Christmas 2012

Photo Card

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Hey, we're doing Christmas cards this year.  Missed doing them last year.  Here's a preview!

School pictures time.  Every year I wonder why I bother to spend money on school pictures.  They never turn out great.  I just wish for the price that they took a few seconds more with each child to get a relatively good picture of them.  The boys turned out fine, but Ashtyn, hmmm. . . .it would be nice if she was actually smiling at least.

Time Is Flying By

Ok, so here it is and it's been another couple of months since I've posted anything.  Summer is gone and school has started again.

Jaden is big man on campus as a 5th grader this year.  I can't believe that this is his last year in the elementary school.  I hope that it goes slowly as I'm not ready for a middle schooler.  He's in a mixed age classroom of 4th and 5th graders and while I love his teachers I'm not thrilled with the whole mixed age thing.  Most of his day they switch classes around so that the 5th graders are on their own, but still it's different.

Colten is in 2nd grade and doing great.  The class caterpillars are all now in cocoons and he's anxiously waiting for them to come out as butterflies.  Both boys just joined the swim team and are loving it.  They have practice 3 times a week for an hour each time and they work them HARD.  The boys are exhausted but happy after each practice.  I'm hoping that their love of it continues through the 6 months that they have signed up for it. 

Ashtyn is finally in school with her big brothers.  She's in Kindergarten this year and for the first time our school is having all day kindergarten.  She loves school and is doing great.  She's our perfectionist and determined to do her personal best on every assignment.  She was just thrilled this week when she finally had homework to do.  Our only issue has been her exhaustion when she gets home.  I'm wondering where my sweet little girl went because by the time she gets home she's just falling apart and the attitude all comes out.

Hoping that the school routine settles in well as we all adjust to a new year.  It's my first year in 10 years that I haven't had a child at home with me.  Don't worry, I'm keeping more than busy.  Still working for the clinic, trying to get the house taken care of, and then the kids are home by 2:30pm and I really have to juggle hats for the rest of the day.

Piano

Going back to the first of May, Jaden had his first piano recital.  At that point he had been playing for just under 9 months.  He was pretty nervous about playing in front of a large group, but he did really well and was pleased with how it went.  Enjoy!

Fiddle On The Roof

Roller Coaster

Zum Gali Gali

He's currently working on learning the Harry Potter theme song and still enjoying his piano learning.

It's been awhile

wow, it has once again been a long time since I've blogged.  I really do want to get back in the habit of blogging regularly.
It's now almost the middle of summer vacation.  We finished out a crazy busy school year, took a vacation out to Washington DC and Virginia (more about that in another post to come), and are still trying to settle into a good summer routine.  The kids are finishing up 4 straight weeks of daily swimming lessons and the progress that they've made is fabulous.  The boys are still taking taekwondo twice a week, and we are trying to remember to have Jaden practice daily for his piano lessons.  He's getting some extra motivation through the book of Harry Potter music that his teacher started him on.  My sister and brother-in-law came out for an extended weekend visit which was great fun.  And now the July 4th weekend is practically here.  Where is the summer going?
So I'll try to catch up with a few extra blogs this week with the highlights of what we've done the past several months.  I hope that you all are having a great summer!

Oh, and to share a funny story:
Jaden brought me the kid's bottle of vitamins earlier this week with a concerned look on his face.  He said, "Mom, it says here not to take if you are pregnant or may become pregnant."  I nodded and waited for where this was heading.  "So Ashtyn shouldn't take these then."  As I am thinking, "what?  Where did this come from?" he continues. "All girls can be pregnant so Ashtyn shouldn't take these."  Hmmm  . . . . how to respond.  I smiled at him and said that no, Ashtyn can't be pregnant until she grows up and gets married.  He looked a little bewildered but relieved and I decided I really didn't want to take the conversation any further.  We'll leave that conversation for Daddy to have with him when he's a little bit older.  Why do they have to grow up?

