Two Months or Two Minutes?

It has been nearly 2 months since I posted anything on this blog.  I was thinking to myself "What have I been doing that I haven't written anything in that long?"  Then I remembered.....

There was Garrett's first book report, where he had to dress up as the character.  Enter Indiana Jones:

Then there was the new Father's Gym program our church started.  It's like Boy Scouts, except with a Christian theme.  Dads and their boys get together, learn about God, and then do fun activities together.  Their first activity was to make rockets and then launch them.  They had a blast! (Literally!)

Then we traveled to Tucson for Dave's annual 109 mile ride.  Despite heavy winds, he finished and was proud of his accomplishment!

(And was thankful for the free massages afterwards!)

Then there was Paige's Thanksgiving luncheon, where they sang songs and ate pizza (in order to spare the poor turkey's lives!)  Here's my little Pilgrim:

Then, of course, there was Garrett's 8th birthday.  He was beyond excited to receive a Red Ryder BB Gun, and has begged nearly every day to be allowed to go shoot it!  He also received a storehouse of Legos, and he's been in his room for several weeks now, happily building away.

And most recently, there was the kids' Christmas program at school, where Paige had to dress up as a present in order to sing "The Gift Goes On".  That was probably the hardest wrapping job of my life, but also the cutest result!

And surpisingly, we were able to get Paige to wear a skirt and nice shoes under that present!  Will wonders never cease?

So, yeah, I guess that's why I haven't written in 2 months.  There have been a few things going on!  Merry Christmas to all our friends and family.  We hope you have a wonderful celebration of Jesus' birth and remember the love God shows for us all.

Rock Star Ballerina

Except for a brief "girlie phase", Paige has spent most of her life adamantly declaring that she will grow up to be a rock star. There is not much to make us doubt this proclamation, since her attitude, clothing choices, and penchant for singing loudly off-key all fit the rock star description! However, a new love is slowly growing: ballet.

She fought the ballet lessons with everything in her at first. But after explaining that NO SCHOOL in town will give her jazz lessons (what she really wants) without at least a year of ballet, she finally gave in. And though she may not declare it loudly, she loves it! For the hour she is there, she is transformed into a (semi)graceful creature who walks with her shoulders back and her toes pointed. She is one who holds her arms lightly at her sides, who gladly dons the long-sleeved black leotard and pink tights.

When her hour is over, she immediately returns to a jeans-and-Converse wearing tomboy who can burp and fart with the best of them. However, I've seen a few glimpses that the ballet lessons are having an impact on her. When she is putting on her pants, she points her toes daintily as she pulls them on. Sometimes when she is standing in her socks, she places one foot behind her on tiptoe. She's letting me pull her hair into a ponytail instead of having it hanging in her face all day.

Whether ballet will continue to grow into a full-fledged passion remains to be seen. For now, I'm treating it like a butterfly in your hand: Don't breathe on it and make no sudden movements. I feel like if I point out the things I'm noticing, she might make a beeline back to the land of electric guitars and ratty clothes. I guess if she really wants to be a rock star, that will have to be the dream that wins. But Mommy's dream is for a graceful ballerina. Oh, how we live vicariously through our children! Either way, she is adorable!

Paige's dilemma: To be a dancer....


Or a rock star?

Time Flies....

Yesterday, I was reminded by two different people that I haven't updated my blog in over a month. It hardly seems like a week, much less a month! But, we have been rather busy....
Paige began taking ballet lessons the last week of August. For those of you who know her, she is about as far away from a graceful, demure ballerina as you can get! The first week of class she flatly refused to go inside the room, no matter how much pleading, convincing or downright bribing we tried. We finally just sat and watched, and then we watched the "big girls" dance too. Now she is loving her class, and even made me go buy her a flower for her hair so she'd look prettier while she danced. I'm counting on ballet lessons to make her more of a girl! :)

Garrett has been absorbing every minute of second grade. I get daily reports on each activity they did in class! We were very proud of him because he had 3 pieces of artwork displayed at the New Mexico State Fair in the School Arts section. He's quite the little artist! We also watched The Karate Kid with him, and now he's considering karate lessons. However, in true Garrett style, he wants to wait awhile to think about it before he makes up his mind. Meanwhile, he's happy digging elaborate tunnels in our not-yet-landscaped backyard and building his Lego creations.

