I'm dreaming of an ice-coated Christmas?

I just spent hours ordering photos for the last nine months, so I have decided that I am not going to wait until everything is carefully edited and cropped before sharing pictures. It just never seems to get done. We've got too many other pressing matters to attend to. Like baking cookies and watching "Frosty the Snowman."

So, here is a photo-rific blog of our December, so far! I hope the formatting ends up OK on this one, pictures are a constant battle on this site!

First up: Luna and Bella, who think Christmas is a snooze. Other than the snuggly blankets.
















Laney and I hunt and harvest the Christmas tree and Laney insists on shouting, "I love saws!!!" during this picture.
















The finished product.




















Visiting Cupid and Comet in Pasco. Surprisingly healthy and nonchalant about children screaming in glee.
















Posing with a gigantic wreath (caption probably not necessary).
















Holy bejeepers, is that snow?
















Second night (or tenth, who can keep track!) of cookie baking and decorating.
















Not Christmas related, just freakin' adorable.
















Snow is gone, one inch of ice coats everything for three days. No preschool, but plenty of running in place on the sidewalk.




















Enjoying the icy day. You make the best of the winter weather you get here in Kennewick!

To School (and I'm not talking about the kids here, for once)!

In November I completed my first semester of Graduate School! I have happily embarked down the path toward getting a Masters in Teaching from Heritage University. During the last few years at home with the kids I had been contemplating my "next career" since returning to the exact field (microbiology and sterilization technology) that I left in Bozeman would not be possible here in the Tri-cities. There are many science options available here in town (often in the wine industry, which is very tempting...) but I have come to realize that I really enjoy "explaining how the world works" to my kids (scientifically anyway, I am at a loss when it comes to explaining how the world works when it comes to dealing with people). I had come to the conlusion that I would be utterly happy in a teaching career, especially if I could get a job teaching science, and it would also allow me the freedom to spend a maximum amount of time with the kids as they are growing up. I feel like time that my parents devoted to my sister and me as children was the greatest gift that they could have given us, and I want to do the same for my kids. When a personal upheaval in my life forced a reevaluation of my plans, I determined that teaching was still the route that I wanted to take, but did put the plan into effect a little earlier than I intended.

I began shopping around for suitable graduate programs and found that I had missed the deadlines for all of them. Drat. Luckily, with my degree and previous test scores, I was a desirable enough candidate to gain conditional acceptance into the program of my choice. Heritage's program is essentially designed for 'career switchers,' or people who have a Bachelor's degree in a field other than education, but have decided for one reason or another to become teachers. Heritage University is based in Toppenish, Washington, but my classes are all held in Pasco. Since the program is designed for people who are currently working, all our classes take place on Friday evenings and Saturdays. I will miss my weekends for the next two years, but am enjoying the freedom to still spend the week with the kids and not have to hire a babysitter. I will have five semesters of classes (one down, four to go!), including a stretch of student teaching beginning January 2011. This program will certify me to teach K-8 and although I was initially disappointed to not be getting my high-school certification, I am really warming to the idea of teaching middle school science (and possibly math. OK, Mom and Dad?). I love the broad curriculum at that level and all the middle school teachers that I have spoken with really love the kids at that age. Maybe it takes a special personality type and if you don't have it, you get out of that grade level right away, who knows? I'm hoping for the best!

I am so inspired bymy cohort of fellow teachers-to-be, which consists of many people who have successful careers in other fields, but just truly want to teach. We are a diverse group but are already great friends and I look forward to having such wonderful colleagues in the future. I can see that there are going to be some outstanding teachers among my group and I am excited that they might one day be my kids' teachers.

So, after one semester down, I have finished all my acceptance criteria and just received my letter of "Unconditional Acceptance"! I passed all my entrance exams and also just passed the middle-level science test. I aced my first three classes and really enjoyed two of them (if you talk with me much at all, you've already heard all my complaining about the third, so I won't go into that here). We had an interview with local administrators to make sure we were "teacher material" and my evaluation included the remarks, "mature, confident, and an excellent teaching candidate." Yay! Although, I'm so confident, I already knew that, right?

