December Daily 2018: Days 13, 14, & 15

Believe it or not, I made it all the way through Dec. 31 by the 2nd!  I'm going to add the images three days at a time here as I like to both share and have a digital record.  Above is the 13th, which was crafts and cookie season intro with the girl scouts. 

This is the two page spread

The 14th was the final phase of "Project Care" B went to Faithworks with his team and helped deliver the gifts they had purchased and lead around the kids who were participating.

Day 15 was our HUGE Christmas Open house party so there are a lot of photos!

I went with a big collage for the second page complete with this overlay.

The party included up to 80 people, lots of friends, family and neighbors.  We met a lot of new people in the process.  We had SO much food and lots left over. It is a really fun event and a lot of work, but I am so glad we have made it part of our family traditions. 

December Daily 2015 - Day 12

E's half Birthday! But really, it was cookie-baking.

We ended Day 11 with beautiful lights.  I added a partial page on the right hand side full of random prettiness. 

 The back side of it uses a bit more red and dark colors, but I think both are lots of fun. I sealed a few pockets with my new fuse tool, but use some old school washi tape  too.

 The right hand page is super simple and so was the day.  We, for possibly the first time ever, had no plans on a December Saturday.  We mostly stayed home and baked cookies.  Some cookies go to DC to my office, some to neighbors, but most are for us.  We made maple, chocolate chip, sugar, and quadruple chocolate cookies, with some help from Zane. I think the Maple are my favorite, but they are all quite good.  Otherwise, we wrapped presents, I went to yoga, we hung out with Grandma and generally had a lovely quiet day.  We ended it with another small tour of the neighborhood lights with Grandma.

Here are the two pages together with lots of journaling on this quiet Saturday. 

Family Vacation 2015 - DC Day 3

 Rationally, as an experienced DC area resident I knew the National Mall would be insane the week of the 4th and hot.  Also, seeing one of the space shuttles up close was a definite personal life goal.  So, we began day 3 (aka museum day) at the Smithsonian's Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center out in Virginia instead.  It is a cousin to the Aerospace Museum in DC, but enormous and with a space shuttle!  It was as awesome as I'd dreamed.

 This is our crew in front of the shuttle - Brent and our three kids and Heather and her daughters (who had visited previously)

 Look how up close you get? The tiles are individually numbered and the whole experience of discussing the space shuttle and thinking about its life journey was amazing.

 Lion & E were in to the astronauts, but really, really wanted us to get back to the airplanes... and we did...

 But not until we saw the shuttle from every angle.

 Around the space shuttle were several other space type vehicles of various eras as well as the rockets that proceeded them.  (And my daughter with a penguin stuffie).

 B ended up being very interested in the rockets and missiles.   This section led to discussions about why they were developed and why most were never used, the cost, the cold war, etc... B read all the signs in this area and figured out which could go furthest, had the most strength, etc...

 We did make it out to see the planes to E's delight.

This is a mock up of an early wright brother's plane.

The planes are just in layers upon layers all through the hanger. It is phenomenal and a little overwhelming.  There are famous ones like the Enola Gay (another complicated conversation) and the Concord as well as trick planes from shows, military planes, hot air balloon baskets, fed ex planes, etc... To the right here is one of the simulators that Brent and the big kids rode in.  About this time people were tired and ready for naps.  We headed back to DC and E napped in the car.

 Brent really wanted to take the kids to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and we did.  Getting there involved a lot of driving around the mall area looking for parking and taking in the sights.  Then, there was a bit of a forced march across the National Mall, accompanied with a surprisingly small number of complaints.  We made it! And took the requisite picture with the elephant inside.

 We took a peek at the Hope Diamond and then meandered our way through the minerals and gems exhibit. It is a great place with lots of hands on and shiny things.

 I've been here dozens of times, but experiencing it with them was totally new and awesome. I wish we had had more time and that there were several thousand less people enjoying it with us.

 We also visited the ocean area, the small dino section (larger section is under construction), and a bug zoo portion.

And more of this guy.  The building itself is just gorgeous.  SO glad we made the rushed trip to see it and that our kids held up for the whirlwind adventure.

One reason we were rushing was that Heather and Evan were graciously hosting a BBQ for us back at their place for my Law School and Masters Program friends and their families.  It was a lovely chance to catch up, watch our kids play, and hear how everyone is doing.  Thanks so much to everyone who came and to Heather and Evan for being amazing hosts this day and throughout our stay!


