Baby, it's cold outside . . .

Katy helping out the neighbors across the street. They "hired" her for the season.
Happy sledders, cold picture taker!
Sitting on the snow man we tried to make. It was too heavy for us to lift!

Brrr! I went for a walk with a friend about an hour ago and I am still cold. What was I thinking. I am so ready for warmer weather. I know we need the snow but I really don't enjoy it. It is beautiful to look at but that does not make up for the shoveling, treacherous driving and freezing temperatures. Eric has the news on and I can hear the weather man telling us that we should expect another 2-3 inches overnight. I think we got that much today!! I need to hibernate-just wake me when it is about 20 degrees warmer.

I did take the girls to the school today so that they could go sledding down the hill on the playground. They hardly complain about the cold. I suppose the fact that they have snowsuits makes it more enjoyable for them. I took them knowing that I was also going to take to them to see a movie later. A nice warm movie in a nice warm theater!

We went to see "The Princess and the Frog." What a delightful movie. It was hand drawn, not computer generated animation. Back to the old-style of Disney movie making. I loved it! The best part was the message or "moral" of the story--you have to make your own dreams come true. Wishing on a star won't bring you happiness. You actually have to work for it. I think our kids are being brought up in an world that values the rapid ascent to fame and fortune. All of those crazy reality-TV shows and the instant "celebrity" that it creates. It is so pervasive. Anyway, it was just nice to see a movie that reinforced what we are trying to teach the girls.

I hope you all have great plans for New Years Eve. We are staying home for this one. We took a memorable trip to Vancouver, Canada to ring in 2009. The girls have spent the last few days saying--"last year at this time we were . . . !" We did have a wonderful time: The Sylvia Hotel, the aquarium, dim sum, the tiny ferry to Granville Island, the crazy amount of snow and the power outage that it brought, but most of all, the chance to visit with our family in Washington. Here's wishing you all a safe and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Just a note to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. We hope your day is going as well as ours is. Enjoy the family, food and fun and we'll catch up with you after our new Wii loses its appeal. I already fell of the balance board. It actually told me that my Wii Fit age is 52! I think I have some exercises to work through. Hmm, maybe after I eat some more food!!

Caroling, caroling through the snow . . .

Okay, we were so excited, we forgot to take pictures of us caroling. These are photos from the night before when we were checking out over-the-top light displays. You can see this one from across the valley.
The man who set up this crazy yard said his electric bill is over $1500 for the month of December! Wow! I panic when we go over $70.
This one is just up the hill from our house. It has very cute gingerbread people and penguins--The penguins did not seem to be lit up, but trust me, they were cute.

Last night, the Hilburns tried something outside of their comfort zone--We went caroling. There were packages to be delivered and the girls thought it might be fun to try singing to the gift recipients. Strangely enough, Eric and I were up to the challenge.

I spent a better part of yesterday morning baking caramel corn and chocolate chip cookies, all the while thinking of how on earth we were going to pull it off. None of us can carry a tune. Really. It is true. Not even one of us! I tell the girls that we come from a long line of academics and that we should be proud of our outstanding talent for reading. Mind you, Katy does a great job singing in the choir, but unless we sign her up for voice lessons, I do not see any recording contracts in her future. I do believe that she will be adept at songwriting, but that was not going to help us out last night. Thankfully, I remembered we had an iPod with a portable speaker attachment and that I had found a great Christmas album on iTunes. All that remained to do was download it and we were in business!

Eric agreed to be the "sound engineer"--by that I mean he was the one finding the songs on the iPod and pushing play. Katy & Emma rounded up the festive blinking jewelry. I gathered the gifts and addresses and made sure we were all bundled up. Since it was so chilly outside, with a recent dusting of snow to set the mood, we loaded up the car and went on our merry way. We practiced caroling en route. Everyone was sounding pretty good, especially with Gene Autry and Bing Crosby as our lead singers. My personal favorite of the evening was Suzy Snowflake, sung by Rosemary Clooney. (I am unable to create a link to the you Tube version, so you will have to check it out on your own. It is fabulous.) Another crowd pleaser was "Mele kalikimaka."

We had such a great time! Emma was more shy than I had anticipated in relation to her level of excitement in proposing such an outing. Eric and Katy were very enthusiastic and I was super happy to have not hit any of the deer we saw wandering one of the neighborhoods we visited! In hindsight, I suppose we should have given the adventure more than a days thought. A little more time spent on learning the actual lyrics would have really helped. I also think Eric's birthday headlamp would have made finding unlit house addresses a much easier task. All in all, I do believe we may have started a new tradition. I only hope you are all ready for us next year!

