Life goes on...

We're back in the grind again. Things are back to normal after an extended Winter Break with the kiddos. I've been doing a lot of scrapbooking lately. In fact, I rearranged our "toy room" which is now more of a dual purpose room, (thanks for your help Kari) and I have a scraping corner downstairs. It's much more functional than being stuck in a small corner upstairs in the computer room. It's also quieter as the boys tend to play in that room a lot in the afternoon, so I can be downstairs in peace.

The boys are back in school. They are back in scouts too. In fact, it's almost derby car racing time, so they are working hard on their derby cars. Pictures to come once they are finished. Coming up soon is the big science fair. Both boys will be working on science fair projects soon. This usually consumes several complete weekends. Matt gets to do many of these extra projects with the boys as I help and supervise their "normal" homework.

Matt's been diligently working on our new fireplace face. It's coming along great. In fact, when it's finished, I'll post a picture of what it looks like. He's quite happy with how it's turned out.

Michael and Matt just got back from a weekend of camping with the Boy Scouts. Michael's cub scout Webelos Den was checking out a Boy Scout Troop to see if it's the one they want to join. The boys had a great time this weekend. Cold weather camping is a different monster from warm weather camping. The gear you need is very different. And, Boy scouts are always prepared, so Michael now carries an emergency kit while camping as well as wears a whistle while hiking. Scouting will teach him so many important things in life - responsibility, preparedness, cooperation, thinking on your feet, etc. We're excited for him. We decided that Matt would have made an excellent Boy Scout. He gets to relive what he missed thru Michael's experience.

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures that I took over the past couple of weeks. Enjoy :)

Evan's second grade class decorates gingerbread houses. They finally got to do this when classes resumed after the extended winter break. The kids had a great time making their houses.

Evan with his gingerbread house (made of graham crackers). He's not quite finished yet. There is lots of work to be done. In fact, he's actually the last one to finish his house.

Michael is all packed up for his big winter camping trip with the Boy Scouts.

Michael's pack is heavy. He tends to lean forward to offset the weight. He'll get used to it :)

While at camp, the Boy Scouts taught the boys how to start and build a fire. The boys don't quite realize you must pile up the kindling close to the fire to get it to start. It take almost half an hour, but they finally get a fire going. They will learn lots of things as scouts!