Rainbows, dogs that eat metal sprinklers, and half-naked boating in the back yard

Here are a few recent pictures that give you and idea of a typical day in our house...

Exciting Atlanta Weather!

What is the difference between a tornado and a "microburst"? A few weeks ago, I saw a trampoline in a tree. A full-size blue trampoline complete with the large yellow fence-like guard bent around/in a stand of trees about 20 feet in the air. It was there for a few days. I have no idea how they got it down (the trees are still there, but a little less straight). This was supposedly the result of a "microburst". Today, they are trying to figure out if it was a tornado or microburst that hit Atlanta (apparently this matters?) And, I heard a quote this morning that I NEVER thought I'd hear: "Meterologists are being called to the scene of the disaster." To do what, exactly???

More storms are coming...should be an interesting day. Due to the weather, Allison's first "Orange Tiger" soccer game and Julia's first "Attack" softball game have both been cancelled. Maybe next week we'll have more fun...

A Day in the Life of Matthew...

Matthew had an interesting day at school today.

At one point, there was a mishap. Another boy accidentally hit Matthew near his eye and scratched him. Matthew was very angry, said his teachers. But, rather than hit back, he pointed his little finger at the boy involved and said very loudly and clearly,

“Duncan, you don’t hit me in the eye with the toy!”

Later, a teacher pulled out a Thomas game. Matthew really likes Thomas, but the game required more than one player. The teacher told Matthew that he needed to find a friend to play it with him. So, he got up and said,

“Okay….Friend??? Frieeeend? Do you want to play?”

When I was picking him up, I noticed that he had a slip of paper with the letter “M” written on it. I asked him what letter it was, and he knew it was M. His teacher heard us and commented that it was given to him by Madison. So, I said, “Ohh, did she give you a present?” He looked at me like I was a total idiot and replied,

“No, it’s a piece of paper.”

It's raining, it's pouring, there's a waterfall in the backyard...

We had rain today (a big occasion!) Unfortunately, our downspouts have dry rot and don't work (see picture)...ohh, and apparently we have a waterfall in the backyard. It's quite festive, especially for Bucky (who was 200 yards downstream chasing the stick Matthew "dropped"). Matthew took this opportunity to get all full of mud...and then when told to go inside and take off his dirty pants he misinterpreted that as a go-ahead to relieve himself in the lake that is now our backyard (much to the shock and amusement of his sisters). This is why I am nuts...

VISITORS!!!

Grandpa, Grandma Grace, and Megan stopped in for a visit President's Day weekend. As you can see, we tired Grandpa out! Allison took Grandma Grace on a walk, and then proceeded to show her the short cuts through the neighborhood. Those would be the near-vertical short cuts consisting of slippery, leaf-covered dirt trails surrounded by fallen trees, decade old construction debris, assorted critters/bugs, and (soon) poison ivy. She did great - most people won't attempt walking our neighborhood let alone the short cuts! It actually rained, our one day of the month that we get rain, so we allowed them to shower ...as long as they went outside to rinse off. Ok, that's a joke. We made them shower outside too.

But, seriously, it was fun having visitors and we are not at all jealous that they are in Florida where it rains and is warm and didn't want to take us along too. That's a joke too - we'll be warm soon enough.

(PS - Megan - your coat is on it's way to Wisconsin)

Surgery #3 (and hopefully the last!)

Matthew had his third surgery in as many years yesterday. It was basically the exact same surgery, only this time the doctor knew what it was and took care of it correctly. Matthew did really well. He's frolicking around the house today as if there is absolutely nothing different (other than the fact that it looks like he was kicked in the groin by a horse). Ouch!!! He apparently either has a high pain threshold or lacks nerve endings in the lower half of his body. We have a weekly speech notebook we have to do, so I took a few pictures of him recovering. I knew he was feeling somewhat normal when he wanted to "see Matthew" on the camera display after the picture was taken and giggled at himself. He keeps us busy, that's for sure :)

SUPER WEDNESDAY!

Who cares about "Super Tuesday" when we have Super Wednesday in the Linskey house! Today, the littlest Linskey (Bucky passed him weight-wise several months ago) has turned 4 years old!!!

He started the day be coming downstairs (after his sisters had gone to school!) and jumping out and saying "Boo!" When mom said "Happy Birthday", he was quick to point out her error ("Sing it mommy!") Aren't you all glad you weren't there to witness that?!? We then got dressed, although he flat out refused to wear one of his new sweaters. He told mom it was her sweater. She can have it. Won't that look nice on mommy... But, the rest of the clothes were...well, okay, they were boring (except for the Spiderman PJs). He also got a play-dough set, a spider-man water gear set (if we do actually get to use the pool this summer, he'll have fun with it!), a Panda (who really only crawls face down and does nothing else), and money to send him to Spiderman school. That's what he wants to be when he grows up.

He brought in cupcakes for his little class yesterday and for his big class today. He loved being the birthday boy two days in a row. I have a feeling tomorrow will be disappointing...

Happy Birthday Matthew :)

From his preschool teacher:

What do you like Matthew? - "Snowflakes"

What don't you like Matthew? - "Getting hurt"

(Two days earlier, Matthew walked full force into a table and had a nice cut and a big swollen eye!)

IT'S SNOWING IN GEORGIA!!!