A few weeks ago, we decided to take our first family camping trip. The kids have been motorhome camping with my parents several times, but we've never gone as a family, and never in a tent. So, we pulled together all our almost-forgotten camping gear and headed up to the Pecos for a one night trial campout. It was a huge success! The weather was fantastic, the kids absolutely loved it, and the tent wasn't too bad either. It would have been a little more comfortable if we'd remembered pillows, but our rolled up sweatshirts weren't too bad as substitutes.

Since we were out in the woods, Dave "borrowed" a BB gun for Garrett to try out, since he really, really, really wants one for his birthday. (A hint we hear about 10 times a week!) Dave had told him he wouldn't get one until he turns 8, because that is the youngest a child can be to take the gun safety course at the shooting range. So Garrett has been counting down the days 'till he turns 8. Dave secretly bought him one for the trip, but told him it was just something we borrowed. (Sshhh! Don't tell Garrett - he still thinks we gave it back!) We all had a great time trying to hit the target and knock Coke cans off the stump. Annie Oakley has nothing to worry about with me -I apparently need to try NOT to hit the target before I can actually hit anything. Garrett was a fairly good shot, and even Paige got in on the action! We had a fantastic time, and plan on going camping again when we can.

Here's some pictures from our adventure....

Paige took her turn trying out the BB gun -and did quite well too!


Garrett lines up his shot



A beautiful way to start the day!

And a little bit cold for the start of the day too!

What's camping without s'mores?

Back to School Busy

School started last week. It's amazing how different life can feel in the span of 7 days. Last Sunday night, I was mildly worried that I didn't have everything planned for school to start. I went to bed a little late, woke up when the kids did, and took my time getting ready for work, since the kids didn't start back until Tuesday.

Today, I have spent much of the afternoon on my lesson plans, and am now getting ready to pack lunches, set out clothes, and zip up backpacks for the morning. How quickly our lazy summer routine has ended!

The kids have responded fairly well to the morning rush. So far I haven't had to fight any wars with Paige over getting dressed before Mama has to tell her 100 times. Getting shoes on her still isn't easy, but at least the battle isn't over every single item of clothing (yet!) Garrett actually slept until 7:15 the second morning of school, which, as you know, is nearly grounds for calling an ambulance to see if he's still alive. I can probably count on one hand the number of times in his entire life that he has slept past 7:00! Everyone is a little shell-shocked and tired out from the craziness of the first week.

Even with the madness, we are all looking forward to a great year! I have a fantastic class (and they're quiet too--amazing!!), Garrett loves his teacher, and Paige can't stop talking about kindergarten -although mostly about what she's doing during free time. This should be a banner year for us all!

Yesterday we escaped the back to school blues by taking a quick day trip up to the Jemez mountains with the kids and the dog. Sadie loved riding in the back of Dave's truck and sticking her head out the side. Her ears may take a week to settle back into their natural position. After driving quite a ways up into the mountains, we parked and wandered down to the river. The kids and the dog splashed around for awhile before we ambled back to the truck. It was a lovely, relaxed morning, and we got some beautiful pictures! And, even if you didn't want to see them, here they are!! (You really have to look at the one of Sadie shaking the water off herself next to Paige -it's priceless!)

Jemez

Our Last Hurrah

Summer is officially over for me. I start back to work one hour from now (so I better hurry getting this posted!) We decided to have a quick vacation in Durango before we all started back to school, so last weekend we packed up and headed for the hills.

Friday we went to Mesa Verde National Park and enjoyed hiking to the cliff dwellings - that is, until it was time to hike back UP the hill. Then, both kids got tired and hot and complain-y. Dave ended up carrying Paige up the hill on his back, but there is no way either of us could carry our nearly 80-pound, 4'8" boy up the hill. He had to struggle through it on his own!