And let's see... other big projects at the moment? Perfecting a new "No Knead" bread recipe that I found (picture below), catching up on tons of reading, contemplating a vermicomposter for my garage, and catching up with all my lovely, supportive family and friends. Love you all!

Aerie

The Puppy Grand!

Here he is, Guardian of the Weak, Entertainer of the Bored, and Destroyer of all things Squeaky: Skippyjon Jones Rogers! While I should be writing a blog about my newly-minted three-year-old, Delaney, and all the cute and defiant things that she does, I am instead choosing to write about our pup. We adopted our "used dog" this summer from a family that could no longer keep him due to his prowess at chasing (and presumably, catching) chickens. He is around two years old, something like a Pomeranian, and basically just a total fur-ball.

He came with the name "Mickey" but what fun is getting a dog, if you can't name it? So, I never told the kids his name and let them name him instead. First rule of pet adoption: don't let the kids name the pet. I really underestimated how humiliating it would be to run down the street in my pj's and flip-flops yelling, "Skippyjon, Skippyjon, get your furry little a** back here!" That brings me to our little guy's one bad habit: he's a runner. While he is normally the laziest, most laid-back little fella, there is something about the great outdoors and the myriad of sights, smells, and live bait (did I mention that he was given away because he likes to chase birds) that just turns him into a hyperactive little freak. Luckily, he's got a bum knee and asthma, so I can usually catch him after a block or two.

All in all, he has fit into our household perfectly. He enjoys camping, car rides, and swims in the river. When Delaney first introduced him to my parents, she said, "This is Skippyjon, your puppygrand!" He is officially a "cabin dog" and gets as excited as the "big boys" (all the other dogs in the extended family) to ride in the back of Grandpa Steve's pick-up and roll in dead fish at my family's mountain place. There was one brief incident where he attempted to chase turkeys while tethered into the back of the pick-up and ended up dangling over the side for a while, but everything turned out fine... He seems to think that the tree fort that my dad built for the grandkids was specially designed for his enjoyment since he quickly races up the stairs to the top then barks to be carried back down (we really need to design a harness and hoist system for him). And, while he can't manage to jog more than a mile with me at home, when he is at the cabin he will happily run alongside the fourwheelers all day long.

In addition to being in a three-way tie for the "Best Snuggler in the House" honors, the flying furball has proven himself as a fierce protector (really!). I had an encounter with a prowler in my backyard a few weeks ago, and Skippyjon chased after the jerk, barking his most intimidating bark, and I think would have bitten the guy's pervy little booty if he could have gotten there fast enough. Luckily, the idiot ran off and doesn't seem to have come back since, probably because of Skippy's quick and decisive action, since I stood there screaming like someone who was really freaked out to find a stranger in their backyard! And since that day, Skippyjon enters the backyard barking and does a speedy loop around the perimeter before he settles in to take care of more pressing matters. Love the guy!

Cuteness overload

I've been posting new pictures on facebook, but I forget to update them here. Here are some recent favorites:

First time using the firepit that Grandpa Steve lent us!

This is my kids' version of a "tea party." All the trucks and cars were invited.

Just cuteness.

Getting ready for a friends' birthday party.

Check out those braids!

Priceless!

That's it for today's show...

Toys Du Jour

This fall Tyce and Delaney are the last of their friends to start preschool. Their first, highly-anticipated, day is tomorrow. But in the meantime they've been spending a good portion of each day playing around the house with each other. It is amazing to see the games and activities that they come up with. And, of course, there is an accompanying set of props that are in constant rotation at the moment, so I thought I would sum those up:

Two dolls, stripped naked, that have been named "Gus" and "Ozzy" after Aunt Tanager's dogs. Gus and Ozzy have a propensity for rude behavior and sleeping in shoe boxes, with the lids firmly closed.

Three cans containing foam beads, clothes pins, dominoes, and leftover game pieces. These items are usually strewn from one end of the house to the other several times each day and (just today) have functioned as toy dog food, "the solid line" on a street, dinosaur eggs, scrambled worms (ask Grandpa Steve), and truck cargo. If you've got an odd assortment of small items, my kids will find a messy way to use it.