It's the most musical time of the year . . .

Tis' the season to watch school Christmas programs and piano recitals. Emma had her holiday musical last week. It was Katy's turn at school this week. She performed in the Band and Choir portions of the celebration. In the Boise School District, 4th-6th graders can participate in choir and 5th-6th graders are offered band or orchestra lessons, for free. You supply or rent the instrument and your child is given instruction at school for half an hour a day, five days a week. It is a fabulous deal!

As you can see, Katy is learning the flute. I have to say, after listening to her practice at home every single day since mid-September, it was a pleasant surprise to hear how well it all sounded as a group. There are close to 22 5th grade students that make up the band with a total of 3 that play the flute. It was amazing to see all of those kids we have known since Kindergarten perform in such a "professional" manner. I am grateful to the instructor for his knowledge and patience.

After the band and orchestra performed (another teacher leads a group of students learning the stringed instruments), the choir program began. It was a sweet, silly production entitled "Elfis Impersonator." It involved at story about elves that were less than kind to an "elf" who looked and acted differently than themselves. Katy was one of the elves. It was a cute show. Another fantastic director/teacher providing an invaluable service to my children.

Last night we, including Grammy, had the pleasure of attending a piano recital. Not just any recital, mind you, but Emma's very first one! It was Katy's 4th, but her first in which she played a duet. She had to learn and practice a piece with a young man she did not really know very well. When the students arrived, they had to draw numbers to determine the order of the program. Katy's solo was #9, her duet was # 15 and Emma's solo was # 20 of 21. I was impressed with how well they both played. Very poised and confident. After Katy played her duet, she giggled to us that she had accidentally played it one key too low. She had done it in the key of her solo! No one seemed to notice, not even her partner, so all was well. Emma did such a great job of waiting and waiting for her turn at the baby grand. She marched right up, bowed, introduced her piece and plunked it out. She knew it "by heart" but took her music up for good measure. After the last student played, all attending were treated to cookies and hot cider.

Katy pointed out how fun a recital was because everyone comes up to you afterwards to tell you how well you played. She really liked that! Emma confided to me, when we were back at home, that she had got the giggles while playing her piece. I had not noticed, but I was able to tell her about "nervous" giggles. It made her happy to know she was not the only one who had ever had that happen.

You do realize that I believe I have the most talented children in the world! It is my duty to make sure you all believe it too! :) Well, even if you don't, we have taped all the performances of the past week and with any luck, we will be able to make a DVD for anyone who is interested.

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow . . .

Oh the roads outside are frightful, but the warmer temperatures are so delightful! Who would have thought that 25 degree weather would feel so balmy. After 3-4 days of negative lows and single-digit high temps, the 20+ degrees on the thermometer today were so very welcome.

The snow hit overnight. We had to be up at 6 a.m. to get Eric off to work to prepare a holiday breakfast for the staff and their families. He headed out by 6:30 and I got the girls moving. Katy has a job shoveling the sidewalks at the house across the street this winter. Luckily for her, the snow was so dry she only had to sweep it away. By afternoon, she actually had to shovel the white stuff. She also had to clear the walks last Monday. She has done a great job. No complaining--just grabs her gear and hits the sidewalk.

The news reported 1-3 inches had fallen by the 5 o'clock tonight with more snow in the forecast. I think Emma is hoping to go sledding at the school tomorrow. Sounds like a job for Eric. I am pretty certain I'll be busy making hot chocolate at home.

P.S. Emma had a Christmas musical on Friday at school. My pictures did not turn out as well as I had hoped. I just posted the one I took in the hall after the performance. Her class dressed as Santa. Notice "Santa's" shoes. No way I was talking her into black boots. She had to bring the bling! That's my girl.

On another side note, Emma had 2 baby teeth pulled on Thursday. The teeth were pulled 2 hours before dress rehearsal for the musical. I tried to keep her home, but the dentist said she would be fine. She just had to belt it out without any feeling in her tongue. Way to go, girl!

If you give Eric a box of graham crackers & a can of frosting . . .

