An Advent Completed

This may be the last year we do our Activity Advent calendar. We definitely had some fun with it this year, but it was hard to complete, even after coordinating activities and compensating for busy weekdays.

As the kids get older, there is more homework, more activities, and less free time for extra holiday crafts and activities. Sad, but true.

 

Since the kids are not ready to give up the advent altogether, we decided that next year we could do a more sporadic advent. Weekends will definitely have activities to do, but weekdays will either be something simple (i.e., drink hot cocoa with all the fixings) or something that corresponds to life's activities (i.e., attend Phoenix's Winter concert; read the Christmas story in the New Testament for Family Home Evening).

Despite the difficulty and the time constraints, the kids were flexible and we enjoyed lots of holiday activities this December (if not all of them). We started out the month with a Family Home Evening dedicated to decorating the tree. This is one of our most favorite activities.

The kids do most of the work now, and I can just sit back and marvel that not one single ornament  got dropped or broken this year :).

We did Christmas origami one evening (after homework was done) while Stayc read to us from the third Unwanteds book.

 We went to the tree lighting at the Henry Clay Estate just up the road from us.

We attended our Ward's Church Christmas party. They asked Stayc to be the conductor at the Polar Express-themed event. He wore his suit, and they provided the hat and mustache. Everyone in the ward did a double-take when they saw him.

 

We attended the Bi-Stake Nativity Festival, where we saw, along with numerous nativity sets, this live nativity as well. After the choir concert, we went out for dinner at B.D.'s Mongolian Grill. The kids loved it, but I was less than impressed.

We had a family game night.

 We attended Ashland Elementary's Winter Show where we watched Phoenix sing and dance.

Lutece was so glad she got to be in the audience instead of on stage.

Of course, no Christmas season would be complete without a batch of sugar cookies. This was the easiest year yet . . . mainly because no one really wanted to help make them. It's so much easier to do things yourself :). (Note to self: Make a different recipe next year. This one was just ok.)

We'll see how things play out in the next few years. Kids get older; life changes. The Christmas season will still be fun.

The Great Selection

The day after Thanksgiving we headed down to Richmond, KY for the Great Christmas Tree Selection of 2014. We LOVE this tradition! All of us. I mean, there are some traditions that I *say* we love, that I don't really love (even though the kids do). But this is one tradition I love every part of just as much as the kids.

 Even the drive down there is fun since we get to drive through the beauty of the Kentucky countryside, and we get to cross over the Kentucky River on the ferry. The anticipation builds!

 

Lutece, our normally picture averse child, wanted to take pictures at all of the photo opportunities we came across in the fields. When Phoenix wouldn't participate, she enlisted her dear, sweet, angelic mother.

 It's a pig/reindeer. A pigdeer!!

The first couple of fields we walked through were sparse on home-worthy trees. Too thin, too short, too tall, too bushy, etc. Finally, we walked to another field on the mountain and we hit the tree jackpot!

We ultimately decided upon the tree above. It was perfect!

 Now, to chop it down.

 

And cart it away.

 

We were all pleased with the selection this year . . . until we got it into our house and realized that our eyes were bigger than our house. The top of the tree scraped the ceiling and we had to cut off at least five inches. Gotta love it.

It was an awesome start to a great (and stressful) season. Thank goodness every time I look at the lovely tree, my stress level plummets. Who knew Christmas trees were such stress relief.

Merry December!

Working Toward Bear

Whew! This has been a flurry of posts! After this one, I'll be all caught up with fall and ready to start posting about the many winter activities we have planned (i.e., Christmas, snow days, New Year, snow days, Pinewood Derby, snow days . . . you get the idea).

Last summer, Phoenix earned his Wolf badge in Cub Scouts, and when he turned nine in September, he moved up to the Bear den.* He has been very engaged with completing goals toward his Bear badge, so we've done lots of activities this fall that somehow relate to Cub Scouts. When he said he wanted to try his hand at building a model, I was all on board. I remember putting together models as a kid and loving it.

So the kids and I went to a hobby shop and picked out two tanks to put together, along with model glue. (Models are more expensive than I remember!) The kids had a good afternoon of it, but a month later we still haven't finished putting on the final touches on their models. Hmm, maybe that's a good activity for tomorrow after Church.

Another fun activity we accomplished for Cub Scouts was visiting the Salato Wildlife Education Center in Frankfort on election day (a day off of school for the kids). We invited some friends, and the kids had a grand ol' time (as did I).

Phoenix and his friend (also a Bear Scout) got to accomplish the "Visit a Nature Preserve" requirement, as well as the "Talk to a Park Ranger about what he/she does," since I dragged them over to the park ranger and forced them to ask him some questions.

The kids especially enjoyed the new Quail exhibit, since they could play in the gigantic quail eggs. I have to tell you, I really enjoy the structure and goal-setting the Scout program provides (as it also works in perfect tandem with Faith in God). Whenever the kids don't know what to do or we are hankering for a new experience, we look in the Scout book and invariably we find something.

* Incidentally, in October I was called as the Cub Scout Committee Chair for our ward, so I have become even more engaged in the Cub Scouting program recently. They didn't release me as Gospel Doctrine teacher, but they did give me a team teacher, so I have the best of both worlds.

