I'm driving my old car again, with a very shiny bumper.  It felt good and familiar, and I didn't miss the weird buttons of all the rentals.

Berry started soccer, with Joanna taking Berry to practice last night.  My dad came over for dinner which was fun and pleasant.  Sam and Isa continue to hang out whenever possible.  Sam also started his new classes, which he's generally enjoyed despite over fifty kids in his AP European history class.  Joanna's health issues continue, though perhaps improving somewhat.

The new consultant arrives today.  He seemed enthusiastic, and fortunately just about anyone would be better than Dennis.  Karl's also lining up a bunch of interviews, so perhaps my lone developer status with eventually be over.

Joanna steadily improves.  Her headaches have mostly faded, as well as most of the fuzzy/tired feelings.  She drove around the block yesterday and has been seeing various healthcare people off and on.  I think she'll be better by the time we go to the coast.

Emma went to the coast with her mom over the last few days.  I tidied up her room and moved the desk in from the shed.  Now she has a cute little writing area if she ever wants to hide away from everyone and draw.

Sam played D&D with friends on Friday, but otherwise has been hanging out with me.  We've played a ton of Isaac and watched some Always Sunny.  He seems a little mopey and misses Emma strangely enough.  He also helped make pizza Saturday night and we watched a science show on quantum mechanics, which was pretty cool.

Duncan and Berry have been hanging out with their dad while he's in town.  They've generally had a good time and Kevin seems a bit more mellow than usual.  There were a couple Berry meltdowns, but nothing too major.

I'm back at work, with the usual craziness.  A new consultant starts next Monday.  I've got tons to do and little time to work on it.  Looking for my next five-day vacation in a couple days.

Saturday morning Joanna got rear ended while stopped at an intersection.  Duncan was in the back, but seems generally okay.  Joanna got bumped up a bit, though nothing externally obvious.  The car's bumper got scraped and the muffler was pried downward a bit.  The other driver apologized and they exchanged insurance information.

The next couple days were a little rough for Joanna.  She went to urgent care where they diagnosed a concussion.  She had some neck soreness, headaches, nausea, and general fuzziness.  Sunday late morning the symptoms got worse, so I took her to the ER.  There was a lot of waiting around, mom thankfully relieved me mid afternoon, and she returned home later that night.  The CT scan was okay and by that evening Joanna seemed a little sharper than before.  

As for the rest of the clan, Duncan played his last basketball game, scoring a basket and bringing home the MVP ball.  He was proud of no fouls and perfect attendance as well.

Sam studied for finals and entertained Emma and I with his musical tastes and Isaac playing.  Emma drew tentacles on her folder.  Berry made strange creatures of of clay.  I was thankful to all of them for being calm and helping each other out as we dealt with car accident issues.

The car was towed away this morning.  My mom is getting kids from school this afternoon after I dropped them off.  Hopefully all will work out soon enough.

It's been a generally good week.  Berry was up before me this morning, putting away dishes and getting breakfast ready.  Emma was visited by "Krampus" last night, and as I left the house Joanna was helping her find a period tracking app for her tablet.  I also found Emma's glasses finally, squished in the couch cushions.  And to think I cleaned her room for no reason.

Joanna and I had a fun date night on Wednesday, drinking cider at Wildcraft Cider and listening to an Americana band.  Sam has finals next week, with lots of studying over the weekend.  We're also gearing up for spring break and a trip to the beach.  It'll be nice to see my dad - I'll be sure to bring lots of board games.

As for work, Dennis wasn't here yesterday and hasn't arrived today.  I suspect it may be time for a new consultant, but I'm really hoping we get an actual hire soon.  Josh's resume arrived yesterday, and it was actually pretty good.  He'd be in a junior position obviously, but I'm really hoping he'd be a good fit in terms of being hard working and showing up on time.

No exciting weekend plans.  Emma wants to learn programming and make a video game.  Sam has a lot of studying.  I'm sure Emma and I will play more Never Alone - she made a great drawing inspired by it.  I'll try to sneak some science in there somewhere.

Friday night Joanna and I went out to sushi and to listen to a writer's talk at the U of O.  It's always interesting to hear about the professions of others, so I had a good time.

Saturday morning Joanna left for an all-day writer's conference.  I took Duncan and Berry to the library and store to get dry ice.  They were generally cheerful, which was fortunate as I was battling a headache all day.  Emma went to Kate's house, and Duncan played with Flynn, but Berry, Sam, and I had a good time doing science for a couple hours.

Sam and Emma are both trying a vegetarian diet, so there was no Pac Man pizza.  Instead Sam chose a mushroom pizza and the rest was cheese.  I made a palatable gluten-free pizza for Joanna and we settled into the second to the last Mythbusters.

Sunday was pretty low-key.  Emma and I played Never Alone together, with me being the spirit fox.  Sam and I played more Child of Light.  I hacked my way through if else.heartbreak() some more, which continued to be quirky.

In the afternoon we played Dixit, Emma and I went for a walk, I watched Sam play more Isaac, and we had a bunch of people over for my dad's birthday dinner.  Good times.

The last few days have been relatively uneventful.  Emma's still sniffly, but was cheerfully playing me goodbye songs on her ukulele this morning.  She's also into Elvis, which is hysterical.  Sam and I played some Child of Light last night, with Berry looking on.  Duncan had a basketball game and Joanna went to a writer's workshop.

I'm hoping we can do some science this weekend.  I'm scoping out places for dry ice, which is a central ingredient in various experiments.