Spring Break

We had the best spring break ever. Jenelle's Auntie Eileen and her cousins Carly and David came to visit from Chicago. I should have Carly write this blog entry because she kept a journal of her trip.

The kids did a lot of jumping on the trampoline. No one was permanently injured. We did a few hikes. Eileen and David went up to Winter Park for a few days to ski. Most people take home a lot of fun memories of their vacation. Eileen took a little bit more. She captured some of our high altitude pressure in her ear and took it home with her.

I took Jenelle and Carly to Nate's one day. The girls really enjoyed babysitting Nate. They fed him and gave him a bottle. They pushed him in the stroller to the park. Carly even changed a diaper. She commented on how squirmy his legs are. The girls and I went rollar skating and to the pottery place, too. Jenelle made a fish to commemorate Sprinkles. Carly made a butterfly mug.

One night we went to Grandma-ma's for dinner. We played spoons after. We laughed and laughed. It was so fun.

We went to the park and fed the ducks. We also took the kids to JumpStreet. I think they liked jumping on the trampoline at home better.

To wrap up the week; everyone had a good time and we miss them!!!

A good fish

Jenelle has fish for a pet. Until recently that is. Her three tetra are Sprinkles, Crackers and Bubble Gum. Bubble gum died a long time ago. Crackers died last week. So I went out to Petsmart and picked up two new fish. Jenelle named them Blueberry and Caroline. Two days later one of them died. So I ran out and got a replacement before Jenelle got home from school. The very next day another one died. Ugh. A few days later the third new fish died. Sprinkles was still going strong, but not for long.

Last Wednesday Carly and Jenelle saw Sprinkles struggling. She was trying to swim up to the fish food, but she could barely keep herself going. In the morning, Sprinkles had passed.

We're all very sad. Jenelle and Carly made a lovely burial stone for Sprinkles. We buried her in the backyard. She was a good fish.

Weekend Fun

I haven't posted a "weekend fun" for a long time. It must be a good indicator that spring is here. We met up with Auntie Chris and Zack at the park where we do all our training. They learned to ride their bikes there and now they are learning to skate. Jenelle is super hesitant on the skates. No big surprise there. She is a cautious girl you know. She is not into speed.

After a few laps around the park she was ready to solo. She is starting to get the hang of it. We'll have to go skating when her cousins are here.

Since it was SUPER windy we decided to fly a kite while we were there. I keep a dollar store kite in my car year round. The kids had lots of fun and didn't want to go home.

Father/Daughter Dinner

Jenelle started going to Pioneer girls this year. It's a Christian group just for girls. They offer several fun events throughout the year. They had a sleepover in November. The mother/daughter tea is in April.

Tonight was the special daddy/daughter event. Jenelle wanted something new to wear. She saw a cute $50 dress at Kohl's. I opted for the $7 dress at the consignment shop. It was just as pretty and just as sparkly.

Curt picked up an orchid corsage for Jenelle. Jenelle wanted to wear it in her hair. She has great fashion sense and accessorized her outfit with a necklace.

Jenelle just walked through the door and said, "It was the best night ever! It was a blast."

They ate Swedish meatballs, rice, fruit kabobs and cake. All the girls got on stage and sang a few songs. They danced together and learned a special dance with other daddy/daughter couples. The whole night was about making the girls feel special. I think it was a success!

Bowling fun

We went bowling today with Zack and Auntie Chris. I guess all that bowling on the Wii has payed off. Jenelle played one game where she got 4 spares IN A ROW!!! I was amazed. I really like her bowling style; pick up ball, run to alley and throw.


Check out our scores!

Happy Valentine's Day

Sometimes Jenelle and I make a special dessert for Valentine's day. This year we made chocolate covered strawberries. They were so good and really easy to make. We went to Tony's and picked up some dinner. They were selling choc covered strawberries for $2 a piece. What a rip off! We had a fun evening and everyone enjoyed the dessert.

Valentine's was super special because we stopped off at Walgreen's and Jenelle bought the valentine pillow pet. She name him Rojo. Check back for a photo.

