She's famous! Well, not really...

Maria came home months ago, so excited that one of her works had been chosen to be displayed in an artshow at Oswego College.  Last Friday was the opening reception for the show, called "Generations III"

Did I want to drive 2 hours round-trip to look at something that Maria would bring home later and show me anyway?  Not necessarily...but c'mon, her art was part of an artshow  - it just seemed so official and all (something I never accomplished, that's for darn sure), and she had been excited about this for months - how could we not go and make a little bit of a fuss? 

So we packed up the family and drove out to good ole' Oswego.

Here is a picture of the invitation we got to the event.  When we got there, there were trays of cookies, tropical punch, fresh fruit & veggies, tortilla chips, and spinach artichoke dip.  I'm not sure which the kids were more excited about - seeing Maria's artwork, or the refreshments.  Actually, I'm fairly certain it was the latter.

And here is Miss Maria in front of her artwork displayed on the wall.  She was one of two students chosen from her school to participate.  There was artwork from schools from all over the area, and included work from kids in grade school, middle school, high school and even students from the art department at Oswego State.  We tried having the whole family in there for about 2 minutes (just long enough for everyone to get a peek at Maria's picture), but it became quite clear pretty quickly that this was NOT a place for our Edward.  So Maria and I walked around and enjoyed the art while Lou kept the other two indians crazy out in the lobby, (I'm pretty sure they were doing chariot races in Edward's stroller...). 

Here's a shot of her picture up close.  She did some sort of funky stamping thing with a sponge to make the fish, and the rest was just free-hand.  I don't know that I'd call her the next Monet or anything, but I thought it was pretty neat.  I thought the whole "I'm gonna eat you" was a bit odd, but hey, that's Maria's sense of humor for ya. ;)

So it was neat to see her work up there on the wall all "official-like".  Her teacher was there to congratulate her and take some pictures with her, and Maria was so proud (and so were we!).

There are parts of Maria's personality that remind me a lot of myself, but it's been really cool to see her grow up and have some parts of her that are nothing like me - things that are all her - like her love of art and her fascination with science.  Good stuff. :)  

The one day it snowed this winter...

My sister says that I don't post enough about my kids.  Fair enough.  I probably should do it more often.  I've never wanted this to be a blog that is all about "hey, look how amazing and adorable my kids are", so I guess I've been a little TOO careful in that department, because Aunt Adria tells me that she is not getting her fill of her nieces and nephews. 

So, Adria, here's some photos of the family.  This winter, it snowed ONE TIME that gave us enough to go sledding in (yes, it snowed some other times, but was usually melted by mid-day).  Thank goodness Lou and I took the kids sledding that day - little did we know it would be our one and only chance.

Just a couple of pictures of Edward playing in the snow while he was waiting for Lou to finish getting ready. 

 "See this snow?  I think I should eat it"

 "Mmmm...yummy..."

 Lou and Edward

(sidenote:  I love this sled - it's an old-fashioned runner sled with a canvas backing, so the child doesn't fall backwards out of the sled, and a nylon strap with a buckle that goes around their waist so they stay in place)

Why do some little kids repeatedly take their mittens off when they are outside and then cry that their hands are cold?  It seems pretty obvious to me that if they don't want cold hands, they shouldn't take their mitttens off!  This concept is lost on Edward, and here is one of the many times that Lou helped put his mittens back on.

ZOOM! 

It was a great time had by all.  I was huffing and puffing a little more than usual, as trucking up a snow-covered hill was more than a little challenging at 4 1/2 months pregnant, but it was worth it.

Goodbye, crappy, gyp (sp?) or a winter.  You really sucked this year.  I'm glad we got at least one decent snowfall to go sledding (my girls look forward to playing/sledding in the snow ALL YEAR LONG), but seriously, I expected more out of you.  Better luck next year, I suppose...