. . .he will make this! Yep, that man of mine is amazing. It started as a Sunday afternoon boredom buster for Emma. After the little house was made, Emma brought out a few Littlest Pet Shops to "play." Then Katy got involved. By the time the girls had brought out all of the appropriate winter themed Pets, Eric had constructed the ski hill. If we had not run out of frosting, I hesitate to think what would have been created!

Thank you, dear, for being the "fun" Dad. Your girls will forever be grateful.

All Aboard . . .

Poor guy was at work until 3:30 the morning of our trip!

For Christmas, Grammy bought us all tickets to ride to the "North Pole" on the Thunder Mountain Line. She only told Katy & Emma of her gift to the family when we were gathered at her house for Thanksgiving. Having been on and enjoyed a train ride this August with Papa, my dad, they could hardly wait to get back on the rails. Thankfully, Grammy scheduled it for the 5th so we had just enough time to get really excited!

The depot is located in the small town of Horseshoe Bend, just about 30 miles northwest from our house. They offer several rides nearly year-round and the train follows the Payette river north towards Banks. Our trip included seating in a heated coach, spectacular views of the river and surrounding mountains, carolers and a chance to visit with Santa at the "North Pole." Emma was pleased to find out that food was available for purchase during the "long" ride. I was pleased it was so warm on board as it was about 20 degrees outside! The train was decorated for Christmas and we were lucky to find a few cozy seats near the tree.

As the train departed, someone dropped by our table to give the girls paper to write a letter to Santa. We had fun teaching Emma how to write a letter that did not just start with "I want . . ." After the letters were completed, Eric and I took the girls to the concession stand, one coach back. It was a real challenge trying to walk on the train while it was lumbering up the hill. After purchasing a few snacks, we settled back into our seats and enjoyed the music and scenery. It was not long, about 90 minutes, before we reached our destination. The sun was beginning to set by this time, but we has plenty of light to get the girls their cookies and milk and wait in line to see the Big Red Guy! It was a cute, rustic "town" that had been set up, complete with a couple of bonfires and Santa's Workshop. After talking to the main attraction, we were able to board the train and get ready for the return trip. More caroling and another visit by Santa kept most of us awake. The smoothness of the ride was so relaxing. It was a shame that it had to end.

Growing up too fast!

Katy & Emma got their haircut yesterday. How do they look? Are they not the most beautiful girls you have ever seen? Emma is as cheeky as ever and Katy looks well past her 10 years! How do you put the brakes on "growing up"? I am so not ready.

Post-Birthday Party post . . .

Oh, I forgot to tell you about the Indiana Jones get-up he bought himself for Halloween! I think the head-lamp makes it work!

Here are a few shots of Eric getting his "geek" on. That's my man. Never one to shy away from looking or acting like the kid that he really is, Eric asked for a head lamp and a Lego set for his birthday. Yep! That's right. Not a head lamp for his truck. No, no, no-he wanted one for his head! Not sure what the plans are for it, but the girls think it will be great for camping. As for the Lego's, it was an Indiana Jones set that he desired. We only gave him one box, but if Katy & Emma have their way, he may receive another set for Christmas. As you can see, they all enjoyed putting the pieces together this afternoon.

After opening the presents, we all went out to eat. My mom joined us for a great dinner at a local barbecue joint. They serve onion rings the size of a tea cup saucer and a pretty darned good pulled pork sandwich. We had to save room for dessert at home--a new Emma inspired creation. It was a "Texas-chocolate cake with German-chocolate frosting." She came up with that one the other day and it sounded really good. Easy cake to make with complicated frosting to top it off. Yum!

Eric had a good day! Thank you to everyone for the cards and phone calls. It really meant a lot to him!

"They say it's your birthday . . ."

Well, here it is, dear. Happy Birthday! Enjoy your day and don't give much thought to the fact that you have only three more of these until you reach "50!" You know,though, you do wear 47 well. It must be that the girls and I keep you looking and acting so young. Thanks for being such a great husband and dad! We love you and hope you have a great day.

Random thoughts . . .

Wow! Winter has arrived. We have been lucky to have experienced an unseasonably warm fall. Cooler mornings but temps in the 50's to lower 60"s in the afternoon for a few weeks. It was truly enjoyable, especially since I have to spend a few hours outside every weekday afternoon at the school. Well, it all changed last week. Frost on the car windows, a warm scarf around my neck, the fevered attempt to purchase a pair long underwear that wouldn't cost me the arm and the leg that it was needed to cover! I did manage to purchase a pair of boots--a knockoff of the UGG style. Seriously, $180.00 for a pair of boots. That is an amount of cash that I can find better things to do with. My $50.00 boots came from China--they must have cheaper sheep there!

