Christmas Letter 2007

Well, it seems to me, after perusing my own blog, that my life is really quite boring. I don't have amazing travelling adventures or an overly cynical viewpoint on life. I don't spend too much time kevetching about things going on around here (and that makes for interesting reading).

But, to tell you the truth, to live this mundane life is fabulous. I have a wonderful hubby who brings home the bacon so I don't have to go to a job every day. There are 3 amazing children in my home who make me belly laugh at least once daily and who snuggle at the slightest whim. And, if all of that isn't good enough, I get to homeschool my children and sit in awe of them as they grow and learn.

So, how was my 2007? Similar to 2006 and probably pretty close to what 2008 will bring but absolutely joyful!

For those of you who like the details, I will say that the bakery is going along quite well. Hubby has 2 full time employees (a baker and a decorator) that allow him all kinds of time away from the shop. And that is great for me! We love having him home more and more. He's also figured out some ways to make money in the stock market and he just loves crunching the numbers and doing the stats so he's happy, too...except when the market does something it's not supposed to do. And it's been doing quite a bit of that this year. However, I told him that if he gets an ulcer, he earned it and I won't feel too sorry for him!

As for the kiddos, they are everchanging. Bug started kindergarten this year and it reading like a pro but his handwriting is atrocious. We're going to start hitting that a bit harder 2nd semester! He goes to a public school program designed for homeschoolers one day a week and he just loves it, being his mother's social child! I'm not sure he has a favorite subject because, so far, he just enjoys everything. And I like the day "off" of teaching.

Peanut is 3 1/2 and a homebody. She is most certainly her father's daughter. I love to watch her because she plays contentedly alone and has the best of times. But she hates the days Bug is gone to school. He is her very best friend and she can hardly stand for him to be gone so long. Of course, when he's here they fight and bicker then quickly make up again to go on to the next fun thing to play. Thankfully, I stay out of most of those fights.

And little Kiki is a dollbaby. She is loved by her brother and her sister but especially her Papa. There is just something between Kiki and her daddy that I cannot explain but they love each other. It is so precious to watch. I'd like to say she's growing like a weed but she's tiny despite the fact that I try oh, so hard to fatten her up.

And so was our family in 2007. I do pray that God blesses your families the way he has blessed ours. We are thankful to Him for what He has given us and we certainly do not deserve it.

Gingerbread House Time, Again...

Every year, as is our family tradition, I march the troops to the Bakery and we decorate a gingerbread house. This year was no exception. Each child got a side and this mama got the front. Needless to say, I loaded up my sid with all kinds of chocolates and I fully intend to eat them all! Papa did the hard work helping while I took the photos. Someday our house will be decorated with lovely aplumb but right now it's just fun for them to slap the candies on the house.




Every year, as is our family tradition, I march the troops to the Bakery and we decorate a gingerbread house. This year was no exception. Each child got a side and this mama got the front. Needless to say, I loaded up my sid with all kinds of chocolates and I fully intend to eat them all! Papa did the hard work helping while I took the photos. I love having a papa around!

Sledding--

We have the perfect sledding hill very close to our house that our kids love. And I mean they LOVE it! As soon as they see the first lonely snowflake come out of the clouds, they don their winter coats in anticipation of sledding on that hill. They'll try to walk around all day in their snow boots just to remind me that they want to sled.

Finally, their chance came and Bug cried like a baby while Peanut trooped up the hill with sled in tow for every run. Thankfully, we'll have more snow so he can prove that he really is a man...I hope.

Straight No Chaser

I seriously love this. I love this. I've listened to it so many times and it's truly hilarious! Remember how great the eBay link was? Well, this is better! You MUST watch this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8

Quick Christmas Photos

It's been way too long....

Well, since it's been so long I hardly know what to say. Kiki has turned 1 year old and I have 2 torturous months of pregnancy left. Homeschooling is wonderful and I am really loving it. It's just so much fun to actively watch my children learn new things. On Wednesday next I get to scrapbook and I've ordered and organized my photos for that. Hubby has the new car itch (and he really does need a new car) so any day now I'm expecting him to show up driving something I've never laid eyes on before. Yes, he does that. He up and buys cars and then brings them home. Thankfully, he has impeccable taste.



