A monkey. A squirrel. One happy family.

Ella's long legs were made for running, and this weekend she and other members of the Russell Boulevard Elementary Running Club ran a mile-long race in St. Louis. This mile was the final mile in the kids' cumulative marathon they have been running all semester. As part of the Go! St. Louis Read, Right, and Run Marathon , the kids not only logged miles, but they also read 26 books and did 26 good deeds. Here are some pictures from Ella's race. We are very proud of her! Mama and Ella wait for the race to start. Annie waits to watch Ella cross the starting line. Ella runs by her cheering fans! Ella high-fives spectators as she makes her way to the finish line. Ella shows off her finisher's medal. Dr. Schumacher, Ella's principal and organizer of Russell's running club, surrounded by proud runners.

It is the last day of our spring break together. We have hunted and eaten eggs, nibbled ears off of chocolate rabbits, and played with some of Annie's new toys. We have visited with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. We have seen great artwork. We have cast lines into the water with little hope of catching anything except the joy of being in the sun and with each other. We have seen pelicans and learned about their migration patterns and hunting habits. We have made new friends. We have rejoiced at hearing these words come out of Ella's mouth: "Annie, it doesn't matter what somebody looks like. It's the inside that counts - being smart and kind and funny." We have cooked together and shared meals with family. We have celebrated our sweet Annie turning four. She was showered with incredibly thoughtful gifts from friends and family far and near. We are so grateful for her, for each other, for you. Here are some of my favorite photos from Annie's bi...

Spring break! The whole family is home for a week, with no work or school - plenty of time for yard work, projects, and fun, right? Then we got 10 inches of snow and Ella spent a day throwing up. In spite of these curve balls, we have managed to clear part of our back fence, take down baby gates and paint trim. And today we made a day trip to Kansas City to visit the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Crown Center, and grab a quick dinner with my brother Aaron, sister-in-law Cristi, and nephew Joshua. I'm just going to skip over the  nightmare that was the car ride home (let's just say Annie isn't the best car traveler) and focus on the fun of the day. Enjoy some pictures. Ella with an Eames chair (for Grandma Ann). This painting includes floating dice, an apple, and an olive. Ella contemplates. Ella after viewing some sculpture by Rodin, who believed in the "aesthetic self-sufficiency of fragments" like hands and faces. Lego people (and our regu...

Westwinds Park is located right behind our house, and it offers up a few gentle hills just right for sledding. The temperature got up into the low 40s today, which made excellent wet snow for packing. We rode down the hill in the toboggan, threw snowballs at each other, made snow faces on trees, and built a snowman. Annie in particular worked up quite an appetite, and when we got home she devoured a cheese sandwich, an entire grapefruit, and a bunch of carrots. This snow play is hard work. Now there is chicken soup simmering on the stove, and Ella is practicing her times tables and studying various polygons for a math test that was supposed to happen last week but got postponed due to the weather. There is more wet stuff in the forecast for this week, but we are prepared. We have plenty of milk, bread, and butter and flour for baking. And beer. (Priorities, right?) Our snow angel. Our other snow angel. Frosty! I hiked the short distance back home for the carrot and ...

Snow started falling just after 8 this morning, and it hasn't stopped. We are down to one car, so Spencer had to leave work, pick up the girls, and retrieve me from the library (which shut down after opening for two hours). It took him nearly an hour to get back to the radio station, and we are not sure if he will attempt to make it home tonight. But for now, everyone is safe and warm. Baking and snuggling are on the agenda. Ella wants to say that "a triceratops made script Ohio in the front yard!" But that was a couple of hours ago, and now those tracks are covered up again. The paleontologists will be disappointed. Annie made a single snow angel and then decided she was ready for hot chocolate. Smart cookie. Stay warm, all!

Ella is in her third year of ballet. Ms. Stoy, her instructor, doesn't teach the children routines with an eye toward a spring recital, complete with expensive costumes. Sound, careful training is this studio's mantra of sorts, so classical ballet movement, balance, control, and discipline is what these students learn. In lieu of performances, Ms. Stoy has an occasional "watch day," where family members and those special to the students are welcome to sit in the studio and enjoy the day's lesson. Here are some pictures from Ella's class earlier today. Ella at the barre. Pointed toes. Annie took this artsy shot of the dancers' feet. Pas de ciseaux (scissor jump). After about 45 minutes, Annie had had enough of watch day. They end each class with a curtsy and "thank you" for their teacher.

I used to say that I wanted to write for a living, and in my life as a librarian, I do get to do an awful lot of writing. I'm so lucky! One of the library blogs I write for is DBRL Kids. This morning, we posted my article about our house being overrun by dragons. Ella and Annie are kind of obsessed. Their Uncle Aaron should be proud. Read the article at DBRL Kids .