A Thankful Weekend

Hello, and Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

We are definitely into the Holiday Season now! I suppose it "started" with Halloween, but November zipped by and now Thanksgiving is behind us.

There are 26 Days Until Christmas. What??!? How did that happen?

AND there are only 11 more days until Grandma Reva has her 99th birthday. WOWIE! Here is her photo from last year, when she was still young and inexperienced: a mere 98. :) We love you Grandma!

We spent our Turkey Day with two families from church, with kids in the general age ranges of our kids. Plus they have 2 adorable puppies, so that entertained everyone.

Then of course the day AFTER Thanksgiving, we joined the population at large, shopping for Christmas gifts! This time Frank did NOT get up at 4 a.m. for specific deals...he has done that before! I value my sleep way too much for that. Normal hours only, please.

Some stores were crowded, some weren't. We sold the kids on the "shopping trip" idea by starting it with a Dunkin Donuts breakfast. It also helped that they all love to read, and we worked in some "Barnes & Noble" time.

I've been reading about the Pilgrims with a 3rd grade student I'm working with, so I've thought a lot of how our country began. The "First Thanksgiving Feast" was not the first time the Pilgrims or the Indians gave thanks for the harvest. It was just the first time they did it together. They also signed a treaty to work together and help protect each other. That treaty lasted 50 whole years.

Here is my "quick list" of what I'm thankful for, off the top of my head:

Family, friends, food.

Airplanes, Internet, homemade rolls.

Transportation, tires, running water.

Books, piano music, unexpected happy telephone calls.

Smile from a stranger, smile from a friend.

Warm beds, waterproof jackets, sunny days.

Shrimp, sharpies, scriptures.

Recycling, railroad tracks, eyesight.

Electricity, fireplaces, hugs.

Hope you had time this weekend to think of what you're thankful for, too.

Have a great week! Kari

Teresa is TWELVE!

Hello!

A little while back I said I'd blog about Teresa...it was her 12th birthday last week, so now's a good time! Teresa is energetic and positive. She loves to have fun. She'll be the first one to jump in a pile of leaves or a pile of snow, or the swimming pool or lake. She has a contagious smile. She's an animal lover, from insects to birds to dogs to snakes. She's also good at making people feel happy and comfortable.

My comment on the previous blog was about her field hockey team. She tried a new sport this fall: she'd never played before, and she made the cuts for the team. Very cool. I got to learn about this sport too, as I had never watched a match before.

The girls wear kilts in field hockey--that rule was a little soft, as one of the teams they played just had them wear shorts. But all the other teams wore kilts, plus volleyball shorts underneath. They wear goggles and mouth guards.

The stick has to be pretty close to the ground the whole time, no swinging it so high or it's a foul. And you can only hit the ball (which is pretty hard, the size of a baseball) with one side of the stick. The stick looks a little like a golf club at the end, rounded on one side and flat on the other. You must hit the ball with the flat side of the stick.

Two twenty-minute halves is what they played, passing the ball down the field to get it into a net to score. They used the soccer field and the soccer net. At the end of season party, Teresa was awarded "Most Improved Player." She did great!

Last Wednesday Teresa turned 12! Yep, out of Primary (ages 3-11) at church, into Young Women's (ages 12-18). They have a tradition in this group for the Young Women to "welcome" the new girls into the group by giving them a "Heart Attack" after their 12th birthday. These teens go to the house of the new girl, and tape hearts and paper chains and messages all over her room. Usually they decorate and leave, but this time, it worked out for them to stay in her room, then I brought her home from our "errand." She walked into her room and there they were! (12 girls and 4 leaders, I think...it was wall-to-wall people). Very cute.

Teresa also plays flute, and likes to sell things...(don't know where THAT came from..??? Her mom apologizes profusely to all who have been approached for the raffle tickets...and THANK YOU for being patient and even buying from her...)

So, there you have TERESA. She certainly adds spice to our family! We think she's awesome.

