1.05.2009

Back to the old grindstone...

Well, Shane's vacation has come to an end all too quickly. We all enjoyed having him home to visit and spend time with. It's nice, though, to return to the rhythm of our days as the school year continues. And as Shane pointed out, there are only six more weeks until his next break! We really do love the public school schedule!
While Shane was home we decided to embark on an ambitious venture- bathing Barkley! The poor dog hasn't received nearly enough attention since Nora's birth, um, eighteen months ago, so we decided to give him a luxurious spa day. Unfortunately, I don't think dogs always understand that you're trying to pamper them when bath time rolls around.It doesn't really show in the pictures, but I think he might have actually liked it. Or, at least he didn't hate it. He stood still the entire time and let me towel him dry. Of course, as soon as we opened the bathroom door he bounded out to go sulk and lick his paws.
Once Barkley was brushed and trimmed we headed outside for a walk. The sun was just setting over the horizon and looked gorgeous with the trees silhouetted against it.
We returned home and spent the evening playing with our new Christmas toys- Nora with her doll, monkey, stroller and bed, me with my new flash and Shane with his copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
It only took Nora a few minutes to realize she could use the bed, too.

Of course, once that novelty had worn off, she decided to test out her muscles.
I was impressed.
Here's a random picture of the stir-fry I made for dinner.
Looks lovely and delicious, doesn't it?
A few days later we took Nora on a trip to Bangor where we met up with some friends and their daughter and all visited The Discovery Museum. The museum is geared towards kids of all ages; in fact, I think I might have had almost as much fun as Nora.
We spent a good amount of time in the 'cafe', where Nora and her friend cooked us up some lovely treats, including soup, tiramisu and lobster.
Nora was too short for the kitchen, so we let her work on the counter.
Hey, equality for all, right?
After the visit to the musuem we made a quick stop to visit Nanny at her work, then headed over to our friend's house to continue our visit, have dinner and play a trivia game about The Office. We all had a great time, but I got my butt seriously kicked. I obviously don't watch enough television.
The next night was New Year's Eve, and believe it or not, I only have one picture from the whole night. When Kalen and Nora get together, things get just a bit chaotic, and more often than not I don't get around to taking any pictures. Actually, you're lucky there's even a kid in this picture, but we just couldn't resist when Wylie fell asleep nursing- on my chin! What a cutie.
It was so nice to welcome in the new year with both my sisters (that hasn't happened in a long time!) and all the kids. Happy 2009, everyone!

7 comments:

Ashleigh Garrett Long said...

I see how it is.....turns out you forgot I was a sister:( c-h-i-c-a-g-o- awaits you guys....it's your turn! PS....I NEED a Barkley.

Caitlyn said...

Chicago? Where's Chicago? Do we know anyone there??? Just kidding!! We must visit, I know! Now we just have to find the cash-ola....

Ashleigh Garrett Long said...

Oh! and PS...i saw "Lars and the real girl" on your movienight wishlist-Don't rent it! I thought it was gonna be great, and by the end, you will just be creeped out and mad you wasted 2 hours! BUT, if you do/did watch it-lemme know your opinion, b/c it starts out promising.

Anonymous said...

Ahh I disagree. I LOVED Lars and the Real Girl. It was kinda weird, but a neat story! I also love anything related to psychology, so it was really interesting to me. =]

Caitlyn said...

Okay, now I definitely need to see the movie- some controversy!

Ashleigh Garrett Long said...

ohhhh snaaaap! lol, hayley-here's the true test-ever seen "blueberry nights?" that, i must say, was the world's worst movie...if you liked this movie, I will laugh at your comment knowing it was poor movie taste, however if you agree, I will re-watch and re-consider:)

Anonymous said...

Haha I've never even heard of "Blueberry Nights!" It sounds kind of terrible... Maybe I should watch it just for laughs.