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.