MantaRay Encounter

There was a free day at our local aquarium this week. We've never been, so Ruth and Jared and I tried to beat the crowds by being the first in line.  We got there 15 minutes before it opened and the parking lot was only half full. It was cold, so we were tempted to wait in the car but Jared insisted we get out and line up.  To our astonishment when we reached the doors they were open and there was a worker there who told us we could go ahead in. They explained that they didn't want us "waiting out there in the cold."  So for about 15 minutes we had free run of the place basically by ourselves.  Ruth had been there before so she guessed what the most popular exhibits would be and we went to them first.  We were to the mantaray petting area before the light were even turned on, and one excited ray swam up to us, surfaced, and stuck it's head right out of the water next to where we were standing. It freaked us out a little bit, to see it's white belly and little puppet mouth. I was the only one brave enough to actually touch the thing.  By the time we made it to the penguins the crowds started to come. And by about 30 minutes in the crowds were very thick.  Not having any strollers or little kids, we were able to work our way around the masses and see everything.  

Free Bowling

That's the playground there behind them.

Jared got a certificate for free bowling for his birthday.  We hadn't been bowling since his last birthday when we went with Grandma B. and Family, and we had such a good time then, that Jared was excited to go again.  We had a fun time, but we were done after only one game.  It was raining freezing rain, but we were across town next to this big wooden park so the kids wanted to play for a little while.  I sat in the car and ate twinkies we had purchased at the used bread store, while they played. It was freezing, and they were crazy. After twenty minutes they came back to the car with numb fingers and toes and wet behinds, but happy. 

Too Creative for a Kit

I picked up one of those gingerbread house kits at the store.  It's so expensive to buy the candy for gingerbread houses so I thought this would be a good alternative.   The kids and I went to work putting it together but ran into some trouble along the way.  I'm not going to go into a long story, lets just say we thought the kit was wrong, so we fixed it, but then it turned out the kit was right, we were confused and our "fix" ruined it.   In the end it took a few graham crackers and some extra frosting to put the thing together. But it turned out okay.  At times like these we remind ourselves that we are just making memories. 

Kaitlin and I are holding it together while Jared "glued" it.
We were laughing so hard because putting the thing together was a comedy of errors. 

The Oldest Mary and Joseph You Ever Saw

Chuck and I were asked to portray Mary and Joseph at our church's Christmas party this year.  I asked them if they knew I was almost 40, and they said "yes". Then I asked them, didn't they want a cute young couple with a baby, and they said "no" they wanted a couple with older kids that would be free to be in the play, so that's how we got the job.  We dressed up and just walked around and pantomimed while a narrator read a script and songs were sung.  It was awkward and a bit strange but we got through it without laughing, mostly.  Ruth and Jared also sang in musical numbers during the play, and one of the teenage girls portraying an angle stepped down on a broken Christmas light and dripped blood all over the stage.  It was all very exciting and entertaining.  Afterward we got many compliments on our performances. Do you think this will plant the acting bug in Chuck?  No, me neither.  (I wish I had a picture to show you of us in our costumes, we forgot our camera).    

Happy Thanksgiving

Do you see my mom in the background? (above Ruth's head)

We had a great Thanksgiving this week. We spent Thanksgiving at my sister's house. My parents were there too. Just a small group this year.  It was nice and low key.  We enjoyed good food and then after dinner a few of us played "Just Dance" on the wii.  It was tough on a full stomach, but fun. Even my mom joined in the dancing though she said she didn't want to play the game.  We played other games and finished the evening taking part in the annual family snow flake cutting.  When we all get together the snow flake cutting can get somewhat competitive.  But this year, with such a small group it was pretty casual.

Muppet Movie

On Friday we went on a fun family outing to the movies and then out to dinner. We saw the new Muppet movie and it was pretty cute.  Afterwards we went to Red Robin. Our younger kids could probably count on their fingers the times we have eaten at a "sit down" restaurant.  It's not often that we splurge like that so it was a real treat and we had a good time.

Up House

Kaitlin hasn't practiced driving for awhile, so on Friday she drove us to the "Up House".  They were having an open house and we were able to tour the inside for the first time.  (A couple had bought the house and it will be closed to the public at the first of the year.)   The inside was so adorable! We tried on the hats, looked in all the appliances, found the secret room and I even played the ukulele (after I asked the owner for permission).  After Kaitlin drove us safely home, I told Chuck and the other kids that they had to check it out, so later that day they went as well.

The front room was just like in the movie.

How cool is this phone.

There's a Toy Story Bedroom in the basement!

Once Upon a Mattress

Kaitlin's play was this week and it kept her very busy. In the few minutes I would see her each day I'd try to make sure she was eating, getting at least some sleep and keeping up with schoolwork.  Our family went to the play on Thursday night. There was a bigger crowd there than expected, but we got good seats.  Kaitlin's ensemble was always sharp and did a great job. All the dance numbers were good and the singing was great.  A few of the leads struggled on the Thursday night show, but Ruth and I went again on Saturday (Donna and Diane also came up) and the leads were much better that night.  Every night Kaitlin was up there singing and dancing her heart out.  The costumes were wonderful and the orchestra and general directing were much better than last year.   Kaitlin had a great time doing the show and is a little sad today that it is over.  However, she is already thinking of auditioning for the winter play that starts in a few weeks.

First Snow

We got our first good snow this weekend.  Jared was excited, so he talked Ruth into going sledding.  There wasn't a lot of snow, but they had a good time.









Lego Fun

Ruth and Jared are off-track for most of November. They have been really interested in Legos recently, so one morning they made this stop action movie. I thought it turned out really cute.

