1 Week Anniversary

M & J will return soon but in the meantime, we thought we'd celebrate our 1 week anniversary with Minnie (still working on the name) with some of our favorite features. Aunt JCM--these are for you!


THE COLOR...Blue Mirage Metallic!

THE SPACE...The trunk has already become an extension of our basement, including JC's present underneath the sheet (come back in May for the reveal!) You can barely see the front of the car--Big J can finally stretch his legs out during all of our long car trips.

THE CUPHOLDERS...I think we have more than 10 cupholders. It's a little ridiculous but now when J drops his cup, we can just pull out another. This is also the perfect shelf for the portable DVD player--no more jury-rigging with an old tie. And while you can't see it, I also love the plug-in for my ipod.

THE CAPTAIN'S CHAIRS...No more hitting each other or arm pulling.

THE ELECTRONIC WINDOWS/DOORS...Now we can roll down the road with the Avett Brothers blaring for the world to hear! How often will we really need to have the windows down for the kids? Not often, but who cares because what's important is that I can. We also love the power-sliding door. M says "Look mom--it's magic. Our van know's we're coming!" Yep!

Need We Say More?

Spring has Springed

Hello there! Having only experienced one spring before, I, JC, had decided that the season was never coming back. My beautiful momma told me to have some faith. I wasn't so sure. Here you can see me bundled up with my sister, M.

Then, last week, the temperature started warming up! My momma was right. Although not summer temperatures, I can still hang out like this both in the fore and the afternoon.

It sure is exciting to have warmer weather. But no matter the weather, the C family library requires constant vigiliance. With my sister sick with a stomach ache, I was asked to fill in as the Masked Retriever...

I don't think I'm giving my sister her job back!

Staying COSI when it's cold out...

Adventures have been hard to come by in the past few weeks. But last Saturday, our hands were forced as our COSI memberships expired. Wanting to visit the museum one last time, we dragged our parents along. They complained about having to pay for parking, but that's parents for you. They can never see the pizza through the anchovies. My brother, JC, drove in an attempt to make it easier for them. Here you can see him impatiently wait for my momma to jump in our ambulance.

My brother was so eager to get there that he drove very fast. Well-known to everyone over the age of 20 or so is the law of 88 mph. Don't drive faster than that or you might undergo time travel. My brother was too young to remember the lesson given by Marty McFly and so in a flash we had traveled back in time. We explored the 1890s version of Columbus but soon became hungry. Get this - the grocer didn't take credit cards. We only had enough cash for some fresh vegetables and fruit. Here you can see what I selected for lunch.

JC selected an apple and a potato for his lunch. My dad doesn't look happy because JC's purchase only left us with enough for my mom and dad to split a scallion!

After stocking up at the grocer, we attempted to get back to the future. After hitting 88 mph again we ended up in the future. Just not far enough. Once again we spent some time exploring 1950s Columbus. My brother and I tried our hands at hula hoops.

After a while, we became hungry again. The local diner still didn't accept credit cards. We drew straws and I got the short one. After many hours of working the counter to earn our dinner money, I look a bit frazzled...

With our bellies full, we tried once more to get back to the future. Success! Back in the present day we headed to the museum for one last hurrah. Here my brother poses in front of his favorite area at the museum while promising never to drive that fast again.

And here I am posing in my favorite part, Poseidon's World. Always a jokester you can see I came prepared so I wouldn't get wet.

Thank you to Grandma N & Grandpa C for the yearlong gift that kept giving!

Valentine's Day

What a winter. We have been having so much snow that we spend a lot of time shoveling it away. My brother JC doesn't help much but at least he has the sense to wear some gloves - unlike my dad.

Even though my dad doesn't wear gloves, he usually shovels out the entire half street and grassy areas. This way we can ride our bikes and restore my mom's sanity!

This Valentine's day, though, the snow has frozen to the point where my dad couldn't clear enough bike space. So we ended up baking treats instead. Here you can see my successful venture at recreating the Glazed Brownie Hearts from the 2010 Betty Crocker calendar.

Not to be outdone, my momma made us heart shaped chocalate chip pancakes with honey cinnamon syrup. They pack the sugar punch of two dozen Krispy Kreme donuts!

Don't be late!

I, M, come from a long line of librarians. In fact I am a third generation bibliothecary. Due to the loss of several books from the C family library, we instituted a check-out policy. Of course, some people think they are bigger than the law - like my dad. I was given the go-ahead to reclaim our books Repo-Man style. Since I am a girl, I chose to wear a pink cowboy hat instead of Emilio Estevez' ridiculous coif.






I don't always use a show of force (i.e. the uniform). Sometimes I hang out undercover and then...WHAM! I make it big. JC checked out "Maisie Goes to the Pool" more than a month ago. Watch as I lull him to sleep. He has no idea that the C Family Library System is about to collect....

Don't be overdue!

JC's First Haircut...

Hi there! I, JC, used to have long, beautiful hair. Look at how it curls naturally. I'm pretty sure it's the reason people swoon over me.

My hair had gotten so long, however, that my self-feeding exploits had started to become more and more difficult. I was left with the decision to cut jelly and ranch dressing from my diet or a few inches of hair. I chose the latter and, thereby, risked my power for Hidden Valley. Given my distinction as the most beautiful 20 month old on Earth, however, I couldn't just get my hair cut anywhere...only the barber shop at Disney World would do.

At first, I was a little nervous to let a stranger with scissors around me...

But then the barber just started putting more and more Mickey stickers on me. The combined image of twenty five Mickeys left me quite docile. Who knew?

After the barber was done, she spun me around and asked me what I thought. I got teary thinking of my magical locks now lying on the floor. About that same time, someone stuck a set of Mickey Mouse ears in front of me and snapped a picture.

After a few minutes of gleeful stares from older women, I regained my confidence. I'm no Samson! Here I model the sly grin which is the true source of my power!