A few pictures

Rachel sitting in the backyard.


The girls had fun taking pictures of everyone down in the woods behind Grandma and Grandpa Bristow's house. Just FYI, Grandpa Bristow is doing much better and started cardiac rehab this week.



Jeffrey on a Sunday afternoon ride around the race track.




Laura sitting on their little bridge over a little creek that is higher now than later in the summer.


Brian with his dimples.








Miriam (second attempt). I love her smile--she doesn't hold any emotion back! I had to laugh last week when we were watching one of her little friends, her friend got angry and did the same growl that Miriam does sometimes when she's mad. And another kid in church her age did the same thing today, during church. lol!





After tasting the ritual passover foods, we had a "feast" on the floor of simple foods that Jesus might have eaten--pita and hummus, carrots, and of course, olives. You can guess which was Miriam's favorite. For a 4 year old, (or a 2 or 6...) it doesn't get much better than enough olives for all your fingers. :)


It would have been a candlelight dinner, which the kids love, except that with daylight savings, it's too light unless we eat at 8pm.

Update on Grandpa

Grandpa B. is out of the hospital, and doing fine other than being a little tired.

-Becca

At the end of the day...

We had a challenging day today, but at the end of the day, things are looking up. My dad had a heart attack today, but he realized it quickly and got to the hospital and they were able to treat him quickly. The next couple of days will hopefully be very boring as he simply responds to the treatment and gets better. I'm grateful he's been exercising regularly the past couple of years--hopefully that will make recovery easier.

Kids are very resilient. They weren't happy about not getting to visit Grandpa at the hospital tonight (he needed to sleep!), but we'll have corned beef and cabbage tomorrow, assuming it's a boring day at the hospital. A day late, but I don't think they'll mind too much.

-Sarah

Uh oh!

Imagine a Saint Patrick's Day, you're all happy, and you come home to find crazy kids, throwing Legos, and no mom in sight. Dad says he needs a hug, which normally means something went wrong. I asked and he told me Grandpa Bristow was in the hospital. Mom is with Grandma, which also meant no St. Patrick's Day dinner (traditional), so that really dampened the holiday happiness. Grandpa's had a heart attack and damaged an artery, so they put in stents, and he'll be there for 3 days to make sure he's okay. Looks like we may have Daddy-cooking for the next 3 days. But thank goodness for visiting teachers. Sister Council brought dinner, so we'll have that. Thank you Sister Council!!!

-Becca

Poppy!

Rachel's new, energetic one is hard to get a picture of, but here's one of the best images of her:



-Becca

A death in the family

We had a very sad evening tonight. Just before family prayer, Rachel put Snowball (the white gerbil) back in her cage, and when she came back, Snowball hadn't moved. And she wasn't breathing. She has had some health challenges for awhile, but it's still sad that she is gone. Rachel was especially sad because she loved and played with Snowball more than anyone else, but we are looking to get another gerbil to keep Butterscotch company in the next couple of weeks. The kids had a hard time tonight, but we will bury her tomorrow and hopefully that will give them some closure. RIP Snowball.

--Sarah

Gerbil cage extension - snow day fun

So out of the last 8 school days, school has been canceled 7 days. This morning's activity was gerbil cage fun.

Jeff thought the whole thing was very exciting.

Miriam getting the raw supplies.

Miriam had grabbed the camera and was having a great time being the photographer. Hi Becca!

Rachel showing off the addition to snowball. You can see another tube behind her.

Traffic jam. The gerbils were able to get past each other.

Miriam getting Laura ...

Brian and Miriam had an ongoing game where Brian was trying to not let Miriam get a picture of him. She finally got him.

Butterscotch enjoying the excitement as well.

Hey, I can take a picture of myself as well!

Laura did a video of the finished product. If you get motion sick, I'd stop at the 1:30 mark.