You would think I'd have more time

...to blog of course, with my mom being here and all. But this week has been a whirlwind of preparations since the actual birthday  - we've been gearing up all week it seems, planning and preparing for the birthday party! 

And here she is in all her purple glory blowing out the big 4 candle! It was a very fun afternoon filled with balloons, wall art, a fishing game and a purple cake. Thanks to my mom, the dishes are done and little evidence remains that we had a houseful of squealing, excited children overrunning our home today. And I am exhausted! I can barely imagine how Robin must be feeling after putting in an 18 hour workday yesterday at school: loading, crash-cooling, unloading and reloading kilns only to move right into firing the wood kiln in sub zero temperatures, only to get up again this morning to put in another firing shift AND make it back in time for the birthday party. Well done dada. 

At least he took a break to have cake with his girl and share a beer after the party with our friends Dan and Maria before heading back to the school to finish firing it off tonight with Bobby and Christa. I spent a couple hours on shift with him last night in the early hours of the firing so the kiln didn't offer much ambient heat yet, and it was freakin' cold outside. We spent more time inside the studio running out every few minutes to throw wood on. At least tonight the kiln will be pumping out the warmth and there will be more action around the kiln to help pass the hours.