Isn't he cute? Jack has always loved snuggling soft things. It's funny to check on him at night and see what he's tucked in around himself this time.
My friends Chrissy and Suzanne and I got matching hip packs. We've been texting each other pictures when we dare to wear them in public. They're awesome - I love being hands-free! But there is a stigma attached, so you have to be in the right mood to work it.
Todd's treehouse dreams came crashing down when our neighbor behind us asked if Todd had a permit from the city and mentioned that he didn't want our kids "snooping" on him from up high. Todd was so mad he abandoned the project for weeks. Now it's evolving into something that will pass inspection. It will have monkey bars and swings and probably a zipline, and the more hammocks, the better. But it's not the same and it makes us all a little bit sad.
Gemma's been taking a dance/movement class. She has a blast when the whole group is up and moving, but hates the attention on her when they're asked to do leaps and things one at a time. It's so funny to me that this boisterous, feisty girl can also be shy.
Jack has rollerbladed to school a handful of times. Its slow going, but gives him good practice. We just have to make sure to leave the house early enough. It'll be fun when he's fast.
Hazel got another reading award at school. She reached 150 AR points (easy). There's no other milestone to aim for except for kid with most points in the grade at the end of the school year. She was ready to settle down and stop caring, but Todd and I encouraged her to go for the gold. She could totally smoke everyone else in 3rd grade if she wanted to, she reads so much. So Todd offered her the prize of eating out anywhere she wants if she wins, and the sweet girl chose In 'n' Out (as if we don't eat there often already). So far, so good. She's trying to keep track of all the books she reads so she can take comprehension tests on them all. There are a couple kids right on her heels, so that's good, too, that it's not a shoo-in. She's going to have to work for it.
We spent the night at a hotel in Sacramento a few weeks ago. Todd was promoted to Major and put in as Commander of the Blackhawk unit. The kids were amazed to see how many soldiers were standing at attention for their dad. We're all proud of him.
Jack lost his second front tooth at the hotel, so he's sporting a pumpkin smile for now. And the kids had a good time playing in the hotel pool.
Hazel is an aspiring baker. If you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, she'll tell you a bakery owner. She loves to help in the kitchen, and is slowly building up her repertoire of items she can make independently. She was so proud of this cornbread.
Suzanne, Chrissy, and I had a Napoleon Dynamite night. We ate dang quesadillas and tater tots and laughed throughout the movie. We wore our hip packs and sported side ponytails. Fun night!
The kids and I went a month without treats - no candy, no desserts, no junk food from the day after Gemma's birthday till Valentine's Day. It was a good reminder to eat treats sparingly and learn to say no when you're offered unhealthy food. It was shocking to discover how much bad food was available to the kids at school from friends and parties. Kind of crazy. It's always good to have a reset on those sorts of things from time to time, to help us be mindful.
I rewarded myself for my diligent dieting with a massage. It was so divine. I took a picture of my face when I got in the car afterwards; look at the marks on my face! I was in my zen den.
We took the kids to San Francisco for the Chinese New Year parade. We wandered the city a bit beforehand, checking out Chinatown and popping into an art gallery. The parade was really cool. Lots of dragons and firecrackers and martial arts and marching bands. The only thing that makes me and Todd not want to add it to our annual tradition list is that it was three. hours. long. I'm not joking. And we stayed for the whole thing because there was a huge 180-person dragon at the finale that we wanted to see.
We dog-sat for Hazel's activity days leader for five days and nights. Copper was a really sweet, easy dog. It was Hazel's dream come true to have a dog in the house. Gemma and Jack totally fell in love, too. He was so quiet and easy to care for that at first, I found myself thinking maybe we could get a dog someday. But by the end, I was ready to see him go. Hair on my pants, wet paw prints on my floor, and the biggest thing was having to adjust our plans to go to San Francisco to make sure he wasn't alone at the house for too long. If we'd been dog-free, we would have spent the night in a hotel and made a big party out of it. I made sure Hazel understood this so she'd get a bit of a reality check about the real reasons we're not interested in having a dog, and I think it sunk in. She was also ready to have her free time back to herself by the end of the five days.
We haven't had as much rain this winter as we did last year, but we've had a lot of cold nights, several of which dipped below 32 degrees. We've been covering our mandarin orange trees on those nights and crossing our fingers that we'll still get fruit from them next December.
It hailed last week and the kids thought it was so awesome. They all went running outside to check it out, and Hazel collected a bunch to put in the freezer to make a snowball.
Todd has been working with the principal of our kids' school for last few months, preparing an awesome day. He flew a Blackhawk to Croce and landed it in the field at the start of the school day, with all the kids and parents and several extra members of our community watching and cheering.
While his co-pilot, medic, and crew chief led small groups through a tour of the helicopter (sitting in the backseat, checking out the cockpit, and investigating some of the equipment they use for rescue missions like buckets and stretchers)
He loved being around the kids, and said it was so easy to talk with them. They asked lots of questions and at recess were waving at him and treating him like a celebrity. He acted really interested in them individually, was high-fiving all the kids and shooting hoops with them at recess and doing pushup contests with the fifth grade boys. He was so cool. He spent his day talking with 600 kids about how great it is to help other people. He presented such a positive message, and portrayed the military in such a good light, and made me so proud of him. It was just a great day for our family.
He took off at the end of the school day, so he had a big audience again. The local news even came and watched. It was awesome. Todd had asked me a few days earlier if he ought to get some little trinkets to pass out to the kids, and I was like, "I think you're a little desensitized to how cool a helicopter is. Those kids are not going to need you to pass out anything. They're going to totally flip seeing your helicopter land and climbing through it. That's all they need." And it was.
Jack came home and said when he grows up, he wants to do exactly what Daddy does. Exactly the same thing. It was adorable. Pretty sure half the kids at Croce were aspiring to be helicopter pilots when they grow up.