Now, does anyone want to come and clean my kitchen cabinet doors? That is my next looming project.



Here are some mostly-up-to-date photos for your viewing pleasure. For those of you who have spent any time at our house, you will recognize the front yard where that stag is lounging. Truly, it was amazing to be so close to it!

Let it Snow--

Grandpa and Bug

They went camping together. What more can I say? Bug had a fantastic time and loved wearing camo, BDUs and shooting his bow and arrows.

Butterfly Pavillion

Kids are often so much braver than adults...and this is one of those time! My kids both held Rosie the Rosehaired Tarantulla. Nope. I wouldn't touch it. But I did take photos. And how could I not? My friend CJ took the butterfly photo and I managed to get this one of Bug sitting (amazingly) serenely with a butterfly on his shirt. It was such a fun day!

The Labor Day Balloon Classic

This is one of those events that is really fun once you're there. The colors are amazing, watching the balloons go from ground up is incredible. And the look of awe on the children's faces is astounding. BUT you have to get up at 5:30 am and get the kids in the car to do it.

HILARIOUS!

Honestly, you just have to read this!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130144061675

A Budgie Buddy Pooped on Me

I am sure you're wondering what exactly a "budgie buddy" is. Well, it is a little obnoxious bird that pooped on me. Yes, I know birds have no sphincter muscles and I walked into the building on purpose to see the birds. But I didn't want to get pooped on. Regardless, Bug had several of the birds land on his popsicle stick and he even tried to pet one (it wouldn't let him!). One landed on his arm but it scared Bug and the bird flew away. Now, however, he's a bird feeding champ!

And this is what our little Kiki did at the zoo...nosh on my apple core. But she sure was happy!

This baby giraffe had no qualms about Bug petting him for a while. Do you think he might be a bit too used to humans?

And here are the poopers.... No, not my kids, the birds!

Taylor Reservoir

Honestly, he wanted to go in...on purpose! The kids and I went to the "beach" at the Reservoir and they wanted to swim. Well, Bug still had on his pj's because it was so cold that morning. He just got dressed over his cute football pajamas and then stripped back down to them for a little swim. And little Peanut got down to her skivvies for the swim. Those mountain lakes are deceiving. As you can see, the water was colder than they thought!

The Obligatory 1st Day of Kindergarten Photo

We all look back on those "first day of _(fill in grade here)_ " photos and think we look like dorks. And we did look like dorks. What I didn't know is that our moms, standing there taking these photos thought we were the cutest things alive. They were wondering when it was that we grew up and how easily they lost track of the time. Then they remembered that they were one child short in the house for the day. What kinds of fun things could they go and do?

Honestly, Bug was so excited about school and everything to do with it. He has talked about it all summer and now he is there. Right this minute he is sitting in a classroom like such a grown up kid and he's doing it all without me.

It's the "without me" part that is terrifying. Is he having fun? What is he learning? Is he safe? Do the other children like him? Are they going to tease him? Is he going to tease the other children? Okay, the latter is much more reasonable of a question. He's not timid and has no problem taking the bull by the horns. I might even feel a bit sorry for the poor jerk making fun of my kid if he gets on Bug's nerves too badly.

The good news is that he's in a class with 5 of his best friends, he loves learning and making new friends. I think he's going to make it.

Best Dad and Worst Summer...

It's just that this really has been the worst summer I've ever experienced and hopefully ever will. Imagine yourself standing on a train platform and the engine is reved up to leave. Smoke is billowing everywhere and while you can see vague shapes in the midst and even understand some of what is happening around you, the whole scene is murky and out of focus.

This is where I've been living: in a daze and a funk. I blame part of it on being pregnant and nursing (which I really don't recommend) and the rest on utter exhaustion and bizarre circumstances. In fact, my newest pet peeve is single people (or anyone without kids) saying how tired they are. Honestly, they have no idea what actually constitutes "tired." Trust me, I've been there and now I'm here. It's way worse here.

