Well, we now have our first child who can ride a bike without training wheels, and her name is Aspen. (I have to admit, there were times I thought Oakley might be first.)
Oakley put on a great performance yesterday as part of her dance recital. Pictures and video are likely to follow, but I couldn't wait to show the proud dancer after the show. Elements of tap and ballet were on display, as was my very competent, mature little girl. Great job, Oak.
OK, a retrospective for you. As I go through old pictures occasionally, I like to post ones that catch my eye. This one, from April 2004, certainly did. Check out the little smirk... it is just so Oakley.
Alright, so Aspen made a mistake today. She actually got a check mark on a paper from school today... she hadn't completed it correctly during class. Mind you, most of the students are bringing home stuff regularly, Aspen almost never has homework.
But, Aspen got in the car today and immediately said, "Ms. Pullen marked my paper wrong. She wrote what she should wrote on someone else's on mine." We were confused... So when Jenn checked out her paper, it was apparent that Aspen had lied... it was a problem with Aspen's paper.
Well, Aspen got in trouble for the lie, and immediately broke down crying, knowing that she was wrong. Jenn informed Aspen that "Mommy and Daddy are really smart. We will always know if you're lying."
All of this is precursor to dinner, where I first learned of it.
Jenn: Aspen, tell Daddy what happened today. Aspen: I lied today, Daddy. Tim: About what, honey? Aspen: My work at school. {we talked about that a bit, and then, the kicker...} Oakley: I used to lie a lot. But now I'm better.
My question... is Oakley implying that she is reformed? Or that she has improved her ability to lie?!
That's right, it's time to plant some seeds. This year, the source is Uncle Brian, who gave Aspen a collection of seeds for her birthday. We'll be sure to keep you updates if, er, I mean, when the seeds become plants...
Alright, this video is long-ish and unedited, but it has some great shots of Aspen playing soccer. We just had our last game with this team over the weekend and Aspen played her typical game. Aspen is not the one scores a lot of goals, but she is a high effort player who is really quite good and stopping goals, hustling, and kicking the ball hard. She's number 7...
Last fall, we had a visit from a photographer with thoughts of including our house in a book. Well, our doubts have passed and our pictures have been published. The book is widely available now, including several pictures from our house, and we were just pictured in the Living section of the Tennessean. Check it out here.
Lindy was playing with a baby doll tonight, and then she dropped it. She quickly went over to pick it up, making a face expressing real concern. I asked her, "Lindy, is your baby OK? What do you say to the baby?" Her response? A vigorous... MOOO!
I've been reading too many blogs today... it's got me feeling like I need to inject some random flavor here...
So, green power. Our electic company offers a green power program, and, while I'd been avoiding it for a while, I checked it out today. If the website is to believed (a valid concern), then the $8 extra per month that I've agreed to pay will have the same impact as not driving a car for 4 months. Me, I think that's pretty impressive. Al Gore apparently agrees, having purchased 108 blocks (to my two).
Other relevant items... I rode my bike home from work today. 10 miles in about 36 minutes. I ride it back in the morning, thereby limiting my riding (a good thing in my mind). Still, I think it's kind of cool. We'll see how long it lasts... as many of you know, my attention span is somewhat limited.
And, a last related item... We had leeks for dinner (with some other stuff). If you put goat cheese and bacon with anything, it becomes good.
Last night, we had a nice dinner, including some guacamole that Jenn made. As it should, it had a fair amount of garlic in it. Jenn had to leave soon after dinner, and just before she left, she said, "Wow, my breath is bad." This conversation ensued after her departure.
Aspen: Now Mommy is distinctive. Tim: What? Aspen: Mommy is distinctive. Tim: What do you think that means, Aspen? Aspen: You know, when all the animals die off? Tim: Um, yeah, that's extinct.
We then proceded to clarify the difference between distinctive, extinct, and stink.
Oakley: When I get made at myself, I say, "I stink."
