Near Misses

       

While visiting MN this summer we had two crazy near misses.  The first was after we flew in to Duluth, MN (because airfare was half the price as into to Minneapolis) and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon along Lake Superior.  We ate lunch at the famous Grandma's and then the very next day the town was hit with a 100 year flood that caused over 100 million in damage including flooding the very Grandma's restaurant that we ate at.
Next, the following Monday night, I went out to dinner with Sarah and Jeanna to Stella's Cafe in Uptown.  We got there a little early and decided to walk around.  Good thing we did, because right before we actually went up to the rooftop dinning area, there was a stabbing.  The police arrived just after we did and started questioning the other patrons including one man with a bloody shoulder. Crazy!
http://www.examiner.com/article/stabbing-at-stella-s-cafe-uptown

Tree Decorating

Decorating the tree is a favorite part of the Christmas prep in our house. Since we put the tree up on one day and decorate it on another, the boys usually get creative in the meantime by making their own ornaments. This year's first ornament was a batmobile placed high in the tree by Ethan. The next one to appear was handmade by Jonathan ("I love Angels").

The best part is they work like little Elves so I never see them do it or even hear a hint. I always get to be surprised. Benjamin had also added a little rubber duck but I didn't get a picture of it in time.

The boys put all the ornaments on the tree this year (most of them on the bottom quarter) with only 1 casualty and 3 in for repairs. I did assist in spreading some out later on, but for the most part, they did it all.

Backyard Snowfall

One of the advantages of living out a little ways is we've been blessed with the thrill and beauty of a little snow in our desert landscape about once or twice a year. It is such a novelty in the Valley of Sun, that we just stop and watch each flake fall. This time we would have even missed it if it hadn't been for the fact that Jonathan was sick and stayed home from school. However, because he was still sick

and Ethan was recovering, the boys didn't get a chance to go outside for long. They still got a lot of enjoyment out of watching it fall!

Our Legoland Adventures

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A mommy's birthday

After Jonathan's 2nd day of school, we all enjoyed a nice casual birthday dinner at home to celebrate Mommy's birthday.

I chose Angelfood cake, whipped cream, and berries for my birthday dessert...which meant I got to make my own birthday cake. : )

I've learned that as a mom, my kids' excitement for my birthday makes the day all the more exciting. Birthdays are definitely different, but who can resist the sound of your own children singing "Happy Birthday" to you or the look in their eyes when you let them help you open your present from them!

The 1st day of 1st Grade

When Jonathan started Kindergarten last year, we planned on him going to that school for only one year as we had applied at a charter school that started at 1st grade. In the process of the year we heard about another new charter school that would be opening up for the 2011-2012 school year. Though it would be new, it comes from a family of charter schools with a emphasis in classical education. It had

many of the things that attracted us to the other school and yet was a little bigger. The day I found out about it, I went home and applied. It turned out that I had applied on the day of the lottery for enrollment which meant that we were not part of the lottery but at least in a decent position on the wait list. The first time I called to find out where he was on the waiting list (a couple months later), I learned that he was number 13 out of over 100.

We did go on the tour for the other charter school and had decided that we would keep him at his Kindergarten

school until he could get in to this new school. I called every couple of months and he slowly crept in to the top 10 (they won't give you a specific number at that point) and then the week before the first day of school, we were told he was in the top 5. As we prepared for school, I bought supplies off of both schools' lists and prepared Jonathan for the likely event that he may be starting at one school and changing schools after a few weeks or months. Then the Saturday before the 1st day of school, we received the phone call. He got a spot! We then had less than 2 days to get ready. I was so glad that I had purchased the school supplies and most of the uniform items because the paperwork alone was a lot.

A new school is always an adjustment, but we are excited for the classical education, singapore math, spanish, and other parts of their rich curriculum.

Ethan's 3rd Birthday

This year for Ethan's 3rd birthday we kept it simple with a small birthday play date in the afternoon of his birthday. We had a few of his friends over and made our own little water park in the backyard. We had two slip n slides, a little pool with a circle sprinkler surrounding it, and then we had a water trampoline (we hooked up a water sprayer to the top of the trampoline enclosure so that it sprayed down as you jumped). We had 5 hoses running...and actually ran out of water. Since we have a well and a holding tank, the tank ran out. Fortunately, the well didn't take long to pump more water in to our tank so we weren't out for too long. ; )

After the water fun, we came inside for lunch and Ethan's spiderman cupcakes. He was so full of excitement and still enjoyed all the little things. He was so excited just to have his friends over and have his special cupcakes! He loved his presents and even got so excited over his "messages" aka cards. One of them was even a singing card and you can see how VERY excited he was when he opened that card.