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.