Katy and Emma are well. We have managed to avoid the flu, both seasonal and H1N1. The girls have received shots for both. Actually, a shot for the seasonal and nasal mist for the other. They received the H1N1 at school through Central District Health(CDH). CDH provided the mist for staff, so I was able to get in on the fun! Did not enjoy the mist. Our nurse was a bit energetic with the application. Glad to have it, though. There was a week when at least 40 students were absent each day. I carry hand sanitizer on me at all times--no illness, but I now have the driest skin around.

Eric is working hard. On November 11, his location served more than 1,200 meals. Around 600 of those meals were served free to the Veterans that came in. He said it was an exhausting day but well worth the effort! He really enjoys chatting with his guests and the vets are always so nice to get to know. We do appreciate them all!

Speaking of Eric, he has a birthday coming up! The big 47 next Tuesday. It won't be long before he hits the mid-century mark! I am so glad he'll get there before I do. . . The girls asked him what he wanted for his big day. He told them Legos and a light that you strap to your head. If I didn't know better, I'd swear he was turning 8!

Me, I have been able to put off studying for a few months. I do not have to take graduate level classes just yet, so the GRE is not necessary for now. I need to apply and take a pre-requisite course before I can go much further. I can now spend my time preparing for Christmas. We will be spending it at home, but any and all are welcome to join us. Of course, if you plan to come, please fly! After last years harrowing winter driving expedition, we've decided it best to visit everyone in the warmer months. So, if you can't make it this winter, plan to join us in late spring, summer or early fall. Boise is a great town when you can get out and take advantage of the warmer weather!

I had hoped to post a few pictures but I am unable to get them to upload. I have spent a few hours trying to figure it out--I am giving up for now. I will have to consult Apple or my blogging friend Heather to help me figure out what went wrong. Hope you are all having a good week.

Finally Friday . . .

It is day 2 of a four day weekend for Eric, Katy & Emma. Day 1 for me, as I had to "work" at the parent/teacher conferences. By "work", I mean I had to make an announcement over the school PA system every 20 minutes letting parents know that their conference had concluded. Compared to working the playground, it was a breeze.

The weather was so dreary today. Cloudy with rain and a bit of wind in the morning. I only saw the sun off in the distance when we were up on the bench above the city. We have been up on that side of town several times this week, frequenting the local pet store, Zamzows. Bedding, cages, hay, you name it, we have bought it. It has occurred to me that many of the things we get for "free" end up being pretty expensive! When I think out loud "what were we thinking?," Eric likes to remind me that the rabbit and guinea pig cost far less than a horse. Yeah, that sure makes me feel better! Not!!

I suppose it is not all that bad. Katy has really helped out and both have taken an interest in small animal research. Ten books from the library ought to be enough, right? Katy likes to cut carrots up for Benjamin Button (slight name alteration since we figured out she is a he) and Emma enjoys picking the parsley for Snuggles (possibly also a boy, as determined by some aggressive behavior.) Eric is spending his time making a better outdoor hutch. He is in the process of converting the playhouse into a bunny condo. I was going to call it a "bunny penthouse" but those words together made me laugh! At this moment, Benjamin is sitting on the couch between Eric, Katy and Emma as they watch a movie. He is a skittish rodent and we are trying to get in a bit more social time with him.

Lucy seems to be taking all this in stride. She follows us around the house more and we woke up this morning to find her in our room, instead of in her bed. She has sniffed around the cages but has not exhibited any aggression towards Snuggles and Benjamin. We are careful to keep them separated from Lucy. As you can see, we have not left her out of the pet spending spree. She will be a "bee" next Halloween. Poor, poor Lucy. It unfortunate for her that she is so fun to dress up!

Happy Halloween!

Okay, so I have one close up of Emma. My hand adjusting her wig!

Looking good!

Here they are, Miss America and Flapper Girl. I only have a close up of Katy. In all the excitement, we forgot to take one of Emma by herself. Most of the excitement involved that wig she insisted on wearing. It would not stay put. Pretty sure it had a lot to do with the "wearer."

