Odds and Ends

I've found the month of January lasts forever while February is gone in the blink of an eye.  Hard to believe March starts this weekend, and Ashley, Bode, and I (and Harley too) are coming up on two years on Colorado Springs.  Crazy.

Bode has started doing gymnastics once a week.  It's nothing too exciting-more like an introduction to tumbling.  But it is helping him build up his strength because last night, we were all in the living room.  Bode decided to do a "bridge" as some exercise before bed.  We were very impressed.  The below picture is of Bode's group getting ready to do some work.  Bode is the third kid from the left.

Here's a shot of Bode doing a modified toes-to-hands.  I've been impressed by how the coach makes them perform basic exercises to work on different muscle groups.

Bode has also been doing his junior stroke clinic twice a week and is become quite proficient at his strokes.  Sadly, I don't have any pictures (I'll be sure to get some next lesson).

Bode's cousin (our nephew) Charlie had a birthday party last Saturday.  It was held at one of the ever popular bouncy-house places.  Bode had a good time (and we measure his time's goodliness by how much he pouts when it's time to go :-)  Below are some photos of different things.  First, the birthday boy.

Next we have Bode climbing on something.

Finally, we have a picture of Bode and Charlie in the king's chair.

I wish I could report some other types of amazing activities.  Bode has been doing very well in school.  The teacher uses a color to rate the kids' daily behavior.  For awhile, Bode was continually on yellow (green the the middle ground), and every now and then on orange  red is a trip to the principal's office).  Something must have clicked in his little brain, because the past two weeks have been green's, blue's, and one amazing pink (red's counterpart atop the behavioral spectrum).  His teacher even commented how much better Bode has been in class.  It must be the presence of such a positive male role model in the house :-)  Then again, there were serious behavior issues when Ashley was in DC for a week, so perhaps she's the key to good behavior.

Ashley and I continue to work at the same jobs.  However, a phrase we like to use is "compensation vs aggravation."  We are compensated nicely at our jobs.  However, the aggravation we experience seems to be growing (perhaps we are cranky old people).  Some day, and perhaps some day soon, we'll both quit our jobs and reboot our careers for the second halves of our lives.

Finally, we had a birthday in the house.  Harley-dog is now three.  We are looking to get her a friend, preferably a boxer, but we are open to suggestions.

Pleasant day to all.