Yes, you read that right - we have snow!!! Not that it'll last, but it may get us out of school tomorrow. Matthew brought home the above blue handout today (only in the south would they WISH for snow!!!)

Northern Winter Wonderland

Todd often talks about moving back to Wisconsin. The snowstorms, fog, gale force blizzards, ice dams on the roof, and deep freeze temperatures...what's not to like! We spent a few days in Milwaukee after the wedding, and experienced all of the above. In less than two days. We were going to stop in Madison, but couldn't (the Wisconsin DOT "highly discouraged" any and all travel in/near/through/over southwest Wisconsin). As it was, we barely made it to Iowa the next day before another storm hit. Why can't all of this stuff move south - the people in the south are always saying they want to see snow...but, alas, this never seems to happen. We made it to Iowa Monday, Christmas Eve, to spend Christmas with Grandma Irma. Uncle Erin and family made a surprise visit, arriving a few short hours after us (we knew they were coming - they got delayed too!) It was fun to watch Grandma Irma's expression when they walked in the door. And, we got to hang out with Aunt Jenny and her family too. Heads up everyone - the wedding will be June 28, 2008. It was a very fast week - and the kids had fun playing with each other and Grandma. They took trips to the library, played in the snow, and just had fun. We drove back yesterday after being delayed by (you guessed it) more snow. But, we did arrive to rain in Georgia (pretty rare these days, and very welcome!)

We are just going to do nothing for a few days but enjoy the new year. The kids kinda wish there was some snow. We have a very good sledding hill if we ever do get any...

Happy New Year !!!

4 Children and a Wedding

4 children at a wedding ...it's not as bad as it sounds. The kids all behaved for Grandma Mary while mom and dad, part of the wedding party, took part in the wedding and sat at the head table. Mom got all dressed up and was mistaken for "a princess" by Matthew (who had clearly gotten a hold of a beer in the groom's suite before the wedding!) and had the girls asking in stunned disbelief, "What did you do?" Apparently, mom needs to get out more. All the kids behaved very well. After the cocktail hour and dinner, things really got out of hand with Brian pretending to be Vanilla Ice and some crazy wedding guests reenacting scenes from Dirty Dancing (or, it's X-rated counterpart!) There was some late night partying, and apparently some "illness", but it can't be a true success without a mostly hungover wedding party, right? Seriously, it was a really fun wedding and we saw lots of family and friends. Santa even handed out some presents to the kids (who were totally thrilled!)

Congratulations to Brian and Tarra !!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Amanda wrote a little plea for, if she were a turkey, why she shouldn't be eaten for Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

"Hi. My name is Bitter Badder. As you can see, I am very bitter and bad. When I heard that the farmer was picking the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner I had quite a hissy fit. I've got a couple reasons I shouldn't be the one to be chosen.
One, I'm not the fattest in the coop, so why choose me? I would provide less meat and less flavor (except for bitterness) than the fattest turkey would. I'm only the size of a chicken while the biggest is as big as a pig.
Two, I constantly am exercising, causing me to be smaller than the others who just lay around (boring) and eat disgusting chicken feed (yuk). I only eat berries (non-poisonous) and corn (freshly picked) to stay much healthier. Finally, I am an athlete turkey. I have a treadmill in my coop to run on, so, I am quite a fast runner. I can't outrun a bullet, but thanks to very good hearing I can run away before it is even shot.
So, that's all I can say, but don't go telling my secret. As I said, I have good hearing, so don't even try it."



(I wish my hearing were that good!!!)

Happy Birthday Uncle Tom :)

5th Grade Honor Chorus

Amanda participated in the county-wide Honor Chorus concert on Thursday night. It was actually an all-day event that included nearly 400 students from every elementary school in the county. They rehearsed together all day (9am until the performance at 7pm). I heard them practicing in the morning, and they were pretty darn good! The kids will also be performing at the County's 175th birthday party in a few weeks. Amanda had a great time - now, if we could only get her to sing in church...

The playground is here! The playground is here!

Our latest project is almost done. When told his favorite show ("Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!") was on and that lunch was ready, Matthew would not come in. His reply was, "I playing on playground!!!" I think that means it's a hit. He has since gone out in his pajamas and in the nude...

A few more loads of mulch and it should be good to go. Then, on to our next project: Tiling the kitchen backsplash, building a closet, demolishing the downstairs bathroom, or something else we (meaning Kelly) dream up to do.

Happy Halloween!

We celebrated our first Georgia Halloween with lots of running and way too much candy. Matthew RAN to every house. He RAN back to me after a few houses and screamed, "Candy! I got candy! I go get more!" After an hour, it was pretty much the same, only I had to carry him between houses. And, instead of "trick-or-treat" he was saying, "Hey, penguin here!" The girls all had fun too, although Julia insisted on wearing the 4T bunny costume that we've had for about 5 years...it was still cute :) Bobbie Ann joined us for the trip, and then we met up with other friends. It was a fun time, but everyone was tired after going up and down all our neighborhood hills. They are steep...

(Ohh, you'll notice that Matthew was Tiggr at school, and a penguin for trick-or-treating - he needed the school costume to be bathroom friendly...)

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween :)

New Pictures!

We have new pics of the kids. There's another of Matthew I'll post later. He was the trickiest of the bunch (as usual). The kids voted to have them done with a sepia tone.