Choir, Health Care, Tutoring

Hello--
What a church-y day! We have been practicing for weeks, with the church choir. Our organist is actually a professional organist, where he plays each week for the 2nd Church in Newton, United Church of Christ, in a neighboring town. He and their preacher thought it would be neat to do a "choir swap," where their choir and our choir would combine, and sing for their church services in the morning, then come to our church in the afternoon and sing for our Sacrament Meeting.

They meet in a beautiful old, cathedral-style building, with arching ceilings and fabulous acoustics! This morning we went to their church to practice together, then participate in their service. Followed by lunch downstairs, then drive to our own church for the afternoon meetings.

4th-grader Kara wanted to sing, too, so I brought her to the practices. There was not room for her in the community kids' music program, so I figured why not participate in the church choir? It's pretty basic music, usually a hymn or a different arrangement of a familiar song.

Then we got the music for today's performance: One of the pieces was in 8-part harmony... IN GERMAN...!!??! Oh, well, what do you do? We just kept practicing, and Kara was a good sport about it. We sang alto. She learned the part.

Our Bishop also spoke in their meeting: a nice message about tithing. So anyway, when we got home it really felt like it had been an all-day affair. Leave by 8:30 a.m., return at 4:30.

In other news: The Health Care bill passed, by a margin of 5 votes. In the on-line article I read, it offered a link for me to "read the bill." I clicked on it and scanned down. This bill is One Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety Pages. (Yes, you read that correctly. 1990 pages.) In case you need some light bedtime reading.

I'm feeling a little short on time these days...Frank has been gone all this week to South America. He returns Wednesday. I'm appreciating more and more how we split the driving-kids-everywhere responsibilities. And especially that he does the Seminary shift! UGH! I look at the clock and can't believe how time flies--got to go to bed, because I have to get UP and get David over to early-morning seminary!

Inspired by my sister-in-law Pam, my neighbor Carleen, and my friend in CA Susan, who all work with kids at their neighborhood schools, I have started tutoring ESL students at an elementary school in the next town over. (No, this is not one of my students--just a clipart photo!--:) )

I go in 3 days a week, the elementary kids are K-3rd. I've been doing it for about 2 weeks now. The beauty of this kind of job is that I get to work with the kids, 1-on-1 or small group, and then I go home. No staff meetings, no homework. I am "just the tutor--!" Not the teacher. So far it's been a good thing.

Well, I know this blog post jumped all over the place. That is my brain lately. Happy Monday tomorrow! Kari

Halloween and Birthdays

David's birthday was Sunday--14 years old! Yep, born at 3:10 a.m., he missed being a Halloween baby by just 3+ hours. He was ordained a Teacher in church this afternoon. Now he can prepare the Sacrament for Sacrament Meeting.

Teresa's birthday is 10 days after his, so Saturday we took them on a "combined birthday" outing. We let them each choose 5 friends to go to a place in Boston called "5 Wits." It was set up like an archaelogical site, and they were in search of an Egyptian Tomb. They were guided room to room and had to figure out the Indiana-Jones-style clues to avoid danger and find their way out of the tomb. We took 12 kids so they could be in their own group. I think they had a good time.

Here's a group shot in the leaf pile...yes, it's LEAF SEASON again! The monstrous tree in the front yard is finally deciding to shed its leaves (it's a huge, 5-story-tall thing). My guess is they will all fall within the next 10 days, EXACTLY when Frank has planned his trip to Argentina & Peru & Chile. How convenient.

Well, thankfully, we had a beautiful Halloween. I think it was around 70 degrees. Perfect day, and a grand evening to go Trunk-or-Treating at the church party Friday, then Trick-or-Treating Saturday. No parkas required.

We had a Rock Star--Kara and her neighbor buddy Isabel created their own costumes together this year, fabric painting the shirts and jeans. Add green and yellow hair, a sparkly microphone, and sparkly bracelets, and you're good to go!

Teresa was a Ninja, all black, and David an FBI agent...complete with suit, dark shades, and putting all his candy in a...briefcase. I only got a shot of Kara in costume. (Sorry but it's been a bit of a crazy weekend...)

