Away

This month Cameron is doing a rotation in Lincoln, Nebraska. After he arrived he found out that there were no other students coming this rotation, so he would have an entire house to himself. It was suggested that he have his family come visit, so naturally we did. We'll be here with Cameron these last two weeks of this rotation, then all go on to Utah together for another away rotation.

We've been having a great week, mostly just staying in our little yellow house. We've played in the snow and gone to the library. Yesterday we visited the University of Nebraska State Museum - which I highly recommend to anyone who finds themselves in Lincoln. There were so many interesting fossils and artifacts, and all five of us enjoyed the planetarium show.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Of Ballet and Belts

Today was Esther's last day of ballet in Michigan. It's been wonderful and we're sad to be leaving the Turning Pointe. *btw for any of you in Michigan looking for an AMAZING dance school, you should look into the Turning Pointe in Saint Clair Shores.* Esther has ALWAYS loved to dance, and I mean that literally. Before she was born we'd put music up to my stomach (as silly parents-to-be often do) and she would actually wiggle around to the general beat of whatever we played. When the music got slower or faster, she would follow.

This year she's been in her first ballet class. Unlike many other activities, her enthusiasm for dance has never waned, but actually grown. Every Tuesday is like her birthday. A lot of that has to do with her passion for dancing. A lot of it also has to do with Ms. Anne, her wonderful teacher, who is creative, fun, and instructional all at the same time. We will sure miss her!

And then, on our way home from ballet we had another adventure. Suddenly the power steering stopped working, the battery light came on, and the car started angrily dinging at me! This wasn't the regular, "you should get more gas soon," or "hey dummy, you left a door open," kind of ding. The van was TICKED OFF. So instead of driving Esther's friend and car-pool buddy home, we took a detour to Belle Tire. Hallie's mom picked up Hallie and Esther (and offered to take William too, but I decided not to prey on her generosity too much), and Will, Alex, and I hung around waiting to find out why our poor van was so upset. It turns out the serpentine belt fell off. It wasn't a very big deal to fix, and if we'd come in on a less busy day (Belle Tire gets a lot of business on snowy days) it wouldn't have taken the nearly three hours we were there. But I'm glad it happened today, instead of during our trip to Lincoln. Plus, William sure did have fun playing with the model struts!

Good Food and Great Service

I was just treated to a pleasant surprise. I came home from church, and in a silly mood decided to beat the kids to their whining. I put Alex in his high chair, sat down at the table and complained, “I’m HUNGRY! Where’s my lunch?!”

Esther rose to the occasion. Immediately her imagination took over and I was a patron of a fancy restaurant. She ran to the fridge and got a yogurt and a slice of cheese for appetizers. Then she brought bread, peanut butter, and jam to the table, where I was treated to tableside service. All the while she was calling me “lady” and telling me in a very grown-up voice about how she and her husband owned this restaurant, and that they called each other “maker one” and “maker two.” Her mother owned the restaurant previously, but when she was old enough to use the stove she took over the family business. William got into it and brought me some crackers and pretzels to go with my pb&j entre. Afterward I was treated to a sippy-cup full of water. My servers were sure to keep food coming for my baby too.

I was invited to come back to the restaurant for dinner, where I would be treated with the opportunity to use their stove. They promised to wait for be before they started cooking. That way I won’t miss any of the fun.