The End of an Era

When Hyrum and I got married, Hyrum brought with him a lovely red sedan.  It was the first car that included my name on the title.  It was a good car.  Cleitus took us all over the place, from Utah to Texas, to New York, various high points within driving distance of Texas and Utah.  It was our family car for 5 good years then with the pending arrival of Charlotte it became second fiddle to the blue van.

We still loved Cleitus and often remembered our adventures with him, including the "rest stop of doom" (must be spoken with an ominous tenor), not too far from where we now live.  Over the years, every time Cleitus needed a repair we would ask ourselves if it was really worth it and if the car would repay our diligent efforts to care for it with another several thousand miles of good service.  Each time, we won the bet. 

This winter however, I hit a pothole, really bad.  It bent the tire rim and while there was no structural damage, Cleitus just wasn't the same.  Our stalwart car was done in by a pothole.  At the end of March we decided it was time to trade Cleitus in for something more reliable and more fuel efficient since it was Hyrum's commuter car.  We bought a silver Honda Civic and look forward to putting it through it's paces. 

Cleitus will be missed but I'm glad I no longer worry about whether I'll get a phone call to pick Hyrum up from work because the car won't start. 

He was a good car.

The Zoo

Pittsburgh has lots of things to do.  Last year we had a membership to the Carnegie museums and I am still mourning the lapse in that membership.  The kids chose a membership to the Zoo this year so on one of the warm days in March we went to the Zoo.

I always hear about the disappointment of going to the zoo:  animals inside, in the shade or just sleeping and kind of boring.  We were prepared for anything.  It was a day to enjoy being outside and maybe we'd be surprised.

It was a great day for the zoo.  The animals were up and moving and it was exciting.  The lions and tiger roared.  The flamingos squawked, loudly.  The monkeys played games with us.  It was pretty fun and the kids loved it too.

President's Day

For President's day we didn't really do anything except plan on spending the day together.  We went outside early and played in the snow.  It was nice to spend a day together.

My snow babies.

Spencer doesn't really care for the snow but he'll push the baby stroller all over.

Finally, a clear driveway.

Happy Birthday to me!

In February, I turned 30 years old.  I'm not a big fan of my birthday because I feel like it's suppose to be a special day but I'm the only one who knows that.  Most years I try to make it a good day for my kids thinking if they are having fun I will be having a good day too.  It always back fires. This year I decided to have a party, just for me, no kids and no husband either.

A few friends came over and we crafted and ate popcorn--four different flavors, crafted and painted toenails.  I had a good time.  I made party favors and everything.  Of course I failed to take many pictures.  At the end of the party, Hyrum arrived home from a week long trip and my parents pulled in the driveway for the weekend. 

Saturday, we celebrated with a birthday dinner and Hannah's first piano recital.  It was fun to have friends and family all together to celebrate Hannah and I together.  We topped it off with cake and presents.  It was a good day and finally a good birthday for the books.  I think I need to celebrate more often : )

Ice Skating lessons

A few miles away from our house is a huge park--at least for being in a well populated area.  It has a large lake in it, swimming pool, boathouse, tons of playgrounds, trails and an ice skating rink  In the winter they have two, four week sessions of free

ice skating lessons.  Hannah and Jonathan wanted to give it a try so we signed them up.  They have loved it.

Jonathan testing the hardness of the ice within 5 minutes of getting there.  He did eventually stay on his feet for more than 10 seconds at a time.

Hannah was slowly but surely making her way out to her group.

Right now their metric for success is whether or not it hurt when they fell down and how much ice they have on their pants when they are done.  It's fun to watch them.  Next year, I think we'll try for both sessions.