Week 51

Saturday December 17th
The boys had their very first basketball game of the season.  The game was neck and neck the entire time and out team was able to score a three point buzzer beater to win the game.  Parker was excited that he contributed two points to the score.

Sunday December 18th
After church, we went to Eric's Aunt Janet's house for a family Christmas party.  The cousins really enjoyed each other's company.

                         The rough and tumble boys:  Sam, Parker, Blake, Andrew and Zander.

                                                           Kaleigh and MaryAnn

                                               Zander just loved hanging with Blake.
After we headed back to church for the final performance of 'One Quiet Night.'

Monday December 19th
Parker was a big help.  He filled and tied all the goody bags for my Olympian Christmas party.

Tuesday December 20th
Parker had been asking to go hunting with Eric, so they headed out around 1pm.  They saw a big buck out in a field, but unfortunately Eric missed.   Parker enjoyed his time but admitted that being 20 feet up in a tree was quite scary.  Guess he has his father's heights phobia.

 While they we out bonding, Blake and I worked on his gingerbread village.

Wednesday December 21st
Parker worked on his gingerbread house.

Thursday December 22nd
What do you do in December when it is 55 degrees outside?  Teach your little brother how to rollerblade.

Friday December 23rd
The kids both had friends over in the afternoon.  Em brought her roller blades and the two of them spent hours rollin' down the driveway. 

While the boys had a mean game of Nerf War.

Week 50

Saturday December 10th
Whenever the kids find a tick on one of the animals, they always call us to get it.  Eric refused this time and was 'coaching' Blake on how to get it out.  I thought it was humorous.

Sunday December 11th
I taught Jr. Church again.  The lesson was on Commandments three and four.  I focused mainly on the fourth, and decided that they could decorate the name of Jesus with colored sand and glitter.  That is fun for a bunch of 3-6 year olds, right?   Let's just say I did not think about the pound of sand that would end up on the floor.  Oh well they had fun and  I was lucky to have my three kids as helpers, along with two of their friends.

Monday December 12th

It's not every day that one of these flies directly over your house.  I thoroughly embarrassed my kids by standing on the deck, yelling "HELLO UP THERE!"  I kinda felt like Horton in Horton Hears a Hoo.  By the time I ran in and grabbed my camera, it was long gone.

Tuesday December 13th
Knowing that Eric would be at work from 8am-9pm on his actual birthday, the kids and I decided to celebrate early.  Kaleigh made up a scavenger hunt for him to find his presents.

Wednesday December 14th
Our family was teaching Chesney the term 'pig pile.'  Blake was the lucky recipient.

Thursday December 15th
Kaleigh had been bugging me for several days to paint her nails Christmas colors.  I finally caved.

Friday December 16th
My friend Victoria recently started at a new salon.  She is much closer to me now and her salon was running a December special of a color and cut for $50!  Last time I got a color and cut it was $95 at another salon, and I just couldn't afford that again.   Seeing it had been almost a year since my last color and cut I decided to go for it.  Kaleigh hadn't had her hair cut in a very long time either, so she joined me.
                                     

                  

 Victoria has 'hair bling', which is all the rave now. So Kaleigh brought her own money and got a few strands put in.


                                    
I got a partial foil to hide those lovely grays and got about 6 inches cut off.   I like how it wisps out at the bottom.

Week 49

Saturday December 3rd
The kids and I woke up at 6am and headed out to NYC.  I wrote all about it in a separate post.

Sunday December 4th
Did I mention I am now teaching Jr. Church on some Sunday evenings.  We are going to be studying the Ten Commandments.  What is better for a bunch of 3-7 year olds than edible Ten Commandments?

Monday December 5th
Kaleigh baked her first chocolate cake from scratch this week. I was in and out of the kitchen and happen to come in when I saw her digging in the baking powder with a regular spoon.  I made sure that she knew that she needed to use a measuring spoon and not a regular kitchen spoon if it calls for a teaspoon.  She told me she knew and then said, "Wait it calls for a teaspoon , not a cup?"  Oh boy!  Glad I caught that mistake, but what other mistakes had she made while I was not present?  I had no idea what the cake was going to taste like.  I must report it was the most delicious and moist chocolate cake I have ever eaten!  Good job Kaleigh!

Tuesday December 6th
Happy 94th birthday to my grandmother!  We took her out for lunch and spent the afternoon with her.

Wednesday December 7th
Kaleigh's 4-H group had their Christmas party.  I let Kaleigh have the camera, but didn't have much to choose from in the way of pictures. This lady in the stripped shirt is one of her leaders, Mrs. Brett-Davis.

Thursday December 8th
I had my best friend over for tea and some girl talk.  I am so grateful for her.  She will listen to me vent, cry with me, and pray with me in the hard times and laugh till we cry in the good times.  Too bad I was so busy gabbing that I forgot to snap a picture..oh well I love you Mrs. Awesome! :)

Friday December 9th
The kids went to see the lights in Hartford with their grandparents, while Eric and I did some Christmas shopping.  Here is a blurry shot of the Statue of Liberty in lights that Kaleigh took.  Their descriptions of it all makes me want to head out there.  Maybe I'll take my grandmother some evening.



New York City

The kids and I took a bus trip to NYC this past Saturday.  They were excited to see the sights and sounds, having never been to the city before.  The boys passed the time playing with their DSI's on the way.

 The first thing we did when we got there was head down to ground zero.  There was not much to see if you didn't have tickets, but we picked up a book they were selling on the street corner to add to our History collection.  Kaleigh took this shot on one of the new Trade Center buildings.

 After we hopped on the subway and made our way to the Ferry to catch a glimpse of Lady Liberty.  The kids were very bummed that she was closed for renovations.

 Kaleigh took this shot of the World Trade Center towers.

 One of the coolest parts of riding the subway, was this group that jumped on and sang 'Feliz Navidad' with their instruments and then jumped off again.  Kaleigh was happy to give them a dollar because she thought it was so cool.

 As we were getting off the subway, Parker said to me, "Mom, I think that lady has a cat in her bag."  It wasn't, but I had to laugh and take a picture of it. 

 Blake with Minnie and Elmo.

 Kaleigh got this cool hat from a street vendor.

 Kaleigh, my mother, and my aunt got in line to get into the American Girl store, while I went about 1,000 feet to the Lego store with the boys. I  kid you not, it took us almost 45 minutes to get into and through the building.  The streets along Fifth Avenue were insanely crowded and it was zero fun for me.  I was extremely disappointed in what I saw.  I imagined huge Lego creations of the Statue of Liberty or other New York hot spots and there was none of that.

 After that we went across the street and into St. Patrick's Cathedral.  It was massive and beautiful.  The kids took about 50 pictures on their DSI's

 At 6pm we boarded the bus and headed home.  The day wasn't all I hoped it would be, but I learned that I am not cut out for bus trips to New York right before Christmas and on a weekend.  Next time we go, it will be during warm weather, on a weekday, and with someone who can read a subway map better than me...because I stink at it!