Left-over lumber scraps. While these were very entertaining this summer as "boats" in the wading pool they have since found a new purpose as "rocket packs." This basically means that the kids race around the yard holding a piece of wood on their backs with both hands so that when they trip in fall they can't catch themselves and get a good whack on the back of the head with a piece of wood. It's a pretty popular game.

Bright-orange soccer cones. These are often used, quite appropriately, for marking off "danger zones" but are just as often some kind of crazy appendage on the hand of a child that always ends up pinching the finger of the wearer. They are also quite lovely for shouting through and trapping small animals.

Plastic toy food. I've actually started hiding this stuff for a few days at a time to give myself a break from finding it in every nook and cranny of the house. When we first got the food as a Christmas gift, I carefully picked out all the french-fries and donuts, leaving mostly healthy fruits and veggies. Now I'm stuck pretending to enjoy eating the broccoli cake that the kids made. This stuff is also just plain great for throwing. The kids can throw it as hard as they want and never hurt anybody or break anything but still get a satisfyingly loud noise when it hits anything solid. There are frequent food-fights between the beds. Whenever a piece of furniture gets moved in the house, there are at least four pieces of plastic food found under it, guaranteed.

One-dollar's worth of toy money. We got this a few days ago and Laney hasn't let it out of her grasp since. She organizes it, eats with it, rides bikes with it, and naps with it. This picture is of Lane right after she walked out of her bedroom from nap with her blankie and money.

I could really go on and on, but I've got to go dust the $80 Firehouse that's sitting unused in the corner. Check back soon for a preschool update!

Delaney explains her long-term plans:

"I'm a girl. I'll grow up to be a mommy and drink wine and mow grass and sleep in mommy's bed."

Adventures in Haunchyville

This past week was the Benton-Franklin County Fair. I had been eagerly anticipating the big event for a few months because there is always something entertaining going on at the fair. So, when Monday evening rolled around and the kids and I heard on the radio that there was going to be a demolition derby to kick things off we decided that we were up for a little monster truck action. If there is one thing that Tyce likes as much as dinosaurs, it is monster trucks. Preferably monster trucks painted and adorned to look like dinosaurs. Having just watched "Herbie, Fully Loaded" we were primed and ready for some good truck-driving-on-poor-little-cars action. Well... It turns out that a demolition derby does not actually include monster trucks. That would be a monster truck rally, or something with a title that includes "monster truck". While some of you may be shaking your heads at my complete lack of this motor-head knowledge, for those of you who aren't: a demolition derby is a bunch of junky cars racing around a dirt track trying to win by any means possible. Once we adjusted to the fact that we weren't going to see monster trucks, we had a wonderful time, and even bonded with the shirtless, sunburned guy behind us who enthusiastically explained the intricacies of demolition derby to us. The highlight for Tyce (OK, and me too!) was when a car with some Longhorn Cattle horns attached to it's top, along with a police light, won a race by finishing backwards, complete with steam billowing out of its hood. Pretty flashy.

Wednesday was the appointed "fair day" with a group of friends. We planned to arrive early and just let the kids revel in the wonder that is "The Fair". All was going well. We arrived at the crack of 10 to a nearly empty parking lot. Excitedly following the line of cars to the front of the parking area, things suddenly took a turn for the worse when they began directing us out onto a dirt road, beyond the rodeo arena, beyond the fair grounds... I was agitated (to say the least) about being parked in the farthest parking lot, where I'd have to hike my two young 'uns half a mile to even get to the fair, but who am I to argue with authoritative looking teenagers with orange flags who take the job of traffic direction so seriously?

Amidst all my grumbling, I muttered something along the lines of, "Holy bejeezsus, they're parking us in Haunchyville!" much to the delight of my kids who were eager to learn all about this place called Haunchyville to which we were heading. For those of you who don't have a friend from the Midwest to enlighten you, Haunchyville is a mythical (maybe? maybe not...) place in Wisconsin where a group of circus "little people" established a settlement of tiny houses. We had a friend in college who spent a good portion of his teenage years driving the back roads of Wisconsin in search of the elusive Haunchyville. We didn't find Haunchyville that day, but that's probably only because they don't allow gigantic SUVs to penetrate their tiny security gates.