Ollivander

After Luna's passing the kids immediately began to beg for a new pet.  It was probably my fault as I had always told them that 3 pets were the maximum at our house.  We briefly talked about another cat, but Fleur is a little bit litter box picky and we didn't want to rock the boat with her.  Joshua has had two mini dachshunds in the past, one that became family to me too when we got married.  He's been commenting that he'd really like another mini dachshund if we ever got another dog, and dropping hints every so often.  Now I loved Frankie (the last mini dachshund) but she really could be high strung, especially with the barking.  Not sure if it was a breed thing or just the training of two high school boys.  So I started to research dachshunds to see if there were differences in temperament, etc. that we should be aware of.  According to numerous websites and "experts" long haired mini dachshunds are supposed to be calmer than the short haired dachshunds (and on a side note the long haired ones aren't supposed to really shed at all).  Then we discovered the English Cream Dachshunds.  They are supposed to be calmer than the reds or black dachshunds.  We also liked that they are more unique and not often seen.  We had been wanting a dog that was different in appearance from the previous dachshunds too.  So I continued to research and found a breeder that shows her dogs about an hour and a half away from us.  She had a new litter of puppies that the mom was an English Cream Mini Dachshund, and two of the pups were "shaded" English Cream.  The shaded English creams have a tiny bit of black shading on their ears and tail when full grown.  But hey this is probably all a lot more information than you wanted to know.  Anyway, we decided on the little boy long haired shaded english cream mini dachshund.  Quite a mouthful huh.  We had to wait a couple of weeks until he was old enough to come home, but he's been home with us for a week and a half now and we are loving having him as part of our family. 
We named him Ollivander, but just call him Vander.  How did we get that name?  It's a minor Harry Potter character name, and we unknowingly had named both of our cats with minor Harry Potter character names so decided to continue the trend.  
Here are a few pictures of Vander.  He'll get lighter in color as he gets older until he is completely cream except for bits on his ears and tail.  His hair will also get longer.

Yes, Mishka is quite a bit bigger than Vander, but Vander adores him and follows him everywhere.  Mishka has a lot of patience with him.  Fleur isn't playful with him, but she doesn't seem to mind having Vander around.  This is a relief as she really dislikes Mishka and will case Mishka out of her area if he dares to enter it.
The kids (ours and the whole neighborhood) are loving having Vander around so he is never short on playmates.  I'll post more pictures as he gets bigger.

Chicago Fun

Joshua's twin brother and his family came for a visit this week. This is big news around here as it's only their second visit out to see us and we've lived here just shy of 10 years now. They only had a couple of days here to visit, but we really filled those days up seeing things. Their first day here we took the train into Chicago and showed them some sights. It was a rainy, chilly day in Chicago, but we still had a good time. We went up the Sears/Willis Tower (although we saw mostly clouds while up there on the 103rd floor),

got amazing Chicago style pizza at Giordanno's for lunch, got caramel popcorn at Garrett's walked through Millenium park,

and visited the Museum of Science and Industry (what a great museum! We've been twice and still haven't made it all the way through and the kids are begging to go back again).  Then caught the train back home.  What a full day!

The next day we took them out to Shipshewana, IN where there is a large Amish community.  We had lunch at the Blue Gate Restaurant (An Amish style restaurant) and then visited the Amish grocery store.  They really loved it all.  We finished off the day going to the South Bend Chocolate Cafe for treats, stopping by the College Football Hall of Fame, and then watching the kids swim at the hotel pool. 

We wish that they could have stayed longer, but it was great to visit with them for at least a couple of days.  Hopefully next time they visit they'll come in the summer and we can venture to the beach together and enjoy outdoor activities more.

Shrek The Muscial

Here are some pictures from the wonderful performance the 4th and 5th graders did of Shrek the Muscial last night. Jaden was part of the chorus as a clown, and a good friend of the family played young Fiona. Most of the pictures are of the two of them.

Luna

It's been a hard weekend for me.  Our cat Luna is not doing well.  Yes, she's old so it's to be expected.  She has been losing weight and decreasing in health for the last year or so, well at least more dramatically.  The end of this last week she has reached the point where she seems to really have to work on her breathing, and then yesterday was barely able to get enough energy to walk across the room.  My heart is just breaking for her.  I know that these are her final days and out of our desire to not cause her more suffering than necessary I think we've decided to take her in and put her to sleep later this week. I say "I think" as I can't bear to actually make the decision for sure until it's time to do it, and secondly because I know I can't bear to take her in and Josh can't take her in until Tuesday so I want to savor these last days with her.

I know this is what happens to old cats, and that she's a cat not a person, but it still is sad. 

We got her 6 months before we got married.  The first pet that we picked out together and that was truly ours from the first.  She's traveled around the states with us as we've moved back and forth across the country.  She's been a wonderful pet.  I never wanted a cat, I am a dog person.  That is what I told Josh when he suggested we get a cat.  Well, having Luna definitely changed my mind.  I now love cats, I know that they can be sweet, funny, and just great companions although in a different way than dogs.  She will be dearly missed.

Disney

We did have a wonderful trip to Disney The 1st week of  December.  We were blessed that Joshua had a  seminar to attend in Orlando and made a family vacation out of it.  What a magical place it is!

