2007: A Year in Review

Instead of doing a newsletter, I thought I'd do a blog entry on our year. The year went by so fast, being busy and fun. There were new additions to our family, celebrations, and little accidents too. All in all, it was a good and memorable year. Enjoy!

January:
Happy seventh birthday, Anna! We celebrated by going to the Olive Garden and building Scotty at Build-a-Bear (in this case, dog) Workshop.

March:


We went to the Oklahoma Aquarium for Spring Break. The girls loved seeing all of the fish and touching the starfish!

April:
Allen and I went with Anna's first grade class to the Oklahoma City Zoo. We saw Oklahoma Trails, the exhibit showing off Oklahoma's animal life.

Some friends and I gave my sister Alison a baby shower. It was fun to see old friends and enjoy seeing all of the baby things.

May:


Lauren turned four on the 26th. We celebrated by eating out and taking her to Build-a-Bear (cat) so she could make Pinkie, our newest member of the family. Then Uncle Stan, Aunt Shannon, Chandler, Josh, and Logan came over for cake and ice cream.

June:Candace moved to a new home in Moore called Santa Fe Place. She loves it, and what's even better is that we see her on a regular basis!

July:
Lauren broke her leg dancing in the kitchen. She didn't let that stop her! She scooted all over until she could walk on it, and then was back to dancing, cast and all. She got it off at the end of the month.

Baby Joscelyn was born on July 9th. She is a beautiful baby with a sweet disposition. No one is prouder than Auntie Shell!

Anna is a whiz at catching butterflies. I think she caught three or four that month. It was really neat to watch her catch them and observe them in her little cage. She never kept them longer than an hour, but it was long enough to enjoy a little bit of nature.

August:

School starts! Anna began the second grade at Santa Fe and Lauren is a Fabulous Frog in preschool.
One Sunday morning we decided to visit Mount Scott with the dogs. We all had a good time climbing around the mountain and looking at the landscape below.

September:
Michelle's Birthday was on the 30th and we spent the night at the Arcadian Inn Bed and Breakfast. It was a wonderful time.

October:
We went to Puggerfest and played with about 70 pugs wandering around.

Anna and Lauren were Gryffindors for Halloween. They wanted to be Hermione and be the most clever witch of their age!

November:

Larry and Stacy came from Alabama for Thanksgiving this year. We had a progressive dinner, where we ate the feast at Stan and Shannon's and dessert at our house. We had a wonderful time!

December:

December is a busy month. We spent most of our time at church, celebrating the upcoming birth of our Savior, and rehearsing music for the Christmas season. We attended Ballet Oklahoma's the Nutcracker as one of the girls' gifts. They loved watching the dancers and having the experience of having music come to life.

We spent Christmas with Ali, Brandon and Joscelyn. It was great fun! They had snow on the ground, so the girls and Brandon made snowmen and angels. We all loved being with them and playing with Joscelyn.

Allen's birthday was on the 28th and we did fun things all day. We went to Borders, ate at the Macaroni Grill, played at the Apple store, and went to Pole Position to watch Allen race. It was a good day.

I hope that everyone has had a wonderful year and the next one is even better. Love to everyone!

Ice Storm!

On December 9th (right after the Nutcracker) Oklahoma had a major ice storm. We had about an inch to an inch and a half of ice everywhere. We were out of school for two days while the roads became passable. Half a million people were without power and hundreds of trees were destroyed by the weight of the ice. We were blessed that we didn't lose power at all during that time. The lights flickered once or twice, but nothing happened. We stayed home in front of a roaring fire and enjoyed each other's company. Our bradford pear tree in the back did break. We lost about half of it. We were sitting in the living room and heard a loud "pop!" We went out back thinking that it was our tree, but it didn't look like it. The next day we went out to inspect it, and the fence was holding up the largest branch on the tree that held the bulk of it up. The trunk was not damaged, so the tree is safe. Now we have lots and lots of wood for our fireplace. Our front yard tree had no damage, mostly because Allen had just trimmed it the week before.

