The heat has been off in our building for nearly 2 months now and my boss Rikk is about to lose his marbles. He bought everyone in the lab a space heater in December and I am still using mine daily. Outside it is about 50.... inside is another story. Oh yeah, hi everyone. We were very disappointed to miss the NYC crowd at Christmas time, but we managed to have a fantastic visit with dad and Kath, and Jim's mom(!) in Orland. And, although the weather was a baking 2 degrees most days, we didn't feel too cooped up staying indoors for 6 days. No snowmen to be had- but Finn found enough dirty city snow near the Planetarium to make a few snowballs for Jim's head. Finnster turned 5 on Jan 17th--we had a Pirate themed party for him at a local park (15 4-5 year olds and their parents!). It was a great success, and the crowning glories were a buried treasure dig we had in the sand (I had hidden ~800 pounds of plastic jewels, necklaces, and gold coins while setting up for the party), and a pirate ship that Jim and I made out of a refrigerator box from my lab (fully equipped with mast, sails, movable steering wheel, nets, anchor, and inflatable parrot). Many of the kids spent 3/4ths of the party in it (pictures to come later- you'll have to coach me on how to upload digital images to the site). We are still trying to manuver around the piles of gifts he received from the event. At least he has agreed to getting rid of older toys to make room for the new stuff. Yahoo! I head to Chicago next week for my granny's 90th birthday extravaganza. Looking forward to seeing cousins I barely know anymore. The price you pay when you move far from the nest. I should probably bring a coat and gloves...hmmm. March plans include a research cruise for Jim and a meeting in southern Cal (Redlands, yuck) for me. I do not know Finn's schedule for that month yet. :) Finn starts pee-wee baseball in April and continues to take swim lessons now. He is a busy guy. The door is always opened for a visit... come see us. Happy Valentines Day Carrie & family |