Birthday, Recital, Gingerbread Houses

Zero Teen

Amelia just turned 10.  She is so excited to be in the double digits, hates the term "Tween", and since she can't wait to be a TEEN - she has proclaimed she is "Zero Teen".  Slow down girl - momma can't handle this growing up stuff!! As therapy I put together a slide show of the first decade of Amelia. 

Recital-Katie Irish Dance

Many have asked - here is a movie of Katie's Irish Dance Recital from this weekend. Katie is the tallest one in the middle. Sorry it's bit blurry, but you get the idea!

Gingerbread Houses

In celebration of such a busy weekend and to continue with our Christmas Festivities, we enjoyed building some Gingerbread Houses with Auntie T, J, and E!! Next year each kid gets their own - everyone has their own idea of what the Gingerbread house should look like!!

It's Beginning to Look a lot like the HOLIDAYS!

The holidays are upon us - I can tell this because we have started embarking on some of our annual holiday festivities.
Holiday Festivity 1:
Each year we try to attend a holiday show. We used to go see The PNB Nutcracker. Then last year I shook it up a bit and we went to see the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Show.  I love the Rockettes and had always wanted to see their show.  This year we went to see A Christmas Story: The Musical.  It was fantastic! A Christmas Story is Tony's favorite holiday movie.  We are subjected to the 24 hour marathon of A Christmas Story on TBS every year on Christmas day. When I found out that the Fifth Avenue was doing it as a musical I knew it was the holiday show we HAD to see!!

Tony and Amelia are by the tree (it was a bit dark)

Holiday Festivity 2:

Going to see Santa at Nordstrom flagship store in Downtown Seattle. 

We waited patiently in line for only one hour this year.  

(Previous years we have waited up to 3 hours). 

We do this because the Nordstrom Santa IS the only real Santa!

Shoe Shine!

It's hard to put down a good book!

And then finally it is our turn!!!

I am really hoping the photo that the professional photographer took turns out better than the one's Mrs. Claus  took:

Holiday Festivity 3:

Riding the downtown Holiday Carousel.

Unexpected Holiday Festivity for this Year:

SNOW DAYS - 2.5 days of school cancelled, 1 day of work cancelled, lots of snow, and some sledding and celebrating in the freezing cold.

Just a Festivity: (not really a Holiday Festivity, but nonetheless a "Festivity")

On Veteran's Day we went to see the Picasso exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum.  In my continued effort to inspire culture and creativity in my family, I thought this seemed like a great opportunity.  

Two fatal flaws with my plan were: 

-Since it was a holiday it was PACKED with people (I really hate crowds and other people breathing my air). I thought since they make you buy a ticket for a specific time, that they would limit the number of people for each time slot.  It seemed they calculated the number of people for each time slot by taking the amount of people allowed per the fire code regulations and then squeezing in 10 more people per time slot.

-I should investigate the artist prior to embarking on a cultural experience.  Picasso's subject matter was not the most appropriate artistic venue for the 9 year old (and in some cases the teenager or the 40ish folk).  Amelia put together the fact that Picasso lead a very exciting life and that he had 2 mistresses at one time.  She increased her vocabulary with words such as promiscuous and phallic. She also discovered that the painting her art teacher has in the art room is one of his mistresses- "Do you think my teacher knows that is his mistress that is in the artroom"!

The day ended with a lunch of fudge and chocolate at Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory and a stop by the "Gum Wall" in Seattle on our way back to the car.  What is a gum wall you ask? It is disgusting - it is a wall under Pike Place Market that people put chewed gum on - and some of it is shaped into designs and words.  Not sure how this began - it is so disgusting I cannot bring myself to look it up. I could almost feel the germs emanating from the wall - EWWWWW!!

The only picture we took to chronicle our day of creativity and culture:

Amelia by the Gum Wall

WELCOME TINY BABY LILLIAN!!

Arriving into the world early - my great niece - Lillian Marie!!

My baby nephew is a daddy!!!

I remember when he was too small for his car seat!!

Born September 1, 2010 - 5lbs 8 oz

Congratulations Mal and Josh - she is absolutely beautiful!

I am sure there will soon be many more pics posted on mommy's blog!

Fence and Goat Vacation

The Goats took a vacation to Auntie T's. They assisted in getting her overgrowth down to a manageable level. While they were on the 5 week vacation I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to see about getting a fence that would actually maintain them into the back area of the yard and they could not escape into the pool area as they had been doing.

Here is how it went:

Quote #1 for fence: $2,400

Quote #2 for fence: First appt. the guy did not show up. Reschedule for the next weekend. Guy shows up, looks at our back yard, where we want to put the fence and says, "I can't match any other bids you have." I say, "But you don't even know what the other bids are." To which he replies annoyed - "Oh yeah, what are they". I tell him - he says, "Yeah I can't match that"

Since I think $2,400 is way too high for a chain link fence I talk T into doing it ourselves to save $$$.

Trip #1 to Home Depot: $547

Trip to different Home Depot to rent auger: $77

I sleep 12 hours, take tons of cold medicine.

T begins digging holes for posts.

I supervise and measure if the hole is deep enough and measure spacing between post holes.

T digs 12 holes - only injures himself once - we don't think the femur is broken.

I begin to make Quick Crete for first hole - this is hard stuff to stir!!

T steps in and does majority of stirring.

We set posts - I mostly operate the level (handy little tool) and scoop the mixed Quick Crete in to holes.

We take a break to let them set up while we go to Chinatown Parade to see K and Kit in it.