It turned out that there was a lovely tram driver (tram being a tractor pulling a trailer, in this instance) who saw three sweaty moms and six exuberant kids struggling through the ankle-deep dust of the back-lot and stopped to give us a ride to the fair. The kids were delighted with the ride and we even got a bonus tour of the horse arena! In spite of what I have to say about their parking system, the rest of the fair was run beautifully. Pristine sawdust in all the stalls and walkways, clean and gentle animals readily available for petting, knowledgeable little 4Her's all over the place to answer preschooler questions, and hand washing stations just where we needed them. The kids loved all the animals, especially a mother pig and a litter of piglets, which all of us mothers also found adorable. My kids were especially delighted to see multiple animals pooping and it has been a favorite topic of conversation ever since.

Just beyond the stables was an array of children's amusement park rides, designed for younger kids. I promised the kids a ride on the merry-go-round to close out our visit. We stood in line for about seven minutes to get tickets, at which point I realized I had no idea how many tickets it cost to ride the merry-go-round so had no idea how many to buy. I bought ten, thinking that ought to be enough. The merry-go-round cost three tickets per child so afterward we were left with four tickets and a big dilemma. It turns out that all the rides cost three tickets (Why did the cashier not mention this when she noticed me buying tickets NOT in increments of three?) so my options were limited; leave and throw away $4 worth of tickets, let Tyce ride one ride and make up some excuse that Laney probably wouldn't buy about why she couldn't go (and still throw away a $1 ticket), or go wait in line again to get two more tickets so they could both do another ride. We opted for the last option with an even longer and hotter wait in line at the ticket booth. The kids chose to ride a mini-roller coaster for their second ride. Apparently the current trend in carnival management is to place a sign at the ride that states: "Please observe the ride in operation and determine if it is safe for your child." What? How am I supposed to know? Some kind of height/weight guidelines would be nice! Anyhow, I loaded Laney on it next to Tyce and hoped for the best. They loved it, of course. We'll call it another successful year at the fair!

Summer Snapshot

Well, it has been quite the summer for us and I have sadly neglected my blog. I hope to pick it back up in full force as we enter fall, but would like to share some pictures and brief descriptions of our summer activities first. It is now the last day of August and I have two beach-blond, tanned, and athletic kids on my hands. They are the best traveling companions that I've ever had and we had a some fun adventures this summer.

First up was an amazing trip to Maui with my parents and sister, complete with snorkeling and an aquarium filled with sharks.

























We also adopted an adorable little dog named Skippyjon Jones (after a favorite character in the kids' books) who has since become the source of much entertainment and joy in our family:













We were awakened to all three animals (two cats and the dog) in hot pursuit of this poor little bird, in the house:













A group of our friends from Kennewick met at Hood Park, along the Snake River, for a mid-week camping adventure. There was a lot of swimming in the river and s'mores eating!













One of the highlights of summer for me, personally, was planning a visit to Homedale, ID to surprise my most enduring friend (she has endured me the longest, anyhow) Melyssa and her little sister, who is my little sister's longest-standing friend also. Here is a picture of the first generation "MALT" club (Melyssa, Aerie, Laryssa, and Tanager, although we didn't get in quite the right order for the picture!) followed by the second generation, minus one sleeping toddler:























The snorkels from Maui are still in frequent use, both at the river and in the bath tub (while Skippyjon looks on, puzzled):













August began with a trip to Cannon Beach, OR for the wedding of some very close friends. We shared a beach house with our friends Tim and Mari (and their two dogs, plus Skippyjon!). It was a beautiful location and the kids spent countless hours running on the beach and collecting sea shells:




























A few weeks later we headed to Seattle for the wedding reception and party and got to catch up with some old friends from Bozeman, MT, who now live in Seattle and whose children are the same ages as Tyce and Laney. Tyce and Riley were shocked and amazed to discover, during the course of their chatter, that they were both born in Bozeman!!! The kids had a blast playing together, having a slumber party, and exploring the zoo together:























As I look back over this blog and pictures, it is a woefully inadequate representation of our summer. We did so much that never even got photographed and so many photographs that didn't get posted. I promise to keep up better from now on!

