Fun on the Slopes

Fun on the slopes with a minimum of tween drama, thanks to a good teacher (Dad) and kids who inherited their skiing talent from him instead of me (who wisely stayed far, far away from the slopes). Jared had such a great time that he took Jack again two days later. And wow, is Jared excited to have a new ski buddy. Fortunately, he did NOT tell me that he was going to take my widdle baby boy on double-black diamond runs. I likely would have vomited, then beat him about the head and shoulders, and then vomited again. Ellie was tired out from the first day of skiing, so we skipped the physical danger and instead faced financial danger at the mall.

Party Girls

For Ellie's birthday, she invited five good friends - Lauren, Ahana, Sasha, Selma, and Maaya - out to Benihana's and the mall. They had a great time, and even managed (despite much high-spiritedness) not to get kicked out of Benihana's. Ellie also finally got her wish for a second (and last! No more, Ellie!) piercing. Although I was honestly dreading it, I was pleasantly surprised. They all had a great time, and Ellie had a great birthday.

Ellie

Our Ellie turned 12 the other day. My intent was to post a lovely photo of my lovely daughter on Facebook. And surely, I thought, since Ellie seemingly chronicles every minute of her day with a selfie, I could fine one easily. My only criteria were that the photo not include (1) a duck face, (2) a Kardashian-like pose, or (3) odd or rude gestures.

So I started to flip through her phone, and ....ok, not QUITE what I was looking for....

and is this even safe? Hello, Road Safety, please!

Oh, and that face, that beautiful face - is she having a stroke?

Um, no

While I admire the flexibility, I just can't

So our birthday greetings will need to be photo-less - but no less happy. Because we love our Ellie and think she is just awesome, and wish her a happy, happy birthday!

Tinkers

I do love to see my boys tinkering - taking apart stuff, putting stuff together, just tinkering. I love it. So much so that I bite my tongue and don't point out that they're ruining our dinner plates. Tinker away, boys!