Once Upon a Mattress

Kaitlin's play is this Thursday-Saturday.  She has been working very hard after school for months. This week she rarely walked in the door before 7:30pm.  She is exhausted but overall seems to be having a good time. One of the challenges of dress rehearsals this week has been curling Kaitlin's hair every day.  I've gotten pretty good at putting in soft rollers each night and a few times Kaitlin has even worn them to school. 



Applesauce

This week I finished up the bushel of apples by canning some applesauce (my first ever attempt) and making a few apple pies.  The applesauce was so delicious that my family liked it more than the pies. Even Jared liked it and asked for more (that is saying something).  I'm determined to get even more apples next year so I can make more because I only got a few quarts done this year.



Veteran's Day Concert

I was able to sing with the community choir at our city's Veteran's Day observance. Our director is a choral music composer and we sang an original song she wrote for 9/11. Here is the poem that the song is based on.  I'd never heard it before but I thought it was wonderful and especially meaningful.

	Remember by Christina Rossetti
	REMEMBER me when I am gone away, Gone far away into the silent land; When you can no more hold me by the hand, Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay. Remember me when no more day by day You tell me of our future that you plann'd: Only remember me; you understand It will be late to counsel then or pray. Yet if you should forget me for a while And afterwards remember, do not grieve: For if the darkness and corruption leave A vestige of the thoughts that once I had, Better by far you should forget and smile Than that you should remember and be sad.

Who said a mime couldn't be scary?

This is Halloween

We were blessed with a warm and sunny Halloween this year. Ruth and Jared enjoyed trick-or-treating and we had over 140 kids come by the house. We ended up turning our lights out early; seven bags of candy is my generosity limit. 


Apples

I finally got the bushel of apples I had ordered a month ago.  The timing was just right because I had a free day I could devote to my first ever attempt at canning pie filling. I used a recipe from Allrecipes.com. It wasn't too difficult and it tasted delicious.  I'm excited to pop open a bottle in a few weeks to see how it has turned out.  I still have half a bushel of apples left so I will be trying applesauce this week.

Belated Halloween

Kaitlin missed most of Halloween this year because she was at rehearsal for her musical until almost 8pm.  She felt so cheated that she asked if we could have a make-up Halloween mother-daughter party.  Friday afternoon we dressed in costumes, watched "Back to the Future", ate treats and did a photo shoot. We had a great time and laughed until we cried.  It was the best belated halloween party I'd ever had.

I pulled over to take a picture.

Cold Weather, Here it Comes

Monday was our last warm day. With this in mind I took my little scooter for a ride.  I had worked that morning and I really didn't have the time, but I made the time and headed up into a local canyon that I had been planning on driving on summer but had never gotten around to it.  The leaves were past their peak but it was still a beautiful drive. I saw few people, several deer and one daredevil squirrel who decided to wait until I drove by to make his mad dash across the road.  It was a great ride; I am so glad that I took the time to enjoy this last day of summer.

My choir with the orchestra in the front.

Halloween Concert

I dressed as a clumsy scientist.

Thursday was my community Halloween Concert. What it lacked in quality, we more than made up for in entertainment.  We had a choir and full orchestra, all of which are my neighbors here in this wonderful community.  Our theme was video games and we impressed the audience with our Angry Birds flying out of the audience, high energy Mario, and glow in the dark Tetris.  I assisted with an intermission game show and Ruth sang in a children's choir for our big finale number.  All in all, a fun time.

At home, after the show.

School Halloween Parade

Our school opted to have their Halloween parade and celebrations on Friday, rather than Monday.  Ruth and Jared both dressed up.  Kaitlin also dressed up for a Halloween party with friends.



Pumpkins

We had a great time carving our punkins on Saturday.  Always a source of pride, we try to make our pumpkins as unique and creative as possible.  This year the girls wanted to do a Tangled theme.  Kaitlin designed and carved the Rapunzel, Ruth did the Pascal, and I did the Flynn.   Jared made some skulls and in the end said that it went right along with ours because the three skulls on his pumpkin was Rapunzel, Pascal and Flynn when they were dead.

New Shelves

While we were all inside carving pumpkins, Chuck spent the day outside building us more shelves for the garage.  After putting in our wood floors I asked Chuck if he would build a place in the garage where we could hang snowy coats, not having a mud room and not wanting wet coats dripping on the new floor.   He agreed and then decided to add "an extra little shelf" to the side of it.  This is what he built in the end.  He is so awesome and I count my blessings every day to have such a wonderful and handy man as my husband.

Sophomore Ladies Choir

Kaitlin had her first ever choir concert this week.  This class has been a challenge for her because she was put in the second soprano section which means that she has had to learn how to sing harmonies. None of the girls in the choir know what they are doing so Kaitlin has put in a lot of extra hours learning the parts (We've practiced them together at the piano and sung along with choirs on YouTube). Now all the girls in her section follow her.

 
Art Work


Kaitlin is still doing a lot of drawing.  This week she finished this large drawing for a friend.  This piece measures 16"x22".  She amazes me with her talent.

Gymnastics

Jared had his first gymnastic exhibition on Thursday.  He started taking classes a few months ago, and his team puts on a exhibition quarterly.  He did vault, floor, rings and uneven bars.  Because of a conflict with Cub Scouts, Jared is able to practice with the boys team only once or twice a month. He was pretty nervous because he didn't feel like he knew the routines as well but he did a great job.  We were all very impressed. Below is a short video montage.

 

Random Stuff

This has nothing to do with anything but this is a picture I took in my garden this week. I thought it was cool.

Kaitlin drew this for me today. Old crazy cat ladies are an inside joke between us.