But I did get photos of all the candy laid out on the floor after trick-or-treating...oh my holy cow. Luckily, the elementary school is doing a "send your candy to the soldiers in Iraq" program, so we can choose our favorites to keep, then donate the rest of the candy. Teresa made a pyramid with Starburst.

And here is a final fall/Halloween shot of our carved and drawn pumpkins. Carving credits go to Frank (designed by the kids, of course).

The bottom 2 pumpkins were drawn by Kara, and Teresa got creative and looked online for a dragon pumpkin. Then looking at that sketch, she drew this dragon on her pumpkin. (Top step...yes, it's really a dragon--enlarge to see better!)

Hope you're getting beautiful sunshine like we are this week. I love the colors of fall.

(My friend in Denver currently has 20 inches of snow in her front yard...I laughed about it with her on the phone, but I know that ours will come!) Happy November--:) Kari

And So It Begins

Hello!

I was so flabbergasted by our quick change of temperatures this weekend, I wasn't even going to blog about it! But Frank said no, go ahead, and maybe people will feel sorry for us... :)

LAST year, we did not get snow until December 19th...I remember because it was the last day before the holiday break. Well guess what we saw on Friday morning, October 16? Yes, SNOWFLAKES! (You can click on any of these to enlarge...I tried it, it works...)

The kids were all excited. 4th grader Kara says, "Do I need to wear my boots to school?" (Remember I said we saw FLAKES. Flurrying through the air...there was nothing on the ground to speak of, nothing stuck to accumulate a measurement.) Then it turned back into rain, rain, and more rain.

The blessing of it all is, I am in heaven because I am remembering LAST year at this very exact weekend. All our stuff had just been delivered to the house a few days ago. We were living in boxes, serving meals on a card table set up in the family room, because the kitchen was completely torn up and being renovated. When I think back to that, I am so relieved that we are not doing THAT, I could do the Happy Dance. (Whatever that is; use your imagination, I guess.)

So, temps have dipped and will go up and down for the next few weeks. Our leaves have not yet fallen, but we got a smidgen of snow this weekend! Reminds me of Colorado. Here is a snow picture or two (Teresa tried to catch some on her tongue), and yes they are both wearing flip-flops when it is 32 degrees out. Frank and I shiver uncontrollably when it's 70, and the kids wear flip-flops when it's 32. Go figure.

Here is our awesome little stove in the computer room, that warms things up so delightfully:

I just checked the weather and it will be in the 50's and 60's this week. Maybe we'll get good temperatures for Trick-or-Treating?? Maybe.

Otherwise, we got in another family hike on Saturday! David jogged it once then caught up to us on his 2nd round, while the rest of us did the loop once. I tried out a new jacket, that was supposedly wind-resistant, water-repellant, insulated, all with this very thin fabric...I didn't believe the tags so I layered with other jackets, too. But it actually kept me pretty warm, hiking in the 40's that day. I think I'll keep the jacket.

We had a great Stake Conference this weekend. Every 6 months, multiple church congregations in the area (we make up a "stake") come together for some inspirational talks and music.

We were also encouraged to attend the temple Friday night. It was a nice temple date for Frank and I, and we listened to some really good messages Saturday and Sunday.

Here's a pond closeby--reds, oranges, yellows.






Last thing, I have to say how cool this program is, that we downloaded for Teresa's social studies class: Google Earth! It can take you anywhere on the planet! You can go up close, far away, bird's eye view, type in any address and it will take you there. We found the houses of almost all our cousins and grandparents, our house and neighborhood in Mexico City...Frank will go to Argentina next month. I think I'll have him show me his offices there and in Peru.

Have a great week! Kari

Sports and Turtles

Hello, and Happy Weekend!

Last night we all went to STOMP at a Theater in Boston. The kids loved it! Frank and I had been before, I think in San Francisco and one other place we visited. Very entertaining, if you get the chance to go. Makes you want to tap and shuffle on everything in sight as you walk back to the car.

The kids get tomorrow off for Columbus Day, so it is a long weekend for them. (Frank always reminds us HE doesn't get all those holidays off...Monday is a normal WORK day, for him...)

