Abe's 47th Birthday

I was recently made aware of a new arts and crafts material-- wicky sticks?  Have you ever heard of them?  They are wax-covered yarn and can be twisted and molded and they stick to themselves.  Greta got some for Christmas and the kids have enjoyed them immensely.  And although I will not speak ill of pearler beads because they have provided our family with many peaceful hours over the years, please note that wicky sticks are very easy to clean up-- BONUS!!

Peter has been filming a series of episodes with his spaceships and aliens.  As of today, there are four episodes-- all of which feature the same characters and basic storyline.  However, each episode is longer than the previous one and I understand less of what is going on than I did before.   

A recent double date with our dear friends, the Johansens.  They are so wonderful and we had such a lovely time.  Michelle is definitely one of my mentors and her example and friendship have been invaluable to me for many years.

I don't think this picture needs a lot of explanation.  I will only say, that for all her sweetness and agreeableness, you probably don't want to get on Faith's bad side.  This is a homemade safe she made out of a cardboard box and a lockbox, which Faith filled with her protein drinks and Gatorade.  She keeps it in the fridge outside, and, to the best of her knowledge, has thus far been left undisturbed.

Over the years we've developed a tradition of hideous birthday cakes.  This wasn't our original intention, but my lack of skills led to some real doozies, and now it's sort of a thing to just full send the ugly cake.  This year Elinor baked it and Bethany decorated it.  If you can't tell, it's basically a portrait of Abe for his 47th birthday-- complete with rosy cheeks and a beard.  You see it, right?

Last Sunday we celebrated his birthday because the weeks are so full and the chances of getting us all together mid-week is slim to none-- and slim's out to lunch.  (A favorite saying of my high school government teacher-- Coach Caughlin)  

But the chances are much better to get everyone together on Sunday evening.  It is a joy to get to all be together.   

He and I did go out to lunch together on January 25th, to celebrate, not only his birthday, but the 25th anniversary of the day we got engaged.   That was a very good decision.