Frosty the Snowman

Arcadia singing Frosty with the rest of her school. :)

Sorry it's so dark.

My Little Russian Ballerina

Here is Arcadia's recital. She's the last one to come in. :)

And a picture for you too. :)

Christmas Lists

This time of year starts to send me in a panic. People start asking me what I want for Christmas, etc. I used to have answers for them, but I no longer do. Lately, it's just "send me a gift certificate" etc. I never really know what to ask for.

On the other hand, my children have no problem in that category! LOL The annual Toys "r" Us Biggest Toy Book Ever came out in our paper about a month ago. I let them both at it with their own seperate markers (pink for Arcadia and green for Ken) and practically everything is either checked or circled. Guess they made it easy on Santa this year, huh? Arcadia wants a dollhouse... any doll house... as that they were ALL circled in pink, I don't think which one she gets is an issue. She also wants ALL the art stuff listed (no surprise there, she is my little artistic one). Ken wants anything that he can build with - Legos, KNex, Lincoln Logs, etc. I guess they won't be problems (and since we're pretty much finished with their gifts, then that's good... except for the Santa gifts... Guy and I have yet to talk about those).

Then there's Guy. I don't have a CLUE what to get him. What do you get someone who buys what he wants when he sees it? He mentioned wanting a copy of the CM Russell painting his parents have, but the only problem is, I don't know which one it is (Ken, Janet, if you know what it's called, please let me know!). We also need a new pepper grinder. Ours has gone kaput... so a new one is a definate, but that in itself is an issue. Which one to buy? There are soooo many choices out there! I look on amazon.com and there are over 100 choices. Man... I can narrow that down by size, but still it's going to take a while to find the perfect one. And truthfully, that's not enough... I did get him tickets to go see Coldplay in November. That was part of his gifts, but I really want something for under the tree.

I think I have ideas now for Guy, but I'm going to keep looking. I never realized that shopping for someone could be so difficult. Oh wait... yes, I did... I'm that difficult to shop for! LOL

oh... and I still have to take the kids shopping for Daddy... Ugh.

Knock me over with a feather!

I just got a call from my Mom (Hi Mom!) and she just told me something...


well...


she didn't say it was a secret...


so I'm telling! :p


(Love you Mom!)


You ready?



Huh?



Are you sure?



Are you sitting down?



Positive you really want to know?



Well...



Here it is....





She got married!!!!!!

She and Craig got married on December 7th in a very spur of the moment private outdoor wedding in California. I'm so very happy for her!!! :) Craig's a great guy and we've been wondering when the wedding bells would start ringing for them... :) Just kinda wish we could of been there for her... ;) That's okay... I'll see her soon anyways. (You know I'm horrible at keeping secrets as good as this one, Mom! Don't be mad! Just wanted to spread the joy!)

Congratulations Mom and Craig!!!! We love You!!!! :)

Things I've done

I stole this from Mommy I'm Home, who stole it off A Day with Twins .

The things I've done will be in bold.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (only as far as they'll let you go now, no longer allowed to the top)
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Can you say... Brrrrrrrrrr?!?!?

It is currently 14 degrees F outside my home today (according to the thermometer on my computer). This morning... before the sun came up it was a brisk 2 degrees, yep, you read that right 2! Talk about COLD!!!! That's okay though, it was a lot warmer IN the house and that's where I plan on staying (except for my ventures to the mailbox and to the school to drop off and then to get the kids). With the sun out though, the snow WILL melt on the streets and sidewalks. It's supposed to reach the 40s today, but I'm seriously doubting that at this moment. Hopefully I will be proven wrong!

As for the shoveling... the only thing my son wanted after shoveling was Cocoa. So that was his payment. I can handle payment in Cocoa! I actually had lots of help with the three kids I had with me from school yesterday! Went a lot faster than I expected it would. Thank goodness for helpful kids! :)

I've been Tagged... by a bookworm!

OK- I've been tagged by my friend Michele with this bookworm meme. "A meme comprises any idea or behavior that can pass from one person to another by learning or imitation." (according to Wikipedia) The rules are to grab the book closest to you, turn to page 56, type the first sentence of the 5th paragraph.

So... since I'm sitting in our "library" of sorts.. that shouldn't be too hard, right?... Okay... from On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony.

"I am Chronos, colloquially known as Time."

Quite fitting since we're nearing the end of the year...

Now.. whom should I tag?

Um... I tag my friend Lisa, whom I've known for oh so many years since our Freshman year at U of H. And I tag my friend Elizabeth... who I've known a little longer than Lisa... ;)

Updates

Well... we've gotten our first substantial snowfall of the season. The kids loved seeing it come down this morning. I have to admit it is beautiful to watch falling, but after the first few minutes I realize that along with the snow comes shoveling... which I need to do, I'm just sitting here at my desk looking out of the window and hoping that the sun, which has just recently come out, will start it's job of melting the snow. I did have a very nice neighbor come by with his snow blower and cleared off some of our sidewalk. I should of grabbed him and bribed him to do our driveway and sidewalk up to our house. I just don't wanna! Maybe I can get Ken to do it! He's old enough now! Almost 7 counts... he can earn a couple dollars!





The scout meeting went really well this week. The boys really loved making snowflakes and decorating ornaments. They will be getting their Pinewood Derby cars at the next Pack meeting. It's the project that the boys (and their fathers) look most forward to every year. They get a block of wood and four wheels and a set of instructions:


I'll take a picture of Ken as he designs and makes his with Daddy.


Next Friday we have Arcadia's recital. She's doing the Russian dance from the Nutcracker (I really need to buy some tickets to take her to a real production this year, I think she'd like it). Then on Saturday, Ken's in the "Festival of Lights" Parade. We have to get to the site at 3:30 to decorate the float with tons and tons of lights. The parade is after 5:00 (when it starts getting dark here) so Ken gets to actually ride on a float! Pictures will be sure to follow!!!

Arcadia's school party has been moved to the following Thursday which really makes it a lot nicer for our scheduling! Thank goodness. Should be fun.

Then the kids will be home for a few weeks for Winter break. Should be fun... but I will have to plan some playdates for the kids so they don't drive me up the walls those two weeks! LOL ;)

I suppose I should get back to work now.