Sean baked this cake last night. He had never done a "layer" cake by himself and was a bit nervous. I think he pulled it off quite nicely. Notice the butter knife sticking out of his head, he had his hand raised up with the intent to make it look like he was going to attack the cake. Should have used the arm we could see, kiddo.









These are the fab tulips I got from the Cub Scout Pack. I'm glad I took this pic, I can see that my table is a tad off center. Maybe one year soon, I'll move it.








Another photo of the cake. Those white things are candy snowflakes we bought at the Amish Market. You must have ze sprinkles for every season and occasion. See how one tried to get away?

Saturday was nice

We had some stellar weather yesterday. It was only about 55 degrees, but very mild, hardly any wind, it was great. Scarlet and I took a short walk. Here she is posing on the pier.










She hates the water, but agrees to go near it if I go with her.











Jeff took this unflattering pic of me, as some sort of revenge I guess. It's funny because I was eating a chicken salad, and all the animals had to gather around like pigeons on the boardwalk. Of course, I gave each of them a taste of chicken - how could I resist!!!

posted by Amy

Blue & Gold 2006

Sean graduated from Cub Scouts today, at the annual Blue & Gold Ceremony. At left, is Sue (wearing black). She is the life force behind Pack 853, meaning, she keeps it all running and organized. Basically, a full-time job, for zero pay. Next to her, is Sharon, who is in charge of the awards. Another time consuming job, that pays no better than the other one. The man on the side is our new Cub Master. It almost looks like he's silently pleading for a reprieve from his new position.




Here is Sean showing off his Arrow Of Light award. He is holding an actual arrow shaft, that I painted symbols on, to match his Cub Scout achievements. Now, he's been in this for 5 long years, so I had a lot of painting to do.
















Here is Sean enjoying that cupcake a bit too much. I guess you're never too old to stick your nose in icing. Shawn is looking at his, like he's not sure he should eat it or not.













The pack, very graciously, awarded all departing leaders with wonderful gifts. Janet, Vicki and myself, received a beautiful pot of tulips. Bob and Roy each got cool walking sticks. It was so nice of the pack to recognize the departing leaders. Also, those tulips look fabulous on my hall entry table. Thanks Sue!!!









Here are the 5 Webelo 2's, aiming their arrows of achievement. The poor man on the right looks terrified. In the back is Roy, performing his last duties as Cubmaster of Pack 853.












Here are the 3 who earned the "Heavy Shoulder" award. That means, they earned the max amount of badges possible, which happened to be 20. It was a lot of work. That's Jasper, Mz Vicki, Shawn, Mz Janet and Sean.

Hey, its been ages since my last posting, I've been sort of sick and busy. Anyway, I took a picture of Jeff making Sean's dinner. He was suspicious of me for some reason.










Here is Sean eating dinner. Sorry, today was a slow news day. For those who care, Nan got a new side by side and it's five by five!!!!!!



posted by: Amy

President's Day

Hey Melissa, I loved your spa pics so much, I thought I'd put some of our's up. The kids were off today, thanks to the presidents, so Sean had Shawn over to spend the night. The temp was 38 degrees, so the 104 degree water was nice.










Shawn and Sean soaking it up.














Shawn and the waterfall.
















If you look closely, you'll notice Yoda on top of the woodpile, and Scarlet wanting to get him. She tried but never did.

















King of the hill.

Christmas in February

Alicia and Rob came over on Sunday, it was the best Christmas EVER! As you can see, we did a lot of laying around.



We forced Alicia to watch Napoleon Dynamite, ate some Thai Beef, talked about animals etc. Jake made a special guest appearance as well.





Note the last picture: that's Rob on the computer, looking at the blog that you are also now looking at.Eerie huh?

Sleeping with the enemy?

I thought dogs and cats were supposed to be enemies. Well, not in this house. I know I've been a bit heavy on the animal photos lately, but this was just too damn cute to pass by. One of them was snoring, and Yoda was using Scarlet's back paw as a pillow. They've been together like this for about an hour so far, and haven't moved.

