East-side Mario's
Happy Birthday Addy!
Reading together
Nature walk at Wascana Park
Emerson examines some "nature"
Such a perfect fall day
Boys at the hay maze 
Addy helping Sera through
Three little pumpkins Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Delicious Autumn
warning: this post is a bit disorganized!
After an overfilled summer (not that we’re complaining), September gave us a chance to relax a bit. The kids settled in to school and their activities, and I got a routine. Ah, how I love routines!
Of course, as we launched in to the month there were a couple of annoyances to go with all the fun. I planned out all these activities for the kids to be involved in, including a cooking class, dance classes, and a group violin class, but all the ones I wanted (no joke—all of them) ended up getting cancelled! We wound up with just swimming lessons and piano (nobody can cancel that one since I’m the teacher!), but it’s given the kids time to play together, so I guess that’s good? I’m hoping to get some other stuff going in January when the weather chases us inside. On the plus side, the kids are all making more progress in swimming lessons than they ever have before (Theo: listens to the teacher and tries things! Addy: she’s such a fish it’s ridiculous. Emer: actually stays in the water the whole time!). Piano practice has been really regular, and I’ve been delighted at how excited Theo and Addy have been about plunging in and learning new things. I’m all for summers off!
Three days into kindergarten, Addy got to celebrate her fifth birthday. We decided to procrastinate her friends’ party for a few weeks so she could get to know the children in her class first, but in the mean time we had a fun family celebration, and she got to be the first kid to take birthday treats to school. She decided on a cookie theme for her birthday this year, so we made chocolate chip sandwich cookies for her class and her birthday cake looked like a gigantic chocolate chip cookie with Hershey kisses as the chips. She chose East Side Mario’s for her birthday dinner, and got her very own Hawaiian pizza along with a super-yum Italian birthday custard with a sparkler in it. They also brought out little mini ice-cream cones for the rest of the family, and ended up giving us a whole extra pizza when they got our order wrong the first time. Yeah, we love that place.
After three straight years of Joy School, I decided to take this year off. We enrolled Emerson in a little pre-school just up the street, and my favorite part of the day on Tuesdays and Thursdays is walking him up there. He’s so enthusiastic and observant about the world around him. As I dropped him off that first day, it was so fun to watch him give me a quick kiss and then just jump right in. Lots of parents had to stick around the first couple of days, but Emerson only needed about 30 seconds to adjust. He’s so friendly and outgoing and loves talking about his friends at school and planning what to play with at each class. Meanwhile I’ve had a little time to devote to writing. Sera takes two naps on those days, and I’ve been amazed at what I’ve been able to accomplish during that time.
Theo has made the jump to grade two, and after I nearly drove the principal crazy in the days before school started as we tried to make sure he had a good match with a teacher, it seems we got it right. Most of his close friends are in his class with him, and because the class is a grade 2/3 split, there are only 22 kids. His French is sounding rather impressive (at least to me), and he seems to love his teacher. Although his behavior at home has taken a bit of a hit since he started back to school, I’m trying to make enough time to really connect with him for a while each day, and help him make some goals each week.
Although Addy had looked forward to kindergarten all summer, her first couple of weeks were a bit rocky. For her, it just seemed like so long to be away from home. Her teacher and classroom are both great, but the transition was a little harder than either she or I expected. We spent some extra time talking over cookies and brainstorming about how to make new friends. Although it took courage, she really tried and she’s met some cute new friends. Now that she has gotten settled in she’s really enjoying it. And her French is coming right along too.
The other fun thing we got going this month is a Friday playgroup. Although I am glad for the break from Joy School, I discovered that I missed that special time planning and hanging out with preschoolers. Although Sunbeams absorbs some of that energy, I missed spending that time with my kid. So we’ve made the playgroup a sort of themed event. One week we went on a nature walk at the gorgeous, sprawling Wascana park that goes through the south end of our city, and the next we made a stop at a hay maze they’ve set up at a garden shop nearby. It’s always good to get together with moms to chat and have fun, especially when it doesn’t even mess up my house!
So, that’s it for September. I’m loving the apple crisps and the leaves and the daily conversations about Halloween. Sometimes I wish it could be autumn always.
After an overfilled summer (not that we’re complaining), September gave us a chance to relax a bit. The kids settled in to school and their activities, and I got a routine. Ah, how I love routines!
