Saturday, November 29, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. After Pie Night with Jen's grandparents on Wednesday, we picked her sister up Thursday morning and headed to see Brian's family for the holiday. We had a great time playing games and enjoying the dinner. The kids had special turkey plates that were so cute. They also enjoyed just playing at Grandma's house.

My sister and I 

Brian's mom is so excited for our big trip to Disneyland after Christmas.  She made Disney ornaments for everyone one.  The kids are excited to pu tthem ontheir tree.

Meg and Nemo

Liz and Dorie

Nathan and Goofy

Michael with Donald.
I got Minnie and Brian got Mickey.

The kids enjoyed a treat of Toaster Waffles for breakfast.

Playing on the blowup bed while it deflates.

We played football with the kids on Friday.

We got home Friday and Brian and I put up the tree.  Saturday morning the kids got to open a few early Christmas presents.
Mom got Christmas movies for the whole family.


Tuesday, November 25, 2008

WOW!

Liz and Nathan really wanted to participate in the PTA Reflections contest at school, so they came up with ideas and did! The teheme this year was "Wow!" and so they thought of things that make them say, well, "Wow!" It was fun to listen to them reason and watch them work. Last week was the awards open house and we got to go see their work on display.

Nathan made a neat picture of a rocket in space. the astronaut is saying "WOW!" and he made the earth small so "it would look far away." I thought he did a great job. He won an honorable mention medal and look at his grin! His smile faded a bit when he saw Liz's awards, but he is doing better. He put everything on display on his desk and was so proud of it all!



Liz wrote a poem and drew a picture inspired by the whale watch in Maine. She drew a whale, then painted on vellum, tore it and made it the water. I thought it was a fun thing for her to do. Sure enough she was a school winner in both categories. Her stuff will move on to the district level (or whatever comes next).



Whales by Elizabeth Chantry

Wow!
Humpback whales are really big, bigger than huge.
Amazing! Whales swim in the Atlantic Ocean.
Leaping is whale’s favorite thing to do in the ocean.
Exciting to finally see whales!
Spouts of air let whales breathe.

They both did a great job and we are so proud of the work they did!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Emma

This summer I fell in love with the Masterpiece version of Emma. I saw the Hollywood version years ago and enjoyed it, but liked this new version even better. There were a few parts that left me a bit puzzled and wanting a little more background/explanation/detail so I decided to read the book. I am glad I did.

Though there were a few slow passages to muddle through, I enjoyed this a great deal. I think that the end made the book meet my expectations. The detail in the accounts of what occurred between Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax, as well as more detail as to the thoughts of Emma concerning Mr. Knightly made the ending so fun to read. I enjoyed watching Emma learn and improve.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Rilla of Ingleside


So today I finished Rilla of Ingleside, the eighth and final book in the Anne of Green Gables Series. I was a little skeptical going into the last three or so books because I had heard they focused more on Anne's children than they did on Anne herself, but I must say I thoroughly enjoyed each of them. I particularly like the last book. It focused on Anne's youngest daughter and child and how she grew and developed as her brothers went off to war and as her world changed. I loved watching the growth of her character. It was just a wonderful read.

I must say though, that I am the kind of reader who wants to always know what happens next. I love details! I could read on and on about just what happens to each and every character once a book is done, and the last three Anne books fulfilled this need. Watching Anne as her children grew to adulthood, and even watching them grow was such a thrill. This is a series I hope to read through again.

All she wants for Christmas . . .

So I can hardly wait for Christmas this year.  I have been planning for months, and my shopping has been done for weeks. Christmas time is one of my favorite times of year, and that excitement begins the instant Halloween ends, but I try no to let it set in too much until after Thanksgiving.  

Anyway, Liz has decided to get into the holiday spirit in her own way this year.  Two days before Halloween she lost a front tooth eating pizza at school, then on Halloween the other front tooth came out during dinner.  She is "toothleth" and sings "All I want for Christmas" with extra meaning.  What a funny stage!