My Man got a J.O.B.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Phew!  Thank God!  Hallelujah!  I was holding off on adding to the blog until we had some good news to report on the job front...and at last we do!  Scott landed the job he really wanted with Cianbro!!!!!!! They are a civil engineering company (building bridges, dry-docks...roads, and potentially branching off into wind power))  He will begin as the sales development guy for the north east (northern MA, Vermont, Maine, upstate New York)  It is so nice to see him excited about his work.  There will be a few challenges at first.  He will be reporting to their offices in Maine right off the bat, so a lot of single Mom time here in Newton.  The other factor is that it appears we will likely be moving.  AGAIN.  Yup.  Seriously.  BUT, I am happy to be looking at New Hampshire as our best option.  Portsmouth in particular.  I LOVE that place!  Kids are fine with it.  At this point it barely elicits a response.  September will probably be a good time, but what I have learned in this life is that you NEVER know. 
     In other news, spring has finally begun to arrive.  What a cold and rainy April.  Despite the weather the kids have been running around outside with the neighborhood kids, apparently unaffected by the frigid temperatures and wet conditions.  They have also been working on creating a small village in the woods by our home.  There is a perfect little stream running through the woods where they have decided to settle, and with Scott's help, a sizable teepee to get them started.  Even Ellie has got in on the building due to the fact that we were able to spend a considerable amount of time with her over April break.  Let's see... There have also been a few museum visits, new hikes..old hikes, over nights and a front row "seat" to the marathon this month.  Lots of ups and downs this month.  Mostly up...but I would be lying if I said it was easy dealing with so much uncertainty.  Now we embark on a new journey.  Scott going back to work.  It has been an amazing year having us all always together.  We never got sick of each other.  I think that's a good sign. 

Fiona ready for her first FULL day at work!  9-3!

Here are the kids assessing the land before starting to build.

A couple civil engineers in the making.

When Ellie was here they experimented with origami boats made of wax paper.  This stream provides hours of fun.

Ethan and Avery after hours of building in the woods.

Scott stepping back to admire his handy work.

My girl teaching her brother...so patient!

Just a dry run.  We were at Harvard, seeing what it will be like when we drop the kids off for their first year of college in a few years!

Gammy joined us for the Museum of Natural History.

Admiring the glass flowers.

The kids dutifully completed the work I had prepared for the visit.

Just another day on the subway...

The start of the wet, cold walk to cheer on the marathoners.

My sister taking the call from her gym, notifying her that she just won a vacation to Martha's Vineyard! (which, by the way, she is taking me and the kids on!)

I believe it was Scott's obnoxious cheering that allowed Desiree to win the marathon!

Exploring some of the hikes around town.

Father/daughter.

We stumbled upon a slightly overgrown public garden.

Look at my little man!  That face!!!

Like a bunch of mountain goats.

Ellie was lucky enough to spend a day with us over her vacation while my sister was at work.  Scott used this opportunity to visit the "Waterworks Museum".

Huge impressive tools!

Fiona was at work...but Ellie and Ethan got so much smarter!

I was blown away by the craftsmanship.

Fred just loved Scott.

All of this constructed in the late 1800's... before electricity.  Mind blowing!

Mac n Cheese on the front steps.

Sundaes to celebrate the new job.

Cathy took the kids overnight this past Friday...so Scott and I were able to take a two hour hike in Lynn Woods.  It was bitter sweet,  I hadn't been there before with out Zevon.

It felt like he was right there with me.

