Life Lately

Recently Olivia enjoyed her first International Fair at school. This is a huge event at school where they choose 2 countries and transform the school into those countries.  This year's choices were New Zealand and Peru.  Matt and I volunteered in New Zealand and It. Was. Amazing!  The time, effort, planning and forethought that went into this event was unbelievable and it was such a fantastic experience for the kids.

The week started with a parade of countries

And then throughout the week, each class got to visit New Zealand and Peru

In preparation for the event, Olivia had to choose an animal from one of the countries, learn about it, write 2 facts and create the animal out of a paper bag.  She chose the scarlet macaw from Peru.  The decision on which animal to choose was aided by an "animal draft" courtesy of Matt Dean. I was happy when the macaw won because I knew I'd be the one helping her make it!

She had a very specific plan in her head of how it should look...

And luckily we were able to make reality match!

Eric's school project for Valentine's day wasn't quite as precise..

Eric's latest trick is that he has learned how to push himself into a sitting position from laying down and how to pull-up.  So nap time has been made a bit more challenging...

And we FINALLY sold Queensbury!  

It was a little bitter-sweet for me.  Although we were happy it sold, that was our first home, the one where we learned how to be homeowners and frankly, where we learned how to be married; it was where we brought Olivia home to and where we began our journey as parents.  I hope its new owners love it as much as we did.

And most recently, we were lucky enough to have a visit from Aunt Jill.  It was easy and snuggly and low-key -- exactly what we all needed!  We filled our days with reading, art projects, movie watching and baby cuddling.  

And after the kids went to bed, we continued our tradition of ordering in sushi while we delve deep into solving the problems of the world...(with sparking rose/pink lemonade)