Odds and Ends ~ Fall Edition

Since this is an Odds and Ends post, nothing has to be connected, nothing has to be cohesive, and I don't need to have a central theme. That is my disclaimer. Now judge me if you can.

Now that the kids are older (9 and 11), we find that we are able to do more things, go more places, generally have more freedom. The downside is that the kids also have more opinions, more gripes, more arguments, and generally more freedom to be the individuals they are. Curse that freedom! :)

Still, when the power went out last September in our neighborhood and we asked the kids where they wanted to go out to eat, they both chose a Thai restaurant near the university campus. Yea for maturing taste buds (and children who can deftly use chopsticks)!

Phoenix's school chose to eschew selling items as their annual fundraiser this year in lieu of a ramped-up jog-a-thon. Thank goodness. (Those of you who don't have children in school have not yet experienced the inferno of school fundraising.)

Lutece had her heart set on a "Lateover" for her 11th birthday party (although we don't generally do sleepovers, we do occasionally do lateovers). We had 11 girls over on a Friday night for a rip-roaring night of crafts, games, food, and fun. The girls painted mini framed chalkboards (to hang on their doors) and beaded necklaces. They played various games (including the Sitting game . . . see above). And we had make-your-own burrito bowls and make-your-own ice cream sundaes. It was a really fun party, and Lutece's best friend from last year drove the 3-4 hours from Bloomington, IN to be there. Now that's friendship! (and good parents) That friend DID sleepover. We're strict, but not heartless :).

On Veteren's Day, I ran around town from school to school watching the kids' various musical programs. Honestly, it was a great way to spend Veteran's Day, and the programs were surprisingly enjoyable. Phoenix's school did a big singing program at the end of the school day, to which parents and Veterans were invited. (I snapped this very bad picture with my phone.)

Then in the evening we all loaded into the car and drove up to Lutece's school to watch the big band concert. The 6th grade band performed (Lutece's), as well as the 7th and 8th grade bands. It was a delightful evening. Seriously.

Lutece is in the back with the other trumpeters. She is really growing to love the trumpet (surprise), and in addition to the five hours a week of practice she gets at school, she often brings her instrument home to play and practice here as well. Again, it is surprisingly enjoyable to hear. (She's been playing Christmas carols on it lately.)

Speaking of music, both the kids still play the piano . . . Lutece more seriously than Phoenix. Lutece once again participated in the National Federation of Music Clubs Piano Festival. She did the hymn playing portion and the sight-reading one. (She's a great sight-reader.)

She earned Superiors on both. (The above picture has her holder her piano book, but the second picture is much better. Man, I've been really bad at taking pictures lately. Few pictures, and bad ones.)

A week later we enjoyed Thanksgiving break! We had a lovely meal at home that I spent a fairly relaxed two days preparing. We invited one of Stayc's students over and enjoyed sharing Thanksgiving with her. She is from Jinan, China . . . the very city we lived in when we were there. Crazy! This has become our new Thanksgiving tradition: invite Asian students over to experience their first Thanksgiving dinner :).

The kids wanted to do the table decorations, so I acquiesced, especially since they mentioned a cornucopia, which seemed appropriate. Little did I know that said cornucopia was not of the traditional variety, but rather a literary reference to the Hunger Games. Needless to say, the kids' "cornucopia" was filled with weapons and other instruments of death.
  

They also set up a scene from the Hunger Games on the other side of the Thanksgiving table. That's Katniss covering Rue's dead body in flowers. The odd paradox of a death scene played out with Playmobil figurines is not lost on me. Sigh. Yep, the kids are growing up . . . morbid senses of humor and all!

Happy Halloween-mas

This is definitely a first . . . posting Halloween pictures while I enjoy Christmas music and the twinkling of little white lights on a Christmas tree.

I knew I was going to be out of town for Halloween this year, since I traveled to California to help out Tim and Liz, so I made the costumes fairly early in the month, which worked out well because our Ward's Trunk or Treat occurred mid-month (and I was able to go!)

At first Phoenix wanted to be R2D2, so I ordered a large, round, white trash can online to fashion into a robot. The trash can arrived just three days before the Trunk or Treat in an alarmingly small box. Sadly, the "large" trash can turned out to be a very "small" trash can, not fit to encase a 9-year-old boy. So sad . . . and yet, so funny. Fortunately, Phoenix was flexible (not always the case), and he settled on Han Solo. I ran around to stores the next day, spent a couple of hours at my sewing machine, and whipped up a Han Solo costume just in time. 
 

As usual, Lutece knew months in advance what she wanted to be for Halloween. This year she veered away from scary and creepy (don't tell her that though) and chose to be the enormous golden bat Aurora from the book Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins.

Since I wasn't in town for the actual day of Halloween (the previous pictures were taken on the eve of the Trunk or Treat two weeks earlier), Stayc carved pumpkins with the kids on the day of Halloween.

Actually, I think Stayc just let the kids do the whole thing themselves, but he did take these two pictures :) . . . and the ones below of the actual evening.

It doesn't look like it in these pictures, but Halloween night was a rainy, sleety, snowy mess here in Lexington. We had our first snow of the season that night.

These kids are hardy though . . . and the lure of candy is too strong to let a little sleet and freezing temperatures keep them off the streets.

Another successful Halloween in the DuBravac household!