Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Thirteen on the Thirteenth of February Two Thousand Thirteen


Ty and Michelle:  We introduced Afton to the Wednesday fried chicken, mashed potatoes
and gravy tradition.  (Jane speaking here.  One year I found chicken thighs and drumsticks
for 29 cents/lb.  I bought 100 + pounds and fixed it most every Wednesday night that year.
The kids loved that year.)

All Afton wanted of that supper was the blackberry smoothie.

Michelle doing clean up duty.

 Ty:  Me helping Afton walk off the fried chicken in our cool hats.
(She only needs one hand and I think she won't need any soon.)

Joe and Ande:  Sometimes when you go out to lunch (ground pork, pork skin, and peanuts.  Mmm.) . . . 

You get a flat tire . . . 

 . . . and you get a bonus snack!

Grace:  Doing laundry today and reminiscing of the beautiful days on Oahu riding around in a convertible.
(Jane speaking here.  They got home from Hawaii yesterday.)

Abe:   Finalizing moving arrangements, but remembering hiking the Kalalau Trail along the
Na Pali Coast of Kauai

Jane:  My valentines on the fridge.  The one on the right is from my nephew Hydn and the one on the left is from Ande.
(Hydn says, "Give yourself a hug from Hy."  Ande's says:
(Dear Mom and Dad,  I wanted you to know how much I love you.  I'm glad I gotcha as parents
and that you love me and hug me and kiss me.   If you visited www.loveingparents.com
they would talk about . . . guess who?!  You!  As far as heroes go, u r mine.
 I don't tell you often enough how awesome you both are.  Absolutely awesome.
You both make me smile.  Sometimes I say to myself, 'Ande, how r-u so lucky to
have such incredible parents?'  You rock my socks right off.   I hope this valentine
reminds you how much I love you.  I'm really grateful u-r mine.
Love me, your favorite youngest daughter)    

Jane:  My Valentine gift from Calvin.  He doesn't keep surprises very well, and it's really really rather sweet.
I got these the minute he got them.  He ordered my two favorite chocolates (as of this year):
the dark chocolate/salted caramel and caramel/almond/dark chocolate.  He didn't even ask that a
row of his favorites (white chocolate/coconut/toffee/cashew) be included.  What a husband.

Calvin:  Sometimes he puts up his fists and pumps them around and says "kitty-cum-butt-ay,"
kind of like a Tarzan chest-thump.  He thinks it means, "I'm tough," in Spanish,
but when our friends Daniel and Rosa heard him say it they started laughing.
He obviously doesn't say it right or use it in the right context, but it's one of his favorite sayings
so he uses it anyway.  What he's trying to tell you in this picture is that he had just played a
game of basketball in his work boots with the young men and
his team won.  Which was no small feat - most of the young men haven't played
basketball and there was a whole lot of cheating and wrestling going on.  Kitty-cum-butt-ay.

Ray, Cali, Levin:  (Jane speaking here:  Levin learned how to climb out of his
crib today, and it was no fluke.  He did it three times.
Cali secretly videoed it so that they could figure out how he was doing it.
He appears unstoppable.  It so distressed her that he no longer has a
cage that she forgot to send a picture. 

10 comments:

Cali said...

I love these posts... and I'm always bummed when I don't get one to you. Shame on me. We are doing some radical brainstorming here on how to contain Levin during nap time. Ray was thinking hand-cuffs on his ankles... he can't escape if he can't spread his legs. We're taking suggestions. A dog kennel is our other idea. We'll regift it to him for his 5th birthday when he gets a dog.

Lucy said...

I do love your family. A baby who can climb out of a crib is the worst. I can remember doing Jack-in-the-box training with Henry (making no eye contact and showing no emotion while repeatedly taking him back to bed). Good luck to Cali and Ray!

Michelle said...

Ande and Joe--looks like the flat tire was a blessing in disguise. Anything that leads to popcorn is a good thing in my book.
Abe and Grace--loved your pictures.
Jane and Calvin--what sweet Valentines!
Ty and Michelle--Afton is cute. :)
Ray and Cali--"shame on you" is right. ;-) Does Levin's sleeping bag let him spread his legs far enough? I'd love to see a video.

Ty said...

This was a great post Mom! Abe's and Grace's pictures made me wish I was in Hawaii too. Good luck Cali and Ray.

Ande said...

I love these posts.

Abe and Grace--Your vacation looks amazing.

Mom--I hope your valentine tastes good. It is pretty sweet Dad can't keep secrets.

Dad--I wish I had been there to see you "kick butt" in your basketball game. I have a very funny visual.

Ty and Michelle--Dinner looks soooooooo good. And Afton is cute as always.

Cali and Ray--I agree with Michelle, shame on you. With a kid as cute as Levin you should be sending dozens of pictures.

Emma J said...

Loved this, Jane! I love the things you do to keep your family united even with distances. I'm taking notes! Happy V-day!

abe said...

Ty and Michelle - Afton looks like she knows how to eat.

Joe and Ande - lunch looks awesome, but I always think service station popcorn is kinda stale.

Dad and Mom - those are very nice Valentines. Dad, nice restraint in not getting the Betty Lous.

Cali and Ray - disappointing submission, but the video of Levin almost made up for it.

Anonymous said...

Jane, I understand kitty cum butt aye (or however you spell it). Maybe it's something that has its origins in New Mexico as we used to say it when we were little kids. We'd put up our fists and say it and supposedly it meant "
Do you want to fight?" We thought we were saying something in Spanish but who knows. Anyway it brought back memories to me as I hadn't thought about it in years.

I still enjoy your blog. Sending Love and Good Wishes. Ruth Palmer

Samantha said...

Cali- there are little tents that you can put over a crib to prevent kids from climbing out. I found one at a garage sale for a dollar. Maybe that could work for you?

Jill said...

They make crib tents to put over the crib to help keep kids in there!

Back in the early 70's my aunt tied her daughter's leg to the crib with neck ties in an effort to keep her in there, instead she found her dangling (bungee style) by her leg!!