Preschool Graduation!

Tyce had his official last day of preschool recently. The entire family was invited to enjoy a a multitude of activities and a Graduation Ceremony. Tyce was thrilled to have us joining him in his classroom and Delaney was bursting with excitement. We recently learned that she will be able to attend preschool with Tyce next year. even though she misses the age cut-off by a few months. It was going to be a good trial to see how she would do. While Tyce led me over to the puzzle area and explained step-by-step how to assemble no fewer than five puzzles, Laney was happily zipping about the room to the various stations trying everything out. She readily accepted help and guidance from the high-school "teachers" and generally made the most of every second. There were all sorts of special activities set up for the day and the kids happily engaged in each of them. Here are a few pictures:













Tyce and Laney make some tea in the playhouse.



















Laney takes an important call in the office.














A pool full of bubbles!














Snack time. The children wait until everyone is seated and they say "Thank you!" to whomever brought the snack that day. The waiting was a real challenge for Lane.














She spent many long minutes painting this masterpiece which was then carefully labeled, "Tyce's Sister".

At the end of the session a brief graduation ceremony took place where each of the preschoolers recieved and award and scrapbook. They got to high-five each of their teachers and all of the high-schoolers. Here is Tyce doing his part.

Being badgered on Badger Mountain...

Today my good friend, Melissa, and I took our four kids to Badger Mountain to hike the three-mile, round trip, trail to the top. This is a major accomplishment for our kids, requiring multiple refreshment breaks, motivational songs and speeches, and a small amount of being carried. The first half of the hike up is usually the hardest. They are leaving behind a very enticing playground and are starting to feel sore and tired legs. Today, however, they had something new sparking their interest in the hike. Wildflowers all around us and next to the trail. It was such a beautiful thing watching the kids drag their fingers through the tall grass and squatting down to choose a small, perfect flower to "take home for Dad."

The bugs were also out in full force, we saw two enormous bumble bees that would bend over any flower that they landed on, lots of the stinky black beetles that point their tail end at you when you touch them, one strange bug that Amelia aptly dubbed a "fly beetle". There were two birds bouncing tamely alongside the trail and a raven soaring below us in a ravine. One deep and mysterious hole that was possibly home to a badger or snake, according to the kids. And the prize of all prizes: a furry caterpillar making its way across the trail, which we were able to rescue.

Each of the kids were holding a wildflower, and I think Melissa and I were each holding one too, when two (TWO!) men, separately, felt the need to reprimand me for picking flowers. Apparently we were breaking laws left and right. While I understand that Badger Mountain is a delicate ecosystem (like all desert ecosystems are) and has taken its fair share of abuse lately (like a 4-wheeling pick-up stuck in a ravine for weeks after rolling down from the top of the mountain), the kids were just getting in touch with their love of nature. It really, really bugs me that these people felt it necessary to comment on this. There are numerous "rules of the trail" that I am working on teaching the kids: stay on the trail (mostly), no rolling rocks off the side of the trail, no kicking the dirt walls of the trail, get to one side of the trail when anyone else wants by, etc...

I am just not willing to curtail their flower picking. They were being careful and thoughtful, just choosing a flower here and there to add to the handful that was carried to the top of the mountain and back down again. I loved picking wildflowers when I was a girl, and I still love being outside, especially when they are in bloom. I think the benefits of having our kids out using the hiking trails and parks and learning to love nature far outweigh the environmental impact of them picking the odd flower or peeing alongside the trail (thank goodness we didn't caught doing that!). These are the kids that are going to grow up to protect this place because they love it and had wonderful experiences there during their childhoods. (Although you can't tell it from her expression, Chelsie really did like spotting beetles too.)

Some baseball pictures

There is not much to report on the baseball front. Some days Tyce does great and others he doesn't seem too interested. He's getting pretty good at hitting "live" pitching and occasionally comes to life on defense and chases down every ball on the field. Then there was the time we almost had to carry him to first base because he just didn't feel like going there after his hit. But, isn't he a dashing figure in his uniform!

Here is Lane paying no attention to Tyce's game. She gets it from her mother.

Here is the little guy after a particularly gruelling game.