wed, 2/17...day 48

These silly guys were trying to avoid having their picture taken after I picked them up from camp but they were laughing so hard, they couldn't put up their hands to block me. Ha!

Check out the bright orange hat that Cory made with Candi today - fun!

Niall is going to camp now too, since I found out - very belatedly - that Tynor has school this week! No filling in kidcare at home for Mom - sigh.

tue, 2/16...day 47

Cory went to "Gap Camp" today at Little School, and much happiness: Donna and Colleen were the camp teachers!

Cory borrowed my camera when I picked him up after camp and took these photos of them (and a bunch of other pictures too, of course - he gets trigger happy whenever he gets hold of a camera!)

They've got some fun plans for the week, including photography, face painting, sewing, a field trip, and more.

And as Cory says, the best part is that there's NO schedule! "We had *nine* outside times today, Mom!" That relaxed pace is just what he needs. Wish he had more of that during the school day too.

mon, 2/15...day 46

Whoo hoo! Today we announced our next phone OS, Windows Phone 7 OS, and I can - at last! - share what I've been working on behind closed doors for the past year.

It was so fun to hear how excited people were at the big announcement at World Mobile Congress in Barcelona. Standing room only, huge crowds at the booth all afternoon, lots of buzz and curiosity and surprise. Loved hearing all of it.

These posters went up at work last week, since we were so close to making the announcement. The big letters spell "Metro" which is what we call our new design.

sun, 2/14...day 45

Cory and I enjoyed making valentines for awhile today. He made one for me and I made one for Grandma Shannon (to take over with some Fran's chocolate later).

Reminded me of the intricate doily valentines my sister and I used to make when we were young: coloring the lacy parts with markers, cutting around shapes, and gluing various parts together with the many paper hearts we'd cut out.

Cory and I weren't nearly that dedicated today but we had fun.

sat, 2/13...day 44

Tynor popped his head into my bedroom at 8:37 this morning and said, "It's after 8:30. Isn't my eye doctor appointment at 9?" Whooooops.

That's how our not-quite-frantic but very busy morning began.

This is Niall and me having breakfast at Starbucks after dropping Tynor off at his appointment in Bothell and before heading down the hill to pick up Cory from Grandma's. We had a relaxing 20 minutes or so of reading the paper, sipping our cocoa, and splitting a cinnamon roll. Not quite 50-50 but who's counting? I let Niall divide and choose so that explains it. :D)

fri, 2/12...day 43

At long last, "The Lightning Thief" movie has arrived! Niall has been eagerly anticipating opening night for weeks now. I bought tickets ahead of time for him and me to go see it together, while Cory went to Grandma's for the night. Not very often that Niall and I get a mom-and-son playdate. Very fun.

We arrived about ten minutes before the movie started, and the place was COMPLETELY packed! I guess a lot of other kids were also anxious to see the movie version of one of their favorite books. We found an aisle seat way up in the back, and I sat down on the step next to Niall. But a mom who had brought a whole passel of boys for a birthday party took pity on us. She had two of her kids move down into an empty seat, and then swapped seats with Niall. So he and I sat together in the very tippy top row on the end. Great view!

thu, 2/11...day 42

I was happy to run into Kellen in Redmond at lunchtime today (we both have Thursday appointments at noon now, it seems). Walked back to my car, and there he was!

We swung by Trader Joe's and Starbucks, and then I took him back to work with me. He hung out working on getting his laptop configured so he could connect to the network, and I worked on my own stuff, went to meetings, etc. Then we headed off to school to pick up the boys, who were also happily surprised to see him.

It was fun having him home for dinner and for the evening. He and Tynor got into a rip-roaring online (Facebook) game of Risk in the evening - one of them at his laptop on the couch, the other at the table - while I watched "24." Very companionable all around. :-)