We spent 6 days at the parks.  Most of those days were really cold ones (They actually had freeze warnings at night and we wore jackets all but one day).  It was so fun to see everything decorated for Christmas, and to have the parks not so crowded.  My parents joined us for the vacation which was a perfect time to spend with them, and gave me extra help with the kids at the parks for the days that Joshua was at his class.

They also entertained the kids at Epcot one day so that Joshua and I could slip away and visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  If you are a Potter fan you really do have to go there sometime, it was amazing!  The main ride was like nothing I've ever been on, and even the line to get in was filled with features to keep one entertained and exclaiming over and over, remember that?  We had lunch at the Three Broomsticks, and enjoyed Butter Beer and Pumpkin Juice before seeing the Boar's head, choirs with singing frogs, and meeting a Hippogriff.

Colten was excited to have his birthday while we were at Disney.  He felt like the most special person in the world to have his birthday there.  He chose the 1st ride of the day: Splash Mountain.  I must admit we all chickened out and left Jaden and Joshua to go on that with him as it was less than 40degrees out that morning, and the rest of us didn't want to get soaking wet.  The highlights of the trip were many from meeting Princesses, Fighting Darth Vader after Jedi Training, wonderful rides, fantastic fireworks, and Castles dripping in lights.  It was truly a fantastic vacation!

P90X

Well, as you can tell I've been busy so have been forgetting to post again.  I'll have to go back and try to fill in the spaces some.  But I did want to mention that Joshua and I started P90X last night.  Maybe admitting that publicly will help us stick with it. lol

I'm sore today, and the workout was very hard, but it was doable.  I think we can actually survive the 90 days and come out much more fit and healthy at the end of the program.  We have a vacation to Virginia scheduled for June and I'm determined to look much better by then!  I'm trying to portion control and make wise food choices as well, which is where the weight I'm hoping will really come off.  But I know the exercising will help too, that and to tone me up. We did take before pictures, but I must say that NO ONE will ever see those.  If we have dramatic enough changes maybe I'll be willing to post after photos.

Playing Around

After several years of not attending a single play, I was treated to 2 plays in a single day yesterday.  What a treat!  I absolutely love watching plays, and it just hasn't been in the budget for awhile so this was such a fun day. 

First, Ashtyn's Pre-school went on a field trip to see Cinderella (the Rodgers & Hammerstein version).  She has never been to a play before, and for her first one to be Cinderella was just magical.  She was so excited to get to go.  Her face literally glowed through the whole performance.  She clapped so hard after every song.  It was such a joy to get to experience it with her.  For a small theatre they really did an amazing job on the production.  The kids were wowed by the magical fireworks and smoke the fairy godmother used when she did her magic.  Cinderella was just as beautiful as Ashtyn had hoped.  What a fun field trip!  For anyone who hasn't seen it yet, The Round Barn Theatre is doing the show until Decmber 31st.  And yes, you adults will enjoy it too.

Second, we were invited to a private showing of White Christmas.  Now you must understand that White Christmas has to be one of the best movies ever made.  If you haven't seen it, go find it!  So I was just thrilled when the invitation came several weeks ago.  I think I was probably the first person to RSVP for it I was so excited (not to mention it was free and they served us dinner and dessert as well).  This one was done at a small local theater, but they did a great job!  Joshua told me that my face was glowing through it like I had said Ashtyn's glowed through the Cinderella play.  It was a great evening!


So I accomplished nothing yesterday, but had a really great day.  It was just what I needed.   I wonder if  I'll ever get to see two plays in one day again. . . .

Food Drive

Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who came out to the annual food drive at the clinic.  It is always so touching to see the generous donations that people bring in.  You all are the best!  The Food Bank appreciates all of your gifts as well.

Colten's Proud To Be Me Questionnaire

Colten will be student of the week next week for his 1st grade class.  He had to fill out a questionnaire about himself, and I thought I'd share a few of his answers since they made me smile.

A hobby I enjoy is "snowball fights"
The best thing about me is "God loves me."
The next best thing about me is " I'm handsome."
I think I need to improve at "cleaning up my toys."

Christmas Extravaganza 2010

Well, it has started.  Joshua is working on this year's Christmas lights. . .

So far he's done the roof work.  It has to come in phases, and now since we had our first snow yesterday he's going to want to wait until it warms up and that melts before he goes on to his second phase.  I'll be sure to post pictures once it's completed.

Update:  Ok, somehow I never got a great picture of the lights this year.  But here's one that I did take.

Halloween 2010

As Jaden would be quick to tell you, Halloween is his favorite holiday of the year with Christmas running a close second.  He just LOVES Halloween.  I don't know if it's because his birthday is only 1 week before it, or if it's just because he loves monsters and scary stuff.  Probably a combination of the two.  Every year he complains that we just don't have enough Halloween decorations in the house.

