Shark Attack!

We celebrated Moose's 4th birthday this past weekend with good friends and a tasty shark cake.


The kids were especially thrilled with the shark's teeth. BiggiE was not too sure how much he trusted a shark, even one made of sugar and flour. He kept saying, "Shark going to bite me!" Tyler tried to reassure him and touched the fondant teeth to prove their safety. BiggiE watched unsure, "Ouch?", he queried.

Happy 4th Birthday, Moose!

Four years ago, today, Moose entered the world: 8-8-04 at 8:26 AM, weighing 8 lbs. 8 oz. We joked that if he ended up being interested in sports we already knew his number. My friend, Angie, is due today, which would be an especially cool birthday of 8-8-08.

We love you, Moose!


Baby Moose

One-year-old Moose

Two-year-old Moose with his new brother, BiggiE

Three-year-old Moose

Moose today


(I didn't do this intentionally, but I noticed as I looked at these pictures that Moose's smile is getting bigger and bigger with each passing year. Very funny.)

No Deperate Housewives

I am hopelessly behind in posting and not foresee catching up in the next 6 months, so here is a bit of fun from July. Tyler was with some college friends for a long weekend and some of the wives decided we'd weather a single parent weekend together. I was so blessed and encouraged by Ashley, Michelle and Kelli.

Click on the names above to read more details about our wonderful weekend together.

Love and Empathy

Moose is extremely excited to have a baby sister on the way! He informed me that there is a baby growing in his belly, too, as evidenced in this picture. "The baby is kicking!"

There Are 10 Types...

This T-shirt cracks me up and makes me wish I were computer savvy enough to wear it. I love it especially because I am one of the people who immediately started to try and think what 10 types of people there could be only to be told that 1 0 means 2 in binary. I am most assuredly in the latter category of NOT understanding binary.

Olympics 2020?

Moose love, love, loves his swim lessons. He is constantly reviewing his weekly schedule to determine how close it is to a Monday or Wednesday when he will be able to once again do his bubbles and bobs.
It has been really fun to watch his joy and confidence. Moose is still of a different personality than BiggiE (who has attempted to drown proof himself on a number of occasions), but he enjoys his class and startled one of the ungoggled boys by announcing he could see a shark under water. (Sharks are all the rage in our house these days.)
When Moose was a baby we met an Olympic level backstroker while visiting a friend at Stanford. I hoped, at the time, that the swimming proweress might have rubbed off in mere contact with this amicable athlete. From the above photo and his genes (backstroke is both Tyler's and my worst stroke) I think he might want to pursue breast or fly.

Camping over the 4th

We joined a group of 25 friends up near Tahoe for a great July 4th weekend. It is amazing how tiring it can be just lounging in the sun in a beautiful place. Moose and BiggiE were beyond thrilled. So far, our brainwashing them to love camping seems to be a success. They were in their element climbing up rocks and playing in the dirt. Plus, their beloved friend Maggie was with us. Micah was the oldest of the kids (6 in all) and was a very benevolent ruler of the games.

There was delicious food (good thing about hanging out with winemakers), oh, and wine. One of our friends made homemade pizza to grill -- incredible.

The boys would want to highlight playing in the river/lake, roasting marshmallows and the snake they saw catch a fish. Can't tell you how glad I am that I wasn't there for that little National Geographic special.