Saturday morning we drove to Silverton, Colorado, and then took a mountain road (almost a jeep trail!) up to the ghost town of Animas Forks. The kids absolutely loved looking at the old houses and the gigantic mountains. Despite a little rain, we had a great time. Then we drove back to Durango Mountain Resort and took the Alpine Slide. We had to do some sweet-talking to get Paige on the chairlift and the slide, but she ended up loving it! It's a half-mile long slide that you do on little roller cars. She begged to go again, but we only had time for one ride.

Now that we've had our fun, it's time to focus on the back-to-school craziness. I can't believe I will have a second grader and a kindergartener this year! What happened to my little babies? They are so excited for school to start, and I'm ready for them to get back into a schedule. (See last post for reasons why!) Here's some pictures of our adventures, and of Paige's birthday party.

The Problem with Summer

You know that moment in the summer when you realize that all that free time is not always a good thing? When you see that there is really such a thing as "too much time on your hands"?

I had that moment today, when I came into the living room and found this:

Yes folks, that is a toilet-papered mummy of Paige, courtesy of big brother Garrett, who convinced her to stand still long enough to decorate her. And here's the part when I realized how much of a boring grown-up I am.... I was annoyed when I realized he'd used the "good" toilet paper instead of the cheap stuff I buy as emergency back-up! Needless to say, the "mummy" didn't stay still long, so the decorating spree was short-lived. It was at this point that I suggested a trip to the zoo, the bowling alley, the mountains, basically anywhere where I could spare myself yet another day of cleaning up after my two little tornadoes!

However, this problem won't last for long. In two short weeks, I have to report back to work for teacher's meetings, and school starts in three weeks! I will officially have 2 school-age children this year...'sniff'. Paige is so excited for kindergarten! Garrett is playing it cool, but I think he's excited too, considering how many times he has asked when school starts again.

So, for now, I'll try to enjoy the lazy, mess-making days of summer, because they will be gone far too soon!

In Other News

I've written so much about our remodel, it seems I don't know how to write about regular life. We are officially done with the inside of the house. There are still several outside things to be done (namely the concrete porch which is 2 weeks overdue in getting poured...not that I'm bitter or anything!). We'll also have to do the gutters and finish painting the eaves. But here's the great thing....it doesn't matter when these things get done! Sure, it'd be nice to have fresh paint on the eaves, but it won't affect my daily life if it doesn't get done for awhile. So, I am content to call the remodel DONE and focus on other things.

Paige has started a summer hip-hop dance class and is loving it. She cried for 20 minutes when she realized we didn't have class this week because of the holiday. She wailed "But I miss Ms. Lisa!!" The class fits perfectly with her little attitude and her love of throwing herself around wildly. I'm not sure I'll let her continue too far with hip-hop, as I was rather alarmed by watching the older girls thrust themselves all around. That may not quite be the attitude we're aiming for! But, Paige also watched a class of little girls tap dancing and was really enthralled, so maybe we'll try that too. She definitely loves to dance more than anything. She is unable to hear any sort of beat without shaking her hips and tapping her feet. I left the radio on in the living room the other day and she danced around to the music for a solid hour. God has definitely wired her to dance!

Garrett spent the first part of his summer immersed in Legos. He disappeared into his room and only emerged to show off his latest creations, which were more elaborate each time. He sometimes asks me to build with him, but then gets frustrated at my lack of creativity and eventually says "Let me fix it Mom!" I'm content to watch him line up the designs in perfect symmetry and amazing detail. The Lego-mania has cooled a little, and he is now looking forward to camping with my parents for a few days.

Since there are really no new pictures of the house, I'll show off a few of my cuties instead:

One of the Lego creations:

All of us and my brother's family at the Natural Bridge outside Payson, Arizona:

Finishing Strong

The end is in sight! After nearly a year of adding, remodeling, and basically changing everything, we are nearly done with the house. There are a few "minor" details to finish, such as drywall in the laundry room, wood floor in the hallway, and pouring concrete for a back porch. Oh yeah, and baseboards, and painting the trim outside, and hanging curtains, and....where was I going with this?

