The King

We recently watched "Where the Wild Things Are." I thought it was quite good; Dem not so much. In any case, we may have a little Max on our hands.

Let's hope he doesn't terrorize the dog.

Dem's Birthday Cake

Dem had a rather interesting request for her birthday cake this year: shortcake. (Note: Dem's birthday was a while ago, but we're trying to catch up on our blogging, so here we are. A day late and a dollar short.) Here's what Elliot and I came up with:

Not a traditional choice, but darn tasty.

Tea Party Festivities

A couple months ago, we went to the local tea party. We've been to three thusfar, and all have been pretty standard political rallies. Elliot's always a big hit at these things. By the way, he still has the flag.

Sun Beep!

Elliot has been learning a number of children's hymns in nursery. The cutest, by far, is, "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam," which Elliot pronounces "sunbeep." Check out this wonderful little rendition.

Roy Poster

Keeping with the "Dem is about to quit teaching, so let's have some blog posts on her experiences" theme, here's a poster her kids at Roy gave her. The girl who made this, Erin Western, now makes wedding cakes -- good ones too.

End of an Era

This is Demaree's last week teaching public school. She's taught middle and high school choir for five years. She's enjoyed it (partly because she's darn good at it), although it takes a toll after a while. Since Dem's going back to school to get her doctorate in vocal performance, this week is, indeed, the end of an era. Here are some pictures from Dem's last teaching days.

Housing options

Elliot and I just spent a few days looking at possible housing. After discussing things, Dem and I have narrowed the field to three options. For anyone reading, let us know your thoughts.

Option #1: This is a small floor duplex five minutes from Dem's building at the university. Two bedrooms with a den/small room. Gorgeous neighborhood. Small, old kitchen.

Option #2: This is a top-floor condo 15 minutes from the university. 3 bedroom 2 bath. 1500 square feet. Near shopping, but close to a relatively busy street. Nice views of the mountains.

Option #3: This is a house in about 15 to 17 minutes from the university. About 1400-1500 square feet. Two car garage. Small kitchen. No dining room. Nice, quiet neighborhood. Cheapest of the three options, by about $200.

Like Father Like Son

I, Marco, have a confession to make: I drink milk from the jug. Always have. Always will. I often blame this habit on my mother (she does the same), but in reality I do it because it's convenient. Well, turns out Elliot has the same penchant for jug drinkin'. Guess the apple never falls far from the tree, even when the apple and the tree share no common genetic material.

Elliot's New Suits

We finally broke down a while ago and bought Elliot a couple suits for church. They even have little clip-on ties, which are rockin'. Needless to say, he looks great in them.

The Brushing of the Teeth

Brushing is one of those skills Elliot has yet to master. Usually, he just sucks the toothpaste from the brush and asked for more. In light of this, we end up helping him out. He does pretty well for about thirty seconds, and after that he gets bored and tries to close his mouth. Here are some pics.

Mother's Day

Today is the day we all celebrate those who gave life to us, and then, amazingly, stuck with us through childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood, all without taking our lives in the process. Praise be to mothers of all stripes.

We began Mother's Day as is our wont: with breakfast in bed. This year's permutation consisted of quiche Lorraine, cinnamon rolls with cream cheese and orange butter frosting, and a fruit salad tossed with lemon juice and honey. Here are pictures of the cinnamon rolls, which turned out quite well.

After breakfast, there was a mad dash to church, followed by a lazy afternoon filled with a walk and numerous episodes of "Prison Break." It was just the kind of lazy day Dem both needed and deserved.

Singin' in the hail

Here's a fun little video of Elliot in his first hail storm.