What do teachers do when they're not teaching?

Sometimes they play Guitar Hero World Tour.

Nina's birthday

Nina turned 3 on Tuesday and this year's theme was Princess. We had our monthly birthday get together with the siblings and cousins here in CO where Nina got a box full of princess dress-up paraphernalia. Then on her birthday she picked out Krispy Kreme for breakfast, mac & cheese for lunch and fish sticks for dinner. Nina used her birthday money to buy princess and fairy action figures (for lack of a better word). It's nice to have moments where Nina isn't getting in trouble! We had a fun day.

Pictures of our house

I feel weird putting the link on my blog - there are some freakshows out there - so if you are interested in seeing any of the pictures of our house, let me know and I'll email the link to you. I would take my own pictures, but the photographer our realtor used did a much better job than I could do.

Hidden talents

We all have them, and our kids have them too. I thought I would share some of our kids' talents.

By now we all might have guessed that Nina has a rather amazing ability to decorate with any medium, at any time, and in any place. She's so versatile.



For anyone who was wondering which wall in our house this was, it was the one that was painted just a day earlier.



The second round of mascara. She felt confident enough to apply it on her friend Kate as well as on her own eyebrows and lips. Most people wouldn't be that bold. Heaven help this rare gem we have.





Howie can make lots of different patterns and balance a pencil on his head.



Donovan's art got selected to be on display at our local library this past month.



And Cameron has the ability to be happy amid all the chaos that is our household.

3 weeks and nothing to show

because I'm not ready to show pictures of what we've been doing for the last 3 weeks. We've been hosting Costa Ricans, tearing out bathroom and kitchen floors, replacing said floors with new flooring, replacing sinks and countertops, painting, replacing light fixtures, decluttering, packing most of the stuff that was cluttering, cleaning and going crazy. We are attempting to sell our house! Well, actually our friend Seth Jenson is attempting to sell our house. We'll let you know how it goes. We have a few projects we need to finish up before I post any pictures of our "new" house. At least we know that if no one wants to buy our house, we'll be happy with all the new improvements. I think I have a pretty good excuse as to why I only have a handful of pictures from the past few weeks - and sadly, none of Donovan. Oh well, we'll all get over it.



It's good to know that Nina hasn't changed during all the chaos. She still loves a good mess. Above - Nina learning to apply mascara. Below - Nina eating beans and rice. Not pictured - Nina after she took a paint roller (loaded with paint) and painted herself, the wall and the carpet in her room. Serves me right for leaving paint down while I took care of Cameron.



Cameron is still a pretty happy guy.



Matt got to escape the madness quite a bit. The Nuggets game was just one of the nights of fun he had with the 20 kids + 3 teachers who visited Littleton from Costa Rica. Yeah, they didn't all stay at our house.





I was so happy when Pam got this shirt for Cameron. For some reason, Howie hates this shirt and the only way I can get him to wear it is to put Cameron in it first. All of the sudden Howie thinks it's a good enough shirt to wear, but only when Cam is wearing it.

Skate City

When we would daily catch Donovan rollerblading through the house using Matt's rollerblades, we thought a pair his own size might be safer. But even still, Donovan doesn't just roll in those beauties, he walks up and down the stairs, climbs up the bunk bed and stands on a chair to wash dishes - all in his rollerblades. Matt decided Donovan needed to try the skating rink, as he felt it was a more appropriate skating venue than our house. Crazy Matt. So here are some pictures from our night.



These two just watched and cheered whenever Matt and Donovan passes by. Howie said he needed to practice at home first. Nina loved dancing to all the fun music. Surprised?





The skating rink is still the same from when I used to go. They play limbo, red light/green light and the super fun speed skate. Donovan wasn't too impressed with Skate City. He still prefers our house.

All night long

I give all the credit to Matt. He says he didn't do anything special (which might be true), but all I know is that before I took my trip Cameron woke up 2-4 times a night. Since I've been back - NOTHING! He is sleeping all night long. Matt, you are amazing!