Well, the only thing I really care about is that I have a working kitchen again. When I want milk, it's right there, next to the oven that can cook anything I want. And when we're done eating, there's this nifty thing called a dishwasher that can wash almost everything for me! I would be happy with these conveniences, no matter what they looked like, but it helps that they look like this:

I think I've told Dave at least a hundred times how much I love it all! God has blessed us so much, and we are so thankful for what He has provided for us. Truly, when Dave and I got married (13 years ago next weekend!) I never in a million years would have dreamed that we would have a house like this. It's beautiful and warm, and it's ours! I think it's even more special that we built it all with our own hands. We can bask in the joy of a new and beautiful home, but we can also take satisfaction in a job well done. Actually, Dave can take satisfaction in a job well done. I can mostly just pat myself on the back for following directions and running to Lowe's whenever we needed something.

You're all invited for dinner in the new kitchen. Just take your shoes off. And don't spill. And be careful not to put fingerprints on the dishwasher. And wipe up your crumbs. Don't eat on the new rug. Keep your hands off the walls.....oh never mind. It's going to get dirty sooner or later, so just come on over!

Progress

Even though the addition was a far longer process, this kitchen remodel has seemed like it has lasted f-o-r-e-v-e-r! But that's just because it has impacted our daily lives so much. The addition was at the edge of our living space, so it didn't really factor much into our daily activities. But, having no kitchen affects so much more than you would think. You want a glass of water? Go to the bathroom to get it. Need a knife? Go find a plastic one in the office cabinet. Want to make a homemade dinner? Well, you've got an electric skillet and canned food, so be creative!

Actually, the process hasn't been quite as painful as I imagined, but last night I experienced something I never thought I would....I ENJOYED washing the dishes! Because they were in a kitchen sink! And I didn't have to bend over into the tiny bathroom sink or kneel next to the bathtub! Thanks to my amazing husband and his tireless hard work, we are now the proud owners of cabinets, countertops, AND a working sink! There's still much to be done, but we're enjoying the current fruits of our labors! Here's some "progress" pictures....

P.S. There's no pictures of the sink because there's dishes in it. I don't enjoy doing them THAT much! :)

My Little Princess

When I found out I was pregnant with a little girl almost 5 years ago, I had visions of fluffly pink dresses and bows in ponytails. Then, I had Paige.... When she was a baby, I dressed her in frills and cute little black patent shoes, and put her hair in bows. As she has grown, however, she has developed her own style, which is decidedly un-princess-like. She will dress fairly nicely for school, but here is a sample of the "rock star" attire she chooses the moment she comes home....

She takes pride in the fact that her jeans now have FOUR rips in them!! She would wear them every minute of every day if she was allowed to. So, although my "little princess" dreams have faded away, I have to admit that the kid does have style! She may fit in better with skateboarders and guitarists, but at least she knows who she is. So here's to my little girl, who is still my princess, even if she doesn't want to look like one!

Adventures in Remodeling

Well, we're still working on the kitchen walls, in case anyone was wondering. Six weeks of remodeling work, and all we have to show for it is...walls. If I were actually paying for this, I'd fire the contractor! But then I remember, I'm married to the contractor, and I've seen how hard he has worked every single weekend of those six weeks, and some weeknights in between. I guess I just had a romanticized vision of how this remodel would go. I mean, you tear down the old walls, and then it's just a matter of putting up a few pieces of wood and drywall, and you're ready for cabinets, right?? Wrong!

First there was the wiring, which was an adventure in itself. Dave had to figure out which existing wires could still be used, then add new wires for different lights and make sure they went to the right breaker, etc. etc. I just held the spools of wire and blindly did whatever he told me to. Then there was framing the new laundry room, which involved knocking out existing walls and again, re-wiring, as well as insulation. Finally, we got to drywall. It went up pretty fast, but then you have to tape it and mud it, then wait for it to dry before you do the same thing several more times. Dave keeps saying "the hard part's done now", but it still looks like nothing much has happened.

Our progress this weekend was hampered by a little...umm....accident. Dave was placing a new beam up in the attic to help stabilize the ceiling. The rest of us were sitting in the living room awaiting further instructions, when suddenly there was a crash, and part of the ceiling fell into the living room! After realizing that my husband's body was not attached to the ceiling, I was relieved. His foot slipped off the rafter he was nailing, and his leg went right through the ceiling! Not much damage was done, but it just added another several hours worth of drywall work for him.