Family notes/Favorites for Day 3

Day 3:

E- elephant, panda, lion, frogs, turtles, lot of airplanes

B- lots of pretty shiny expensive things, lots of airplanes and missiles, middle that went 700 mph, second highest 620 mph

M- making crowns, playing in a tree club

Abbey- minerals and Quartz and space shuttle, old friends

Brent - so many airplanes

Ten on Tuesday

1.  I sometimes wonder about the settlers on these plains before the weathermen learned their craft.  Think how astonishing it would be when the temperature drops from 77 to 30 overnight with no warning? We had warning, but still amazing.  We also picked all of our fall flowers, unhooked hoses, etc...

2.  Since we knew the weather was coming it was "everybody outside" afternoon."  Many, many months ago we attempted to teach B to ride his bike without training wheels. It didn't go that well and ended in tears/emo situation that landed his bike on the wall of the garage ever since.  Yesterday, M was riding her bike and B had been using his scooter as he has all summer. I tentatively suggested maybe trying the bike again.  He agreed.  Loved it.  And easily learned to ride it in just a few minutes.  He still needs a little help getting started, but only just barely. Today it is 30 degrees and he wants to know if he can ride his bike after school.... Victory?

3. Lady M had two birthday parties to attend on Sunday.  They were both girls she loved and she just couldn't choose so we split the time and did both. First, we went to Ashtyn's 5th birthday party.  She borrowed this cheerleading outfit, took pictures with cheerleaders, hit the pinata, and generally enjoyed a beautiful party straight out of pinterest.  Then, we switched into this "princess" dress for her friend Alescia's party. Alescia's party was also fun, but much simpler and with both boys and girls.  By the end of 4+ hours of parties though Ms. M was very tired and ready to go home.

4. B had what will likely be his last baseball practice of the fall on Saturday.  It was a perfectly beautiful day for baseball. This was my first time at practice and surprisingly the coach and I were the only parents.  I had M&E along as Brent was driving back from the OU game.  I mostly watched the nature explorers while B practiced with a few friends.

5.  Playdates are weird and I still have no idea what to expect from them.  All of B's early playdates were with his friend P and they last a minimum of 5 hours, often much longer.  This weekend during all those birthday parties B&P had a play date at our house that lasted 7+ hours.  (I don't mind the long play dates actually as these guys rarely see each other and have such a good time together).  Then yesterday, four of B's neighborhood friends came over after school and had a play date that lasted, I kid you not, 7 minutes and 37 seconds.  Their mom said they could come over for ten minutes but it too them more than 2 minutes to arrive.  M's play dates seem to be around the 2 hour mark, which is probably more normal, right?

6.  Motivated by internet discounts on ordering Christmas Cards early I have actually ordered our Christmas Cards (they will be addressed for me so just stamps necessary when they arrive).  I also sent out Christmas Tea invites and ordered paper versions of those, not to mention having plans in place for the next three weekends. I am feeling delightfully organized and hoping to be able to sit back and enjoy the celebrations more with plans and some of the product all set. I do still need to figure out what I'm cooking for the, at least, five Thanksgiving celebrations we're participating in (2 family, 2 school, 1 church).

7.  I'm taking a photography class of sorts this month.  It is called "Lens of Joy" and is taught by Ali Edwards (my favorite).  I hadn't planned to sign up, but did at the last minute.  I'm amazed at the amount of content and the thoughtfulness in the early lessons.  In week one, we don't pick up the camera. Rather we think about what is influencing our vission, why we take photos, our history with photography, and our "voice."  I like the idea of wanting each photo to capture a story as I really do search for that in my scrapbooking, but often don't think about it enough while taking the photos. In any case, you'll find me listening to lessons most evenings now as I attempt to catch up, but also reflecting alot on the whys and vision of my photography.

8.  While Brent was at the game this weekend, we made a three hour trip to the Y.  It is a great set-up for not so busy Saturdays.  First, I do yoga alone and then it is time for family swim to begin so we all switch clothes and do family swim for an hour or until E is too cold.  It makes both seem like more worth the effort and entices my kids to not mind childcare if we get to go swimming afterwards.

9.  We are trying to focus on gratitude this month. I'm not completely sure it is reaching the kids.  We've given food to several different food drives.  We've talked about bringing food to the Church's Thanksgiving dinner for the needy and my possibly volunteering there.  We talk almost daily about what they are grateful for (after explaining what grateful means).  The themes are being reiterated at school/Sunday School, but I'm not really sure if they get it.  M was able to recite to me the story of the first Thanksgiving (the nice version) yesterday and everyone seems to be making turkey crafts daily at school so progress is being made on some fronts, right?