Pillow Pets

Jenelle with her unicorn pillow pet.


A few years ago I saw an infomercial for the pillow pet. I thought to myself, "How dumb are those. Those will never catch on." Well, Pillow pets are the hottest thing right now. Everyone seems to have one or two or three. Jenelle has been begging for one, but I have refused to buy one. For those of you not up on the latest toys "it's a pillow, it's a pet it's a pillow pet." They are basically huge stuffed animals that fold out into a pillow.

When Papa was here in November he bought her one. Now they have a special Valentine pillow pet out. We saw it at Walgreen's. Jenelle desperately wants one. Again I refuse to spend the $20 when she already has a million stuffed animals. Jenelle is saving up her money.

Here is the cute part of the story. We were driving around last week and when we passed the Walgreen's Jenelle said, "I love you Walgreen's." I asked her why she loved Walgreen's. She said, "Its the orphanage for my pillow pet." Oh my. I think I'm going to let her save her money and buy one.

Snow much fun!

We got lots of snow yesterday. About 8 inches or so. Jenelle is an avid sledder these days. We all headed out to the sled hill this afternoon. Our favorite red sled cracked and doesn't work very well anymore. Curt brought the blow up and it was SUPER fast and very fun. Here are some picture highlights.

Skate City

Jenelle got roller skates for Christmas. I thought she could practice around the house, but they leave marks on the floor. We've tried practicing outside, but those little breaks in the side walk seem to throw her off. We have a roller rink near the house so we went on Saturday. Curt and I each have roller blades, but we haven't used them for some time. Curt was kind enough to clean out all the mouse poop in the blades. I was extremely grossed out by the enormous amount of poop that came out so I declined to skate on Saturday.



Jenelle did much better than I thought. She only fell once. She even had some speed going by the end. She enjoyed herself SO much that we went back again on Sunday. I skated this time. It was fun. The rink played good music and they had fun lights. I was a little annoyed by all the kids that darted in against the flow. I almost wiped out several times when they cut me off. I think we need to adjust Jenelle's skates for next time. The wheels are a little tight and she can't glide very well. She is going to need speed for when her cousins come visit.

Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas! Christmas was great and went by way too fast. We went to church Christmas Eve and opened presents Christmas morning. Grandma Shirley flew in from California so we had an extra special Christmas. Chris, Zack and her dad joined us. Jim came solo this year and partied long into the night. We missed Grandma-ma because she was visiting Eileen in Chicago.

Jenelle got lots of little presents. We didn't have that one big gift this year. So she got some sewing crafts, zhu zhu pet stuff, some games and clothes. Her favorite presents are the clothes for her Webkinz, the zhu zhu habitat and roller skates. My favorite gift is the new camera, of course. Curt got some Spanish lessons on cd. We've been having lots of fun listening to those in the car.

I really thought this was the year Jenelle was going to figure out that Santa isn't real. I figured it out because the wrapping paper was the same and I recognized my mom's handwriting on the tags. Last year I bought separate wrapping paper for the "santa" gifts. Not this year. Jenelle did make the comment on Christmas morning, "Santa uses the same wrapping paper we do." So I guess I'll have a believer for one more year. It adds to the magic I guess, but takes away a little of the emphasis on Jesus.

We did a great job of giving gifts to Jesus the month of December. Now just to try to do that all year long. Happy New Year.

Karate Kid

This fall we signed Jenelle up for an after school program. The karate place near her school was offering something cheap so I signed up. Jenelle was NOT excited. She was NOT interested in karate. I heard this over and over. Well, too bad. She had to go on the days I was working.

This program has been great, but not without controversy. First the greatness. On Tuesdays they practice gymnastics. I could barely teach Jenelle to do a somersault. Mr K. (the karate sensei) has her practicing kart wheels, dive rolls and back bends. Mr. K. has Jenelle shouting "High Ya" while kicking and blocking. She has progressed to a yellow belt. She has a very fun time in the program. He taught a stranger danger class. Jenelle attended and learned a lot. I feel like karate might help her to be more assertive in the long run. Mr. K can push her and she'll do whatever he asks.

