Professor Gavin

The other day I bought Gavin a little white shirt to wear to church once the weather warms up. I hung it in the back of his closet, knowing he'd hate it, just like his other "button shirts."

(Our usual Sunday conversation: "Mom, why does Heavenly Father say I have to wear buttons to church?" "I don't know, Gavin, just please put your tie on.")

So I was very surprised the other day when he emerged wearing his white shirt over his clothes.

Look Mom! I have a lab coat! I'm a science professor!

Since then Gavin's "lab coat" has been worn every day. Over jammies, to the skating rink, to run errands, or just to sit home and play Legos. Sometimes he even does up the buttons, and puts pencils in his pocket. We're on February Break right now, so it still remains to be seen whether he will try to wear it to Kindergarten. Where he better study a lot of math if he really wants to grow up and become a particle smasher.

We're art collectors!

We just sealed the deal tonight to buy this fabulous painting.

There's no way for a photo to do it justice. It's big: 3 feet by 5 feet, and it captures the light and colors and movement of late spring in Vermont. The artist, John Hoag, based it on a photograph he took standing along the edge of Terry Hill Road looking toward our hay barn and fields. So it's not just any view of Vermont -- it's OUR view of Vermont.

We are SO excited about our first big art purchase. Actually, it's technically not ours yet. We are buying it on an installment plan, a check each month until it's paid off, hopefully in a few months. When we actually get it hanging in our house I"ll post a picture of it in situ. Then we'll start saving up to put a frame around it. A barnwood frame. Made of barnwood from that barn, of course. Can't wait!

Date Night

Lucy burst in yesterday after school and announced in a rapturous voice, "I have a date with destiny!"

Actually, it was a date with her dad, for the annual Daddy-Daughter Valentine's Dance at the Capitol Hotel in Montpelier. She has been looking forward to this for months.

They both looked ravishing.

The night consisted of a fancy dinner at a restaraunt then a hotel ballroom full of balloons, chocolate, popcorn, punch, and squealing girls. Apparently Lucy joined a roving pack of Northfield 3rd graders but deigned to dance with her dad for a couple of slow dances. I'd been wondering why Austin made such a point of telling all Lucy's friends' dads about the dance -- now I realize it was so he'd have someone to talk to!

Meanwhile -- my date Gavin just wanted to stay home and build a fort where we could watch videos and eat Pringles and cookies. So I spent the evening with my best pal, laying on the floor underneath my kitchen table, watching Toy Story and making shadow puppets in the light of a headlamp. I'd say great time was had by all.