Aliens, Christmas, and a surprise resolution

About two weeks before Christmas, and after much nagging from Amelia, Evan finally managed to put up Christmas lights on the house and around the huge tree in the front. Hmmm. Maybe I should take a picture before he takes them down. Although, they'll probably be up until Valentine's Day, so I have time.

Anyway, while Evan was putting up the twinkling orbs in the twilight, Amelia and Dylan helped by wearing disco-ball headbands and calling themselves " cute aliens."

Actually, I dubbed them "cute aliens."

They were pretty cute.

They were eating blue Go-gurts prior to this adventure and Dylan decided to save some for an after-light-hanging snack.

The first part of the holiday break, they were invited to a party at Pump It Up and, after bouncing, sliding, and sweating to his heart's content, Dylan insisted on sleeping with his treat bag.

And, they hung out in their pajamas for much of each day.

Amelia is really interested in taking pictures with the camera and she took the following during the holiday. Her subjects tend to be toys and the television, but this photo actually turned out pretty well.

Dylan felt left out, so I helped him take this one.

Christmas morning was the only time I managed to pull out the camera during all of the festivities, though we celebrated Christmas Eve with Evan's family and Christmas Day with mine.

The strange blue and white haired dog with high-heeled shoes is a fashion pup. Amelia insisted that Santa would bring her one even though her parents thought it was a little strange and not very attractive.

And good old Santa came through.

We bought this Diego tricycle for Dylan hoping that his legs could reach the pedals.

No such luck.

So, he pushes himself around using his feet on the floor. Oh well. He'll grow. For now, he and Amelia fight over who gets to ride it inside. We came to a truce by attaching a plastic wagon with a jump rope to the back of the tricycle so that they can take turns pulling each other around.

And our Christmas, anniversary, and next birthday gift to each other was a weekend trip to Sedona. We stayed at a bed and breakfast called the Sunset Chateau. It was much colder than we anticipated, so we got to wear scarves and gloves during the day, not just at night. I was glad that I dug out the few true winter clothes that I own. This consists of about three really warm sweaters: one wool, one angora, and one cashmere. Each is probably about 10 years old. Was it really even cold enough in the valley to wear them 10 years ago? Probably not. This is likely the reason that they look new.

We went for a hike during one of the afternoons and cracked up trying to take a picture of ourselves.

There was way too much sun in this one.

And our faces are nearly too close to the lens here. We were looking at the viewer rather than the lens anyway.

At least we made an attempt to record the trip in photograph. Usually, either we neglect to pull out the camera if we bring it or we forget to pack it entirely.

This then, is progress.

(There's one unintended resolution!)

Happy New Year!

Now where did December go? Is it just me who wakes up and the month is over?

December is nearly done, and my last post in this month was about November. What is it about this time of year that makes it seem like it barrels past and you're running at full speed just to keep up?

I suppose I should highlight December, now that it's practically over.

The second Tuesday in December Amelia participated in the kindergarten choir at a school performance in the evening. In the days leading up to the evening, she kept singing bits of songs about elves tap tap tapping and candy canes dancing, and I wasn't entirely certain what it was all about until a flyer came home to explain. I'm also not certain that on the night of the concert Amelia really knew all of the exact words, but she's great at looking like she's singing the right ones. And that's what really counts...I think.

Before the concert, she wanted me to take a picture of her in her new little jumper. She especially requested that I photograph the sparkling flower pin that we attached to the bow on the front to keep it in place. A quick ironing job would have probably been more efficient, but that somehow seemed too troublesome.

Amelia cannot resist hamming it up.

When we arrived at her classroom, she met up with some kinder buds and played in their classroom "kitchen" while they waited to file in on the risers and sing for us.

The actual singing was difficult to photograph with all of the heads and bodies in the way. We waited too long in the classroom taking pictures (an example is below) to actually get a good seat in the cafeteria.

So, here's a shot of Amelia's class waiting to begin with their teacher Mrs. Giroux.

That weekend, we participated in the Tempe Towne Lake boat parade. The boat was a bit crowded, but the weather wasn't nearly as cold as last year so our lips weren't blue and we could still feel our noses by the fireworks show at the end.

Here's my rather sad attempt to give you a glimpse of the decorated boats on the lake.

We squeezed in with the Griffins and Evan's parents and a few other cousins and friends. There were really too many people and we probably would have been cited had it been a regular boating trip, but we kept each other warm while we drank hot chocolate and ate cookies (all of which Holly Griffin, a.k.a Supa Holly, made that afternoon while she dressed her children in hats and coats and other warm things and loaded up several blankets.)