Good Ole Mr. Squirrel No. 4

Yoda has been busy hunting.... AGAIN! This is the 4th squirrel we are aware of. The first photo is Jake posing with the dead carcass, aren't they a cute couple? Below that, you see Yoda taking a well earned break, after bringing home the bacon, (and dropping it on the steps). The vertical photo is Jake removing the body. The last pic is Yoda curled up for the night on Sean's bookbag. He does that often. Notice the bookbag has a nifty reflective strip. I got it from Land's End, and it's adjustable side to side AND top to bottom, so it doesn't hang to low and cause back trouble. It also features a waist strap for extra support. Go out and get yours today!

The kids had their 5th Grade Valentine Party the other day. Not much to tell, lots of candy, the passing out of valentines etc. My narative is bad today, because my pictures aren't showing up - I'm seeing text only. Usually the pics pop up, and I write my thoughts right next to them. Right now I'm looking at goobledy-gook computer language. Does anyone know how to fix this? So don't expect anything inspired. By the way, the woman in the pink sweater is Sean's teacher. She should try smiling more.

Last Cubscout Meeting EVER!

Well, here you have it. It's the end of an era. Sean's cubscout days are officially over. We had our last meeting last night. Here, you see the boys making memory boards of their years in cubscouts. Vicki had the great idea of displaying them at the Blue and Gold Celebration. She bought frames so they can be taken down after, framed and kept forever.






Here is Tacy and Vanessa in their "fairy godmother" get-ups. They are so cute. By the way, I apologize for not playing Barbie's with you.











Ooops, how did this get here? Everytime I open the cabinet, Yoda has to climb in and hide for a while. He just sits there still as a statue for about 5 minutes or so. Note: As you can see, we buy the "lower sugar" instant oatmeal. It's pretty darn good.








Okay, back to the meeting. Here, Ms. Vicki is handing out supplies while Shawn works on his memory board. Many thanks to Ms. Vicki and Ms. Janet for leading this year. Great job!

Snow Day

It's Feb. 12th and finally, we have winter. Of course, I enjoyed all the 50 and 60 degree weather, but it's nice to have some fun, beautiful snow. Sean and friends had a great day building forts and sledding.










I'm just happy they're outside.















The woods behind our house looked sparkly with snow. This pic isn't really conveying that, but trust me.











Four friends in the front yard.














I hope they aren't planning to bury whoever that is lying down.

Yoda has "mommy" issues

Some of you were skeptical about Yoda's "nursing" from the dog, but here is photographic proof. Here he is taking a breather.











Here is a full body shot of the two of them. I feel really bad for Yoda, he was taken from his mother WAY too soon. I'm just glad that Scarlet has been able to act as a surrogate mom.













Here is a super close-up. It's a very loud process. He purrs so loud while he's doing this. And, one can hear the sucking noises waaaaay across the room. Cute!











In case anyone is wondering, Yoda is 9 months old. Scarlet just turned 5 years old.

Piano Men

Here are a few pics of Sean, and his super piano teacher, Gene. In this one, Gene is trying to get Sean to hold his hand up higher off the keys. Maybe a good wack with a ruler would do the trick!








Sean is slowly, but surely improving. Gene allows him to go at his own pace and puts the right amount of pressure on the practicing. Thanks Gene - see you next Wednesday!

Sunday, Feb. 5th, 2006

Went to Sir Walter Raleigh's today with some of the fam. Here, you see my mother being told something that appears to shock her, while Marty and Danny look on.











Here is the obligatory "length of the table" shot. Mary made friends with the owner, Jerry I think his name was.














Here, you see Sue, Maggie and Linda, looking very happy indeed.













Here is Emily and Molly trying not to pose for me. I asked them to look "natural" and they pulled it off great!

Note: Jeff and I both managed to avoid the camera lens today.









This has nothing to do with brunch. Jeff and I stopped by Ikea beforehand, and thought this cute little computer armoire might work for our 2nd computer. Right now it's on a rickety card table. It's fun to take pictures in stores. I was getting some curious looks from other patrons, I think they were just jealous that they didn't think to bring their cameras.


posted by: AMY