Grandparents are great

Beloved grandparents Nona and Grandpa arrived Saturday evening, and we've had a fun and full week visiting with them. Their activities with the big kids have included the standard repertoire- reading, matchbox (and other small) cars, sidewalk chalk, sandbox- as well as a couple of outings to Barnes and Noble and a few playgrounds. Needless to say the kids have been delighted at a week's worth of adored playmates to enjoy frolicking with all day. Yesterday we parents enjoyed the bliss of spending a lovely New Year's Eve half-day on a kids-free outing together. The blessed event included a two-hour hike in our favorite spot in the mountains, dinner at an Indian Restaurant, and a viewing of "Sherlock Holmes" to round it out.

Among our discussions yesterday about plans and goals for the New Year, we agreed to rework naming conventions in blogging life. Consequently I'm going to try out the "nicknames for family members" format for a bit and see if I can pull it off without feeling too weird. Our three kids are now "Monkey," "Roo," and "Goose" and their father will be the "hobby farmer" (HF for short). We'll see how it goes...