Spring has Sprung and Mt. Monadnock

Hello!

It has been a little while... The kids had a sort of "spring break" last week. We get a week off school in February, and a week off school in April. I'm not quite sure what to call either break.

Good News, though: Spring has sprung! I know, the rest of the world thinks "spring" starts in March. If you think that in New England, you are slightly delusional.

I have been layering and freezing for the past 6 months. Now, mid-April, I can finally say I am not freezing anymore! Ha.

At any rate, spring is absolutely gorgeous. I just love it! Everywhere I drive and walk, flowers are blooming and trees are blossoming. Even in our front yard. I took some spring photos, starting with our yard:

These yellow forsythia bushes are everywhere here.

Another highlight of last week was our hike up Mt. Monadnock, in New Hampshire. Not the highest or longest hike we've taken, of course, but it was a pretty decent workout! I was huffing and puffing-wait, I thought I was in shape--while the kids pretty much jogged up the mountain. 2 miles each way, with about an 1800-foot increase in elevation.

From the top, on a clear day, you can see 100 miles. It was a little hazy, but otherwise a perfect hiking day. Here's Kara with Frank taking pictures...you can see it was a popular hiking day. We are certainly not "alone" up at the top...

Here's our whole group, it was a little windy up there...

And here's David on the way down: the rest of us were too slow for him, so he would have to stop and wait for us...

Spring is a great season for hiking! Of course, upon returning to help at the school library Monday, I talked to a mom who mentioned New Hampshire, Maine and Black Fly season... nasty, little tiny critters that eat you alive if your timing is wrong.

Luckily we missed it by a month, since they come out in May and June. (It seems like someone always informs me of creepy-crawlies to watch out for here.)

New England is lush, green, and full of life--much of that life, however, I would rather learn about from afar, or from the Internet. Not up-close! Ha!

Here is a shot of a rotting log that I liked on the way down.

Have a great week! Kari

Easter, Rain and Extravagant Purchases

Hello!

I am finally back to feeling human again, BTW! I took my last yukky, nauseating antibiotic pill yesterday. Anyone who did not know my lip was swollen before, would not notice now. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, see previous blog entry.) AND: even though the medicine made me sick to my stomach, I am so relieved and grateful for antibiotics I can't even begin to tell you.

Easter was lovely! 2 days before that, on Good Friday, this neighborhood has a tradition of having an Egg Hunt/Amazing Race, where the kids look for eggs first. Then, they team up with different aged kids on each team (the kids ranged from pre-school to 8th grade), to find clues and work as a team on sports or goofy tasks involving all team members. It was really well-planned and fun! Here is "the group."

The day after, it rained and rained. I tried to capture the pouring rain, but it's so hard to catch it with still photography. Take my word for it, it is raining hard! Here are the kids playing in it, down the street a little ways; I was not willing to take the camera out in it, so this photo is taken from our living room.

And lastly, I spent 3 hours in Firestone yesterday, while they put on new tires and new brakes!

I am including photos because after you choke down paying THAT much money for something, you sure want to have something to SHOW for it...??!?! So, here are 2 photos of our tires, sorry I didn't also get photos of the new brakes.

If you look at the close-up, the tire still has those little rubber needle-looking skinny pieces all around the outside. See? Brand-new!

(Some people show off new clothes or high-end electronics equipment. I give you...tires.)

Happy Weekend coming up! Kari :)

Botox

It has been a weird few days, kind of like the Twilight Zone for me...

Last Wed. night (wow, it's really been a week) I got an infection, and my lower lip swelled up really big! I was so sure it would be back down soon...

I was on antibiotics all weekend, and...no change, so I went back Monday and they said, hmmm, if it's a staph infection, amoxicillan won't touch it. So they changed my antibiotic. Meanwhile the constant pressure on my fat lip was so painful it made me queasy, and it takes 24-48 hours for the new antibiotic to "kick in." What miserable days/nights, Monday & Tuesday were.

BUT. Last night around 9 p.m., I felt less pressure on the lip. A good sign.