I actually took a picture of Holly and the kids sitting in the back, but Holly had a huge piece of chocolate in her teeth that I didn't see through the viewer on the camera. I figured she'd probably appreciate that I didn't post the photo.

Hmmm. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it either.

Dylan amused himself by playing with the lights on the boat and dancing to the music pounding from the speakers.

Evan's dad shared the hump that covers the motor with us in the middle.

Evan's brother Brad took several of the photos, including this one, while he stood holding on to the boom. There really wasn't a place for him to sit, unfortunately.

Here are the munchkins who squished in the front of the boat. Amelia made herself right at home.

And Evan's mom and Kailyn sat up next to Shad Griffin who played chauffeur for the spin around the lake.

The moon was huge. You can't tell from this picture where Rider Griffin is trying to point to it, but it was huge. Really.

More December highlights to come. Maybe I'll get up to Christmas...

Bowling and turkeys, but not turkey bowling--a review of November

We did have a November, I think. It blew by full of doctor visits and more doctor visits for me. I now understand why car accidents and whiplash, specifically, are so incredibly inconvenient for people. It's not just the fact that you may or may not have a car, but that you have abundant medical professionals that you need to see often. These appointments have consumed much of my time and it made doing even very regular, daily tasks, more hectic and complicated. I just keep telling myself, things could have been way worse, and I am exceedingly grateful that they were not. And of course, I would not have healed so well had I not spent all that time with doctors. So yay for doctors and yay for not having to see so many so often, I hope.

Here's a bit of catch up for you:

On November 11th, our nephew Cade turned six. His parents hosted a bowling party in his honor.

Dylan didn't bother to bowl, but preferred to lay amongst the discarded shoes eating other people's suckers.

But Amelia thought bowling was pretty cool.

Grandma Phillis helped manage the bowling team of small people pictured below:

Uncle Brad helped manage Dylan.

Cade, the birthday boy, thought Amelia had cooties (but only in front of his friends). Amelia handled it like a trooper, smiling, then shrugging and returning to her lane.

And here are the Rogers girls, minus one. They are a rare thing, indeed, and need to be photographed when they're together. (Out of 13 grand children there are 5 girls.)

Cade and Crew waited patiently for all of the birthday candles to be lit. Heather put letter candles in cupcakes that spelled out "Happy Birthday," but one of the "P's" went AWOL. Or maybe it was a "D"? I don't remember. Most of the kids can't read anyway.

The adults had a good laugh and Cade made his birthday wish.

And Dylan and Chloe (who are exactly two weeks apart in age) posed with ease. Chloe wore her serious face and Dylan wore his silly.

Who knew that bowling can be exhausting? Maybe it's a well-kept secret of serious bowlers. Or maybe not so well-kept and I've just never heard of it. That's probably it.

On to Thanksgiving...

Evan's parents, Duane and Phillis, have graciously allowed their children to spend the actual holiday with their in-laws the past several years so as to spare us all from trying to rush to digest two Thanksgiving meals in one day. This is exceedingly thoughtful of them, in my opinion. As a result, we have Thanksgiving on Thursday and on Saturday.

We actually hosted the feast this year, though I still didn't make the bird. My mom made and transported a delicious one. Amelia and Dylan and our nephew Clark were the only children at our gathering. It made for a surprisingly peaceful meal. Mostly because Amelia and Dylan, who can easily sound like 8 children, didn't eat a thing and rather played outside or in the play room while the adults ate and Clark cooed in his chair.

There was much convening on the couch after the meal:

Amelia and Evan

Amelia, Grandpa Ed & Dylan

Grandpa Ed and calculator-head Dylan (he has a button-pushing fetish like most two-year-olds).

And Grandma Brenda and Amelia who convened behind the couch.

Amelia took this picture of her Uncle Josh. (I should have had her take a picture of me too.)




And Elizabeth christened our kitchen sink by giving baby Clark a bath in it.

We did have a meal with the Rogers, but I neglected to get out my camera. The food was exceptional, the children were loud, and everyone eventually felt the dulling effect of satisfied stomachs.

Well, not my kids because they didn't eat.

Again.

So, again, I have no pictures. Or, a lament for rolls of film.

