A Room with a View(Finder)

We gave Allison & Julia a wooden dollhouse this past Christmas. We purchased an extra set of dolls so that there would be a family for each to play with.


One day recently I found Julia had lined the families up for a nap, each on his own ViewFinder slide bed.

Julia agreed to pose with the family for a nap picture. Nighty Night Family!

The Beach in February and A Party in the Penthouse

Wacky Countdown...days 6 & 7. (Don't know what am I counting down toward? Click here.)

I've actually taken one of your Birthday idea comments and taken action! (thanks, Wendy) I have to admit I thought her idea of building a sandcastle in February sounded too cold to bear, but when the temperature reached 80 degrees today, I couldn't keep away from the beach. We didn't really build a castle, but we searched for shells, played with sand and did it all smack in the dead of winter. The water was COLD, but of course we had to at least dip our toes in just to say we did.



















The weekend we also celebrated at "Tenure Party" with one of Eric's office neighbors in the Sociology department. The professor lives in a condo on the Penthouse level overlooking the James River. The weather was pleasant, and the party was timed so that we could enjoy the balcony and the sunset. We toasted her success, and I secretly hoped that when Eric gets tenure that we'll have a party just as snazzy. My favorite gift she received was a clock with an engraving "your tenure clock is no longer ticking, but your lectures are timeless".

Wacky Countdown Day #3

Ok friends, you may remember my plan to celebrate the 35 days leading up to my 35th Birthday by doing something celebratory, wacky, or plain fun each day. I've been soliciting ideas from my friends on how I might celebrate. Read more about this here.

So how's the plan going?

Day 1 (Groundhog's Day): Seriously considered going to Punxsutawney Pennsylvania to see the official Groundhog "Punxsutawney Phil" prognosticate. Consulted the Official Punxsutawney Phil website the day before where it states "the viewing area gates open at 3:00am. Young children not recommended." Ruled that out. Spent the afternoon without kids, (mostly doing errands). Better luck tomorrow.

Day 2: Woke up at 5:00am (not by choice) but got to catch up with an old camp friend via Facebook chat for almost 2 hours before anyone woke up. Not planned fun, but so good for my soul. (Click on the 1993 camp staff picture below: I'm in the middle row, far left. Yes, that's me. I WAS that fabulous back then. People called me Chief.)
Considered donating 10 inches of my hair to "Locks of Love" (I did it once before) but got the girls haircuts instead. Perhaps I'm not up for anything daring after all.



















Day 3: (today) Tried to tap into my inner superhero while visiting the Virginia Living Museum (see pic). Somehow my version of "BatGirl" doesn't seem very heroic. What am I doing wrong?














Here's my wackiest thing for the day... I pet a Sea star.