Jack's "stingrays"

Little Miss Pouty Lips

D-Day

Big day in town last Saturday: Demolition Day at Lee Vining Elementary! The 80-something-year-old building that housed the office, library, and 1st/2nd grade classroom was torn down. Brian and Jack, of course, had to be there for the big event.

Jack-and-Kate-in-the-box

She's got her "girl pants" on

Kate just started wearing her first pair of jeans--or, as Jack calls 'em, her "girl pants." Her favorite activity lately is rummaging through Jack's room and making a catastrophical mess. When she needs a break, she grabs a blankie and her thumb. A little sucking, and then she's good to go again.

Sad and funny at the same time...

I heard somewhere that 23,000 pink slips have been given out to California teachers this year. A huge chunk of ESUSD teachers are in that number, including all but one of the teachers at Lee Vining High. At least someone can have a sense of humor about the situation!

My little gravel-eater

Kate is nine months today! She's still our little drama queen, still attached to me. She has provided us with a little bit more sanity in the past month, as she's started sleeping through the night again. No teeth yet, but crawling--and cruising--are in full effect. She would eat her weight in Gerber "Sticky Stars" if we let her. I took her for a walk yesterday to try to get some good pictures of her against the snow and blue sky, but all she wanted to do was eat gravel.

Girls' and boys' day out

Last Sunday, I pursued my girly ambitions, taking the drive all the way up to Carson City, with Kate, just to take advantage of Joann's $1.99 sale on McCall's patterns. Vogue patterns were also on sale, for $3.99. Of course, there was a limit; otherwise I would have come home with twice as much! I've had this insatiable urge lately to create, and scrapbooking just ain't cutting it. I've wanted to get better at sewing for quite awhile now, and have plenty of patterns for clothes for the kids. But this time, it was all about me. My haul for the day:

In the meantime, Brian had his first woodcutting experience. He took Jack out in the woods the same day to find some firewood. His haul for the day:

Jack slipped and scraped up his nose and forehead during the excursion. Brian actually heard the bump, and the following cry, above the noise of the chainsaw. He's a tough kid!

...And MORE snow

On clear days, when the sky here is bluer than blue and most everything else is covered in a blanket of white, I thank God that I've had the opportunity to live in such a place. Yes, I'm tired of the snow, and of living in such isolation, but you sure can't beat the view. And Jack still enjoys it. Here he (and Casey) are, out the back door:

That toothless grin

Kate's bound to finally get teeth one of these days, so I thought I'd take a few last pictures of her adorable baby smile: