Fly On the Wall: 2006

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Christmas Day

Here they are up and ready for some fun. We of course got a picture on the stairs. We stuck with tradition and we all got new PJ's on Christmas Eve, Jack unfortunately had a bit of an accident so these aren't them but Kate is loving her fuzzy Strawberry Shortcake pj's.

And here they are ready to break through the paper.

They were so much fun to watch. Kate showed us everything with such excitement. Even the orange at the bottom of the stocking was greeted with the same amount of surprise and pleasure as the candy and fun princess stuff!

Kate gave Jack a Sesame Street book. He really likes Elmo so he has really liked this book, pointing and saying "Mo" on each page.

Lots of fun!

One of the big hits has been Hullabaloo DVD version from G&G L.

His tongue isn't quite out but we could tell he was concentrating and loving his new cars.

This little book from G&G H. has been great. All of the sudden Kate can sing all the way through some of the primary songs, it only took her a day.

And finally, the gift that keeps on giving. Ray's parents made us this Marble game. It is so cool and will be around for many many years to come. Just like the one Great Great Grandpa made almost 100 years ago. Everyone in the family got one this year - that's a lot! It's not a great picture but I have a feeling we will have more later with results posted - as long as I have high score! (just kidding)

Christmas Eve

We have had a great holiday. Ray has been home a lot which has extended our holiday a bit. We are so grateful for all the friends that have been around for Christmas. We've just had a lot of fun with everyone. After going to a fun party on Saturday night we had a little get together on Christmas Eve. This picture was taken with a timer so it wasn't quite centered (sorry Jeff) but it includes everyone.

The kids acted out the nativity story. It was short and very sweet. Our little friend that played Mary was so sweet and she sat there through the whole thing enjoying holding the baby. No one wanted to play Joseph so that was Jack's role but he wasn't into the costumes. He sat down so we quickly had Mary sit by him and that lasted for a few seconds before he was off in another direction.

In Kate's words she was the wise-man-girl. She brought baby Jesus and Mary a present who had a great expression of excitement in this picture.

Here's a picture of all the kids (angel on the right, shepard in the middle hugging the animals). It was really fun to watch the kids act out the roles after hearing the story of baby Jesus' birth.

Before the night was over the kids spread "reindeer chow" outside. It was a mixture of oatmeal and glitter that Kate made at preschool.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Wildlights

We went to the zoo this week to see the Wildlights.

It was better than years previous, we were only there for a couple hours and could've spent a few more. They cover almost every tree and bush with lights, it was so neat. Kate and Ray went ice skating while Jack and I munched on Kettle corn. Jack really wanted to be in there with the kids skating.

We rode the carousel. It was Jack's first time and he preferred the bench over the horse.

We saw Santa. I think it is so neat that they let us take picture with our own camera. Unfortunately it turned out blurry so maybe we should've bought one from them. I still wanted to post it because it could've been a great picture!

The kids decorated cookies with Mrs. Claus and drove the toy train in this huge/little town with a few trains going around. After some fun and 4 cups of hot chocolate we were on our way out. In the past years it has been bitter cold when we visited to see the lights so we skipped the extras and ran from building to building quickly taking in the lights. With the 60 degree weather we've been having it made for a decent night - a great night.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Putting up the paper

We are having fun starting new traditions this year. Being at home for the holidays puts a whole new twist on things. We get to initiate our traditions, mostly we are just doing things that we did growing up. One of the fun things that Ray's family did was put up a huge piece of paper on Christmas Eve. Strategically placed to block the doorway leading to the room with the tree. To the kids it was a place to write notes to santa, to the parents a way to keep the kids from peeking. My first year married to Ray I had the honors of running through the paper on Christmas morning. We of course will be doing that this year and Kate is soooooo excited. We bought paper today and started decorating it. Because of the way our stairs are we will have two pieces, one to go under then walk a few steps, then one to break through. I guess we will just keep adding to it until Christmas Eve.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Holiday Busy-ness

Ray started the last half of his school year this week. That's right, two quarters left. It makes me want to cry and gives me butterflies at the same time. So much unknown, so many good things and people to leave behind and yet so many great adventure awaiting us in the west! For this reason it seems like a monumental week for us. Just another mark in our timeline that doesn't seem to want to slowdown for us. He is at a different site each day so it is like starting 5 new jobs this week, he handles this kind of thing perfectly. I'm sure I would be a wreck but it doesn't seem to make him flinch. We have been keeping ourselves busy at home getting ready for the holidays. We made holiday treats right out of the Kraft Food and Family magazine. Pretzels dipped in caramel then chocolate, chocolate rolled in fruity pebbles, and chocolate rolled in Heath pieces. Kate is a great helper in the kitchen and this was right up her alley - very kid-friendly.

I've been busy sewing and thought it might be fun to post some of the bags my friends have made. I've shown a few people how to make them and sewn a few myself. I love this sort of thing.

I've shown this small blue one before but I took this picture to be able to show the three different sizes I've done so far. The one on the left is for a friend's mom, I think she'll love it. It's a sturdy one.

This one is also for a friends mom, same thing - nice and sturdy.

And this one I had no part in. I just provided the machine, the pattern and a tip or two. They all did a great job.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Santa

We had a great little ward Christmas party. Papa John's pizza, pumpkin cheesecake, a few musical presentations and a visit from Santa. It was sooooo fun to see Kate's reaction to Santa. She could hardly contain herself waiting for him to come. I loved watching her stand in front of him in awe. She seemed so innocent as she sat there so happy to see him without a question in her mind about why his tummy was shaped like a square pillow or if his beard was real. I wonder how long this excitement will last. We'll treasure this year just in case she gets more skeptical next year. Jack was happy to see him at first and got a candy cane but when we went back a little later for a picture he did not like the idea of sitting on his lap. Santa was a trooper sitting there for all the little munchkins to get pictures. We have a similar picture of Kate when she was about Jack's age screaming on his lap - this is the stuff memories are made of!

On the way home she said she didn't think it was the real santa because she didn't see the reindeer. We explained they needed to rest and were on the other side of the building. Then she said he couldn't be the real santa because he had a ring on. Once we explained there is a Mrs. Clause then she was content. The next day we saw a Santa with a real white beard. She let me know that he was not the real santa because the one at our party was. I just love to hear the thoughts going on in her mind.

Circus

Kate and I went with a few friends to the circus last week. It was fun to have a night our with her. What makes it so fun is that she loves it. She loves to tell Dad "just the girls are going and the boys are staying home". The circus was interesting to watch. I just can't help but wonder if the elephants really like coming out and laying down and then sitting on those big stands and putting their feet on each others backs. I won't dwell on it too much (until next time the circus comes to town). It really was a good show and Kate had fun. Plus I think Barnum and Bailey do a lot of good for animals and I imagine the trainers have to treat the animals well for them to trust them. I'll tell myself that unless someone tells me otherwise. I think Kate's favorite part was the cat running around and walking on a tight rope and the acrobats. I enjoyed most of it but realized I'm too much of a worry wart when the motorcycle guys riding around in the metal ball came out. They had 7 riders in there - amazing yet very nerve-racking for me to watch. Each time they brought one more rider out I could hardly stand to watch, I just knew someone would mess up and they'd all get hurt and we would have to watch. Luckily they all came riding out safe. Here are a few pic's, not great lighting but you get the idea.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Thanksgiving

G-ma and I ran in the Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning. We finished fast enough to get two pies and whipped cream. That combined with the Dutch apple pie we bought at an Amish Bakery made for yummy dessert. Mom was amazing. She finished in just under 50 minutes for the 5 miles and it was a course filled with hills. She did great!

Dinner was super yummy and it was fun to cook with Mom.

Thanksgiving didn't last long around here. We weren't even half way through dinner and Kate started asking to put the tree up. We held her off for a few more hours then turned up the Christmas tunes and pulled out the decorations.

Friday we went to the zoo, dinner and then dropped them off at the airport. We couldn't have asked for better company, weather or fun. Lots to be thankful for. It was a great week!

I had to include this last picture. Kate was cleaning the Tiger's teeth with a piece of grass. Then handed me the grass to keep for her "collection". She has quite a collection of many different things. Something funny she said in the aquarium - G-ma told her that when there are a lot of fish together that it's called a school. She sat for a minute watching the fish and when she saw a group of them together she said "G-ma, I think they're having a lesson".

Grandma and Grandpa!

The long awaited arrival of G-ma and G-pa finally came on Monday night. We had such a fun time with them here. They left last night and both kids were crying as we drove away from the airport. It really was quite sad, I can't figure out if Jack knew why he was crying but he was pretty upset. The first morning they had G-ma playing "Don't Eat Pete" with chocolate chips by 8:00am, at that point Jack knew this was going to be a good visit!

On Tuesday we drove up through Amish country. It was the first time I had been up there and I was glad for the chance to go. I didn't get any great pictures but here is one of the kids outside a cheese place and dinner at Der Dutchmans - very yummy (mashed pot and gravy were worth the drive up there). It was a 2 hour drive up there and a bit more back because of my wrong turn but the kids didn't whine or cry once - it was great. On our way home it was dark and I missed a turn and ended up going down a very rural road. We stopped to ask an Amish couple on the side of the road for directions. It was a pretty chilly night. They were walking with one head lamp and carrying lumber. We wondered how far they had to walk. It was so interesting to see how they live.

We can't have Thanksgiving without Kate doing some kind of project. She and G-ma made place settings, I thought they turned out so cute.

And no visit to Ohio is complete without a trip to Graeters Ice Cream!

Snow

We woke up to a little white covering on Monday. This was the extent of it and of course didn't stick around. Kate was very excited, slipped on her flip flops and headed out at 7:00am. We're looking forward to more but are enjoying our nice weather in the meantime.

Fly On the Wall