Roo and her daddy have a new game they like to play. Roo rides her bike up and down the street while Daddy pretends to be a police officer. Here's the latest citation she received.

Tonight we hit the school carnival. And we all know my peeps never miss their chance to cheese it up for the camera.

It's Saturday night. Chris and I had been planning to go to a birthday party for a friend and the girls were all set to spend the night at Grandma's.
Just before we put the girls in the shower Lu asked the question I hope she never stops asking, "Do we have to go to Grandma's?"
"Yeah, we'd rather stay home with you guys tonight," said Roo.
There was no discussion. No debate. No doubt. My kids WANT to hang out with me. And I'm going to make it happen for I know it won't be long until we're the LAST people they want to spend their Saturday nights with. But I'm not quite ready to talk about that yet.
So, for now, we're enjoying those two little squirts who still think we're cool.

Playing monopoly with the family tonight.
ME : It's your turn, Chris.
LU : Why do you call Daddy Chris?
ME : What should I call him? Dirtbag? Butthead?
LU : How about Loverrrrrrrrr?
Really? How does she even come up with this stuff?

Happy New Year to all of our friends and family.

We had dinner with friends from the fire department and then rang in the new year at home with Roo and Lu. It was a raging party with sweat pants, double fudge brownie ice cream and kazoos for everyone.

Just after midnight we asked the girls what their new years resolutions were.

Roo wants to volunteer at an animal shelter.

Lu wants to have a fancy date with her daddy.

Daddy wants to...wait, who am I kidding? The guy can barely decide what he wants for dinner let along what he's going to do next year.

I have two (so far). The first will be a work in progress. I want - no, scratch that - I need to develop a regular, healthy sleep pattern. The second of my resolutions is to walk and/or run 1,000 miles in 2011. In 2010 I logged 639 miles and I really didn't do much walking or running this fall.

With each other to lean on I'm pretty sure we can make all these things (and more) happen.

Here's to a happy, healthy new year full of love, laughter and wild adventures.

I truly hope our girls know just how lucky they are. Their daddy made
the Watch D.O.G.S. Wall of Fame at school for his participation this
year.

Growing up I could only dream of having a dad like theirs. He loves
them whole-heartedly and unconditionally and would do anything for
them. Anything.

Thank you, Chris for being more than I ever dreamed of.

We participated in the Lawrence St. Patrick's Day Parade today. It was a little cold, but we had a great time celebrating with our fire family. The girls totally rocked the green hair!





Hand painted signs to show our fire pride.



Excuse me. My heart is melting...



The Honor Guard.



Roo had a little help from Captain Morgan's daughter, Tayler.



Just a few of the firefighter kids who joined us in the parade.

Just like her daddy, my baby girl has a serious love of donuts. The
Ruler spent the night at Grandma's which meant that The Lu had her
daddy's undivided attention.

Until they decided to hit the new Dunkin Donuts. I would be willing to
bet that fewer words were never spoken. You put Chris and Lula in
front of a box of donuts and the world is at peace.

The topic of conversation tonight at dinner was what Santa and Mrs. Claus might be doing tonight. We told the girls that Mrs. Claus had probably made Santa a nice, big pot of chicken noodle soup and they were likely relaxing after all their hard work.

DAD: Santa had a big weekend. Even after he delivered our presents he still had work to do. He still had to deliver to kids in other countries because when it's night time here, it's morning in some other countries.

MOM: And the difference isn't just time. When it's winter here, it's summer in Australia.

DAD: For example, when we get up in the morning they're already eating dinner in countries like Iraq and China.

LU: So, first it's dinner. Then it's breakfast. Then it's lunch. Hmmm, I think I know all about Chinese, dad.

DAD: (The uncontrollable laughter nearly sends his soup out through his nose.)

Today, we sledded till the sun went down. And it was awesome!








The view from the top of the hill was gorgeous. And one of our favorite little coffee shops was still open when we were done. Hello, peppermint mocha! Come to mama!



Oh, and the best part of the day....watching this happen!

Screw bedtime. It's the first snow of the year and The Morrows are going out to play! I don't think I've ever had so much fun in the snow.





Although, I think Chris has had better days...

After school Lu spotted an empty milk bottle in the Jeep and the follow conversation ensued.

LU: Daddy, did you have chocolate milk to drink today?

DAD: Yep, I had some this morning.

ROO: Well, yeaaaaaaah! The man is a firefighter. He HAS to stay strong!