It was a lovely night for Halloween, though. The weather was fairly warm for Boise in October. We gave in to the girls this year and attempted to trick-or-treat down Warm Springs Avenue. I am 100% sure we will not do that next year. It was so crowded. Waiting in line for chocolate was not my idea of fun. Even the girls thought it was crazy. We ended up back in our neighborhood, very happy to see all of the familiar faces. Plus, I really missed walking around with Katy & Emma's friends. Live and learn, I say. The candy and company is not always better on the "fancy" side of the street.

And now, for our feature presentation . . .

Eric retrieving his missing hairpiece, I mean Buttons, from under the bookcase.

Hoppy to meet you!

I think I see hair bows in Buttons future.

I am pleased(well, nearly pleased) to introduce you to Snuggles the bunny and Buttons the guinea pig. Pretty cute, aren't they! Don't ask me what made me agree to this. I have no idea what I was thinking. Katy and Emma are thrilled, as you can well imagine. Eric got the ball rolling so he will be the go to guy for all of this. My job will be to write about the two little balls of fluff once in awhile. Should be plenty to keep you entertained!

This time it's personal . . .

This carnage was unleashed while the girls and I were in the house!

Carnage from a few days ago, also while we were in the house!

The perpetrator, i.e., "repeat offender," enjoying the fruits of his/her labor last Halloween.

Honestly, it used to be funny. Every year, for as long as we have been setting pumpkins out on the porch, we have had a squirrel problem. Eric and I got a kick out of it. "How cute!" we'd say. We'd laugh it off and go about our holiday fun. Then the kids came along. Again, cute--as in "Hey honey, bring Katy & Emma to the window so they can see this!" Hoo hoo! Too funny! But then, Emma took it personally.

She was probably 4 years old when she took notice! Emma got mad and even shed a few tears when she saw the half-eaten fruit! (Check out the link for more info on this) It was upsetting enough for her to take action. She stood on the porch and yelled out to any offender that may have been listening. Emma told them they were "bad!" That was not enough because it happened again. Another pumpkin lost to the all-you-can-eat rodent buffet! She drew a picture of a squirrel and, in her best handwriting, wrote"GO AWAY." You'd have thought that would have solved our problem. Nope! More strung out slimy pumpkin guts for all to see. This was happening over a two day period. I swear, we'd shut the front door and a squirrel would come running. It was unbelievable. Anyway, Emma had run out of solutions and she told me that we needed to find the mommy squirrel and tell her about the "naughty" behavior that was occurring. We did our best to scan the lawn for the juvenile delinquent's mother. No luck. We settled for trying to unnerve the pest by waiting for it to approach the porch and then banging on our old metal screen door to see how fast it would run away! That sure kept us entertained! Alas, once the pumpkins were carved, the allure was gone. No seeds, no problems. We enjoyed the holiday and forgot about it until the next fall.

Well, the carnage continues. As you can see in the pictures, we have been hit a few times this season. Three total, so far. The first to go was a tiny ornamental variety, not must bigger than a cereal bowl. Grammy had brought it to Emma about a week before it met its demise. The next was one we had grown in our backyard, slightly bigger than the first casualty. The one hit today was at least the size of a gallon of milk. The squirrel dug right in, going so far as to haul the stem off. What's up with that? We noticed it tonight as we were heading out the door. I figured it was time to do something drastic--I got "Grinchy." I pulled all of the pumpkins off the porch and stashed them in the garage. Take that! The smorgasbord has been shut down! Our porch is not as festive, but we'll have the jack-o-lanterns out by Thursday. That ought to give that "bad" squirrel a few days to think about his/her crimes against the annual Hilburn holiday display!!!!

Speaking of rodents, stay tuned for word on the new additions arriving at the house tomorrow! You are just not going to believe I said yes!

Are you a good witch?

Have you seen the Wicked Witch? She was just here!

Were you waiting for me? Those flying monkeys just stole my hat!

Too many parents in the way! I could not get the whole choir in the shot.

Pretty in Pink! A good "witch," indeed!

Tonight, the Adams Allstar Choir made their public debut! The 4th-6th grade students performed at the PIX Gala, a fundraiser for a soon to be renovated theater in Nampa. The theme this year was the Wizard of Oz. The choir sang 4-5 songs while dinner was served to the gala attendees. Our group was encouraged to dress up as characters from the land of Oz and boy did they do a great job! Everyone had fun putting together the costumes. The Munchkins were so funny. The Tin Man looked incredible. The Lion was an embarrassed-for-no-reason 4th grade boy. The Scarecrow was cute and the Wicked Witch was, well, wicked! There were several girls dressed as Dorothy and they all looked fabulous.

