[day 346... dec 12]

We took a quick trip up to Bellingham today, including giving Keturah a ride, so we had a full car on the way up! Met up with Grandpa Stan and he took us all out to lunch. Despite the tumult of two very busy young kiddos along, it was fun. I think Grandpa, Tynor, and Keturah even managed to chat a bit on the other side of the table at the restaurant. :D Grandpa and Cory played some rounds of tic-tac-toe, which helped keep him entertained (Cory, that is).

After lunch, we dropped off Keturah at home and then headed back to Grandpa's to play with the dogs a bit before driving back south. Niall and Cory loved playing with the agility gear in the backyard, jumping over poles and running through the weave poles. The dogs joined in sometimes too. :-)

As we were winding up our visit, Grandma Marian returned with Star. They'd been at an agility event in Marysville (so we drove past her on our way up). It was quite entertaining to see how thrilled Star was to see Tynor. She was just beside herself. What a great pair. :-)

[day 345... dec 11]

I thought I'd memorialize the cold temperature reading on the car thermometer, just as I captured the hottest day of the year. I hope this will be the coldest weather we have this year!

This also unfortunately captures the sad state of cleanliness in my car - or lack thereof. I was all set to take the car in for a detailing back in October or so, and then it completely fell off my radar. Hopefully soon! It's pretty darn dirty.

[day 344... dec 10]

I had my observation and conference for Cory today. I watched the class from the observation room with the window all the way open, straining to hear the children's voices over the music and commotion of "Ellen time" in the Center Room.

Cory seemed content and centered, following the expected routine and purposefully engaged in activities. The morning meeting went exceptionally long (45 minutes), but otherwise the kids were busy and mostly agreeable with each other.

After snack, Cory's classmates bundled up and headed to Spanish class while Cory happily gave me a tour of the classroom. He showed me the "deepas" they had made (for Divali, I think - they're covering a whole bunch of winter festivals right now), pleased with his choice of blue and orange paint for the decoration. He also pointed out his "Raven" puppet which he made after they saw the puppet show of "Raven and the Box of Daylight." Joyce wants to keep his puppet for the art show (which is in May!) but he said that "The day after that, we'll bring it home."

We also looked at the many choices of building materials - blocks, Legos, the colored sticks that we had even back when I was at Little School (I loved them, with their smooth sides and pretty colors - when I remember what they're called, I'll come back and add that). He is deeply into Lego building at home, and enjoys it at school too (along with K'Nex at Extended Day).

[day 343... dec 9]

It has been SO COLD this week. Temperatures in the teens as we drive off to school in the morning, willing the car to warm up quickly so the heat will come on and we can relax a bit.

A sprinkler or some other release of water at work created some lovely icicle grass, and some less-lovely sheets of ice along the walkway near the cafeteria. The weather is otherwise so dry that there hasn't been any ice. A silver lining for these very chilly days.

[day 342... dec 8]

My two youngest engaged in a typical wrestling match, before things descend into the too-rough stage. So different than my older two...

[day 341... dec 7]

Loved the pattern of the clouds, with the contrast of a single blackbird and the silhouette of a bare tree. [Photo taken at Crossroads mall.]