Introductions.

With the beginning of the blog, it probably makes sense to introduce the primary cast of characters as well as those making frequent appearances...

THE HUTTONS: Ames thinks he's the head of the house but everyone knows that Cathy's the boss. She's fond of telling everyone that she has 5 kids. Annie, the oldest, has been warped by her parents' love of 80s music and knows the soundtrack to Mamma Mia by heart. Jack, the oldest boy, wants to be either Jeff Corwin or Indiana Jones when he grows up. (Together, Annie and Jack are "the Bigs.") Will, our blond bomber, is the middle boy, and he's known for full contact hugs and preschool politics. Sam, the youngest (Hi Dr. Cochran!), is anything but the baby, and he loves the movie Cars. (Will and Sam make up "the Littles." But don't tell them they're little.)

THE GRANDPARENTS: Grammy, Mimi and Big Mike are a big part of our lives. Until they tell us otherwise, their true identities will be kept secret.

THE GRAHAMS: What could we do without the Grahams? Kyle and Sarah are our neighbors, our friends, our role models...and they have four great kids who we love to have as a part of our lives! You can follow their equally crazy life at http://grahamhalfdozen.blogspot.com/.

THE AUNTS AND UNCLES: Aunt Tita and Uncle Andy live too far away in Indiana, and Uncle Jason lives too far away near Denton. In addition to our biological kin, we have a host of other aunts and uncles who are near and dear to us all. Embarassing pictures of all to follow.

Inspired.

Finally, it's time for the Huttons to jump into the Internet age! Inspired by our good friends the Grahams (Hi Kyle, Sarah, Mason, Garrett, Reed and Wagner!), we've decided to set up a blog to share our experiences and stories about living with four very smart and determined children!

Cathy has been writing down her adventures with the kids off and on for years. Given the fast pace of this house, her writing is more stream of consciousness and funny, matter of fact vignettes of daily life in this very crazy home. Ames cannot let go of grammar, spelling and punctuation (thanks for that, law skool) and tends to write in more epic form. Together, we make an anal retentive Homer (not Simpson, but his influences are there) meets James Joyce (?).

Since Ames had a critically acclaimed travel writing series that was well received by a very friendly audience this past summer, some of those travelogues will be posted and back dated in the near future. We'll try--but don't promise--to make you laugh, make you cringe, and keep you entertained with the stories of our life.

Enjoy!