The Kassel Family Project Life 365

A hazard of having kids and kids having friends is that they are powerful, little germ factories.  One of the many little germ factories shared.  I have a cold.  I feel almost like I am floating when I walk.  Ugh.  So much for getting back on my 10-Minute Trainer schedule.  Maybe tomorrow…

Dad and Marilyn have been here for the past two days.  The main reason was to watch the grandkids for two days while Laura was on Spring Break, but one of the other reasons was to bring me “the clock with the chimes.”  My Grandpa Otto made this clock and it was always the clock with the chimes for me.  When I would stay at my grandparent’s house when I was growing up, I would wake up each morning to the sound of the chimes.  I loved that sound.  Just loved it!  I could not wait to be woken up by the sound of the chimes.  As a little kid, the fact that Grandpa made the clock was beyond my comprehension.  I could have cared less.  What mattered was that the sound of the chimes meant I got to see my grandparents.  A few years ago, my Dad asked if there was anything in their house that I really wanted.  There was no hesitation.  My answer was the clock with the chimes.  The fact that Grandpa Otto made the clock holds a much more special meaning these days and, now, I have another small part of him and my Grandma Ruby in my house.  We will be placing the clock upstairs in our living room/dining room area.  Very soon, my family will be waking up to the sound of the chimes.  Despite his super rough exterior, I am sure that Grandpa Otto is looking down on our home and smiling because his great grandkids will be looking forward to the chimes every morning too.

While taking pictures off of Laura’s camera this evening, I came across this picture.  What a use of reflection!  When I told her that I loved it, she said, “I tried to do that Mom!”  I realize that she’s just messing around, but she really takes some interesting shots.  Maybe some day, she will take the photos for this blog…

…OK, so that is pure sarcasm right there.  We welcomed Spring with a snowstorm that produced between 8-10 inches of snow in Columbia.  It started overnight and we woke up to probably 4 inches of snow already on the ground.

Since Andy was in Evanston, IL, for a meeting, it was up to me to shovel the driveway.  Taking a page from his book, I shoveled the driveway early and then again a couple of hours later.  My first pass was at about 8 am and I removed between 4-5 inches of snow.  By the time I was done, the driveway was already covered over again.  I expected that, but I was very thankful for getting it done early.  The snow was extremely wet and heavy and my back would not have been able to handle 9-10 inches at one time.  I went out again about 10 am for a second pass and removed 3-4 inches of snow.  I’m glad I did because the driveway never covered over again.  Any snow that hit the driveway after my second pass melted pretty quickly.  Yay for no more shoveling!

Andy had the unfortunate task of driving from Evanston back to Columbia.  It’s normally a six-hour drive, but it took him almost eight hours.  He had to drive right through the heart of the storm in Illinois.  For a man from Chicago, Andy commented that it was probably the worst snowstorm that he had ever driven through.  We kept in touch throughout the day and I tracked his progress through Google Latitude.  Once he got to Missouri, the roads were relatively clear and he could drive normal speeds.  Throughout part of Illinois, he was driving 20-30 miles per hour on the Interstate.  Andy did mention that people were stopping along the road to clear off the front of their cars.  I wasn’t particularly surprised by this as snow does build up, but I wasn’t prepared for this…

Suffice it to say, we were all glad to see him make it home safely!  I think we all *might* be ready for a real Spring now though…

Hannah, one of Laura’s classmates, turned 7 and her birthday party was today at FlipzUSA Gymnastics.  Andy was out of town, which meant that John got to go too.  (Thanks Amy!)  All of the kids had a great time running around and playing.  I was reminded yet again of just how athletic John is.  He actually managed to do a complete flip on the trampoline and land on his feet.  My big surprise for the day was discovering that Laura has some serious balancing skills.  She was actually jumping on the balance beam without coming even close to losing her footing.  Maybe it’s time to get that girl into gymnastics!

After an hour on the gymnastics floor, it was upstairs for cake, ice cream, and presents!  John was disappointed that we had to leave the floor, but he was all good when I told him ice cream was on the agenda.  Laura and Sophie combined to get Hannah an outfit and a camping accessories set for her Our Generation dolls.  Hannah was so excited that she jumped a little when she saw them.  It was a great party and the kids had a blast!  Although now, both Laura and John are talking about their upcoming birthday parties…

One of Laura’s classmates, Annabelle, is over this evening enjoying a sleepover with Laura (and John).  The kids have been having a great evening of food, playing, coloring, music, dancing, and movies with popcorn!  Because it’s lights out at 10:30 tonight (well, ok, maybe I’ll bend to 11), the girls are jamming everything they can into the time they have!  Thanks to the Daffrons for letting Annabelle spend the night!  The girls are having a great time!

John’s preschool class painted butterflies to hang on their classroom wall.  John’s is a Black-veined White Butterfly.  He was very proud of his butterfly and couldn’t wait to show me.  As the name implies, the butterfly has a lot of white on it, and that doesn’t translate so well onto white paper.  Up close, you can see it all and it is really a great painting for a four-year old.

He also made me take a photo of all the butterflies so that Daddy could see them all together.  John said, “Mommy, I love my butterfly and so Daddy needs to see it and the rest of them!”