That green stuff is called grass...

...and it will get green again in a matter of months. I keep reminding myself of this fact.

It's sloppy and dreary outside but life is good up here in the arctic north. Just because it's not possible to play outside doesn't mean we can't have fun inside. We've continued to take Caleb swimming and he continues to be fearless. We also play ball with him in the house and he is a spot on kicker with both right and left feet. If we throw the ball at him, he either kicks it right back at us with great aim or he hits it with either his right or left hand. He's not afraid of it and if it bonks him on the head he just says "Uups, bonk on da noggin" and we go again. He's also enjoying the "Library Lapsit" program. He sings the songs, does all the actions and listens (somewhat restlessly) to the stories. Then he claps the loudest and jumps up and down the loudest at the conclusion of each song or story. He's getting quite big--literally, just big. But there isn't an ounce of fat on him. I'm working on teaching him to share and be gentle because he was trying to give his tiny friend Eden a hug today and made her squawk because he was squeezing her. He's not very prompt about saying "I so sorry" but he'll give a kiss to the "injured" party when he understands that he was the cause of their discomfort. I should have named him Brutus. He's flying through flash cards and getting better about his pronunciation, sadly. I don't ever want him to grow up. His sweet voice and his stumbling sentences and lisps are heart melters everyday. The best is when he wakes from a nap and looks at you with sleepy eyes and while patting the pillow next to him says "Snuggabug?!"

I've learned the hard way that I really need to take it easy with my neck. I was trying to carry on with life as usual. I couldn't figure out why my neck, shoulder and back were so achy, sore and stiff 24/7. It turns out that laundry, dishes, picking up clutter, keeping up with a busy toddler, grocery shopping, exercising and making meals are tasks that I have to scale back on. Way back. I need to ask Cannon for help more often -- it's just a matter of pride and what I feel is shirking my duty. Weird, I know. And how I sleep at night is a huge factor too. Apparently wearing my neck collar at night is okay but during the day I'm supposed to allow the spine to heal and grow stronger by keeping the collar off. So I need to get out of this very un-ergonomic chair and get to bed. I really depend on other people's blogs to keep me from feeling so distant. I shouldn't expect others to keep me updated without giving an update myself.

Cannon is working on refinishing a beautiful dresser and night stand that our neighbor was getting rid of. He's making it look like a deep cherry wood set of furniture. I'll take some pics and post them. It is a labor of love and he's spending a lot of time sanding, treating, staining, sanding...should be finished by the end of this week. Our house really stinks. I'm glad none of you live close enough to visit. With the pipes breaking in November and subsequent mold, there's a bit of a cabin smell. Couple that with wood stain smells and you've got a whopper of a stench. I can't wait until we can open the windows and doors and bring fresh arctic breezes through the house.

My friends and I are planning our 2nd year of participating in the "Pink Cheeks Triathlon" the first weekend in May. I can't do the whole thing because of my neck but I've got a team. Ruthie will swim, I'll bike and Jess will run. It will be great fun! There are some new girls in the ward who want to join this year so we should have a good gaggle of girls. We just have to come up with a team name. Any ideas?

One of the best things to look forward to is that Cannon is going to Hawaii again on business at the end of March. Actually he's going on Caleb's birthday. I remember spending Caleb's birthday without Cannon last year. We've got an option to go with Cannon this year and I think we're going to take it. Cannon will be at work during the day but we'll be able to celebrate Caleb's birthday together as a family, take in some sand and sun...just relax...so I think we're going to do it. I'm going to look up local museums or kid friendly places that I can take Caleb during the day. We are for sure going to ride the trolley and hunt down as many aquariums as we can find. Mostly we'll go swimming, but not in the ocean. It scares me. We'll stick with the pool.

That is the update: fun almost-3-year-old, stinky house, cool project, cluttery house, triathlon training and Hawaii on the Horizon.

p.s. For any of you Phoenix dwellers I checked out Hawaiian Airlines and you can get a roundtrip ticket from Phoenix to Honolulu Dep 3/31, Ret 4/5 for $400. That is so cheap!