Christmas 2009

It seems like every year this post starts the same way, with amazement that another year has just flown by before we knew it. Well, it's the same thing this year. We have had a very busy year filled with a lot of fun.

Dennis is still working for Time Warner Cable in one of their corporate offices. He celebrated 17 years with the company this year. Before he knows it he will have been there for 20 years! That is a long time to work for the same company. His work keeps him plenty busy with an occasional work trip. This year he traveled back to some of our old stomping ground in Southern California. While he was there he had the opportunity to frequent some of our favorite restaurants and visit some of our friends. I wish that the girls and I were able to make the trip with him. Maybe next time. Dennis has taken up toying around with some photography. Since we purchased a new camera we captured some great nature pictures on some of our outings. There are also some amazing ones from our times watching airplanes land and take off at the airport. He has really enjoyed taking pictures this year.

Dennis and I also celebrated our 17th anniversary. We keep saying that one of these years we'll plan and actually take a nice long over do vacation/2nd honeymoon. I'm hoping that we'll actually get to follow through on that for our 20th anniversary. It is even crazier to think that we have actually been together as a couple for 19 years already. Our life together has been and I'm sure will continue to be a great adventure.

Elizabeth started Kindergarten this year. The school she attends, River Gate Elementary, was just built over the summer, so she is the first Kindergarten class in it. I was not sure how she would do on the bus, but she really enjoys riding it. She loves being a Kinder-gator! Their mascot is a Gator so they have dubbed the Kindergartners the Kinder-gators. She has daily homework and is suppose to read every night. It has been amazing to watch her go from not being able to read at the beginning of the year to reading many words now. They have even started writing short sentences. She's even caught on to a few of the words that Dennis and I find ourselves spelling out instead of saying. It won't be long before we are unable to do that at all. She continues to see a speech teacher two times of week through the school system. Her progress has slowed, but we're still working hard on it. From what I understand, the carry-over to everyday conversation is the most difficult part.

Katherine has started attending Good Shepherd United Methodist Church's (GSUMC) preschool this year. She is in the 2 year-olds class. She attends preschool three days a week for four hours. It really is no surprise that she had zero hesitation about going to school. She's was ready to join in Elizabeth's class last year. Much like her sister, she absolutely loves school. Although, she has had a couple of trips to the directors office for biting and throwing fits. She may be small but don't try to push her around. She's one tough cookie. I believe that is in the past though. She has been having fun with all of the different activities that they do in their day. It is hard to believe that she will be turning 3 in a few weeks.

I'm still staying at home with the girls. I have been subbing at GSUMC preschool and that has really been a lot of fun. I have subbed three times thus far. Once in each age group. I was most nervous about subbing in the two year-olds room, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. I think the three year-olds were the most challenging group for me. I am looking forward to continuing subbing throughout the rest of the school year. I also continue to serve at church in the nursery and in handling the nursery laundry. I sometimes wonder how I was able to complete all of the household duties while working full time. As many of you know, I've taken up running. I ran in a 3K, a few 5K runs and a 4 Mile MS Walk. I have taken a break from running for a bit while I recover from having bursitis in my hip. Thankfully, it is nothing serious. I'm hoping to get back into the running routine in January. One of my running buddies already has a couple of runs lined up for us in the early part of the year with a half marathon being the goal. Who knows....maybe I'll even manage a full marathon. I am hoping that the bursitis will not flare up again.

Our big summer vacation was a two week trip to Oregon. It is one of posts that I am behind on writing. Dennis and I were so glad that the class of '89 let us join in some of the fun of their class reunion. There were many friends that we had not seen in years there. It was a lot of fun and has us looking forward to my 20th class reunion this year. The girls had a lot of fun with my Mom and Dennis' parents while we were there. It was fun to take Elizabeth & Katherine to visit the horse barn where I spent many many hours. I think they found the Young's dogs to be more interesting than the horses. They got to pet llama's, feed ducks and throw a Frisbee for a dog at Barb Mills place. Elizabeth loved going out on the 4-wheeler with Daddy! Katherine would rather play in the sand. They enjoyed playing at the school playground almost every evening. Both girls enjoyed being on Grandpa Royal's boat. They had a blast picking blueberries at Grandma Sue's and climbing the Frambes' Grandparent's plum tree. Elizabeth is one seafood loving girl. That girl can put away some crab and oysters. Dennis & Royal did not catch a keepable Salmon the entire time we were there. That was a little disappointing for all of us. I really enjoyed running outside for a change and running on the beach. Dennis and I were even able to spend a night away from the kids. That was very nice. I'm certain that there is much that I'm failing to mention as the entire 2 weeks was filled with many adventures. Overall, it was a wonderful visit.