10.  Mr. E is feeling a bit more 2 of late.  One interesting conundrum is that he really wants to be carried a lot.  When M was this age I was definitely not carrying her due to my costocondritis and being pregnant.  E is smaller than she was, but still getting to be pretty heavy.  That said, he's my last baby and I have a very hard time saying no to carrying him when I know there is so little time left on that front.  It is possible last babies get spoiled a little bit, but you knew that right?  Otherwise, he is completely sweet and tells me he loves me way more than any of the other kids.  He loves to snuggle still, which is awesome.  He does a lot of running these days all over the place (when not being carried).  He likes to watch B play minecraft, but is also completely able to get to the Toca Boca games he likes on the ipad and start them up.  He will do this while the big kids and I are doing chores, just quietly slipping away unnoticed to get some game time by himself.  In snort, he also remains sneaky.  Love that little one so much. 

Five on Friday - Favorite Cookbooks

I read a recent Orangette post and was inspired to share my favorite 5 cookbooks of the moment with you, this are in no particular order:

1.  How to Cook Everything - Mark Bittman -- best all around cook book.  I've used and loved it for 13+ years. I often give this as part of a wedding gift.

2. Good to the Grain - Kim Boyce - whole grain recipes that taste phenomenal

3. The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook - Deb Perleman, variety of recipes, always good

4. Perfect Recipes for Having People Over - Pam Anderson (no, not that one)

5. The All-American Dessert Book - Nancy Baggett-- -the one that is just cookies is good too.


Of course, I cook mostly off of pinterest these days, which means lots of Smitten Kitchen and Skinnytaste :)

Happy 4th of July

 I love celebrating the fourth of July with our family.  Last year, we began spending the day working our way through small town fun via Edmond's LibertyFest celebrations and this year we largely did the same with a BBQ party at Able & Kari's in the middle.

We arrived at the parade 10 minutes early, but it was already underway.  We couldn't quite make it across the street to Aunt Audra so we watched from the opposite side.  (Yes, I did get all my kids at least one piece of red, white, and blue clothing for the occasion.  I am finally stepping up my 4th preparations).

 Luckily, there were horses early in the parade as these are currentlya family favorite.

 I totally love E's shirt with the stars on the yoke.  He loved the parade, but also walked around us in circles fairly often. It was pretty hot, but we hung in there for about 1.5 hours (we apparently left with just a few groups remaining).

These two are adorable and aside for some parking frustrations for Brent had a good time taking it all in. 

Then we headed to Able & Kari's.  I cooked for the first 45 minutes or so, but probably should have just brought watermelon as that was clearly the favorite.  I think E and his budy Kady only had watermelon.  Our hosts made lovely chicken and banana pudding (the later was my favorite of the day).

 There was a lot of swimming in the "big kid pool."  M and Brody, in particular had a great time splashing and playing together. The Korenak crew joined us as well, but left slightly earlier for naptime and Grandma's house.

 Look, all three kids in one picture being cute!  After this we headed home for family naps, steak supper, and ParkFest/Firework prep. There are only snow cones and BBQ at ParkFest so we provisioned ourselves accordingly and added more sunscreen.

7:20pm - We drove across Edmond listening to Sousa marches, which is a family tradition.  We quickly found a perfect viewing spot, and began our trek across the UCO campus.  Have I mentioned I love college campuses (and these two guys too?)

 First stop - snow cones.  Of course moments after this everyone had snowcone juice on their whites, but it was worth it.

 B loves that they have make your own flavor and he had a whole rainbow going on his snowcone.

E prefers to taste all the flavors and mostly shared with everyone although technically he had his own that ended up mostly being Brent's.

 There is a lot of waiting in line involved.  The bouncy houses and rides are free, but there are just a few compared to the number of attendees.  We were wandering through lines for 2 hours and went on 2-3 rides/bouncy things per kid.  Line standing can be fun too if you have a bunch of tired kids :)

 Bouncy house #1

 Of course they blasted through in seconds.

 More waiting in line.  B & M rode their first carnival ride.  I think called the wrecking ball, with Brent after a long wait.  Luckily the timing just worked as they were on the next to the last riding group of the night.

Then we went back to the minivan, folded down the back seats (cleaned up a bit, ahem) and then had some people in chairs and some inside as we watched 30 minutes of beautiful fireworks.  E didn't know what we were waiting for and seemed to think we were waiting for stars to turn on, which was humorous.  He did climb in and out of the van between us and his chair quite a bit, but otherwise seemed to have a great time.  No tears all around and lots of fun.  We even made it home much more quickly this year.  It was a wonderful 4th of July celebration in Edmond and continued into the weekend at the farm.  To be continued...