In walks my Dad on stage left. He sees my normally wonderful house competely trashed and then looks at me sitting on a chair dazed. Then he offers to make a deal with me; he'll clean my house once a week (for 1 1/2 hours or so) until the baby and my mom-in-law come. I'm taking the deal. No ifs, ands, or buts. I didn't even say, "Oh, Dad, you don't need to do that" because I'm dying for help.

As an added bonus, my wonderful husband hears to proposal and feels a bit guilty. He says, "Here your dad is going to help clean the house while I sit on my butt." I didn't agree or dispute him. I just let him complete the thought. Then he offered to take a chore and be in charge of it. Is this my lucky day, or what? His biggest frustration is our kitchen floor so that will be his new job.

I am such a happy camper!

Peanut

Kiki

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Okay, I just got home from watching HP and the OOTP at the IMAX theater. Firstly, I will say that there is just nothing like watching a movie on the IMAX theater. Truly, it's incredible. And, to make it more amazing there was a 3-D scene in the show that was unbelievable.

Now, I'm going to do my first ever (I think) movie review on this blog. And I'm going to skip all of the parts about how books are absolutely the best entertainment meduim ever and no movie anywhere will beat the book.

That said, and this is coming from a die hard Potter fan, the movie was okay. For me, it was the beginning that really ruined the whole thing. Mrs. Figg's character was poorly done...she had no dramatic flair that was truly needed and the entire beginning of the movie lacked the Ministry/Harry/Dumbledore interaction that made this particular book hook me in the first place. I mean, Harry gets booted out of Hogwarts, made to go to a judicial hearing and is threatened to have his wand broken and all he does is hit the bookcase once and then apologizes for it! Are you kidding me?

Yeats could have at least added some of the drama that the book so beautifully extended just to bring the audience into the story. THERE WAS NO HEART-RENDING DRAMA!!!!! He really blew it and if someone who knows nothing of the books sees it then I could imaine how lost and confused they'd be. Hmmmm, let's drop our audience in the middle of a story and then leave them there without any background information.

After the horrendous beginning, the rest of the movie was wonderful albeit still quite fragmented. The movie left out so many of the amazing details of magical imagination that Rowling created and that made the first movie fabulous...couldn't we have seen at least a little bit of Mrs. Black? What about the doxies? Or some of the Weasley twins fabulous creations during their hayday?

A few minor details were changed (Cho is the snitch but she was given Veritaserum) but nothing that really mattered.

This movie was fun and delightful but it just didn't have the flair; I hope the next one far exceeds this one.

AND THE LAST BOOK COMES OUT IN 10 DAYS...YIPPEEE!

The Fun with Jon is Over

Sadly, Jon has left our humble abode and Bug is as depressed about it as he can be (thankfully, he has his mother's personality). Jon was counting down the hours until he got to leave. I'd like to think it was because he gets to spend the next 3 weeks detasseling corn with his bestfriends. However, I think maybe his workload was a bit much and the pay a bit little! While here he mastered the following tasks:

• mopping the floors--at the Bakery and here at home,
• vaccuuming the house,
• washing the cars,
• doing the dishes on a commercial dishwasher,
• trimming the hedges,
• sweeping the patio,
• pulling weeds,
• laying weed barrier,
• climbing 14ers (really big mountains!)
• fishing,
• rough housing with my children,
• loving on Kiki, and,
• beating me at computer Risk.

I might've forgotten a few things in my list but more would just make me look more like the tyrant I am! Unfortunately, neither Steve nor I have any problem telling other people what to do. We'd love to have your children for a time of slave labor, I mean character-building fun. Honestly! We will miss him but I think his mother is happy to see him, if it is only for a few hours in the car.

I do want to say, however, that he well-represented his parent's hard years of raising him. He was polite, ate what was given him, hard-working, and easy to live with. He never complained when I asked him to do a chore and jumped up right away and did it. Then he would say, "Do you want me to do anything else?"

When my kiddos are older I do hope they are as well respected elsewhere as Jon is in our home. Maybe it's in part due to that Dutch stock!

Kiki Loves Cousin Jon

She LOVES her cousin. He holds her and she doesn't cry. He sits on the floor with her and entertains her for quite a while. And she just smiles and laughs at his antics. And, he likes her because she doesn't jump on him or try to play with him when he wants to be on the computer killing zomies. It's a symbiotic relationship.

