How a 2-car garage becomes a 1-car garage

It happens slowly, when you aren't looking.

You buy a 2nd refrigerator for the garage and have to move your tool storage around.

Now your bicycles have no where to be, so they are right up against the car.

Then, you get a little baseball equipment. Not much, but its easier to keep here at the house instead of taking it up to the field.

And maybe your microwave dies and you get a new one - and put the old one in the garage.

And maybe a few folding chairs, winter boots, deflated balls, roller skates, sidewalk chalk, moon sand, jump ropes, and other kids toys don't always make their way back to their storage place.

And before you know it, you only have room for 1 car! The other is in the driveway.

And to every single one of you laughing right now, I know who you are! :)

Tiny Toes Dance Academy

For the past couple of years, Emma has been taking a preschool-level dance class at a local dance studio - a teacher at the studio for older students has formed a dance school for preschool age.

Emma has taken ballet for several sessions and now has added in tap. I like that these are fun little classes, with no recital or costume pressure.



She'll start a regular ballet/tap class next year at the same studio that Samantha takes dance, and if I'm lucky, Samantha and Emma's classes will be at the same time on the same day!

Opening Day

Mike and I have been working tirelessly for months to help get our local Little League to the point we did this past Saturday - Opening Day.

I'll share more photos later - including hopefully a panoramic shot of all 609 players in 50 teams in the Opening Day parade. But for now, I wanted to share one photo of Michael in his uniform - he's on the AAA Red Sox.

This is probably one of the best photos I've taken (or had taken) of him. He knew I was taking pictures of him but I finally got him to turn and just look at me instead of trying to pose.

Especially for my brother, Bruce

I've been woefully neglectful in my blog recently. I'm going to put up a few different posts with what has been going on in our extremely busy lives.

But, this weekend, Michael came running in all excited that the birds are back. More specifically, our robin's nest that it tucked in the cross of two rose bushes underneath the big window of the family room has another growing family.

This is the fourth year in a row that nest has been home for a new bird mama - and it was 3 times last year.

My brother Bruce is often asking about things going on around our house, especially in nature, so I know he would appreciate knowing that our nest has some fresh, new touches and is expecting again! 4 as far as we can tell!

Trees!

"We have ... weak ... trees!" (a favorite line from "The Money Pit"). Well, that seems to be the case in our yard.

We lost two trees in the February blizzard. I think the really wet ground, heavy snow on the top branches, and strong winds were just too much. We were just thankful that they didn't fall on our house or the neighbor's houses.

As soon as it warmed up, the snow melted, and the ground hardened enough for folks to get in the back yard without sinking into a swamp, we got them taken out. We considered whether we could upright the large one and attempt to salvage it, but the recommendation would includ taught metal wires to hold the tree up, mounted in the ground 10 feet away from the tree, for more than a year. Uh, ok, thanks but no.

So, now we have an even bigger open space in our backyard. We'll put something back in, we just haven't decided what that would be yet.