Christmas Celebration 2011

Christmas went by in a blur this year! We traveled the week before, then spend 12 hours at home on the 24th then left to hit both grandparents and return on the 26th. Whew! I am tired! It was so nice to have us all together again though. Glad to have Kate home for more than overnight! My homemade gifts for the girls are not yet completed but will be soon. I did have Maggie's owl ready on Christmas Eve and Lilly's cabled scarf that matches the fingerless cabled gloves I knitted last year will be done this week! Kate wants socks instead of a scarf so they won't take nearly as long! The cousins had a great time together. They got the #1 parented hated toy- Figits. So far the Figits have only been played with on Christmas Day- hooray! Harper and I are continuing the exercise regiment wherever we may be! On boats, and more! We saw a family movie on New Year's Eve, We Bought a Zoo, and it was fabulous! We have done lots of family cooking together and generally enjoyed each other. It will only last until Sunday then we will be down a daughter but up a dog! 2012 is shaping up to be a good year! I hope to appreciate each member of my family more and tell them everyday! Be thankful for all that you have!

Kate is awarded her Gold Award

After completing the Girl Scout Gold Award Project in September 2010, Kate finally got her Gold Award! She also got a flag that was flown over the capitol, a letter from the President and more! Most importantly, the award enabled Kate to further develop her leadership skills and get into the college of her dreams. She chose a topic she was passionate about and developed a program for the Greensboro Children's Museum to continue annually. Kate focused on healthy, local eating. She let the girls harvest their sweet potato, bake it and make butter and homemade biscuits to accompany a healthy snack. The girls learned about ingredient listings on products, the food pyramid and appropriate serving sizes as well as their carbon foot print. It was an educational and fun experience for all involved! Out of our troop of 18 girls, only 5 girls got their Gold Award. Great job Kate!

Our New Rescue Dog Oliver!

Yesterday we went to "look" at a precious cocker spaniel that needed a home. He had only one eye and had had 2 knee surgeries in the last 6 months. His name on the web site was Bandit. We did not care for the name but thought he looked adorable. So we set up a meeting with his foster mom for 8:30 am and we got up at 6:30 am so we could leave by 7 with Harper, Maggie, Cooper and Jack. I wanted my older boys to meet the new dog too. Well it was freezing- 20 degrees and windy. We had to meet Bandit outside. Brrrrrr!!! But we really liked him immediately. He was so sweet. A little skinny and shaved almost bare but cute as a button! So we took him home. The big dogs seemed uninterested at first and then maybe a little annoyed with the young tyke who never stopped moving! Can dogs have ADHD? Feeding the 3 was a little scary because nobody wanted to "share" but I solved that problem and breakfast this morning was a piece of cake. The dogs also slept great last night and it was the puppy's first night NOT in a crate. So life with 3 dogs has not been bad at all. It has been comical at times and I have walked the dogs more than when I had two. So a big thank you to Harper for helping me complete my "canine" family!

Peruvian delight

Lilly had to make a dessert from Peru this weekend for her AP Human Geography class. I asked if we could buy something and got "the look"- like how stupid are you. Oh well. She found a recipe on line and I shopped for the ingredients then let her have the kitchen. These little cookies took HOURS! Make the batter then refrigerate for 2 hours, while making a flan in the oven for 90 minutes. After that, roll dough, cut cookies, bake, cool then assemble. It was a strange assortment of flavors too. Lemon, vanilla, custard and then rolled in coconut. Well, they tasted delicious and looked great and went over well at school. So really I am that stupid! Well done Lils!

Halloween 2011

We had a fun and festive Halloween this year! It was a little weird without Kate but we still had fun! Maggie was "the Mad Hatter" this year. She had been looking for a costume a full 2 months before Halloween. Once she found it, there was no changing her mind. We found it at Party City but it only came in preteen sizes, not kid sizes. No worries she assured me. It was a little low cut for my taste (unless she was a tart- which she isn't!) but she proposed wearing a pink shirt underneath. Great idea so we bought it on Oct. 3rd! Maggie did not try it on again until minutes before trick or treating so I was a little nervous. I must say she looked fabulous! The cutest Mad Hatter I have EVER seen! So she passed out candy at our house for a while then combed the neighborhood with Harper until the candy bag had a decent haul. Back at home she swapped candy with a neighbor for all her favorites then watched the Disney channel until 9 and ate her fill of candy. Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Picking 2011

Kate was home for fall break and we "had" to choose our pumpkin with her here- even though she will not be around for the carving or Halloween! Oh well. She was "home" for 5 days with a few overnights with friends at other schools. So the pumpkin outing had to be put off until the last day, hours before her departure back to Chapel Hill and minutes before a lunch date with friends. So glad she could squeeze us in! (just kidding) We went to the first "pumpkin patch" and snapped a few photos and began choosing THE pumpkin but then discovered they were not yet open-on a Sunday afternoon at 12:15 pm! So we headed to the next pumpkin patch and repeated the whole thing but in less time. It was too sunny and my subjects were less than cooperative for photos. Quickly chose fun gourds for our harvest themed center piece and few little ones and 2 big ones. We plan to only carve one but Maggie needed one to make a pumpkin man out of (who knows but pictures will follow later). Not the "invisible" pumpkin Harper was lobbying for! So it was a good end to fall break with the WHOLE family!!

Homecoming Dance 2011

Lilly went to the Homecoming Dance this year with a SENIOR! It made big news at our house. The night before the dance, we went to a college parents' cocktail with our freshman and her date was a SENIOR (in high school) too! Funny coincidence! Lilly looked beautiful in a multi-shaded strapless dress of purples. And her date, Luke, wore a purple bow tie. They looked great together. We got to snap a few pictures before they headed off to dinner and the dance.