Bethlehem Church Activity

I'm dedicating a blog entry to our church Christmas party because I thought it was so well done. The invitations were scrolls telling us we needed to come to Bethlehem to be taxed and to wear proper attire. The day of the party I pulled out my scrap fabric box and came up with something I didn't have to sew, this:



I was married to a Roman soldier. I wish I had a picture of him standing up, it was a good outfit some clever person came up with. He had a little "Hear ye, hear ye..." part at the beginning of the program.

This is a picture of my brother-in-law, he was the Census taker. I wish I had a picture of their family, they were the first ones I saw as we walked up to the booth to sign in on a scroll and they looked so cute.



We were given a little bag of coins to use at different booths. They had a market with chicken and loaves of bread, grapes and cheese, and desserts:






It was funny seeing everyone in Biblical attire. Hopefully they don't mind me sticking their picture on my blog.



The YW took turns being the water well girl.



They also had tents with games for the kids, making bead bracelets, making little pots (out of magic model clay), writing Hebrew and a spice jar shop. They even had a tailor shop were you could get clothing if you didn't show up with any:


That's Kynlee in the blue. It was a little hard finding your own children, their outfits started blending together.


That guy is actually Jewish, he married a Mormon- what a cool couple.



Then we all sat down and watched a nativity program.





The church was decorated so well, I wish I had taken all of my cul-de-sac with us. They really out did themselves and it really felt like a market we were bustling around in. It cracks me up to watch Ander. He just has to go along with things. OK, you want to put that on my head and we're going here and it's all normal apparently. Behind Ander you can see a little of Michael's soldier outfit, the skirt thing and cape.

I told the activity leader that we should do that activity every couple of months, that probably would make her faint, but well done.

Hair Tales

A few years ago my hair was the shortest I had ever cut it, about here:



Then I started growing it long, and I wondered how long I could get it for a nice donation. I got here:



I don't know how women get it to their waist. It was already getting in the way of things. The kids kept sitting on it, Michael pulled out a chunk when he took Ander from my arms, I found apple stickers hanging out, one day I walked out to get the mail and came back with a spider dangling from the end. It was time to cut...



There it is. A done deal. I was wimpy in the moment and didn't go as short as before, but now that I made the first step, I'm ready for the second.

I may even go to the length Michael sported in college:




That's seriously him,

awesome.

Yes, I'm here to see Dr. Walker...

'Tis the Season to be...

That's right. It is not the season for me to think I'm justified in spending a lot of money like it has been in the past. Frugal is the word on my mind. We have enough of that, we can do without that, I don't NEED any of that...

We've had a lot of out-of-the-ordinary expenses in the last 6 months, and December is a bit bleak. January looks brighter, so I just need to hold on through this month. We'll have to make the magic happen this season on small amounts, which will be good for me to go back to my non spendy ways for a time.

They Felt Awesome...

Parent Teacher Conference

I met with Kynlee's first grade teacher last week. I'm so glad she's doing well. Kynlee's teacher let her assess herself before the meeting. I think she feels good about her school performance:



Walking into the meeting I couldn't help think about how Kynlee traditionally has been the kid to make us pull our hair out. Her energy level, do-it-my-way attitude, night time rebellions, and creative ideas, have done us in many days in the past years. Her kitchen cooking experiments that have included mixing whole flour and sugar containers, creating bread paste from all the loaves in the pantry, and food coloring attempts were enough, add in kicking out window screens, creating "snow" from drilling into sheetrock, frosting the Christmas tree with flour, cutting open a feather pillow, and checking out what a roll of toilet paper added to the bath along with the entire shampoo bottle contents would do. You get the idea.

It turns out Kynlee is a very well behaved student. Her teacher said she can always count on Kynlee to be doing the right thing at the right time. Good girl.

My only concern is what she said here:



"sad" "scared" With "aaaaaa" ???

Her teacher asked her about why she was sad and she said she missed her mom- I must rock. I asked her why she was scared, and she calmly said "Oh, just like...tornadoes."

Well, OK, I guess a natural disaster fear is fine.

NIFS

I thought I'd post a preschool field trip. I haven't talked about my MAPP group (Moms of Advanced Preschool Prep) rightfully named by one mom. I'm so glad my sister introduced me to a mom's preschool group when I first moved here, and so glad I've been fortunate to be involved with awesome groups for both Kynlee and Easton. My children and I have really benefited from the talents and ideas of the other moms. It's great to find parents that have the same morals and drive for their kids. This year I'm in a group with four other moms, we teach two days a week and rotate around to the different houses. We just finished our health and nutrition section and topped it off with a trip to the National Institute for Fitness and Sport.

I'd show you images of my week of teaching- but it really was a bit nerdy- I covered anatomy. All I can say though, is Easton can tell you the shape and function of the body's major organs. Ha! I love it. He walked into my room when I was cutting out felt shapes for kidney, kidney bean, bean bags and said "Why are there all these kidney's laying around?"

Pictures provided by our designated preschool mom photographer. You see what I mean by benefiting from the talents of others?

Big Trip Catch Up Post

Playdough in the toes helps pass the time.



