coffee, a "small batch operation" in Maryland. Pretty good, especially with a dash of cinnamon. Dinner came from the Club tonight, and boy can they work magic! They turned french fries into fruit for all four kids. Tonight's movie: Deidra and Laney Rob a Train (we didn't make it to the end). The carrot cake barely survived the day.

One of Jamie's views during Torah Time from the fire pit.

Mr. Yellow Shirt loves the dogs, and vice versa.

Under that big black of ice (left of center) is a flowing fountain!

Day 320

Snow Day! More than a little snow shoveling for Matt and Jamie. Also means a little office sharing. Papa managed to beat AJ in a game of chess. We got two new foster babies overnight. Tonight's movie: The Stand in Paxton County.

AJ and Papa played a round.

Carrot Cake to end the day!

Day 319

We got some snow overnight, and even more starting this afternoon. Not enough for a snow day, though, so off the kids go. Tracy continued to work on her Game Wall and a puzzle she's got going. Matt grilled up filets and asparagus as a special dinner to celebrate Lynn's completion of 2 weeks on a cleanse. That steak and Daou's Unbound tasted mighty fine! Tonight's movie: Buddy Games.

Tracy continued on her Game Wall project

It's beginning to look a lot
like Valentine's Day!

Day 318

It was primarily a church (TimberCreek) and football day! With lunch from Vaqueros in between. Love the Chipotle Chicken. Go Chiefs! Heavy fog overnight and all day. That plus freezing temperatures makes for naturally flocked trees. The day was practically over when Tracy discovered that Target had Peanut Butter Chex in stock. Not quite sure how everyone got a hankering for this scrumptious little treat, but next thing you know Tracy is back from Target with all eleven boxes they had. Dinner! And two tasty treats were made from Peanut Butter Chex, one with powdered sugar and butter, and one with chocolate and marshmallow goo. Yum! There may have been other ingredients. Tonight's movie, The Next Three Days (2010), not unlike Anything for Her (2008, originally Pour Elle).

 

At church (in the gym)

The dogs wore their Chiefs gear

Day 317

Jamie did his Parlor Car Chat this morning using photos he'd taken from observation cars of various kinds. The kids are getting a huge kick out of Osmo. And then. who'd have guessed... We went to the pool. Mid-40s and windy. But that did not slow down anyone. The kids ate up a rather unusual snack: calamari and quesadillas with chili and meat (limited menu at the pool as you might imagine). Oh, and earlier, Matteo completed his lego piano! It's amazing how many "real" functions it has. Tonight's movie, Mud (a little slow but good cast and story).

Osmo

The well-dressed winter senior pool-goer

AJ, "Go Pro was the best Christmas present ever!"

Day 316

The big outing of the day for Matt, Jamie, and Lynn was lunch at Sushi Alto. Check out that boat! Lynn did her pilates in the morning and Jamie did horses in the afternoon (along with his requisite hour or two with Prager and the Torah). The big outing for Tracy today was a class at Magnum.