Proof: They're Friends

Few and far between are the moments we get to see our older two kids getting along. Tonight they found something fun to do with a freak spring snowstorm. (OK, I know it's technically still winter, but five inches of snow is still impressive for this late in the season.)

Braiden and Tatum spent a good two hours in Grandma's backyard building a snow fort. Its walls consisted of about nine giant snowballs, any of which would have made an impressive base for any snowman. A dowel rod propping up some tarps made a roof.

You create something that spectacular, and even if you're soaked and freezing, you'll claim your fort is warm, and you'll just hang out in there a while. You might even ask if you can stay the night in it. And maybe that annoying brother or sister will seem OK after all.

Keep That Toddler Busy

This morning, after Teague threw a stack of important papers all over the floor, and after he squeezed half a tube of Sensodyne toothpaste onto my bathroom floor (yeah, $4.72 a tube), I decided this kid needed something to do. So we wrestled, built with blocks, and made sugar cookies. Airplanes and hearts. He rolled, he cut, he frosted. And he licked and bit. Don't worry. We didn't give any to the neighbors.

Kristin's Head-Shaving Party

Kris started her official breast cancer fight with her first chemo treatment two weeks ago. Tonight was the official head-shaving party. Friends, co-workers, and family gathered for pizza. Then the brave ones headed into the garage, bowed down, and got buzzed. By the end of the night, there were eight baldies and one mohawk. Whitney and Karen had their hair cut short ahead of time in Kris's honor. Kris went last, and one word came to me: brave. Then one more: beautiful.

Karen & Kris, before

Proud husband, first in line

Teague didn't want to join in but liked feeling the buzzes.

Whitney and Jorden started with scissors.

Dagan did finishing touches with the clippers.

Hard to watch.

Brave girl.

Sledding in Almost Enough Snow

It had been snowing all morning, but not enough to really accumulate enough for powdery runs. The California cousins thought there was plenty of snow, and actually our kids didn't complain. They happily climbed up and slid down the brushy, dirt-streaked hill. Teague didn't want to sled, so he just played on a nearby playground. Snowbibs meant that it didn't really matter that the slides were covered in snow.

Jacob & Braiden

Carter

Tatum

Jacob & Sperry

Teague

A One-Night Camping Trip

We escaped to Gooseberry Friday night. Teague had never been camping before, and he loved the fire (Braiden built it). We made s'mores, doing our best to keep Teague out of the marshmallows, and then went to bed. It got COLD that night, ice-on-the-outside-of-the-tent cold. I think Quinn is the only one who slept well. He doesn't even wear a coat in the winter.




The next morning our friends, the Tippetts, joined us. It was so good to see Paula and the kids; we hadn't gotten together since before Jared died in July. It was definitely a change to get the families together without him. Paula and I sat by the fire and talked all morning about things that matter. I will never forget what she shared with me, and I thank her for that. Every time Quinn came up on us we were crying. So he kept busy teaching the kids to fish, and he even got in some fly fishing. We came home empty handed but with full hearts.

Like Daddy

This is the first time I've really thought Teague looks like Quinn. I've almost always been able to see his uncle Aaron in him (the first time Quinn said that, I thought he was making a sick joke), and I think he looks and sometimes even acts similar to his cousin Gavin. But this picture really shows that he's like his dad. I love that smirk on both them.

First Tooth, Lost (very, very lost)

Tatum has waited since January for this tooth to finally come out. It's been barely loose for months, then it became evident why: the permanent tooth was growing in behind it and not pushing it out.

She's wiggled it, tried to twist it, and has worked on it with dental floss. Finally I tied a loop around it, which either got frayed or she looped again. Either way, that floss was on there and the only way off was to pop that tooth. So that's what Quinn did. And the tooth went flying.


Tatum was excited, then devastated. We swept, mopped, and pulled the oven out. No tooth. So she wrote the tooth fairy a hopeful note and went to bed.