Of course, as we launched in to the month there were a couple of annoyances to go with all the fun. I planned out all these activities for the kids to be involved in, including a cooking class, dance classes, and a group violin class, but all the ones I wanted (no joke—all of them) ended up getting cancelled! We wound up with just swimming lessons and piano (nobody can cancel that one since I’m the teacher!), but it’s given the kids time to play together, so I guess that’s good? I’m hoping to get some other stuff going in January when the weather chases us inside. On the plus side, the kids are all making more progress in swimming lessons than they ever have before (Theo: listens to the teacher and tries things! Addy: she’s such a fish it’s ridiculous. Emer: actually stays in the water the whole time!). Piano practice has been really regular, and I’ve been delighted at how excited Theo and Addy have been about plunging in and learning new things. I’m all for summers off!
Three days into kindergarten, Addy got to celebrate her fifth birthday. We decided to procrastinate her friends’ party for a few weeks so she could get to know the children in her class first, but in the mean time we had a fun family celebration, and she got to be the first kid to take birthday treats to school. She decided on a cookie theme for her birthday this year, so we made chocolate chip sandwich cookies for her class and her birthday cake looked like a gigantic chocolate chip cookie with Hershey kisses as the chips. She chose East Side Mario’s for her birthday dinner, and got her very own Hawaiian pizza along with a super-yum Italian birthday custard with a sparkler in it. They also brought out little mini ice-cream cones for the rest of the family, and ended up giving us a whole extra pizza when they got our order wrong the first time. Yeah, we love that place.
After three straight years of Joy School, I decided to take this year off. We enrolled Emerson in a little pre-school just up the street, and my favorite part of the day on Tuesdays and Thursdays is walking him up there. He’s so enthusiastic and observant about the world around him. As I dropped him off that first day, it was so fun to watch him give me a quick kiss and then just jump right in. Lots of parents had to stick around the first couple of days, but Emerson only needed about 30 seconds to adjust. He’s so friendly and outgoing and loves talking about his friends at school and planning what to play with at each class. Meanwhile I’ve had a little time to devote to writing. Sera takes two naps on those days, and I’ve been amazed at what I’ve been able to accomplish during that time.
Theo has made the jump to grade two, and after I nearly drove the principal crazy in the days before school started as we tried to make sure he had a good match with a teacher, it seems we got it right. Most of his close friends are in his class with him, and because the class is a grade 2/3 split, there are only 22 kids. His French is sounding rather impressive (at least to me), and he seems to love his teacher. Although his behavior at home has taken a bit of a hit since he started back to school, I’m trying to make enough time to really connect with him for a while each day, and help him make some goals each week.
Although Addy had looked forward to kindergarten all summer, her first couple of weeks were a bit rocky. For her, it just seemed like so long to be away from home. Her teacher and classroom are both great, but the transition was a little harder than either she or I expected. We spent some extra time talking over cookies and brainstorming about how to make new friends. Although it took courage, she really tried and she’s met some cute new friends. Now that she has gotten settled in she’s really enjoying it. And her French is coming right along too.
The other fun thing we got going this month is a Friday playgroup. Although I am glad for the break from Joy School, I discovered that I missed that special time planning and hanging out with preschoolers. Although Sunbeams absorbs some of that energy, I missed spending that time with my kid. So we’ve made the playgroup a sort of themed event. One week we went on a nature walk at the gorgeous, sprawling Wascana park that goes through the south end of our city, and the next we made a stop at a hay maze they’ve set up at a garden shop nearby. It’s always good to get together with moms to chat and have fun, especially when it doesn’t even mess up my house!
So, that’s it for September. I’m loving the apple crisps and the leaves and the daily conversations about Halloween. Sometimes I wish it could be autumn always.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Homemade donuts
Okay, I know this goes against my usual policy of posting once a month, but as a preview of sorts for September, I wanted to share this new, super-easy donut recipe I found. They are so awesome on a brisk fall day with some fresh apple cider.
HOMEMADE DONUTS
2 c warm water
1 T yeast
1 box cake mix (we used spice last time--mmm)
4 c flour
Let the yeast dissolve in the water, then add the cake mix and flour. Knead together until stretchy, then let rise for an hour (or pop into a warm oven with the door open for 20 minutes--I'm all about shortcuts). Roll the dough out to about 3/4-1 inch thick, cut into circles with a large cup, and make holes with a bottle lid. Then fry them up in oil over medium heat. They are delish!