I have bad photograph Carma lately. The 35mm is on the fritz yet not irreparable, apparently. The problem is just that no one makes parts for the camera any more. But I might find them on eBay, said a helpful clerk.

Really.

ONLY DIGITAL they tell me in big red, flashing letters.

What is this? The 21st century or something?

What's wrong with old and out dated? It works for David Hasselhoff. He just keeps reinventing himself. Why can't the 35mm do that?

Oh. I guess that's what the digital cameras are, isn't it? A reinvented, sooped up 35mm.

The end result of this dilemma is that I have two borrowed digital cameras (Thank you, Dad and Aileen) but I'm not very good at using them (I am getting better), and the batteries keep running out or something. Probably, I neglected to push the "off" button, because you have to do that with these new fancy pants cameras.

Oh that "off" button! Why can't you just turn yourself off if you're so great, digital camera?!

The really good digitals cost a fortune and the ones I can actually afford don't take pictures like my old 35mm.

But alas, one day, I will convert.

I said that I would never stop pegging my jeans in junior high,

yet, I converted to boot cut in high school.

(And now the darned pegged jeans are back in fashion. So what the heck does that mean? Fashion is cyclical? What about cameras? Are they cyclical? I think technology is likely immune to the ways of La Mode. (Is it le mode? La moda? French? Spanish?)).

Man, now I've just confused myself with all of this parenthetical commentary.

I will accept a digital camera as my friend. I will accept a digital camera as my friend...

I've decided to post even when I don't have pictures.

So, I decided that I need to write some posts in the form of public journaling for my own entertainment and possibly yours. It's not that I don't have enough to do or that I don't have any pictures to post. It's just that I like writing, even if it's really about nothing very significant, and the fact that I have to make it semi-public makes me pay more attention to what I say. It's the whole rhetorical triangle at work in my writing.

Yes, I taught AP classes for one too many years.

I really should be winding down, washing my face, brushing teeth...the whole bedtime routine, but I went to book club tonight and my mind is way too active to do any of that. And the fact that I am now engaging in a process that is just as, if not more, stimulating than discussing a book I just read means that I probably won't go to bed for a good hour.

Does warm milk really work as a sedative? Maybe some Chamomile tea... Wait. I am allowed an occasional muscle relaxer since I was in a car accident a few weeks ago. (A product of a red-light runner who rammed the back quarter panel of the 4Runner as I was leaving the Phoenix Zoo parking lot. She spun us about 180 degrees in the middle of the intersection. Not a fun day.)

But back to taking drugs to help me sleep. I need to clarify that I do not support recreational drug use in any form. But the occasional muscle relaxer for my already aching neck and lower back and my zip-zooming brain is acceptable in my circle.

My circle pretty much consists of me, by the way.

I don't think "zip-zooming" even remotely qualifies as a word.

Maybe I am tired.

Halloween '08

Halloween never seems to end at our house. Amelia will not let me discard our jack-o-lanterns even though their faces are wilting, nearly caving in on themselves. Dylan has been running around today in bunny ears and big shoes, with "tatoo" sleeves that he created himself with an blue ink pen. And Amelia's after school attire consisted of a dragon costume we found at Old Navy on super-fabulous discount.

Here's a summary of our Halloween escapades:

The final product of our (well, mostly Evan's) pumpkin carving efforts the eve of Halloween.

Amelia and Dylan did help by...

being grossed out at the pumpkin innards...

making cymbals out of the pumpkin tops...

smiling so much your eyes have no room on your face to stay open...

and just being darn cute.

Amelia played the role of "tiger" in the Kindergarten costume parade at school.

After school that day, she felt that it was important to take pictures by the jack-o-lanterns with Dylan since he fell asleep before actually seeing them finished the night before.

Dylan was pensive, or apathetic. You choose.

Amelia was elated.

That evening at the trunk or treat, Amelia was quick to find some buds:

And then we each took turns posing for the camera.

Dylan was a ninja. He figured out the trick or treat thing rather quickly. Moving from trunk to trunk silently holding out his little "punkin" bag for "nandy", and then jumping and squealing in delight as his bag became heavier and heavier.

Evan and I looked totally ridiculous in our Malibu Barbie and Ken costumes, complete with Mattel tags and bad hair. It took people a minute to even recognize Evan.

It was totally the hair, dude.

I wore giant fake eyelashes for the first and probably last time in my life. And my pink shoes were cutting into my feet by the end of the night.

Seriously, how does Barbie do it?

Here's a latent "boo!" to you.