The Nutcracker

As one of the girls' presents this year, we took them to see Ballet Oklahoma's version of the Nutcracker. What a fun afternoon that was! After Christmas Program practice at church, we rushed home and got our Christmas best on and went Downtown. There were lots of people at the Civic Center, and you could feel the excitement in the air. It was Lauren's first time to see the ballet, and I loved watching her reaction. She was mesmerized by the dancers, the music, and the sets. It was so neat to see them put the dancing with the music they know so well. We have been listening to Tchaikovsky all season, and they recognize the suites when they come on every time. They loved the part in the first act when they danced while the snow was falling. I loved it too! It was magical. As a special treat, we let them pick out their own nutcrackers. Lauren has one that looks like Clara, and Anna chose a traditional one decked out in emerald green sequins. I think they slept with them every night for a week!

A Visitor

Hello there! It's Charlie, Daisy, and Penny. We took over the computer for a second to tell you about the visitors we had at our house over the weekend. There were SO many feet standing around on our floor! We hardly knew where to sit or go there were so many people. Our friend Mandie came to visit. She brought her people Larry and Stacy from a long way away with her. She didn't remember us at first, but then we remembered that we were friends. When we were younger we didn't get along very well, but then we realized that growling doesn't solve anything and we became friends. We now can share the yard and enjoy being together. I think the people had a good time too. While we played outside and took naps inside they were very loud and laughed a whole lot. They ate a lot too, but didn't share too much with us. We were disappointed, but they made sure all of us got cookies!

My Favorite Sesame Street Clip

Sesame Street was my absolute favorite when I was a kid. I loved the Twiddlebugs because they were cute and tiny and they lived in the flowers. Thanks, Jamie, for the idea!

Pumpkin pie in Preschool

Today was our annual pumpkin pie making in my special preschool class. The kids have been looking forward to this day all month. We have a marker on our calendar to show what day we will make pies and eat pies too! I have all the ingredients ready and we mix and talk about all the things we put in. I let the kids smell the spices and pumpkin. Usually they don't like the cloves and ginger, which are my two favorites. The kids are still learning how to take a little sniff of something instead of blowing. In fact, one of my kiddos blew into the ginger a little bit and it flew everywhere! We talk about the colors and count our ingredients and stir. That is their favorite thing to do. We then put the pie in a toaster oven. Our room smells so good (one of the only times it does! ha!) while it cooks. The kids love to smell it baking. They are so excited when we pull it out of the oven, and proud that they made something. Tomorrow will be even better when they get to eat what they made!

Raking Leaves

Today was one of the last warm days we are going to have for a little while, so we went and raked leaves. Well, of course we have to jump in them if we rake them! The girls have been waiting for today and absolutely loved it!

Welcome Fall!

Fall has finally come to Moore. It has been warm, so the leaves have started changing within the past two weeks. They are beautiful! I think my favorite color of leaves is red. I've seen some trees that have all three colors on them. The girls are waiting with bated breath to rake leaves and jump in them. We have more leaves to wait on yet. Then we will have a wonderful time in the leaves. I love this time of year. Sweatshirts, cool weather, fall activities, pumpkins, and Thanksgiving!

Worth Every Penny

This is a phrase I say every time I come to visit my chair. My dear husband let me pick this out for my birthday the year I was pregnant with Anna. My chair was made especially for me at the Thomasville store. I wanted something simple and very comfortable. The design is such that it just welcomes you like a hug when you sit in it. I have taken a great many naps in my chair. When I first saw the sample chair at the store it reminded me of a chair at my Grandma Jaszkowiak's house that I loved. I picked out the fabric to match some pieces of my mother's bedroom set that I still have. It all looks beautiful together. When my mother-in-law made us a fabulous quilt, I was tickled to realize that my chair still matched! So, I put away my mom's things and embraced my chair in our new room. I love my chair, and I will keep it as long as I'm still kicking. Everyone that has seen my chair knows it travels with me to the nursing home when it's my time to be leisurely and enjoy my last days, in my chair. It is definitely worth every penny!