HOMEMADE DONUTS
2 c warm water
1 T yeast
1 box cake mix (we used spice last time--mmm)
4 c flour
Let the yeast dissolve in the water, then add the cake mix and flour. Knead together until stretchy, then let rise for an hour (or pop into a warm oven with the door open for 20 minutes--I'm all about shortcuts). Roll the dough out to about 3/4-1 inch thick, cut into circles with a large cup, and make holes with a bottle lid. Then fry them up in oil over medium heat. They are delish!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
All About August
(scroll to the bottom of the page for pictures, etc.)
It hardly seems like the events of the last month could really have fit into thirty-one days. How they'll fit into a single issue of the Mitchell Messenger remains to be seen.
On August 1 we piled the kids into the van for the six hour drive from Salt Lake to Yellowstone National Park. Since we didn't know when we'd have another chance, we decided to take the long way around and visit Grandma Ruthie on the way (a few details of that visit are detailed in the Sweden post at the bottom of the page). We finally arrived at the super-nice cabin Chelsi had booked for our family reunion a little after dinnertime. We feasted (as we did at every meal--there are a surprising number of impressive chefs in the family), then shuttled the kids off to bed and spent the evening in the hot tub under the stars, catching up on funny anecdotes from our kids during our absence and sharing our experiences in Denmark and Sweden with everyone.
In the morning we woke to gorgeous weather and eggs benedict. Mmm. I love eating when I haven't done the cooking! We spent the morning outside the cabin, with the kids collecting armfuls of wildflowers. Theo and Addy were so sweet, talking non-stop about how they're best friends and getting excited to start school together as they wandered through the trees. It was a "time in a bottle" morning. We trekked over to the river later in the day so that Aaron and I could practice a little teamwork in a canoe. You can see an exerpt of our conversation in Humorous Happenings. Let it suffice to say that Aaron and I work really well when we're each the bosses of our own thing. We rock at mutual admiration. We're probably not ever going to make it as an Olympic kayaking team. And please don't nominate us for The Amazing Race.
So after that fun journey we headed back to the cabin for some cool activities Chelsi had planned. The big game of the evening was toilet paper charades. We pulled off respectable performances in Monsters Inc. and Green Eggs and Ham, but we didn't grab the Oscar until we performed Book of Mormon Stories: The Vision of the Tree of Life. Emerson won the night with his phenomenal performance as "the crazy mocking person in the great and spacious building." The kid has a future on the stage. We ended the night with some great family bonding, and of course another dip in the hot tub.
On Sunday we made the rounds in Yellowstone itself, driving and stopping at as many paint pots and hot springs as we could manage before Sera's incessant crying threw some very literal cold water (well, more like warm and salty I guess) on our spirits. The kids were enchanted with the brilliant colors and the steaming water, and Old Faithful, though late, made a sputtering appearance that we all enjoyed. Fast forward more delicious food, more good company, a great visit with my mom and Don, lots of snuggling with adorable LucyMae and darling Clark, and several dollars in change collected from the couches in the cabin by Paul and Howie, and we arrived, regretfully, at the end of our family reunion. We had such a great time, and really appreciate all the hard work Chelsi put in to make it happen—it was fab!
So after kissing everyone goodbye, we set out for another day in Yellowstone before making the trek back. Although we managed to miss the bear everyone else had seen, we had a lovely drive through the northern section of Yellowstone, stopping at the falls and finishing off with a visit to Mammoth Hot Springs. At one of our last view areas, Theo happened upon a power converter lying on the ground (he misses nothing) which Aaron then used to plug in our laptop and book us a night at a hotel in Billings. We sped through Montana, arriving late at our hotel, to the disappointment of the kids who had been eagerly anticipating a swim. So the next morning we woke up early, had a delicious breakfast at the hotel restaurant (where the kids ate free—yay!), and managed to squeeze in an hour at the pool. Honestly, that was the highlight of the whole trip for the kids--they love hotels. A long drive later, we made it home.
Well, the next couple of weeks consisted of house-painting, watching the Olympics, shopping, and preparing for the school year. But we had to take a break for our tenth anniversary on August 21! Although we considered our trip to Denmark to be our big celebration, I thought it would be fun to surprise Aaron with a real date on the actual day. I secretly planned a babysitter and then kidnapped him to go to see Indiana Jones and have dinner at an awesome Greek restaurant nearby. It wasn’t fancy but it sure was fun. And it made me grateful and excited all over again at marrying a man who is such a perfect match for me! I couldn’t ask for a better partner—because we truly are partners in everything we do (except canoeing).