Piratitude---Who doesn't love a bit of swashbuckling?

Peanut and Kiki were playing pirate in my bedroom. My comforter was the boat and little Kiki was the unwilling pirate baby. My favorite part was the bandanas. Of course, if she was going to play pirate, Peanut just had to have a hat and then so did Kiki. They are so cute!

Climbing the Peak

Jon has had all kinds of hard work to do while here. Even the fun is hard. He and Steve climbed Pikes Peak. It's a 13 mile hike one-way and has a 7,000 foot elevation increase. Steve said Jon did a wonderful job--even for a flat lander. The kids and I did, however, drive the highway to the top and pick them up at the top. Originally, they were going to hike back down but we had lightning strikes and a tornado touchdown not too far from the hiking trail. Safety is of first importance although it is arguable that the safest route is to just stay home and look at the top.

I do get asked why people climb a mountain if there is a highway to the top. The only answer I have to that valid and well-reasoned question is that there is a stigma about climbing all 54 mountains that are 14,000 feet or higher. I've climbed several myself and have dreams of climbing more in the future. It's just what we do here. And that's all I can say.

Nephew Jon is Here--

First, let me say that my brother-in-law and sister-in-law are incredibly wonderful and brave for sending their son out to visit us for 4 weeks. We've been begging family to come out for ages and FINALLY someone comes. And Jon is actually here to work. Yup, a 16-year-old who wants some experience working in the pastry chef field, came to our humble abode to work with my hubby. And, for the record, I'd feel sorry for Jon that he's working with Steve except that he lives with Steve's brother whom Steve quite takes after.

As far as I can tell so far, his only fault is that he's a reformed baptist. Maybe we can fix him....

Okay, so this isn't the most flattering photo of Jon but you can see Steve's due diligence in putting the boy to work!

Again, not flattering, but this time washing the now oil changed vehicle. Nothing like a bit of slave labor! And I will get better photos but these candids have to do for now.

There's Bug shooting from the hip! Boys and their power washers are a happy pair indeed.

And here is my precious little Peanut cleaning the driveway. Honestly, we're not that clean. I'm wondering if she wouldn't mind moving to the kitchen floor....

Lizard, lizard, lizard...

We found this cute little lizard happily sunbathing on the trim around our garage door and we watched him for a very long time. I touched his tail and he squirmed a bit but didn't run. The only bummer is that Bug is at a friend's house playing and didn't get to see him.

And It's Not Even April Fool's Day!

Welcome to our big news! We're expecting another bouncing baby bundle of Boonz bliss and I am very ready! Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but I'm pregnant again. Little Kiki will be only a scant 14 months old (approximately) when #4 hits the bedroom floor after the birth. (Don't freak out, I give birth at home and Kiki came out on the floor because I couldn't move!) So, for all 3 of you out there who keep up with the news, we are thrilled to welcome our next child. For the record, I still want one more. Just one more and that's not too many! Steve has said he's willing to practice on trying for a 5th...hmmm.

And, this next one had better be like our second child and not our third or first!

Bug: cranky, screaming and spitting child

Peanut: calm, sleeping and happy baby

Kiki: complaining, whining and even more spitting sweetie

#4: docile, sweet and cooing cutie

Dad always makes his "predictions" about the baby's due date and gender and the answers are:

We ought to be welcoming a beautiful boy on January 19th at 4:32am.

The only bummer (and Dana, forgive me for saying it) is that my otherwise phenomenal midwife is going to do the ultrasound. For those of you who don't remember, let's recap. She assured me (90% positive!) that little Kiki would be a boy. Then, just a few short days before her entrance, Dana then said that she might've read the ultrasound wrongly and that it could actually be a girl. Out she popped and there was no penis. So, we will see the ultrasound and check out the photos (that I can't actually ever figure out) and then hope she is right!

For the record I do want to say that if you're planning on having children, move to the Front Range and hire Dana. Honestly. I've done both hospital and home and Dana is the very best midwife one could find! I LOVE her!