Adventures in Photoshop

Jordan has been playing around with Photoshop lately...

Jordan waving from the ceiling

Alyssa holding her little sister

Mom chowing down on a moon pie

Good Grief! Another Snow Day??

In the 11+ years we've lived here, I can't remember ever getting snow three different times in the same winter. And definitely not as late as March. Sadly, the school calendar wasn't prepared for such an event, and the kids will now be in school on Memorial Day. But at least we got enough snow (4-5 inches) to make it worth it... maybe.

Alyssa takes the first trip down to clear the slide.

Courtney attacks the photographer.

Jordan knew Jason would be out later to shovel the driveway and carefully stockpiled a supply of snowballs in advance...

...then launched an attack from the porch.

Jason is not one to ignore a challenge, and a pretty good snowball fight ensued. Not sure there was a clear victor.

Typical North Carolina, though, by the end of the week, it was 78 degrees, and we all got sunburned at the kids' soccer games that weekend.

There's a Deacon in our House!

Jordan was ordained a deacon last Sunday and passed the sacrament for the first time today. It's been a special (and emotional) two Sundays as I've watched him reach these milestones in his life. He is an amazing kid, and it's been indescribably wonderful to see how excited he's been about turning 12.

Happy Birthday, Jordan!

Jordan turned 12!! (Not sure how that many years have passed that quickly, but somehow it happened.) The weekend of his birthday, Jordan invited a few friends over for a birthday sleepover. There were lots of pictures taken - especially during dinner, as they tried to outdo each other with their antics - but here are the highlights...

Jordan chugging directly from the Pepsi bottle. Only allowed on birthdays...

Jordan has had these same friends over for several years now, and we always have a picture in this pose! His friends unanimously agreed he was a lot heavier than last year.

My personal favorite: One of Jordan's gifts was a set of Nerf dart guns (which were immediately ripped open and unleashed on our home). After they'd been running around for awhile, I told them to pose with their guns so I could take a picture. Chris had a different set of guns in mind... =)

The birthday cake

Here he is a few days later with a panful of brownies on his actual birthday.

The obligatory now-you're-a-deacon birthday tie...

And here's what he really wanted for his birthday! Concerts available upon request.

Last Call for the Polo Shirt

I took this picture Sunday morning before church to mark the end of an era. By the time next Sunday rolls around, Jordan will be 12 and will be required to don a white shirt and tie...forever more. Given the look on his face, you are safe to assume this is not something he is looking forward to.

A Fond Farewell to Betta

One day last June, near the end of the school year, the phone rang. I was surprised to hear Jordan on the other end, calling from school. The situation was dire. The class Betta fish (creatively named "Betta") had no place to go once the school year was over. "Can we keep him, Mom?"

We had already cared for said fish over Spring Break, and since we had found him to be an agreeable little fish, I consented. (Not to mention a fish is easier, cheaper, and cleaner than a dog, and I secretly hoped this fish might count as a pet.) Jordan and his sisters were thrilled. A bigger tank, some tank accessories, and a new electrical outlet later, Betta was settled into our home.

Sadly, about a month ago, Betta seemed to be in a funk. He gradually stopped eating and even swimming. Very pitiful. We finally consulted a nice employee at Petsmart who suspected the tank water had gotten too cool. Unfortunately, the advice (and the newly-purchased heater) came a little too late.

Happy ending: We now have a new Betta fish (creatively named "Betta Jr") swimming in a much warmer tank.

Geo-City Project

Now it was Alyssa's turn for a school project, and she was excited about doing it! Her class has been studying geometry this quarter, so the project was to design a "geo" city. In addition to her different geometric buildings (Cube Mall, the Cylinder Food Court, and Rectangular Prism McDonald's), she also had to include a quadrilateral park and playground, as well as roads of different sized angles (like Right Angle Way and Acute Lane). She worked hard on it, and it came out great!