Dave has made me a pinky-promise that we will get cabinets in this weekend. I realize this doesn't mean we're anywhere near finished, but at least it's measurable progress! I will post pictures of the cabinets when they are in, but for now, here's some Easter cuties to hold us over....

Soccer Girl! (And more about the house, of course!)

Paige has been asking for the last year or so to play soccer. We really didn't want her to start until she was old enough to at least kind of understand the game, so we held off until this season. After our failed attempt at gymnastics (she loved it, but just wanted to wallow around in the foam pit for the whole hour!), we decided to give it a try. So we headed off to sign her and Garrett both up and returned with pink cleats, pink shinguards, and a pink ball! She was set for her first game....

Saturday was the first game for both kids, and Paige did pretty well, considering she'd never played before. She's not very aggressive (surprise!), and was pretty content just to follow the ball up and down the field and not really try to get it. She made up for her lack of effort by being the cutest player out there (in my totally unbiased opinion, of course!) She was very excited about it, though, so we're hoping she'll improve some as the season goes on.

Garrett is on a new team this season, and they didn't get a chance to practice because of bad weather. However, they were amazing for their first game together! I think he will have a great season! I'm not anxious to become a full-fledged "soccer mom", but that appears to be the road we're headed down, at least for now. We'll see how long their enthusiasm holds!

On the home front, we are slowly making progress on the kitchen remodel. The wiring took Dave much longer than anticipated, and we just put up the drywall this weekend. So, we have another week of taping and texturing before we can begin putting cabinets in. We knew there would be some bumps along the way, but we are both hoping this project can be done as soon as possible! I'm having a hard time remembering what it was like to eat with actual silverware and dishes, instead of paper and plastic! And Paige and Garrett would really like their bathtub to stop being the dishwashing "sink"! So, hopefully we'll get through the drywall quickly, and get the cabinets in soon! Here's some pictures of our progress:

Bye Bye Kitchen!

Phase II of the remodel is in full swing. Last weekend we took out all the cabinets, and yesterday we knocked out the wall between the kitchen and the living room and framed in the new wall. It is going to look amazing! Garrett was completely excited to knock the wall out, and went at it with gusto! He was a little worried when Daddy told him to be careful not to hit the gas line at the end of the wall. He said "Why? Will we blow up?" Luckily, his enthusiasm wore off before he got anywhere near the gas line, and he was content to run in and out of the kitchen for the rest of the day asking why we weren't done yet.

Anyway, here's our "before" and "not-quite after" pictures....

Don't forget....

Dear me,
Your children are growing up way too fast, and you're not very good at keeping baby books, scrapbooks, or any other kind of memory books. So, please don't forget....
-How Paige curls up on the couch with her middle and ring fingers in her mouth and rubs her lip with her pinky. (Even though we're trying to break this habit, it's very cute!)
-How Garrett wants to hug me all the time -usually with full body contact-hang-from-Mommy style hugs
-How Paige taps her feet and shakes her hips a little any time she hears a song with a strong beat -even tonight just listening to the singing cards in the Valentine card aisle!
-How Garrett calls out "Mommy!" every time he sees me at school and comes over for a hug.
-How Paige draws on my classroom board every morning, leaving cute people with stick arms, huge smiles, and spiky hair behind to brighten my day.
-How Garrett only wants to wear navy blue shirts with pants that are usually too short for his long legs.
-How Paige only wants to wear her jeans with holes in both knees and her "Rock 'n Roll" Snoopy T-shirt.
-How both kids think that simply having a jacket in their possession (not necessarily on their bodies) keeps them warm.
-How they ask me over and over and over to listen to "Pray for the Fish" by Randy Travis -and then sing along at the top of their lungs.
Since words can't capture all their expressions, words, and actions, you need to go buy a better video camera. Hurry, before you wake up and they're teenagers!
Love,
Me

Robots and Bicycles

Every year, the first graders at our school have a project where they have to make a robot. Garrett first saw this project as a preschooler, and has been waiting for it ever since. He even started off this school year by saying "I'm so glad I'm in first grade because I get to make a robot this year!" He has been planning and thinking about it all year.

