Oscar Stew

Aren’t spring snow storms great? Everyone else in Colorado is sick to death of snow, but we are quite enjoying ourselves! The only reason I’m allowed to say that without getting lynched is because of our 4 month hiatus to Sunny St. George. We welcomed the first big snow storm with hats, gloves and lots of hot chocolate!

We were excited that the snow was wet enough to make a snow man, or a snow woman in Brinley’s case.  And for anyone waiting to see our humble new abode…here she is! This is what we waited for for 4 months. And it was worth it. totally.

An exasperating search of the disaster area formerly known as the basement did not yield a snowsuit that was Rowan’s current size. Hey Ro-sausage, how does last winter’s suit feel?

Drew & Brinley rolled snow boulders so big Ryan could barely pick them up. He did manage to stack them on top of each other to create a monstrous snow castle of danger.

With all the snow used up in castles and snowmen, it was time to move on. The previous owners left this rusty old swing set behind, which is a shame because the kids don’t really use it much…

Soggy Dog had enough of the winter games and wanted to tap into her artistic self. Behold, the masterpiece!

A few weeks ago Grandma F sent the kids some craft supplies. We saved them for a snowy day, and when school was cancelled due to weather, they did not disappoint!

Brinley was excited to learn that when you mix red and white you get PINK!

Ever patient Drew achieving quick dry results. He goes through the craft supplies a lot faster this way.

Rowan tired of her artistic talent being limited to just a canvas, and experimented in body art as well. If she only knew that later that day she’d be adding some painful art to her right eye…

The blog has become a lot like Drew’s smile: Full of gaps. The difference is while the gaps on the blog are getting smaller, the gaps in Drew’s smile are getting bigger!

Drew went to bed the other night only to come out of his room 5 minutes later beaming (and bleeding) with this tiny nugget of guaranteed income. Here’s the evidence:

Alright, time to get going on this gap-closing business. Way back when we were still in St. George we had a baby that needed blankets, since all of ours were in storage. Drew was more than happy to help.

And of course, anything your brother can do, you must do better.

Nice work dude! Grandma was so impressed the kids inherited their own sewing machine.

We’ve had bad luck with vacuums lately. After our vacuum broke, we stumbled across an almost new vacuum at a thrift store that we thought needed a little cleaning and some TLC. It worked great…for two weeks, and then suffered from the same problem as our other vacuum. So, Bissell.com…$37 later we are waiting for parts. just lovely…

Having 4 kids can be challenging at times.  This is the only way to keep this little “helper” from being underfoot. She looks pretty happy for a poorly paid slave!

Ryan is learning the art of multi-tasking. Atta boy!

Once Daddy’s back started to ache, it was apparent that what our 21-month-old child really needed was more responsibility. Would she be up to the task?

Aww, what a good Ro-mama!

Yes Rowan, being the mommy is exhausting!

Apparently sorting laundry is all it takes for Brinley…

Drew was super excited to make new friends at his third school this school year. It just so happened that his first day of school was also his birthday! He started off the day right, with a nutritious peanut butter & chocolate birthday banana. Nummy!

Drew’s St. George class made sure that his new school would be properly notified of the rock star in their midst.

You’re new here. It’s your birthday. And your mom brought cupcakes?! You’re my new best friend!

Since Drew’s birthday was kind of swallowed up in the move & new baby, he took matters into his own hands and made his own birthday cake. He  looks pretty upset about it, don’t you think?

Yeah, yeah it’s a cake mix. And it goes against everything I believe in. So shoot me!

Happy Birthday Drew! Big #7!

I don’t know if it was the toothless smile or the lucky Batman shirt, but those candles went from flaming to smoking in milliseconds.

We celebrated St. Patty’s day in style when a friend brought us a delicious & festive green dinner.  I’m  totally incapable of creating gourmet meals like this right now. Maybe someday I’ll get my groove back.

Sometimes being the middle child can be hard. Especially when you jump on a bean bag without knowing the corner of the bed is lurking underneath it.

Day 2 revealed a mean looking bruise. It goes along with the loose piggies, and the popcorn remnants in her hair. Never a dull moment (or clean carpet) around here. ever…

This picture pretty much sums up the last three weeks.  So much to do, so little time. We are home, but it doesn’t feel like home yet. It feels like our stuff got dumped in an empty shell of a house, and we’ve been struggling to find things ever since. Of course, having a newborn doesn’t help. Then the baby swing decided to give up the ghost, as did the vacuum and the laptop. Then there was the shattered glass shower door incident. And did I mention the mouse nest in the dryer? oh yes…fun times!

But don’t read this like we’re whining! We are ecstatic to finally be in our own home, to reconnect with old friends, and for the new friends we’ve made in the last 3 weeks. But why do we have so much junk? And where are the toaster and the rocking chair? Oh how I miss the rocking chair…how does such an important piece of furniture just evaporate? Especially when there are two babies in this house!

Then there are the big dreams. Paint samples, DIY magazines, furniture on craigslist, oh MY!