Then, to round out the month, the kids started school. The pictures really say it all. Theo and Addy wore American flag shirts on the first day. See, last year Theo was all into being Canadian. Then he watched the Olympics. This year both kids were proud to start the year as red, white and blue Americans!
It hardly seems like the events of the last month could really have fit into thirty-one days. How they'll fit into a single issue of the Mitchell Messenger remains to be seen.
On August 1 we piled the kids into the van for the six hour drive from Salt Lake to Yellowstone National Park. Since we didn't know when we'd have another chance, we decided to take the long way around and visit Grandma Ruthie on the way (a few details of that visit are detailed in the Sweden post at the bottom of the page). We finally arrived at the super-nice cabin Chelsi had booked for our family reunion a little after dinnertime. We feasted (as we did at every meal--there are a surprising number of impressive chefs in the family), then shuttled the kids off to bed and spent the evening in the hot tub under the stars, catching up on funny anecdotes from our kids during our absence and sharing our experiences in Denmark and Sweden with everyone.
In the morning we woke to gorgeous weather and eggs benedict. Mmm. I love eating when I haven't done the cooking! We spent the morning outside the cabin, with the kids collecting armfuls of wildflowers. Theo and Addy were so sweet, talking non-stop about how they're best friends and getting excited to start school together as they wandered through the trees. It was a "time in a bottle" morning. We trekked over to the river later in the day so that Aaron and I could practice a little teamwork in a canoe. You can see an exerpt of our conversation in Humorous Happenings. Let it suffice to say that Aaron and I work really well when we're each the bosses of our own thing. We rock at mutual admiration. We're probably not ever going to make it as an Olympic kayaking team. And please don't nominate us for The Amazing Race.
So after that fun journey we headed back to the cabin for some cool activities Chelsi had planned. The big game of the evening was toilet paper charades. We pulled off respectable performances in Monsters Inc. and Green Eggs and Ham, but we didn't grab the Oscar until we performed Book of Mormon Stories: The Vision of the Tree of Life. Emerson won the night with his phenomenal performance as "the crazy mocking person in the great and spacious building." The kid has a future on the stage. We ended the night with some great family bonding, and of course another dip in the hot tub.
On Sunday we made the rounds in Yellowstone itself, driving and stopping at as many paint pots and hot springs as we could manage before Sera's incessant crying threw some very literal cold water (well, more like warm and salty I guess) on our spirits. The kids were enchanted with the brilliant colors and the steaming water, and Old Faithful, though late, made a sputtering appearance that we all enjoyed. Fast forward more delicious food, more good company, a great visit with my mom and Don, lots of snuggling with adorable LucyMae and darling Clark, and several dollars in change collected from the couches in the cabin by Paul and Howie, and we arrived, regretfully, at the end of our family reunion. We had such a great time, and really appreciate all the hard work Chelsi put in to make it happen—it was fab!
So after kissing everyone goodbye, we set out for another day in Yellowstone before making the trek back. Although we managed to miss the bear everyone else had seen, we had a lovely drive through the northern section of Yellowstone, stopping at the falls and finishing off with a visit to Mammoth Hot Springs. At one of our last view areas, Theo happened upon a power converter lying on the ground (he misses nothing) which Aaron then used to plug in our laptop and book us a night at a hotel in Billings. We sped through Montana, arriving late at our hotel, to the disappointment of the kids who had been eagerly anticipating a swim. So the next morning we woke up early, had a delicious breakfast at the hotel restaurant (where the kids ate free—yay!), and managed to squeeze in an hour at the pool. Honestly, that was the highlight of the whole trip for the kids--they love hotels. A long drive later, we made it home.
Well, the next couple of weeks consisted of house-painting, watching the Olympics, shopping, and preparing for the school year. But we had to take a break for our tenth anniversary on August 21! Although we considered our trip to Denmark to be our big celebration, I thought it would be fun to surprise Aaron with a real date on the actual day. I secretly planned a babysitter and then kidnapped him to go to see Indiana Jones and have dinner at an awesome Greek restaurant nearby. It wasn’t fancy but it sure was fun. And it made me grateful and excited all over again at marrying a man who is such a perfect match for me! I couldn’t ask for a better partner—because we truly are partners in everything we do (except canoeing).
Then, to round out the month, the kids started school. The pictures really say it all. Theo and Addy wore American flag shirts on the first day. See, last year Theo was all into being Canadian. Then he watched the Olympics. This year both kids were proud to start the year as red, white and blue Americans!
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