Seattle in Alaska

It's raining and will continue to rain on and off indefinitely, it turns out. In a way, that is reassuring. We have settled in for more house time instead of me feeling all monotonous and gloomy (with a cheery front) as my former blog revealed.

I turn my creativity off a bit when the weather is nice. We go outside and stick with the straightforward yet always delightful "picnic at the park (or lake)" when it's warm and sunny out. Then, the rain comes and I'm totally clueless about what to do with the kids.

For the record, I discovered today that I can make a paper airplane with ONE HAND! I am also the only parent to do such airplane-making right now, as Alex's work schedule is relentless and will not involve any days off for another week at least. Him working so much makes me appreciate just how much he plays with the kids and helps in the house when he isn't working. I miss him! He is such a tremendous husband and also my best friend.

Today, the children and I headed to church for a little air hockey and ping pong. I kind of wimped out and didn't set up the ping pong table---wasn't sure I could break it down again. Instead, we rallied without a table, which turned into a whole-room kind of game. Having a little rally back and forth with paddle and ball is quite satisfying. Noah and I felt rather smug, I tell ya. :)

Then, back to the house we went for a day at home. The kids played outside for at least four hours off and on. Then, two of our neighborhood friends came over (boys, ages 6 and 8) and played here for several hours. In the meantime, Zoya and I baked.

CHECK OUT THIS AWESOME BAKING DISH!



Alex's mom gave it to us! So every piece is like a corner piece with yummy edges. This was our first time using it. While pondering on the phone with my sis-in-law Jen the fat-free brownie mix seen in that photo, we thought that a little wiggle room permitted some marshmallows baked on top. Next time, I may also include chocolate chips and graham crackers. Here is the end product. Weird looking, as the box only made about half a pan. And the marshmallows got awfully distorted and brown. But yummy!

(Notice the marshmallow-less Daddy-area on the right. :) Turns out, he wanted the marshmallows but Wolfgang didn't.)