At any rate, it's huge, infected, sore...all-around unpleasant for me, of course, but also for anyone who looks at me. It's very embarrassing--I have my hand up over my mouth most of the time. It looks (and feels) really bad.

Frank says we should blindfold me so you don't know who it is, take a picture and show it to the youth at church: "BOTOX GONE AWRY."

Instead of grossing you out with a photo of MY lip, I'll include a photo of one of my favorite full-lipped actresses, all eccentricities cast aside:

(Multiply her lower lip by maybe two for size comparison...)

Such are the inconveniences of life! :)

Green Cake and Pianos

Hello--

I came back from a lovely, fast weekend...in Toronto! Frank had a conference (he's still there, actually) that overlapped my birthday. So he suggested that I join him for the weekend, for a change of scenery and a birthday treat weekend. It's amazing how many details you have to arrange for, when you're only going to be gone 48 hours...but it was so much fun!

We toured the city on one of those hop-on-hop-off buses. Frank still has the camera with him, so I can't post Toronto photos until next week or so. But upon my return, after a day full of airports and flying, I was greeted with:












A serenade of "Happy Birthday" by my kids, and...a GREEN and PURPLE HEART CAKE! Yes, I think not many people can boast receiving this gift. :) Thank you so much to David, Teresa, and Kara, and to my other happy birthday well-wishers!

(And yes, it really was green inside):








Then last night was Kara & David's first piano recital. They have taken lessons over the past years, but we have never participated in recitals (their past teachers just didn't do them, for whatever reasons). It can be a little nerve-wracking, playing in front of other people, but they both did an excellent job with their pieces.

Here is Kara with their teacher:

Great job, David and Kara!

It's Fine to be Nine and Chile

Hola!

Frank returned from his last trip, yippee! He has been in Chile and Argentina for 9 days. He's hiring a manager down there so he'll be going back to interview possible candidates, again next month. Anyway it's SO nice to have him here.

Last week was Kara's birthday--NINE, can you believe it! Sometimes other people's kids stay young in your mind, because you don't see them much. I still have her pegged at 5 or 6 years old, and I LIVE with her! Something about how adorable kids are in kindergarten, I guess, and I wanted her to stay in that grade! (She still brightens my day. She's just bigger now.)

We had a fun afternoon with some of her friends from school, playing goofy relay games outside. Run with a balloon between your elbows and sit on it to pop it...













keep an M&M on the end of a straw, run with it and drop it in the bowl at the other end of the deck...








balloon volleyball...

It was a beautiful afternoon, but don't be fooled by the sunshine. It was still super cold! The kids look outside at a sunny day, and think they can put on their swimsuits. It's only 40 degrees, for Pete's sake! One of the games was an egg toss, and the plastic Easter eggs we used had water in them. "Can we have a water fight?" one of the girls asks. I'm standing in the sun, shivering, and she wants a water fight...sigh... Then we piled into cars to go to "Plaster Fun Time," where the girls could choose ceramics and paint them. Here is Kara:

and also Teresa and Frank concentrating on Teresa's cobra:

Kara has a talent for getting along with a lot of different kinds of people. She also notices when someone is sad, and tries to make them happy.

She's an example to me, of what kind of a friend I should be.

It is FINE to be NINE!

Kara's Party Group

Happy Birthday, Frank!

Frank's Big Day was last Tuesday. Thanks for the cards, BTW! We went to dinner the weekend before with 2 fun couples. At the END of this month, he and I will have a combination b-day jaunt to Toronto, where he is attending a conference. For now, here is some alliteration in his honor:




Fantastic Father
Funny
Friend
Fast
(our) Favorite
Finally Forty (I've been waiting patiently for him to "catch up").






Ready (for almost anything)
Reserved
Rested
Romantic (sometimes :) )
Real (see "The Velveteen Rabbit").







Adventurous
Appreciative
Amiable
Awake
Approachable.








Nature-lover
Neat
Nice
Notices (details).










Kind
Knowledgeable
(3) Kids
Kaleidoscope (of personality and emotion)
Kari's.



We love you, Sweetie!