This year was a great year. We are looking forward to many more adventures in 2010. You can check out many of this years adventures in the blog archives. We hope that all is well with you and your family. May you have a blessed Christmas and new year!

Bawling Preschool Christmas Program

Wednesday, December 16th, was Katherine's first Christmas program at preschool. We were very excited for her. Dennis was there early and got us great seats in the front row. I got there in the nick-of-time. Katherine was all dressed up in her Christmas dress. Her accessories were what she picked out and insisted on wearing. She looked very cute.

The beginning of the program was the 3's and 4's. The 2's then joined them. They were right up front! Katherine spotted us and was so happy to see us. Then she saw everyone else and panic set in. She was so overwhelmed. First, she covered her mouth and then her eyes. We could see the big frown and tears started to flow. By the time they were down to the last couple of songs she was just beside herself sobbing. One of her classmates even pointed us out to her and tried to console her.

Finally, at a break between songs, I stepped up to the stage and she ran over to me. She did calm down after a little bit and sat and enjoyed watching her friends in the program. I'm hoping that the next program will be a better experience for her. She is such the little entertainer so I was very surprised to see her be completely overwhelmed. Maybe next time we'll sit farther back where she can't see us. Either way, we are looking forward to many more fun and unpredictable preschool programs.

There are more pictures and videos here. (I tried to add the video to this post, but it wouldn't work. Please check it out it was very cute.)

If You Take a Mouse to the Movies

On Saturday, December 5th, we took the girls to uptown to the Children's Theater to their first play. We went with another family, the Callinan's (who were our sledding buddies earlier this year). Originally, we had planned to take the Lynx (train) uptown and then walk to dinner afterwards. There was a possibility of wintery mix and at best very cold temperatures with rain so we opted out on the train ride. The bad thing was that there was an accident on the freeway there so it took longer than expected to drive uptown.


Elizabeth C. and I waited in line to get into the theater while the guys kept the kids entertained in the play area. If we would have known that Santa was making an appearance there we would have arrived a little earlier so that we could have the kids pictures taken with him. It was nice that the kids got to get a little energy out of their systems before the show.

The play that we took them to was If You Take A Mouse to the Movies. It is part of an entire series of books that Elizabeth has absolutely adored. I believe the first Laura Numeroff book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Elizabeth received in a Chick-fil-a kids meal. Can you believe that? She wore that poor book out and easily had the entire thing memorized. We've since purchased a new copy and moved on to the moose/muffin, pig/party, pig/pancake, the cat/cupcake, mouse/school, best mouse cookie and of course mouse/movie. Yes, we have pretty much every book that follows this similar fun story. We are always looking forward to the next book written by Laura Numeroff.

Elizabeth C. (the other Mommy) and I were very curious to see how they were going to make this cute story into a play. It was amazing to see how they tied things together and changed the backdrop of the scenes in the book so effortlessly. The kids all laughed on cue at all the right parts. Almost everyone even sat tight for the majority of the movie. About 10 minutes before the end, Katherine started to get a little restless, but after a quick trip out to the lobby she straightened up and sat through the last part of the show.

It seemed like everyone had similar after show plans. Elizabeth C. thought that they might so she called ahead and make us reservations a pizza place just around the corner from the theater. The place was definitely packed with many of the families that had just attended the play. The kids all colored nicely and ate great. It was a lot of fun and I hope that we'll get to take them to a few more plays over the next year.

You can check out more pictures here.