Ummm, duh.

On the way home from school today...

Daddy: I made a big pile of leaves in the backyard for you to play in.

Lu: Oh, good! We can do blastoff!

Daddy: What's blastoff?

Lu: It's when a rocket takes off and takes people to Texas.

I left for Dallas today so Chris took the girls to their dentist appointment. On the way there Lucee asked Daddy what I thought was a very legitimate question. She said, "Daddy, can we drive by Dallas on the way to the dentist?"

It's not that I don't like dogs, it's just that right now I need a dog like I need to shove another box of twinkies down my throat. But it looks like the mutt is here to stay, so I guess I ought to properly introduce him.

Meet Oz.


He's part boxer, part lab. He's also a screen eater (we're up to three now - the back porch door, one panel of the screened in porch and the front door, too.) And he's a grass eater which, in turn, makes him a puker. Oh, and let's not forget he's a runaway. Who came back.

After three days.

The girls are over the top in love with him. They refer to him as their brother. Me, I refer to him as a pain in my ass, but maybe when he learns to stop eating my house and puking in it, then maybe we can be friends.

All I can say is that Chris is gonna owe me for this one. BIG TIME! I'll be playing the "but you brought home a dog without telling me" card for at least a couple years.

Now, will someone please pass the box of twinkies?

When it comes to parenting I'm the disciplinarian and Chris is the fun one, which is probably why this quote struck such a chord with me.

My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass." "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply. "We're raising boys." -Harmon Killebrew

We're raising girls, but the same theory applies and I can always count on Chris to remind me of this. He's such an incredible father. He's a provider and a protector. He's a storyteller and a snuggler. He's a hide-and-go-seeker and a human jungle gym. He's a boo-boo fixer and a buddy. If you were to ask, I'm sure our girls would tell you he hung the moon. Of course he did. He's their daddy and he's their hero.

I'll probably never get over the amazement I have for the relationship between Chris and our daughters. And these next two shots pretty much sum it up.


They simply adore him.

I grew up without a dad, but I had an amazing grandpa (and a couple of awesome uncles) who stepped up and played the part...and then some. Papa was always such an inspiration to me, and Chris actually reminds me a lot of him. You know...the kind of man who will drop anything, anytime for his kids because nothing is more important to him. I learned a lot about life from Papa and I know our girls will learn so much from Chris.

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. - Clarence Budington Kelland

Happy Father's Day, Chris! We love you!

I guess I don't need to shop for Father's Day this year. Chris had the girls today while I was enjoying a fabulous day at the spa. I think he knew I'd be really relaxed and thought he'd just go for it. You know...just take the penalty if I was actually mad.

I hadn't been home from the spa for ten minutes when they pulled up. I was in the bedroom when I heard the car door shut. I walked into the living room to greet them. The Lu always bolts through the door and runs to hug me, which I love. Roo was right behind her with the biggest smile I've ever seen on her face. And Chris? Yeah, he wore the most devilish grin on his face and I instantly knew something was up. Or should I say, I knew he was up to something? And then I spotted it.

He got himself a Father's Day gift. And he had that "I can't take it back and I hope you're not seriously pissed at me" look on his face. I've seen that look before. It's just not usually related to something with four legs.

So, Happy Father's Day, Chris!

And Happy "Your Dream Finally Came True And You Got A Dog" Day, Roo.

Chris and the girls found a killer sand pile to ride bikes through today.






Oops! This is one instance where like father, like daughter is NOT a good thing.




They may crash their bikes like one another but I am glad she got his toughness. My girl got up and got right back on her bike.



And so did he. Yes honey, you're tough, too. Now don't go getting all big headed, you hear me?

And then there's this clown. And speaking of clowns, she totally reminds me of those clowns you see in parades riding bikes 27 sizes too small for them. She rode her tricycle forever only giving it up when forced to. It was that or have Child Protective Services called because people thought we beat our child. With the bruises on her legs from whacking them into the handlebars we didn't stand a chance. And now she's just as attached to this bike. Who knows when we'll get her to give it up.

It's hard to say no to this perfect little puppy dog face. And, if you don't believe me, just ask Daddy. It's practically impossible.

He's probably scared of what comes along with this one. I know I would be.

I mean, who's crazy enough to even think about messing with this bad biker gang?

Uh huh. Yeah, didn't think so.

Chris is a blogger now, too!

Roo read an entire book today (with very little help)! We're so proud!