I lost my camera cord for a while, whew, blogging is hard to keep up. Can I talk about early in July? Yes, it's been in draft status for a while. It's a good story. We crammed into our trusty 96' Camry to drive through many states to get to a sweet little spot tucked just into Montana that all my Dad's side knows and love. All my siblings, all their spouses, all their children, my parents and grandfather were able to fit into the family cabin and enjoy a little time on the lakeside.

Much of the car ride looked like this:




When we stopped for our first break on the road, my back hurt, my knees were cramped and I heard Kynlee mutter "Finally we get a break." We had been on the road an hour and forty five minutes. We had twenty fourish to go. When the kids asked if we were close, Michael said "We're going to drive all day today,

and tomorrow....

we'll still be very far away."


Painful, yes. But good moments on the way. We happened to be here on the 4th of July. Go country!



The cabin was worth all the pain of the road. (Might I quickly insert, that if you would like a hotel/motel room in South Dakota, please note that you will drive from one end of the state to the other end of the state, stopping in every town only to find no available rooms. Not only are there no rooms, they will laugh at you when you say you have no reservations. No worries though, just pull into a rest stop after crossing the border and sleep for a few hours crunched over in your seat with one eye on a thug who might rob you and one arm around a little one who needs comforting).


Here are my parents, grandpa and siblings:




We did some of this:



and this:



and this:



and the kids did this:



and this:




It was great seeing the cousins all together.




Being in that environment made me think if you surround children with beauty they can't help but be beautiful.



It turned out this was our last time with my grandpa.




Beautiful timing though. Just before the trip, he turned 90 and we all wrote him a little note. Then we got to spend a week with him all together. He returned to his home in California shortly after that, golfed a couple times the week he passed, and was visiting some good friends in his front room when the moment came. Quick and easy, and he was ready to go.

I flew out for the funeral and took freebie Ander along. It was good to see the relatives there and see a beautiful closing to my grandpa's inspiring life. It was a quick and tiring trip, but I was glad I could go.

On a material sort of note: in the future we will be taking trips in this:



Our new car! Horray! We made it to the new century!

Don't worry little Camry, Michael will still commute to work with you.



Little Protege, it looks like this is goodbye :(




And in the future if I happen to ever fly first class again, Lisa and I will now know what to do when the flight attendant offers us a steamy hot washcloth with a pair of tongs. I may even put a few in the bathroom for guests in the future.

Race Tales

Saturday was a big day. We had a lot of races. Michael competed in his second triathlon. He did great on the swim and bike. The run ...he probably does not want to talk about the run.

During the last leg he thought,
"I don't ever want to do this race again."
After he finished he thought,
"I know I can do better!"

He signed up for his next triathlon that same night. I thought he did really well though, he made two of his goals, beat his old race time and beat my race time. I'll have to catch him in August.

The Running Walkers competed again in our county's version of The Amazing Race all day Saturday. Since Michael double booked himself unknowingly, I got my sister Lisa to step in and pair with me. We did awesome! Who came home with second place and a cash prize of $250? That's right, US. The big M and L. I think it was a combination of Lisa's brain power and my endurance. A shout out to our friends the Francis' who won the first park prize and got our game going.

And now I admit by ten o'clock that night I already spent my half of the earnings on a little house item I'd been eying. (The sale was ending, I had to act!)



On another note, Ander jumped his crib for the first time ten minutes after we laid him down for bed that night. Mayday mayday mayday! We have just lost nap and bedtime control!

(I may have to resort to locked bedroom doors.)

What Do You Do In the Summer Time...

Whew, this is a dusty blog. I've been cleaning my house and the blog has been neglected. I came across this in Kynlee's school journal:



Looks nice right? I want to do a little of that this summer. For the record I thought I'd post some things. One of Kynlee's favorite time of year is garage sell day. What do you think of when you hear the words garage sell?




That's right, face masks and karaoke machines.

Exactly what I was thinking.

It turns out the night before our neighborhood garage sell Kynlee was lamenting the fact she just missed buying a karaoke machine with her own money last year. When I spotted one the next morning I knew my heart couldn't deny helping her with the money a little to get it. Twenty minutes into her singing on the front porch with the neighborhood friends I wondered if there should be a rule about outside voices as well.



All simple Easton got out of the garage deal was a freebie face mask. Turns out people are willing to give away their junk for free if kids look longingly at things with empty pockets. I thought it was a crack-up he thought this old beat up purple bedazzled mask with a yellow feather was so awesome.



I'm just hoping no one makes a comment that the mask doesn't quite scream missile shooting, mind blowing super hero power.



On another note, Michael had a week off work. We didn't leave town- trying to save those nickels and dimes for a later expense- but we had fun with things nearby. Of course it needed to include water.



It took Kynlee a little push and five feet down the slide to conquer all fears and decide she loves water slides.



Easton is not afraid to get his face wet, hooray!



And most of my shots of Ander seem to look like this, doesn't really want to turn around for the camera.



To show that I try as a mom, here's my last topic. Kynlee wanted to throw a summer party and get back together with some of her kindergarten friends. She drew up a picture and I made an invitation out of it:



I'd show you the cute water balloons hanging from the pergola, a snap shot of the kids throwing water balloons at each other, maybe a couple of them kicking a giant ball squirting water, and I would definitely include a shot of Kynlee with her friends at the picnic table eating cake with cool whip and strawberries. Alas, I forgot when you are the mom hosting the party your hands are a little too busy for snap shots. It will just have to be a memory.