Several weeks ago, he came running in the door after school waving a paper and yelling "We got the robot letter!!" And so, construction began. He wanted to make a trash can robot, and Dave, of course, was a more than willing participant. Together they designed a robot that looked like R2-D2 and made several trips to Lowes to find all the gadgets they needed. This was the result:

RT-D2 stands for Remote Trash Droid #2. I'm not sure where number one is, but Garrett wanted it as close to the original as possible without actually stealing the name. I think they did an amazing job! His little control panel on the front even lights up. Of course, now we have to store this little droid until Garrett either decides to get rid of it or forgets about it enough that I can "hide" it away.

In the midst of the robot construction, I tried to take the kids bike riding one afternoon. I quickly realized that Paige's little bike had gotten WAY too small for her! She couldn't even pedal because her legs kept hitting the handlebars. So we made a trip to Target, and here's the big girl on her new big girl bike:

She loves it, and it is so much easier to go riding together now. Bigger wheels = less pedaling=more speed! Now we're just riding at a turtle's pace instead of a snail's pace! She'll get the hang of it soon and then I'll be yelling at her to slow down!

In other news, we also took a trip to the zoo, where we had to take a mandatory picture with the lion statue:

No matter how many hundreds of times we go, the kids insist I take a picture here! I should put together a time lapse photo show of all the pictures I have of them! They're getting so big!

Still Here

No, we haven't fallen victim to the pile of rubble that still needs to be thrown away from the remodel. We haven't fallen asleep in our beautiful new room and gone into Sleeping-Beauty style comas. We haven't even really been all that busy.

Mostly, we've been enjoying several weeks in a row where there has been no need for a hammer, or a paintbrush, or anything remotely related to construction. Instead, we have wasted large amounts of time learning how to play Guitar Hero (by the way, we rock....sort of!)
We have looked at each other for several Saturdays now and said "what do you want to do today?" instead of "what project to we have to finish today?"

In short, we have been enjoying the lull before the real storm hits. In 2 more weeks, we will begin remodeling the kitchen. I can't even describe the chill that runs down my spine when I think of this. I know many have done it and survived, but we will only be able to work on it in the evenings and weekends. Dave assures me it won't take very long, but somehow it doesn't ring true. This is the man who tells me he'll be home in "5 minutes", only to show up nonchalantly 45 minutes later. So..... we'll just have to see whether he's right or not.

That's all I've got. No pictures, not fun stories, nothing but the wonderful, boring, joy of relaxing! I'm sure I'll be back soon with more. 'Till then, I think I need to lay down. This was too much work! :)

Finished! (For Now)

Christmas has come and gone in a happy blur of presents, family, food, and snow. We managed to get Paige into a dress for Christmas Eve, which is a pretty big deal nowadays. She was happy to add a fluffy tiara from Grandma Jeanette to the overall look:

On Christmas morning, Paige was so excited when she opened her "big gift" from us...a Barbie dollhouse. She has played with it every day since, which is a record for her!

Garrett got 5 different Lego sets, and was perfectly happy with that! He spent 4 days after Christmas putting together the different sets, never needing any help from Mom and Dad! He still hasn't used his big gift -a child-friendly woodworking set. He's waiting for lots of time when he and Daddy can make something together.

My brother and his family visited from Arizona, and we took our yearly sledding trip in the mountains. The kids had a blast and hardly noticed the cold. I even took a few runs down, but finished after this run....

Landing hard on your backside isn't nearly as easy on your body when you're not a kid anymore! I was a little stiff, but the ride was worth it!

Somehow, amid the chaos and joy of Christmas, we managed to finish the addition! Other than sealing the grout and putting the doorknob on the bathroom door, we are totally done with the master bedroom and bathroom! I am truly enjoying my "Christmas present" every day! Dave is taking a few weeks off for a much-needed rest before beginning the kitchen remodel. Here's some pictures of the final product:

I pray everyone has a wonderful 2010!