Tuesday, December 14, 2010

yummy day



my sister and i continued the tradition of baking christmas cookies, of course, with the fine help of our sweet girls! as always, we produced batch after batch of the traditional pfeffernuse, as well as snowman cookies, chocolate peanut butter cookies, and chocolate drizzled pretzels. we pride ourselves this year on accomplishing complete perfection of the pfeffernuse system and baking schedule. we like to call it "pfeffernuse perfection." if you have ever attempted the 14 cups of flour recipe, that requires rolling, slicing, arranging & baking tiny bite size pieces of the enormous mass of dough, you know what i mean. i am so happy that we are able to share the traditions with hampton and evie...most importantly, the gift of time. for these moments are the ones i treasure most.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

new hampshire

coleman was proud to complete his research project on new hampshire. after several late nights, we got it done! coleman practiced his oral presentation several times before presenting it to the class. his hard work paid off, with a perfect grade all around! he was SOOO excited to run through the door that afternoon to tell me, and show me the sheet his teacher made remarks on. it was ALL fantastic! way to go coleman!

Monday, November 29, 2010

build a...





bunny! my sister and i ventured to build-a-bear workshop today, with evie and hampton to build (of course) a bear. funny thing is, they both chose bunnies...and before even leaving the store, hampton wished she had built a tie dye kitten. really? regardless of the animal itself, the girls thoroughly enjoyed stuffing their bunnies, placing hearts within them, and decking them out in the best clothes they could find. evie quickly chose the blue cheerleader outfit, while hampton was completely indecisive. as soon as i thought she had chosen one, she was looking at something else (usually uglier that the previous). gheesh! she FINALLY settled on jammies and a sleeping bag, and has chosen to sleep with "twinkle" ever since. sweet dreams of the tie dye kitten continue. we shall return.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

the feasts of thanksgiving



 
 
 
 
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coleman and hampton both enjoyed classroom feasts in celebration of thanksgiving...here are a few pics of them enjoying the holiday with friends. we enjoyed a wonderful thanksgiving at the morris home in el dorado...with the entire morris clan (cousins and all). it was awesome to spend the day with everyone, before venturing out early the following morning (2.30 am to be exact), for black friday shopping. fun, fun, fun!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

dance observation






our first dance observation class of the year. it is amazing to see how the expectations have risen...along with the actual performance. hampton is truly in her element during dance. though i must sometimes remind her of how much she enjoys it (prior to getting there), hampton absolutely adores every single moment she spends with mrs. sydney. what a blessing!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

martin music program

 
 
coleman was huck finn in the martin elementary music program, and he sang his little heart out! the concert included the fourth and fifth graders on a musical adventure of river songs. as always, it was a wonderful evening of sweet voices.
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Wednesday, November 10, 2010

cyclone cheerleaders


yes...the very best cheerleaders for the cyclones. hampton and evie. they certainly cheered the loudest, jumped the highest, and visited the concession stand the mostest.





Saturday, November 6, 2010

cyclones final game












coleman's football season with the cyclones came to an end this week. unfortunately, they experienced their first loss of the entire season, and the first game any team was able to score on them. 6-0...final score. it was a fantastic game, and very difficult to see the upset. the tears flowed (and coleman's shoulders shook) as they were presented with the second place trophies and medals. coleman played a wonderful game...we thoroughly enjoyed cheering him and the entire cyclones team on. a fantastic group of boys and parents. what a super season! already looking forward to next year!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

halloween 2010











a pink flamingo in the loving arms of the scream ghost...hmmm. so much for the years when i could choose coordinating costumes. oh, and yes...years when my first child would actually dress up. i have lost all control, for this holiday anyway, and i am fine with that. the bleeding scream ghost is so far from coleman's personality, it is almost funny. hampton, however, completely engulfed the pink flamingo's very being. funny, again. austin, you ask? hmmm, he had fun (un-costumed) traveling between his friends' homes sampling candy...and scaring the innocent trick-or-treater along the way. my, how times change! another tradition, that remains true & quite enjoyable, was the visit of family and friends for chili & cocktails. evie was dressed as a beautiful monarch butterfly, accompanied by her parents (dressed to embrace the 50's). what a fun night, as always! a few days prior to halloween, coleman celebrated halloween with his class (of course, without the "scary" mask). fun times!