Hermione Granger

This year for Halloween the girls wanted to be Hermione from the Harry Potter series. They love how smart and clever she is, as well as beautiful. Instead of purchasing costumes, I bought material and fabric, and made them for the same amount I would've paid for them. It was quite a stretch for me--I have never used a pattern to sew anything before! So, I said a little prayer of guidance and hoped that Mom would be smiling on me as I got out her Bernina to transform my girls into very classy little witches. After a late night (2:30 am) on Tuesday, I had all but the hems done. The girls were delighted! They enjoyed walking about the neighborhood with their robes flowing and their wands at the ready. Now they will have play robes anytime that they want to be a Griffyndor.

Puggerfest

October 13th was the second annual Puggerfest, helping Homeward Bound Pug rescue. They had a fenced off area that we let the pugs run free. There were probably about 60 pugs, snorting and running around! It was lots of fun. They had a cookout, a silent auction, plus contests. Anna and Penny participated in the curliest tail, longest tongue, and the agility course. Penny and Anna won 3rd place in the agility course and had a great time. They also had a costume contest, with the characters from Wizard of Oz, fairies, cowboys, and witches participating. Everywhere you looked (and stepped) there were pugs. We would sit down and be surrounded by curious little pugs, wanting to say hello and get a little rub. All the while, Penny never left out of our sight for very long. She wanted to make sure she knew where her family was. What a wonderful day!

The Arcadian Inn

For my birthday, my dear husband took me to the Arcadian Inn Bed and Breakfast. It was such a wonderful experience. We stayed in the Magnolia room. It had its own entrance from the secluded porch. Right outside the room was a big magnolia tree that you could see from the arched window. You walked in to see a huge poster bed with sheers hanging down. The room was beautiful and special, complete with rose petals and champagne. There was a two-person jacuzzi tub to soak in. Allen and I enjoyed the evening by eating at a local steakhouse, shopping at a bookstore (one of my favorite things to do), and relaxing in our room. We fell asleep in a big, soft king-size bed with curtains all around and woke to see the magnolia tree swaying in the breeze. Breakfast was served in our room with a silver candelabra and red sugar ringed around our orange juice glasses. We ate pumpkin pancakes with chopped apples and pecans, smothered in a vanilla sauce. There was a breakfast egg roll with sausage in the middle. It was topped off with a birthday candle just for me in my pancakes! They didn't miss a detail. We felt very special staying at the Arcadian Inn. Thank you Allen, Jeff, and Kasey for making my weekend great!

The Oklahoma Aquarium

We spent our Labor day weekend with family. We went to Jenks to the Oklahoma Aquarium. What a wonderful place it is! They have lots of sea life, including sharks! They have a walkway that you can go underwater in the shark tank. You get an up close look at the sharks. It was quite an experience. My two favorite things were the turtle exhibit (of course) and the ray tank. They have a bunch of stingrays in an open shallow tank that you can lean over and watch them. You can even feed them on certain days. Some of the rays will flop themselves up against where you are standing, begging like a dog for a treat! The girls loved it. I also liked the turtles. It again is in a shallow tank with logs and a waterfall. There were turtles all over the logs and they would lay on top of each other like stacked pancakes, then just jump in the water. They were fun. Most of all, it was a blast to go do something with our family. The kids are all about the same age, and they get along well. Families are a great thing.

Back to School Again

It's that time of year--school is here! I started back to school August 9th. Anna started school the 14th, and Lauren started the 16th. I am teaching special preschool for the 11th year, Anna is in 2nd grade, and Lauren is in the Froggy Five preschool class. Everyone is busy. I have 14 in my care, and they are precious. Anna is learning new things, like playing tether ball. She was very excited about that! Lauren is enjoying her class. She says it's "perfect!" I am so glad that my girls love school like Allen and I did. A love of learning is one of the best things kids can have. Here are the girls on the first day of school.