Happy birthday, Sylvia!

 We were joined by a few other families at the Y for cake, swimming, and good fun!

Here's Ayla with her Abuelo

My parents (otherwise known as Gigi and 'Buelo) also came from Minnesota to celebrate with us.

Happy birthday to a sweetpea who brings so much sparkle and warmth into our lives.  You are soooo loved!

different kinds of fun

baby-wearing fun

Wii fun (with friend Guthrie, before aikido class)

 fun with paints and scissors

balloon-twisting fun

rock-climbing fun

photo by Sylvia

photos by Camille

I hope you are also enjoying some fun-filled February days.

more doings

Sylvia got a cupcake decorating kit for an early birthday present.  We wanted to try it out without a lot of fuss, so we bought muffins (regular and gluten-free) and got right to decorating.

Then we turned these...

 ...into these.

And another trip to the state capitol to participate in civics in action.  There were considerably less people there than last week, but we saw many familiar faces and friendly folks, including plenty of homeschoolers.  Many of the firefighters, police officers, and union workers took the time to thank my girls for coming out in support.

I know the picture's dark, but that's a queen crown and a parrot hat.  Any occasion is a dress-up occasion for these girls :)

peek-a-boo spring

 Last week was downright spring-like (for Wisconsin).  We walked to the library without winter coats.  Well, all of the children rode, but Papa and I walked.

 Camille and Sylvia delivered the quarterly neighborhood newsletter....on their own!  Notice again the lack of winter jackets?

We've had some strange precipitation over the last few days:  mini hail, freezing rain, large sloshy snow clumps, chunky sleet.  It seemed to change moment to moment covering the car and everything else with a very thick layer of ice.  Today looks like February again to me.  Luckily this little ballerina loves to shovel.

Let the People be Heard

What we learned about today:  legislature, senators, Wisconsin politics, how bills are passed (or not), amendments, democracy, unions, labor rights, peaceful protests, ....


sign-making on the city bus....

and the acoustics inside the capitol...  :)

We are four of the estimated 40,000 people at the Wisconsin state capitol today participating in our right to gather and be heard.

Wonders of Physics and Nature

This was our second year in a row attending the Wonders of Physics show at the university...

...I do believe even Ayla found it interesting.  What's not to love about liquid nitrogen bombs, million volt Tesla coils, fire tornadoes, and oscilloscope waveforms? ;-)

On a different note, we went out to the house/land this weekend, and on a lovely nature walk with the friends who live there now.  The steady breeze did not detract from the warmth of the sun.  Aaaaaaah! Sun! 

Doesn't Sylvia look tiny against all that sky?

 Work was accomplished as well...

Yes, I think we're going to like it out here...     :)