I take more cold medicine

We begin stretching chain link and installing gates.

Trip #2 to Home Depot - credit $39 (bought too much stuff) purchased $65 (didn't buy enough of other stuff)

We get all but the last 10 feet done and are out of some supplies and out of time - I have to return to work.

We drop Kit off at Horse Camp:

T is off the entire week and wishes he could return to work where it is not so labor intensive!

Trip #3 to Home Depot - $28 pick up the supplies we were short

Resume last 10 feet of fence building after work one day.

FINAL COST - NOT $2400 - and truly PRICELESS because we can now say "WE BUILT THAT FENCE OURSELVES (and we are still married and have found out we can actually work together pretty good as a team)". I can't wait for retirement - think of the projects we can do!!

You can tell it was not a "professional" job, but it is holding back the goats from the pool area and it looks pretty damn nice!!!

See for yourself

Once again - Catching UP!!

Since it has been so long since the last post - so much has/is happening.

Here's some quick updates -

Late Winter/Early Spring

The best word to describe these months - CHOICES.

Many of them - some easy, some not so easy.

The biggest choice was what high school to choose for K. She got into all the high schools she applied to -so we then had to decide which one. Thanks to the family and friends that listened to me agonize (over and over) about this decision. Yes we finally chose the one in the south end and so far it has proved to be a great choice (see below).

Other choices were Kit and K's choices.

Kit's big choice was who to choose for her final biography book report. She was on the fence between the Virgin Mary and Taylor Swift! What a nut - I think this is hilarious - I don't think you could be at farther ends of the spectrum. The book report involved not only a poster, but you had to dress like the person and present the facts. She was all about dressing like the Virgin Mary or like Taylor Swift - she even had the costumes all selected.... And then the final day came to decide and declare who you were selecting - Kit chose .... Joan of Arc!!! I did not see that one coming - but she thought it was the perfect "compromise". She did great on the report and made a wonderful Joan of Arc - we even scored some awesome white boots at the thrift store for the outfit for 68 cents.

Similar story for K - she was assigned a research paper - it could be on ANYTHING - any topic she chose. I am providing ideas like health care reform, environmental impact of big industry, alternate energy sources, Mac vs. PC... She ignores all of them an one day states, "Actually I am trying to decide between ... Goats or Ireland!!!" Really? Well -goats won out. It was a good report and quite informative about Taz and Rusty (and goats in general). She did wait until the last minute to put it all together but was still able to score an A!!!

THE END OF THE BEGINNING

The flagship/first Red Robin Closed it's doors in the Spring - we of course had to go one last time to the restaurant location that began it all!!!

PERFORMANCES

Kit had a violin recital.

K had her final middle school band performance and her annual spring Irish Dance Recital.

SCHOOL'S OUT!

School ended with a bang -

K graduated with High Honors and is on to high school! We attended a very nice graduation mass followed by a brunch with slide show and posters for each student. Then in the evening there was a very nice graduation ceremony. Great Job K!!

Kit is on to 4th grade and will be allowed into Iowa. The joke about being "allowed into Iowa" is a family joke about the standardized test they give to 4th graders - the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. Kit was concerned when she was taking it and so I began joking that if she did not pass it - the only implication would be that she would not be allowed into Iowa!! I hate standardized tests!! However, she did very well and should not have any problems getting into Iowa - or any other state!!

SUMMER

Summer has been full of summer camps for Kit and figuring out what to do with a teenager for the entire summer.

Kit has enjoyed themed day camps with her school's extended day program - then attended day horse camp last week.

K has been filling her days at home playing Wii; reading; using her laptop (web surfing, emailing, creating garage band songs and home movies); and reading. Yes I said reading twice - so far she has re-read the entire Harry Potter series, some Warriors, other misc... Everything except her required summer reading for high school!!!

Last week K attended overnight horse camp and had so much fun she is going back in early August!!

K's evenings include Irish Dance practice and marching band. The big Feis (Irish Dance Competition) is next weekend so she is gearing up for that.

The high school has a marching band - it is awesome. She is getting to know some of her classmates and getting to march in a total of 7 Seafair parades!!! An added bonus is that siblings get to be in the parade carrying the banner - so Kit gets to be part of marching in the parades as well.

VACATION

Due to summer camp schedules, marching band schedules, and our work schedules - we only had 4 days that we could take a family/summer vacation. So we went to Spokane, a place which I and the girls had never been. It was a very fun time and I think Spokane is a cute little city. It is kind of like stepping back into the 1980's!! The 80's rule!!! We stayed right downtown by the river which has a river path that stretches for 60 miles I was told by a local. We did a driving loop up to Sand Point then to Coeur d' Alene and it was beautiful.

We visited Grand Coulee dam on our way back. I never realized how many dams there were in Washington!! And I learned that all the hydro power that is generated in Washington is not owned by Washington (which I thought is was), but by Bonneville Power Admin/Federal Government!!! I am not sure why I thought Washington owned the power, nor am I sure why I find this so interesting, I just do!! I guess maybe I wondered what was happening to all the $$ - now I know!!

It was a short, yet fun little get-a-way.

Speaking of get-a-ways, I also just snuck away on mini vacation with my sister L - in celebration of her 50th Birthday. She wouldn't let me throw her a big party, so I made her go to Leavenworth with me. We had a great time together!!

That's it for now - need to get going to take J and E back to Auntie T and go visit the goats who are on loan to Auntie T to eat up the weeds in her back yard at her new place.