As you may have guessed, Katy offered to be Glinda. Let me tell you how hard it is to find a pink dress in the fall! After many failed attempts in town, I hit the Internet and found a lovely flower girl dress for an almost reasonable price. Once the dress was headed our way, we decided that it would also serve as some sort of Halloween costume. You can now look forward to seeing Katy next week, magically transformed into "Miss America." Anyway, Katy and I were able to gather enough accessories to do a fair representation of a "Good Witch." To top off the look, we stopped by our salon today and her stylist, Mischelle, gave her a fancy hairdo. If you could have seen the look in Katy's eye when she saw how sweet she looked . . . Me-I had visions of future prom preparations in my head! Oh my! Needless to say, when all was said and done, Katy was a pretty good "witch."

Katy is such a beautiful girl. I am so pleased that she is comfortable in her own skin. The start of 5th grade has had its challenges, none of which have had to do with academics. She enjoys school and excels in all areas. Her creative writing has improved so much that her teacher often uses Katy's work as an example. Katy has befriended the "new" girl and has also been able to get to know several "new"-to-her classmates. (Adams is such a small school, but there were still a few girls that Katy had never had in her class.) She loves playing the flute in Band and obviously loves singing in the choir. A few very sweet boys have even payed her a compliment or two. They have told her she is "nice" and "smart" and that gives a great boost to her self-esteem. Girls can be very unkind at this age. It is occurring to Katy that a boy can be a better friend than some girls. She has also discovered how it important it is to have friends that have "got your back." I have been heartened to hear that girls Katy only occasionally hangs out with have come to her defense in situations at recess. It takes a lot of courage, but Katy is also that kind of friend and I am so proud of her. When you feel good about yourself, you have the ability to help your friends when they need you. Not only is she beautiful on the outside--she is beautiful where it counts the most!

Soccer season is over and I lived to write about it . . .

Emma as the goalie
Chasing the ball
Looking Good!
The Golden Tigers! Roarrrrrrrr . . .

In case you had not heard, the Hilburn's gave soccer a try again. Emma announced her desire to play last spring and I tried very hard to pretend I did not hear her. What a terrible mom, you say! We should support our little darling's every dream! Ha! Eric and I have not one athletic, make that "team sport", bone in our bodies and we counted on passing that down to our children.

If you know Emma, you know that she can't let an idea pass peacefully. She is a determined girl, that one! After using up all of my good excuses against playing soccer and several trips out of my way to avoid the YMCA, I managed to get Emma signed up for the fall league. I could not find Katy's old gear, so we went out and bought a pair of pink soccer cleats and pink shin guards. You know you have to look good to play good!

We made it to the first practice and waited for the fun to begin. The group of kids turned out to be a motley crew. After coming up with a name--the Golden Tigers--the kids attempted to practice. It was a sight, for sure. It was a wild bunch of children. Poor Emma, she just tried to hold her own. To make a long story short, their first game was a blowout. They lost by at least 9 points and did not score at all. It was so bad that the opposing team( an overzealous bunch of 2cd grade "thugs", I mean boys) had their goalie sitting down. Some of the parents actually moved their chairs down to their own goal, because that was where all the action took place. Did I mention the teams were supposed to be co-ed. Ours was, but that team was all boys! They were brutal. Anyway, as the season progressed, the Golden Tigers improved--a lot! I think they won the remaining 6 games. It was almost fun to watch. Mostly it was just painful, but that had more to do with the team than it did Emma. Emma was a good sport. She had no clue what was going on, but she knew to keep the ball moving. She played pretty good defense. Her lack of aggression was her only problem. She was able to play goalie in the last 2 games and even scored a few points! Whoo Hoo!

As proud of her as we are, we really hope she never wants to do it again. Really! I have promised to sign her up for indoor rock climbing classes at the Y. It has just the right amount of danger mixed in with a lot of fun. I'll let you know how that goes.

P.S. A very special thanks goes out to Eric for taking Emma to the last 2 games and several of the practices. I just could not handle the practices. Some of the kids were wild and out of control. It was too much for me! Katy and I missed the last 2 games because she had a book club meeting and then we participated in a fun run at the same time as the last game. Eric was a truly good sport! Thank you, dear. It made up for all of the ballet/jazz classes I covered in the last 7 years. It really, truly did!