Flying High and Playing Hard

Last weekend the kids went on a field-trip with their youth group to a high and low ropes course deep in the woods of Beverly, MA.  Apparently my kids went for the high!  Scott and I decided not to chaperone this adventure.  I had a feeling that if I went along I would be a total "fun wrecker" (as the kids used to call me when they were little).  No way I would have been able to watch as they went three stories in the air...with teenagers holding the ropes that were their life lines!  When they got home I heard tales of bravery and strength...and I was smiling away.  Then one of the parents who chaperoned sent pictures to me that evening!  I ran upstairs to where the kids were sleeping to show them the photos.  YIKES!  Not what I was picturing when they were relaying their day.  I was impressed.
     Tuesday was a special day for Ethan.  Sandra came over to take him out to lunch and shopping for his birthday.  She spoiled that kid rotten!  Fiona enjoyed a few hours at the sewing studio...where the two owners offered her a job (with parental permission).  She will be able to work for sewing hours.  Great news for me!  She will be tasked with helping beginners on easy level crafts, and tidying up the studio.  Then this past Good Friday the Goodwins joined us for an early dinner.  The kids made a ton of noise all throughout the house, and took themselves on a walk to the playground while the adults stayed behind and caught up. Saturday I was busy baking cupcakes for Easter at my parents and Fiona and Ethan were busy with Ethan's friend Milo.  The boys put Fiona in charge of umping their 3 hour marathon wiffle ball game in the street.
     Easter was a blast.  LOTS of four square played between the Jasons and the Rogers...with an occasional Gampy and Gammy thrown in the mix.  Food was delicious, and the egg hunt was adorable.  The weather was the perfect spring mix of sunny and cool.  The yard was full of chirping birds.
     As I sit here in the classroom with both children busy working on Spanish, Scott is on his way to a job interview.  We feel this one should have a positive outcome.  I am trying not to think too hard about it. 

Fiona's latest creation...slippers.

Such a welcome sight!

Cupcake testers.

Look at these dare-devils.

Giving a high five!

THOSE ARE MY BABIES!!!!!

Uncle Jason and Scott looked so sweet with their Easter baskets!

They were responsible for hiding the eggs....

On your mark, get set...

GO!!!!!

The overseer.

Best driveway for foursquare ever.

Such fun!

You Take the Good with the Bad.

Oh Boy...  We thought that by getting through February we had dodged a notoriously difficult month for the Jason's.  Little did we know March had some plans of its own. 
Ethan was top pick in the draft, and selected to be on The Red Sox.  Happy right?  Well, to make a long story short...the coaching situation for this team is less than ideal.  So much so that we opted to pull him from baseball.  It is a hard lesson to teach your children.  Not all adults are good, and sometimes when you have done nothing but try hard and succeed, you are still not guaranteed happiness.  Moving on from there (which has been very difficult) we still have no good news to report on the Scott job search front.  Exhausting is not a strong enough word to express what this feels like.  Then to top it all off Fiona came to me first thing this morning with tears because she discovered one of her hermit crabs died.  Seriously, this crab had the BEST life.  He traveled the country, climbed trees in Washington and Oregon and was settled into a good home in Newton.  We are now down to one (from 4 nearly two years ago).
So, I feel that things can only go up from here.  And, it hasn't been all bad here.  There have been some amazing sledding days, snow-storms, family visits and museum adventures.  You just never know what lies right around the corner.

My sister, Ellie and mother came for a visit last Sunday.

Fast, icy conditions.

Ethan and Ellie after they had to abandon their sled.

Auntie and Gammy all suited up.

These two are over a foot in the air!  Notice the shadow under the sled!? There was a serious jump!

Look at his face as he hits the jump!

And now....flying.

Hitting jump.

Airborne!

He put on his "thinking cap".

Fiona has been hand sewing mini creatures.  Here is a platypus and its sleeping bag.  Both no bigger than a half dollar.

She actually sewed the t-shirt and designed the logo (a name her brother calls her).

Cathy used her Science Museum membership to get us all in for free!  There is a mirror maze set up as a special "math in nature" exhibit.

Infinite Ethan's and Fiona's... I'll take it!

Cathy and Fiona looking for the queen bee.  Um, 'scuse me ladies...I'm right behind you.

We kidnapped Cate that night.  Here are the kids on St. Patrick's Day morning.

We found the BEST diner near us.  Huge-mongus ice cream sundaes!