scott & amy

My little brother and Amy got married last week.

He's 34, but in my mind's eye he's somewhere around 16.

But in reality, he's a man, a father and now, a husband.

I love the look on the couple's faces when they turn to their friends as family for the first time as husband and wife -- it's so telltale and happy.

At first glance this next picture you'll think, "oh what a nice picture of brother, sister and the Little Wickies," that is, until you scroll down to Mo.

But that's what makes the picture so fantastic.

Baby Charlotte looked as sweet (if not so much bigger) than ever.

Then, as I'm sure every newlywed couple expects to do on their wedding day -- we went decorate cupcakes at SweetSpot Baker's Workshop.

The night was finished off with Korean BBQ.

The Little Wickies played "wedding" the whole next day -- going to the extent of making construction paper flowers to hold as their bouquets, taking turns as bride, bridesmaid and flower girl.

They can not wait for the "big wedding" as they now refer to it where they have been promised the roles of flower girls.

cold weather wear

It's raining and cold outside.

When we go to school all the kids are bundled up in their jackets.

And, my kids are wearing this.

I'm sure I look like mom of the year with my kids wearing sundresses and skirts.

Hey, you have no idea how much negotiating I did to get Katie to trade in the tank top for a shirt with sleeves this morning.

at least her future husband will be happy

Katie was telling me about a night she went to dinner with friends.

“We got quarters and got a prize out of a machine.”

“Oh yeah, what did you get?”

“I got a ring with a really big diamond. I don’t really like it though."

"Why not honey?"

"I like small rings, like yours mommy.”

me and Katie during quiet time reading by the fire

tide pools and good friends

We had a nice little warm spell last week and were able to squeeze in two beach days.

On Saturday, low tide provided for tide pools and sand bars.

So, the boogie boards didn't see any surf, just tide pools.

It was a really nice day. We only had the two big girls who played wonderfully together with very, very little fighting.

Me and Miyo actually got to lay around a bit and talk.

Like I said, it was really nice.

Their "tent."

project: blue desk

Awhile back I found this on a curb when I was out on a run.

It had been sitting in the garage but now that the girls are in the same room and we have playroom/office I thought it was time to start working on it so we could bring it inside.

Step 1: sanding.

Don't call CPS on me, but I can totally see why little dexterous hands are good for certain kinds of labor.

Katie was awesome at sanding the small crevices.

Katie learned that sanding is a lot of work.

We sanded until we made the whole desk look like the bottom part of this picture.

Step 2: taping and spraying with a rust-covering base.

Step 3: painting. Katie picked a light blue.

Step 3: varnish and... voila!

Now Katie and I both have desks in the playroom/office and she is one happy camper.

What are the odds I'm going to find another desk on the street for Maddie?

happy year of the i-don't-care-it's-a-good-reason-to-eat-steamed-fish-and-peking-duck

We got together tonight with some friends to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Now, to be honest, I'm pretty much what you would call a "banana." I know way too little about the actual holiday, or about Chinese history and heritage in general.

I do however, know and appreciate a good Chinese dinner.

Katie and I made some New Year treats during quiet time.

No these aren't traditional Chinese fare. They are just sugar cookies with what I think is a symbol for "spring."

I found a tutorial here.

We used an entire bottle of red dye and the icing still looked bubble gum pink.

My characters generally looked more like fleur-de-Lis, especially the first half dozen or so.

But, they tasted yummy and our friends seemed to enjoy them.

Happy Chinese New Year!

happy friday

Thanks for the card Grandpa John -- we're still enjoying it regularly...