Birthday parties and more....

All the kids have had birthday parties to attend within the last week.  It was a bit busy, but fun as always.  Reggie is getting old enough that we can finally drop him at parties (we've been lucky enough to have some parents who stay with their kids and watch over Reggie!).  We would never leave him without knowing the place or parents, but we know most all of his friends :o).  Ainsley went to a trampline party, which used to be really cool, but now that we have one in the yard, it isn't quite as exciting.  She did get to hang with her friends which is a huge bonus.  K had a swim party!  It was his first party with his friends and he was bursting with excitement.  He wasn't so sure about swimming, but once we got there, he was fine.  It was quite entertaining to watch him with his school friends at the party and then again when he saw them at school after the party.

Valentine's day snuck up on me this year and I was trying to think of something really thoughtful to get Ryan and nothing was coming to mind.  We are low budget these days and watching our calories since we are going to Maui in a month, so we exchanged cards :o).  I got a free Redbox movie and we enjoyed a quiet night.  The kids loved sharing Valentine cards with their classmates and I was able to help out in Ainsley's class for her party :o).  Look at the concentration....

Goldilocks....Ainsley's class is doing a play next month and she has been talking quite a bit about being Goldilocks-she was very nervous.  I was sure she was misunderstanding because she doesn't really have the personality to get up in front of people and have such a key part.  But, last week she and another student tried out and she did her song in front of her class and actually seemed excited that she might actually be Goldilocks.  Who knew???  I asked her if she was worried about it and she said, "Not anymore."  I'm not sure if she will get chosen, but it was a huge confidence booster for her.  She is really having to come out of her shell these days.  We have been selling girl scout cookies and it has forced her to talk to adults and she has been doing great :o).
We had a four day weekend this week and Friday we picked grandpa up from the airport.  He and Ryan got busy getting supplies and working on framing the bathroom of the Casita.  It has been going really quickly and hopefully, the couple challenges we have will come together quickly (we bought a Neo-angle glass enclosure that doesn't quite fit).  The electrician is there today and when he is done, they should be able to drywall and then it will be close to a functional living space.  Reggie has been very intrigued by all that is going on and has been tagging along on the boys' adventures to pick up supplies and see how things are done.  He's even offered up his advice on fixing some of their issues!
Cutting the tile...

Laying the tile.....

Funny story.....my dad never wears a seat belt and it finally caught up with him.  On the way back from Lowe's today, they got pulled over!  He made up some excuse about his incision scar from his recent lung incident and the cop wasn't buying it....made him put the seat belt on to see if it even hit that spot and of course, it didn't.  You can imagine what Reggie and Ryan were thinking watching this circus!!!  He tried to get out of the car to show the cop his scar and he kept saying don't get out of the car!  He said he'd never heard an excuse quite like that and for some reason he gave him a stern warning (probably because if I remember right, the driver gets the ticket for a passenger with no seat belt, and I'm sure he felt terrible for Ryan).  Ryan has been having way too many close calls with policemen lately.  He got pulled over last week for going 60 in a 35!!!  I can't believe he only got a warning, but it probably was because he recognized the cop from a cub scout tour of the police station.  God is good :o).