Ari's New Outfit

This is only the third outfit I have bought for her. Otherwise, she has been well covered by gifts and hand-me-downs.
(Denise- I didn't make it out of there on time.)
BTW- it started with a really cool basketball shirt for Gabrian on clearance, and then I bought something for each of the other four as well.

And Ge ge wanted his picture taken too.
Only he was still naked. . .

Something Interesting On The Stairs

Accessorizing

Nothing accessorizes pajamas like an Easter hat from the dollar bin at Target.

And nothing accessorizes a $1 Easter hat like a Darth Vader helmet!

Time Machine TV Management

Here is a link to The Time Machine on Amazon (with a few product reviews). We got it here for less. The product information says that each Time Machine can control two devices, but that's a little misleading. It can control one RCA device (red, white, and yellow plugs) and one coax device at the same time. None of our devices are coax, so we also bought one of these (inexpensive at WalMart and many online stores) so that multiple devices could be combined and use the single RCA input on the Time Machine. If we had realized we were going to need the 4-component A/V selector anyway, we would have known we didn't need to buy two Time Machines to run four devices! It's working well, though. Currently, one time machine is just for the TV, and the other controls XBox, Wii, and DVD player.

Michael & Lora's New Best Friend(s)

The Time Machine
Tokens, earned by completing chores, inserted here, purchase 30 minutes of TV, movies, Xbox, or Wii. None of them work without a token (or the parent PIN).
It's still new, but it has put us in the unprecedented situation where the children are begging us for chores -- and choosing not to watch re-runs but to save their tokens for more appealing options. No one is wasting time watching commercials, a good thing for everyone.

High School Science Books Are Not For Every Second Grader

It's an unconventional reading posture, but he is enthusiastic and telling me all the cool things he's learning. He is in the "light energy" chapter, I think.
We are pretty sure that this is the first time this book has been read.

Ari ran to get in the frame and wanted me to take a picture of her.
(Yes, I made Cameron take his feet down; I'm so mean.)

Justice's Turn To Nap With Gabrian

The Loving Family Co-exists Peacefully With Dora

Gabrian ran to insert himself in the picture when he saw the camera.

Happy Valentine's Day

Packages from G'ma and G'pa. Mmmmm.

So Glad To Be Home

Feeling a bit down,

but still a good sport.
The "cool" pictures are on his own blog.

Conor Broke His Arm

He was running across the living room (to get Gabrian a piece of bubble gum) and tripped over a kitchen stool. He rolled over and very calmly said, "Mom, my arm is broken." This picture is several hours post-op.

Darn Germs!

Gabrian is feeling bad today, but Rumor is doing his best to help.

Hoop Dreams

Family Day

One year ago today, we landed with our new daughter at the airport and got to be amazed at the record-breaking snowfall. We strapped her into a carseat for the first time in her life, and while she wailed, we dug our car out at the airport and came home to have all our children together for the first time.

I thought maybe our Family Day tradition could be making sugared sweet potatoes. We had them in Guangzhou, and they were very good. They were the first thing that Ari ate with any enthusiasm. They were sweet potatoes covered in a candy syrup that you pulled off the plate with trailing strings and dipped in cold water to cool and crystallize. I got a recipe that looked right but tried it twice this morning without luck.

Here are the goonies one year later.