Catching up ...

You can be assured that I'm NOT dead. Just ... busy/lazy/both.

So, we left off with Bubbles about to turn three.
That totally happened.
We had a pre-party with Mom and J (C didn't come. Wasn't feeling like traveling). The kids all got some presents and had fun being with my mom and J.
The party-party was on the weekend.
Our friend, Robyn, made a delicious duo of Frozen cakes. One was Anna and one was Elsa. And they were awesome. Our family was really impressed. (As they should be.)

Let's just list a lot of the rest that I've neglected to blog about (until now):

• I went to a (boring, but educational) meeting about the new state testing that Bruise and Bucket will be doing. We'll see how testing goes. ... I really kind of hate meetings. But, hey, at least Robyn was there (and her friend, D), so I had some friends to talk to. AND I was able to return Robyn's dishes (from the cakes) back to her.
• Bruise lost his Bear (Cub Scout) kerchief slide. Oh well.
• Bucket's started Girls On the Run. She's enjoying it a lot. Michael's training to run the 5k with her. Because, we know that I'm not a happy runner ... especially since my stupid ankle is still kind of stupid (but healing bit by bit, right?).
• Bubbles is talking more and more. Which is nice.
• We have new missionaries ... elders, not sisters now. So, they can't come over to wash their clothes, but we've taken them out to dinner and have gotten to know them a bit. Good guys. I like them. (Also, it's SO WEIRD to be older than the missionaries. And, Michael and I keep getting closer and closer to reaching the age of the missionaries' parents! Oy and vey! I'm like the CRYPTKEEPER!)
• So, you know how I mentioned a few months back that we FINALLY bought ourselves a new mattress (for the first time ever? How we'd only had hand-me-down mattresses before)? Well, we FINALLY bought box springs for that mattress. ... And we splurged on one of those adjustable beds, which has helped a lot with Michael's heartburn. The kids think it's the COOLEST thing, being able to raise the head and foot of the bed. Freyja-cat likes that she can hide UNDER the bed.
  (We had thought of buying some risers, so we would have more under-bed storage ... Yeah, NO. Our bed is CRAZY HIGH. Like 6-8 inches above our nightstands. We need taller nightstands now. #It'sAlwaysSomething).
• Michael and I had our 14th Anniversary. We headed down to Ashland. We ate at Larks (brunch ... it was a splurge, but SO WORTH IT. There was a salad that we split. Michael had the Farm Platter. I ordered the pear and bacon sandwich ... SO FREAKING GOOD.) We also stopped by The Pita Pit, which is always delicious. We tried an Asian restaurant by Lithia Park, which was okay. (Hard to compete with Larks, not gonna lie). We also watched the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's "Much Ado About Nothing." ... Very fun. Dogberry on a Segway. I don't have to say much more, really. ^_^ And we FINALLY made it to the Oregon Caves (no windows exploded in the process ... unlike LAST time Michael and I wanted to go, when Bruise and Bucket were wee ones). We also bought a lot of books ... are you really that surprised?
• Last week was the kids' Spring Break from school.
  Michael took Monday off and we took the kids to watch Frozen Fever/Cinderella ... then I had them watch "Ever After" for a compare/contrast. (They don't know which version they like better. ... I don't think I do, either.) Cleaned house on Tuesday. Mom came up on Wednesday and we took the kids out to lunch and to a toy store. Thursday was a mostly lazy day, but we did go to Costco and buy "Into the Woods." Friday was a WIC appointment and hanging around. 
• Michael's done a bit of home improvements around the place. We have our hanging door (with mirror on the inside) up for our master bathroom. He also installed a new deadbolt and door knob (the deadbolt is one of the key-code types. Best thing EVER). He cleaned the gutters (we need Home Depot to stock more of the gutter sponge-things so that they STAY clean. Get on it, Home Depot!!).

And that mostly brings us up to the present. Bruise and Bucket are at school. Bubbles is watching a Barbie DVD. I need to do dishes and laundry, prepare a meal for another family's dinner, read library books, call a grandfather to wish him a happy birthday ... stuff like that.

Maybe get a nap where I DON'T dream. That sounds like a good idea.