New Hope for New Manners

Miss Allie and I jump-started the Valentine's Weekend with the Hope Kids Three's this morning.

It all began well, with the kids gathering around Miss Jen for a story, and Cameron impressing Christiana with his tow-truck puzzle.Meanwhile, Leigh--dressed in a chaos of pink patterns--hoisted herself up on the table for a little pre-cupcake gymnastics. The kids were precious saying the blessing before they tore into the hypoallergenic cupcakes they made with Miss Allie.

Then it was time to break out the popcorn popper. Once the room had quieted to a still hush in order to hear the popping, Leigh proudly exclaimed, "I Tooted!!"
For her encore, she followed with a good butt-digging, crack-scratching episode for our viewing pleasure.

I wonder if it's too late for Cotillion.

The Many Faces of Abraham Lincoln

In honor of Hero Day at Trinity, Hunter wanted to dress up as Abraham Lincoln. So thanks to Serpil--who made an emergency trip to Michael's for some felt and fake fuzz--we were able to pull it off. Although Hunter made quite the impressive 16th President, getting to this distinguished version of the Great Emancipator was quite the ride. In fact, before Honest Abe, there was ....

Abraham the CheesyYawning AbeShocked AbeAbraham TravoltaStoned Abe ...and Anesthetized Abe

Asian Fusion Cuisine

Only Leigh could make Easy Mac a multicultural dining experience.

Saving Private Hunter

This afternoon we had the unique experience of attending Max's 8th birthday party, which was a Nerf Battle at the Quest Center. Equipped with their favorite Nerf firearms, the party started with the pack of Snipers-in-Training receiving instructions from their Commander Officer and DoJo.

Squaring off behind their respective bunkers, the battle was underway.

Hunter stayed securely behind the bunker...

...while the Burke Boys actually took flight at one point during the battle.

Once nicked by a Nerf Bullet, the Walking Wounded were relegated to the side to cheer for their comrades who were still in battle.

One by one, the Jr. GI Joe's dropped, until we were left with an action-packed, Hunter-Thomas stand-off.

Having had enough of the stealth moves, Thomas went on the offensive to capture the enemy....and Hunter went down in short order.

Thomas, The Master Nerf Sniper

It's Snow Time!

We had one happy neighborhood this week!