Arnie Arrived

Our little Elf on the shelf, Arnie, arrived on December 1st. This is his third year at our house. We had hoped that he would arrive a day early, but he sent the girls a letter letting them know that their actions were making him sad so he had to decided to delay his arrival to our house. He gave them a list of things that they needed to complete in order for him to arrive the next morning. The list included:

• Listen to your parents and do what you are told to do.
• Do your homework.
• Do not tell your parents "NO".
• Be nice to each other and share.
• Use your good manners.
  

Thankfully, the girls met all of his requirements and he made his first appearance the next morning.

Normally, Elizabeth either gets up before Dennis leaves the house or she comes in a wakes me up and sadly declares that she missed sending Daddy off to work. Not on the morning of December 1st. Dennis was already gone and I was up early. Elizabeth appeared just as I was finished getting ready. She was so adorable and crushed. "Mommy, I can't find Arnie anywhere! Maybe he is hiding in Katherine's room." I told her that I was sure that he was around and that he would be downstairs and not in Katherine's room. About that time, Katherine woke up, so I headed to get her up and dressed. Elizabeth resumed her search downstairs. About two minutes later, I hear her hollering! "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Arnie IS here! He's here! He's up there!!!!!" I could here her continue to talk on and on as if she was sharing her entire year with her little elf friend. The girls were both so excited to she the little elf.

Yesterday evening we lost power at our house. I'm still not sure why, but whatever it was took out the power in quite a large area. The power flickered on and off for a good 5 minutes before going out completely. The first thing Elizabeth did was to go and ask Arnie if he could use his elf magic to make the power come back on. Katherine completely echoed Elizabeth's request. It was so sweet. They were so sad when I told them that Arnie was only allowed to use his magic to make his nightly trip back home to the North Pole.

It is amazing to me to see how much Elizabeth & Katherine just adores the little Elf. I look forward to seeing the girls search for him and talk with him every day. I will be adding pictures Arnie's Visit 2009 album, so please check back to see where our little elf has visited.

Green Eggs & Ham

I will not eat them Sam I am. I do not like green eggs and ham. I will not eat them in a boat. I will not eat them with a goat. Not in a house or with a mouse.....(or something like that)

Elizabeth has been really into Dr. Seuss lately. She is always looking for words that rhyme. We have read so many Dr. Seuss books that I actually have found myself talking and thinking in rhymes all day long. Both of the girls get quite tickled with we throw out phrases that rhyme.

So this morning (Saturday, November 28th), Elizabeth asked for eggs. Dennis added a little green food coloring, some Canadian bacon, and cheese. Just like that she had green eggs and ham. She thought that was the coolest thing. I thought that was pretty clever. I certainly wouldn't have thought of that. It made for a great start to the day.

There are a few more photos in the fall fun album.

Pow Wows and Thanksgiving Feasts

Elizabeth had her first Pow Wow at school. I went to help out, but didn't bring my camera, so I have no pictures to share (I'm going to try to get one of Elizabeth with the items she made and brought home). The five Kindergarten classes rotated through a series of 5 stations. They made noodle necklaces, Oreo turkeys, paper bag vests, head dresses, and watched Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving with popcorn.

I went to help out in Elizabeth's class. Her classroom station was where the kids got to string noodle necklaces. It was a lot of fun to see each class. Katherine came with us and she was a great little helper. She helped me with the yarn strings. Then while we helped the kids string their necklaces she colored quietly. We got to see several kids that we knew from our neighborhood that are in different classrooms.

Finally, Elizabeth's class returned to the classroom. It was lunch time when Elizabeth's class returned to their classroom. They were going to do their rooms station after lunch so I missed out on helping with Elizabeth's class. Katherine was so excited when the kids were getting their lunchboxes. She asked me, "Where's my lunchbox, Mom?" She was not happy when I told her it was time for us to go home. She threw a fit all the way home.


The next day was Katherine's Thanksgiving feast at preschool. It was very cute to see all of the kids sitting together at the table. I wish I could say it stayed that way. Most of them hardly touched their food and were more interested in socializing with their friends and the other parents. It was a lot of fun.

(More pictures are here.)