GOODBYE JEEP, HELLO CHEAP...

Since we've had some sisterly inquiries about the "new" car, I thought I would post a little information about losing a member of the family, Ruby the Jeep. Yes, she is gone...in the hands now of some young heartbreaker name Coley. He visited us one last time after owning Ruby for about a week...he couldn't wait to show Bennett all of the changes and upgrades he had made (salt in the wound!!!). Bennett handled this well...his only comment was that he wished he would have met and befriended the guy sooner so that he could have gotten him to work on the jeep while B was the owner!

So now Bennett is cruisin' around Raleigh in his Honda Civic. Much less fancy. I tried to console him by suggesting in a Fast and Furious type way that he could accessorize it and drive it up and down Capital Blvd (Route 1 for all you MD people--yes the SAME road that runs through COLLEGE PARK wooo hooo!) with all the other guys late at night. Not sure he's gonna do that. Instead Bennett now enjoys doing math calculations on a daily basis figuring up how many miles more per gallon he's getting than before. Plus he's becoming a book on cd guy so if you have any good suggestions let us know.

For those of you who know Bennett well it is no surprise that there is a new car in the family. After all, he did buy the jeep almost 2.5 years ago (while I was out of town ahem...). So you know it was time. Here's a little car history on Bennett:

First car: Hand me down 1983 Wise family Van (I'm not talking minivan, the real big one with curtains)
2nd: Red 1987 Nissan Pulsar (April loaned him the money--that was nice of you April!)

3rd: 1994 Nissan Pathfinder (right after he graduated UMCP? Remember the cool stripes?)

4th: Yamaha motorcycle (Mom Wise I had nothing to do with this)

5th: 1999 Honda Accord 2 door (Right before we married)

6th: 1999 Acura TL (he ditched this one when I spilled grapefruit juice in the console and we never got rid of the stickiness)

7th: 2002 Acura MDX

8th: 1999 Honda Civic

9th: Honda Accord 4 door (2002?)

10th: 2004 Honda Pilot (now my car)

11th: 2004 Jeep Rubicon

12th: Honda Civic (2006 I think)

So there you have it. 12 vehicles in 17 years. Needless to say we learn not to get attached. Bennett, I hope I got all of the cars in there. If I didn't add a comment!

Humph...

Today my adorable little girls were their usual selves. What started out as a post lunch soccer game (in our 68 degree weather-yeah!) turned into just another excuse to take a break. It went down something like this:

Me: "Hey girls...why don't you go outside and kick the soccer ball around?"

MC: "Come on Elle, let's go!"

EC: "Okay!"

2 minutes later...

MC: "Wahhhhh!"

Me, running out of the door: "What's wrong?"

MC: "Ellie won't play soccer with me. She's just laying on the ground."

EC, lying on the ground: "Humph."

Me: "Ellie, why don't you play?"

EC: "Humph." (She really says this, I'm not joking.)

Me: "Okay, Mary Claire, find something else to do. She's not in the mood."

I return to my moment of sugar balls and choco chums. It is a very nice moment. However, I am snapped out of my chocolate dream with the slamming of the back door. I venture out to find that Mary Claire has set Ellie up with an umbrella (isn't it cute? thanks mom they love them), and two pillows. I crack up and race for the camera.

Sitting on the front porch, I watch the scenario unfold. Mary Claire then decides the diggs look pretty comfy so she gives it a try. But wait! she says and dissapears. This happens 4 or 5 more times until Ellie has all the comforts of home right there in our own yard. Blanket, pillows, stuffed animals, a favorite Madeline doll...and Mary Claire is THRILLED beyond description that she has made the perfect bed for her sister.

My Little Valentines

It has literally been a week of parties in the Wise Household. After birthday parties for Elle on Saturday and Tuesday, we had Valentine's parties on Friday and Saturday! These are pictures from Friday's party. Our friends the Megilligans hosted all of the kids from our Sunday school class (I think nearly 20 showed up!) for cupcake decorating, treat hunts, stories of God's love, and other crafts. It was great. Thank you Janet! You are awesome! We had a great time.

After the party we played in Janet's backyard (ahhhh.......warm weather....sorry Maryland people!) and Mary Claire and friends picked "flowers." That was all well and good until the lollipop dropped on the ground. This last picture is a classic MC "Hey...Oh...Can I have another one?" Don't you just love her naturally rosy cheeks? We love yours too, Aunt Melissa!

Ellie's Bouncy Day

For Ellie's birthday we let her chose one special friend to take with her to Jumpin' Beans, an indoor inflatables place. Ellie chose to bring Melody, a friend who has been in every Sunday school and LAMBS class she has had since we moved back. It was great! We pretty much had the place to ourselves since it was a weeknight, so all of us, adults included, bopped around in the moonbounces for a couple of hours. I wish I had been able to get more pictures of Ellie, but she literally was not still for a single second the whole night.

We welcomed Elle Caroline Wise...3 years ago today

It's hard to believe our little Elle Belle is 3 years old today. It was fun looking back at the pictures from Feb. 12, 2005! She was a tiny baby and funny to see the newborn pampers so HUGE on her! Mary Claire looked so little...and were those overalls? Not a word KM and RM....that's enough out of you two. Sigh...little babies are so cute.

Happy Birtday, Dear Ellie...

Yes, that's right...on Ellie's 3rd Birthday cake, me, the former English teacher, spelled birthday wrong! Oops! And there I was, so impressed with myself and how neat I had made the letters!

This weekend, Grandmama and Papa came for a birthday visit and we had a little family party for our turning-3-tomorrow little Elle Belle. Our Aunt Vallie and Uncle Jeddie came down from Henderson along with cousins Susan, Charles, Jill, Justin, and Jamie to celebrate.

Ellie has been busy ever since playing with her new toys and watching The Aristocats (the only movie she's ever completely sat through). Thanks Mom for the new matching clothes and dresses!

GETTING LOST!

Last week for the big season opener of Lost Bennett and I threw a Lost theme party for some friends. Although the invitation commanded the guests to dress as their favorite character Bennett was the only one who showed up dressed to impress. He was, of course, Jack...complete with only one shoe (remember the pilot episode?). He also got a very short haircut for the occasion. Doesn't he look great? The menu included rack of wild boar ribs and other island favorites. For dessert we had Hurley's favorite candy bars. For all of you lost fans, what did you think of the first episode?

I had fun with the table setting, as you can see from above. I can't believe I actually found PRETTY camoflauge wrapping paper as the table runner. Yes, camo can be pretty, I am now a believer. And Bennett took the Dharma Initiative and came up with a trivia quiz. Overall we had a good time!