LVS Field Trip

We took a field trip to Topeka with Jacob's school group last Friday. We toured the Brown vs. Board of Education Bldg. and the Kansas State Capitol Bldg. The definite highlight of the trip was scaling to the top of the Capitol Dome. I don't think a wild roller coaster ride is even as nerve-wracking and crazy as this!!!! The object in the foreground is the TOP of the Inner Dome of the bldg....I had no idea it was like this. I thought the inner dome was as high as it went. Was I in for a shock!
However: we came~we saw~we conquered! Hooray for us! It was a FUN adventure that neither of us will soon forget.

Finally some SNOW!

What crazy winter weather we have had this year! Up and down and all around. For the most part, it has been unseasonably warm. But, we finally had some NORMAL winter weather at the dead end of February, and got about 3 inches of snow and some freezing temps to go with it. We enjoyed the day by going sledding at Cleveland. We lasted one hour, but who's counting? Brrr!

Cub Scout Stuff

This year at the Pinewood Derby, Jacob got an award for "The Scariest" car! We were especially proud this year that he designed and made his car (aka: the"Black Widow")all by himself...98% anyway(mom helped a little with the drill and weights.) Good job Jacob!

There were many awards for our boys at this year's Blue and Gold Banquet.

As always, our boys enjoyed the spotlight. They performed a couple of skits all by themselves.

The big news of our night was that Jacob completed his Bear badge, and now gets to join ranks with his buddy Carson in Webolos! Look out Ashlee: these boys just might change your life! :-)

Another birthday....

I couldn't have asked for more this birthday....I didn't have to do ANY cooking! My sweet, sweet girls made BREAKFAST for me, and it was such a heartwarming surprise. Then, for dinner, my sister and sister-in-law took over! (We are still talking about that AWESOME salad!!!) Top it all off with chocolate almond ice cream, German chocolate cake and people I love to share it with, and my day was complete! Thank you SOOOO much guys! And an added thanks to my extra-special friends who did very sweet things to totally make me feel loved this birthday: Patti, Katie, RaDawn and Judy and Sandy! Your thoughtfulness means so much to me.

(And an added blessing to this birthday is: I'm NOT 40 yet!!!!)

Just call me "Bruiser"

Red, yellow, green and purple!
The many colors of "ouch!"
This was taken quite a few days after Levi biffed it on a ledge...the pictures don't do the owie justice... He barely kept from cracking his nut wide open, and he sported a king-sized knot for days! Even now, weeks later, he still has a small horizontal bump and slight bruise! He certainly wins our family "Biggest Goose-Egg" Award. Poor, sweet (tough) baby!

Classy Occasion

(Click on picture to enlarge)

What a CLASSY occasion the Cleveland Chiropractic College Winter Formal was this year. Everyone looked so nice. Everything looked so nice...even dinner was beautiful. We went with and hung out mostly with our friends from our"Villa" family: the Sheffer's, Dunlap's, Peyton's, Wilstead's, and Potter's! Shortly after the dancing started, we all realized how grown up and mature we really are when the DJ played song after song that was way too fast and loud for our taste (Not ONE country two-step for me!) Regardless, the classy table settings, the classy food, and the very classy friends all made the Forred's last Winter Formal the BEST ever.

Her Happy Place

The Hair. The Dress. The Shoes. The Neck Ribbon (which gave her some trouble.) All chosen carefully and donned with creative imagination. Katie is growing so fast; the Tinker Bell dress will soon need to move on to a younger friend. All too soon, she will be tending to all her fashion needs and wants--- all by herself ---all the time. (She would NOW if she had her own money!) I've discovered that this perch on the bathroom toilet is one of Katie's more frequent hang-outs lately (...I wonder where she'd go if I moved that mirror?) She loves to preen and "gock" at herself to achieve the "perfect" look she has in mind; the vanity issue may need to be addressed some day. But, for now, I love to peek in and watch her being so expressive. So creative. So proud of another one of her creations. Her happy place.