Meet The Kirks

Winter was put on hold yesterday, albeit ever so briefly. As usual, we took advantage of the mild temps to get outside. After spending the morning cleaning house, taking the recycling and giving the Prius a much needed bath, we headed to GreenAcres Market for their Customer Appreciation Day and then to the Zoo, where we met Wes, Nancy, and Jena.

As always, the zoo was a fun time. Natasha even dared to venture into the reptile house! Afterwards, everybody came over to the house to chow on pizza and watch the KU basketball game. Jena and Ester were starting to play together some more, which was a lot of fun.

Our brief reprieve from the frigid ended, as today it’s about 26 degrees. We’re huddling close and enjoying a relaxing Sabbath together. Justice is all smiles wearing his “I Love Mommy” onesie and Ester is taking a nap. Earlier this week, Natasha invented a little cha-cha called “The Mama Song” which Ester now demands be sung every half and hour. It’s nice to take the time to relax and enjoy each other’s company before we embark on a new week.

A wonderful, warm January weekend has come to a close. We spent as much time as possible enjoying the fresh air outside. On Friday evening, we went to the Final Friday gallery openings in Old Town. ShiftSpace by WSU had an interesting, interactive exhibit and TangentLab was displaying the results of a photography contest with some good works.

On Saturday, we spent the afternoon geocaching with Wes, Nancy, Jena, Jason, Erika, and Lilly. The new GPS worked great! Thanks to Lilly’s excellent navigational skills, and Natasha’s keen eye, we found the cache with no problems. Ester got to ride in the backpack for the first time since she was much lighter!

Today, we spent the afternoon at the Sedgwick County Zoo. Wes and Nancy gave us a wonderful Christmas gift of a Zoo Membership, and this was our first chance to put it to use. Ester was much more aware of the animals this time than b ack in July during our last visit. We had a lot of fun in the gorilla exhibit and watching the baby giraffe take a jog.

Justice keeps getting more and more alert, except when we’re out in public. He slept clear through geocaching and the zoo. He’s speaking some brilliant philosophy in baby talk these days. If only we could understand him!

After two weeks of snowy cold, the thaw was on this weekend. We were thrilled to be able to get out of the house a bit and enjoy the fresh air. On Saturday, afternoon we went to Bradley Fair for a stroll, some Marble Slab ice cream, and some bread from Green Acres Market. Today, we went to the park for some sliding and swinging before the warm temperatures march out of town. It was really nice to get outside again.

Also, we began preparing for our Ethiopian Christmas celebration this Tuesday. Chris made spiced butter, or Ghee, a key ingredient in Ethiopian food. It took ALOT of butter. We cut the recipe in half and only made six pounds. Don’t worry though. We won’t eat it all at once.

Finally, we attended the first gathering a new faith community called Breathe tonight. Our friends Cliff and Todd have a great vision for making the world a better place. Ester really enjoyed the gathering, dancing during the music and laughing at inappropriate times (like when Cliff talked about sex). We had a good time, and as always digged The Anchor’s great sweet potato fries.

The last couple days have been a lot of fun and contained some memorable moments. On Friday, Ester went before the judge who approved her for a Kansas birth certificate. This also meant that her name is now officially changed from Aster Chris to Ester Grace. She hasn’t admitted it yet, but I think she’s thankful to get rid of “Chris” as a middle name, although I can’t imagine why.

Yesterday, we took Ester on her first trip to the Sedgwick County Zoo, along with Uncle Wes, Aunt Nancy, and Cousin Jena. We had a great time on a hot day. Ester did very well watching the animals and even pointed ever now and then.

Then, last night Ester took her first swim in the pool. She was scared at first, but by the time we got out she was kicking her feet and propelling her little floaty around the pool. Of course, Kinley was jealous so she had to get in too. It was a great end to a busy, fun day.