Kara played in a soccer game yesterday, and SHE SCORED!! Yes, her first goal of the season. The games did not get cancelled because of rain, and it was sunny. (Not warm and balmy California soccer, mind you. But it was sunny.)

Here is one action photo of her in yesterday's game. (I love that Multiple-Shot button on the camera. Great for when the kids are running in games.)



David has been running Cross Country at the high school. He usually has one meet a week, sometimes two. With the home meets, at least I know the route, basically. I can re-position myself with the camera so I see him 2 or 3 times during the course. Here are some running shots.

Otherwise, Cross Country is a sport of cheer them on at the beginning, and cheer them on at the end! Usually it's a 15-20 minute course.

One difference this year is size of competitors. David, a Freshman with most of his growing still ahead of him, runs with boys 1,2, and 3 years older and bigger than himself.

(Teresa is doing Field Hockey this season. I'll post some of her later.)

Teresa's portion of the blog this week we'll call Turtle Attention. Teresa is forever our creature collector: this child can spot a living creature anywhere, anytime. Two days ago, she found this baby snapping turtle not too far from our house.

Now, we all realize this is not a long-term pet for her. It's a snapping turtle, for Pete's sake! Last July an ADULT snapping turtle wandered around the neighborhood. Don't let the term "turtle" fool you. They're pretty quick for turtles, and if they want food (i.e. your finger or hand), they LUNGE out and LATCH ON.

Here are some baby turtle photos, and one I took in July of the big one in the street. (Our neighbor is sitting next to Frank.)

Those are some adventures of the week. Of course more went ON...homework, Scouts, Achievement Days, seminary, figure out dinner. Go to bed, wake up, start over! Ha.

The goal is to enjoy parts of it along the way.

Have a great week! Kari

Many Miscellaneous Morsels

Hello!

Well, I said I'd keep you posted on the snake thing. It was kind of short-lived...between 2 and 3 weeks? Please observe a moment of silence for Chibi the snake. (I know many of you can't bring yourself to shed any tears for snakes, but believe me, Teresa shed enough for all of us! Holy cow. It has been a traumatic weekend but as of this afternoon, it is buried way back in the back yard.) Here's a photo of the skin it shed a week ago, that was fun and educational.




Now she's gone.









(Don't worry too much about Teresa, though...she's already thinking of the next reptile to inhabit the aquarium.)

Kara talks about wanting to get a Teddy-Bear hamster around Christmastime. As part of our "Educate the Kids on Finances" push, we've been to the pet store and priced the habitats and floor fillings and talked about initial cost of everything, and the monthly cost of food & floor filling. She's willing to wait until Christmastime because she doesn't want to blow her whole savings on the initial set-up..."maybe I'll get some money for Christmas," she says.

Let's see...rain, rain, and more rain today! Kara's soccer game was cancelled, David's cross-country meet was cancelled, and his day to help-with-a-friend's-outdoor-Eagle-project was also cancelled.

The JDRF walk to cure Diabetes was NOT cancelled, though, so this morning Teresa and I walked in the fundraiser in Boston, with umbrellas and ponchos, in the sometimes pouring rain. One of our neighbors (in 7th grade like Teresa) was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes when she was five and they form a big team each year to walk. I didn't take the camera because, guess what, wet-wet-wet!!!!!

Otherwise, we went to David's Curriculum Night last Thursday. Good to see all of is teachers and get an overview of the courses.

I do love Conference weekend...each talk is uplifting, and usually there is a morsel of wisdom I can take away and use, right away in my life. I liked the "tell the important people in your life you love them," consistently. Not just once a year or a decade. I also liked that we are nearing 150 temples. (Except don't you think Utah has enough of them by now?)

The leaves around here are starting to change. If you drive north, say, to Maine, they are already changed. I do love fall here. Here is a leaf photo from LAST year, to get you thinking of autumn.

(Remember we are not seeing these colors just yet...maybe a LITTLE, on SOME trees. But I bet within a week or two, we'll be seeing a lot more.)

Have a good week! Kari