Is it weird to celebrate your cat's birthday??

Even if it is a little weird, our Zack is 10 years old (approximately, per his estimated age from the humane society when I adopted him) on May 1st. We're not crazy about him being this old, but he sure looks good for his age. :) And he is still the Zack-Attack of his younger years if there is a flying bug try and catch, a crackly toy to toss around, or a plant (or garland!) to chew on! Happy birthday to the most pathetic kitty in the world!

Look who's TWO!!

We celebrated Maddie's 2nd birthday on Saturday. Check out the photos here for proof that Barbie cars are Darby approved! :)

FIRST Robotics Competition

The robotics competition was really cool - and the kids were so inspiring! Check out the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) organization here and the robotics competition here. We had two great student ambassadors, Alex and Charles, from the team from Poudre High School in Ft. Collins (their team). It made us wonder what all those kiddos in our life will be doing in years to come to make us grownups feel amazed and proud.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Nonnie, Mom, Christine, and Tracy!

The end of March is a time for birthdays!! Nonnie (my paternal grandmother) turns 95 this weekend!! Yep, those are some good genes. :) That young lady in the photo with us is my Nonnie. We loved that she made the trip to Colorado for the wedding.

Katie's mother also rung in another year on Thursday. More good genes - I'm guaranteed to get carded late into my 40s, at least. And, Christine (new mommy to adorable twins Hank and Clara) and Tracy Lackey also deserve happy birthday thoughts this week and wishes for another wonderful year!

Birthday girls, I hope all your birthday wishes come true!! :)

The last few weekends have been busy! Katie's dear friend, Kristi, was in town from Chicago with her family (3 boys and one in the oven!). It had been too long since we had gotten together and it was great to catch up! Luckily, Kristi approved of Chuck (her folks had already given blessing!), so he's still in the family.

We are going to a high school robotics competition tomorrow (and are prepared to meet some kids that are certainly much more clever than we are!) and will maybe think about eating at home at least once this weekend after all the celebrations!

Éireann go Brách

These are the Kearney (or Carney, O'Kearney, or O'Carney) and Brady Coat of Arms. My middle name is Kearney (my maternal grandmother's maiden name) - I am 1/8 (or is it 1/16?) Irish. :) Chuck's paternal grandmother, Grandma Nellis (formerly Brady), was either full or 1/2 Irish. So, we are not McPosers when it comes to celebrating Saint Patrick's Day! :) The corned beef is cooking as I post and there will be home-made Irish Soda Bread, potatoes, and cabbage. Oh, there is beer, too - Guinness and Harp....yum.

Today marks one month of married life!! Chuck and I have talked a lot since the wedding about the change from engagement to marriage - it is a different, and quite wonderful, feeling. More secure we suppose, and, although we were very committed before, being married is just a pretty cool thing! :) And, although I am officially a Nellis per the government, the new name will take a while to get used to! I was introduced to a coworker's 11 year old daughter as Mrs. Nellis this past week and, after looking around, I realized that was me!! :)

Walls for the wind,

And a roof for the rain,

And drinks beside the fire -

Laughter to cheer you,

And those you love near you,

And all that your heart may desire!

~ Irish Blessing

Wii are SO excited!

Hello from the first 3 weeks of wedded bliss...! The house still hasn't recovered from wedding mania. Now that I am done with grad school (and we are done planning the wedding) we have kept busy with attempting to tame the aforementioned mania and catch up with laundry. Of course, rather than do either of those things, we decided to get ourselves a toy instead.

Chuck and I did something together this morning that neither of us had ever done before.....waited in line outside before a retail store opened!!! Alas, after we (well, I, in true form) made a few friends in line outside the Best Buy, we are the proud owners of a Wii!!* Woo hoo!!

Through a rather impressive collection of gift cards and holiday money (and some extra we are calling a "wedding present to us"), we are the proud owners (and already wii-itis having) of Guitar Hero III and a couple of Mario Bros games.

Back to it we go....I hope these games are 30+ approved....

Did I mention that two people asked us if we were waiting in line for a Wii for our kids? Nope, we indeed are the kids. :) (and the cat is not impressed)

*To answer my mom's first question of "what is a wii?" - click here

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