Now for the controversy. Mr. K wanted Jenelle to "test" from white belt to yellow. Jenelle was extremely resistant to testing. She'd look Mr. K in the eye and say "yes, I want to test." Then on the drive home she would tell Curt she didn't want to. She would get panicky and teary eyed every time I mentioned it. Mr. K has also been pushing for Jenelle to get a uniform. I haven't wanted to get one because Jenelle is NOT interested in karate. Jenelle has also said repeatedly that she does NOT want a uniform. Curt and Mr. K had a little confrontation about the uniform. Mr K was in Curt's face. Oh my! Basically, Mr K. thinks Curt is holding Jenelle back and it's all Curt's fault that Jenelle doesn't want to test or wear a uniform. (By the way, Mr K. thinks I'm really nice.)

We broke down yesterday and bought the stupid uniform. Jenelle LOVES it! Crazy girl. Why has she been so resistant? She wore the uniform and was practicing all her moves. If you ask, Jenelle will still say she is not interested in karate. Whatever!

Honey the puppy

Over New Year's we watched our friend's dog, Honey the puppy. Honey is around 4 months old and is super playful and quite adorable. Is Honey trained? Not so much. Honey arrived on the coldest day of December and we had gotten some snow. Curt let Honey outside to do her business. She quickly came back inside and did her business on our carpet. Not good, not good. We found the old baby gates and blocked off the upstairs. Honey did not appreciate that. She would stand at the gate and whimper every time Jenelle went upstairs. Jenelle was her best bud. She didn't whimper when I left the room.

Honey had a few more accidents, but she was learning quickly to go outside. Jenelle spent a lot of time playing and petting the dog. I love the picture above where Honey is resting at Jenelle's feet. She followed Jenelle everywhere. Honey also loves to chew as all puppies do. A few Polly Pockets lost appendages. Erasers were destroyed. I was constantly pulling things out of that puppy's mouth. We also found that puppy on the kitchen table, TWICE. It's a good thing that Honey is quite cute.

Long story short... we would watch Honey again. We just hope she's a little better trained next time.

Spritz Cookies

Every year Jenelle and I make spritz cookies at Christmas time. We use a hand press to get the cookies out in cute shapes. It takes a lot of hand strength and it's a pain. I remember as a kid growing up that we had an electric press. It did all the work for you. My sister and I made a lot of spritz cookies without any help. So with that memory in mind, I asked for one for Christmas.

Curt bought me a Cuisinart electric cookie press. What a piece of junk! First, it takes an engineering degree to put the thing together. Second, the press warps halfway down and stops making cookies. So I had to keep opening it, adding more dough and then put the thing back together (see point #1). It was extremely frustrating. Curt tried using it and he didn't have any better luck. We're returning it.

I made the cookies with my hand press and Jenelle had a GREAT time decorating the cookies. She used a lot of different colored sprinkles. Hopefully there will still be some left by Christmas.

Stress and Stuff

I went to chapel at Jenelle's school on Wednesday. I've never been to chapel before. It was excellent. The kids sang praise songs and they had a speaker. The speaker talked about how Christmas has become all about stuff and stress. Basically everything under the tree is just stuff. He asked the kids if they could remember what they got for Christmas last year. Eventually the newness of the toys wears off, etc. Then he talked about the stress. This was geared toward the adults in the room. It's so true! Christmas becomes a time of spending too much money and running all around shopping and being so busy.

So anyway, I decided to start a new tradition this year. I want to make a conscious effort to give gifts to Jesus this Christmas. It is his birthday after all. I shared this concept with Jenelle and Curt. Maybe a gift would be going out of your way for somebody. Or biting your tongue and stopping yourself from complaining or whining or saying something not so nice. Or being patient in those long holiday shopping lines. Or doing something that makes you a little uncomfortable like inviting a neighbor to church or talking to someone about the real meaning of Christmas. Or doing something you don't normally do. Something that takes a little effort and sacrifice I guess.