Our neighbors a few houses down do Halloween in a big way.  I've never seen so many halloween decorations!  So every year they have a costume party at their house a day or two before Halloween.  Jaden (and the others too) get so excited about it.  Last year Joshua and I didn't dress up and were literally the only one's there not in costume.  So this year we felt like we had to dress up.  I went as a Egyptian Queen Mummy/Ghost thing. . . sorry I wouldn't let Joshua take any pictures.  Joshua wore his baseball player outfit that he wore for work.  It was a fun party, even if Joshua and I do tend to get worn out quickly at social events.
On Sunday the kids were of course all about trick-or-treating.  It was hard to wait for the appointed time (around here they have a two hour block of time in which you are allowed to trick-or-treat).  Ashtyn became upset that Colten was able to have his face painted for his costume and not her, so we quickly put a butterfly on her face as well.  We went with some neighborhood friends and had a fun time.   The weather was actually pretty nice, so at least Colten, Ashtyn and I managed to trick-or-treat for the full 2 hours.  Now we just have to figure out how to get rid of all this candy!

It's been forever

Ok, it's been a long time since I've posted, almost a year in fact!  I've just been so busy I haven't had time to keep up with it all.  I promise to try to get back in the swing of things now though.

So what have we been up to?
Jaden is now in 4th grade.  He's growing up so fast and becoming a wonderful young man.  Last weekend we went to Chicago to celebrate his 9th birthday.  We finally went to the Museum of Science and Industry there and had a wonderful time.  Jaden especially loved getting to tour the U-505 there.  He's really become interested in WWII lately and this few perfectly into this interest.  He still wants to be a volcanologist when he grows up.  His current loves (besides Volcanoes) are Star Wars and Bakugan.  He started piano lessons this fall and is really enjoying those, especially since his teacher got him Star Wars music for him to learn to play.  For his birthday he requested a Millenium Falcon Cake so this is what I created for him.

Colten is in 1st grade this year.  He's so full of activity, definitely our social one.  He loves school, and his teacher gave a glowing report at parent teacher conferences this week.  He loves everything, and wants to try everything, especially if someone else is doing it. He's looking forward to basketball season starting soon.

Ashtyn is 4 going on 14.  She's in preschool 3 afternoons a week this year, and loves getting to see her friends.  She sings and dances where ever she goes, and refuses to wear anything but dresses.  She loves to sit and talk, play dress up, and play with her favorite toy, her american girl doll that we finally broke down and got her.  

I've been a bit overwhelmed with putting in more hours at the clinic the last few months.  Hopefully that will start to slowly decrease some soon.  My first priority is still the family.  I'm loving watching the kids grow up.  I have taken time for myself this year to self teach myself cake decorating.  I've had a wonderful friend who has joined me in this and we've had a great time working through various techniques and styles together.
Joshua is keeping busy at the clinic.  They added a third doctor this fall and it's wonderful to have an extra Doctor for patients to be able to get in with.  Joshua is still in the planning stages for this year's Christmas lights, I guess we'll have to wait and see if he does anything new or not this year. lol.

Christmas 2010 card

With Love Chartreuse Christmas 5x7 folded card

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Colten

Another birthday has come and gone, and again I'm a little behind on writing about my big boy Colten who turned 6 this week.

While I sit here wondering how time has flown by so that Colten could actually be 6 years old, I also am sometimes in wonder that he's only 6. He can be so grown up and responsible in so many ways, that I often forget that he's just a kindergartner. He is very independent and strong willed. But he is also our big worker. He seems to live to have a job to do, and is never happier than when he has a responsibility. He really takes after his Poppy in this way.
He always wants to be busy, and is our social child. For his birthday he wanted to invite his whole class, wait not the whole class, just all the boys in his class. He also wanted to invite all the neighborhood kids, and all the kids from our small group. When we explained that that many kids wouldn't fit in our house he had a really hard time whittling down his list of friends to the number that we said was reasonable.
He loves school and wants to be the best, fastest, and most correct. His teacher loves him, and I hope his enthusiasm for school continues in future years. He was proud to be chosen as student of the month this month for his display of responsibility.
He chose a soldier party theme to celebrate his birthday this year. He wanted cupcakes instead of one big cake so we did camouflage cupcakes, and I must say if you are looking for an east idea for a birthday this has to be my favorite we've done so far. I mean really how can you mess up camouflage cupcakes with plastic army figures on top? He had a great time.
Colten we love you and are so proud of the young man you are becoming!

Christmas Lights 2009