Thanksgiving

Papa drove out from Illinois for Thanksgiving this year. It was great to have him visit. Jenelle challenged Papa to many Wii games. Jenelle loves to win and she sized Papa up and thought he'd play a lot like Grandma-ma (which is not very good). She didn't know that Papa flies model airplanes which is a lot like playing video games. Anyway, Jenelle would win the first few games and then Papa would beat her. It was fun watching them play.

Papa came with us to Front Range Christian School's Thanksgiving celebration. We ate breakfast and sang a lot of sangs thanking God for all he's done for us. Papa got to meet Jenelle's teacher and get a little taste of what her school is like.

One afternoon we went out to the flying field and watched Papa fly his airplane. Jenelle and I liked the tricks where the plane would do a lot of loops.

We had a fun Thanksgiving. We had so much food! We all over ate for days. I was so glad when the pie was gone. We hope Papa comes to visit again next year.

Happy Halloween.

Jenelle was a witch for Halloween this year. It was a beautiful night. Usually I'm freezing my a** off, but this year was quite pleasant. So nice that we trick-or-treated an extra long time. Jenelle got lots of candy this year. The switch witch did visit our house again. She switched a lot of the candy for a zhu zhu baby stroller. Jenelle is very into zhu zhus right now.

Here are some pictures from our fun night and from pumpkin carving (all pumpkins were grown in our back yard.)

40th Birthday - Oct 5th

I'm 40 now. This is a huge milestone so I decided to celebrate it. I organized a cruise for my 40 something friends. We took a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas. We had a fabulous time. We spent a day on Coco Bay. The snorkeling was great. The next day we went to the Atlantis. Curt and I have always wanted to go there. It was so cool. They had a great lazy river, water slides and of course the leap of faith. The leap of faith is a water slide with a sheer drop that was incredibly fast! I couldn't keep my eyes open. All I could do was scream. I had to dig my swimsuit out of my butt when I got to the bottom. It was scary, but exciting.

Another highlight of the trip was just hanging out with my college roommate, Debbie and my high school friend, Celine. I miss those girls so much. We drank too much and stayed up way too late. We soaked up the sun and had lots of fun!

One of the highlights of my day

Jenelle puts on a fashion show for me every day! I'm not kidding. It started this summer. Jenelle likes to dress in the colors of the rainbow. Each day she dresses in all one color. She parades her outfit in front of me every morning. The slide show is a sample of some of her colorful outfits. Jenelle is very into fashion and often accessorizes with necklaces and silly bands. I haven't picked out her clothes in years. She often puts together outfits that look funny or don't quite match, but I think it's cute.

Eight is Great

Jenelle had a pajama birthday party this year. We almost had a sleepover party, but I just couldn't go through with it. So the pj party was our compromise. It was the easiest party yet. The girls came over and watched the new "Barbie in a Fashion Fairy Tale" while they ate pizza. We played the limbo game and then the girls spent the next 40 minutes playing dress up and walking down the runway. I saw dress up clothes I haven't seen in years. The girls had a great time putting on new outfits and accessories. I would add commentary while they walked down the runway twirling and posing. It was so fun and so easy. I didn't have to clean up after a messy craft. Curt and I didn't have to haul everything over to the park. Lots of fun memories were made. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but Jenelle's cake matches her pajamas. The only downside to the party that I could find was that she got 8 Zhu Zhu pets. 4 pets and 4 babies. Those Zhu Zhu's are a pain. The wheels are constantly get clogged up so I'm constantly performing "surgery" to get them working again. Oh well, she loves them.

Seven is Super

Jenelle is 8 now, but let's take a moment to reflect on this past year. Seven was super. Jenelle really came a long way this year. Last summer she was deathly afraid of bugs including the sweet ladybug. If a ladybug landed on her she would scream, cry and go a little ballistic. Just last week she was dismembering a grass hopper and pretending to eat it.

She jumped off the diving board and learned to ride her bike without training wheels this summer. She showers by herself and can swim really well. I just can't believe how grown up she's getting. Where did my little girl go?