But wait there's more... next up was Jon's office Christmas party! It was a nice evening and we had a great view of the city lights from the Harbor View room at Tom Ham's Lighthouse. While this little ones parents were taking in the view from the patio, we had a little fun. I couldn't resist posting this cuteness!

November in Review:

Well, as much as I try to slow it down, time just keeps on ticking away at a remarkable pace! Another month has come to a close. Farewell, November! Here is a look back at the events from the month:

First up, Homecoming. How is it that my little girl is now a sophomore in high school? At least I got to do her hair for, this, her first high school dance. I love playing with those curls!

A pic of the hairdo...

... and her masquerade mask.

Madeline and her friend, Kirsten, outside after the dance.

and a group shot with some of her friends.

Next up: Jared and Grace made public profession of faith and became members in full communion of Christ United Reformed Church on Sunday, November 15th.

Here they are being greeted by the congregation after the service.

Next up... Justin's Birthday. Our youngest son is now 11!!!! See what I mean about the time racing by?! His birthday was on a Friday this year, so the festivities were kind of crammed in with all the normal Friday stuff. But, we had a good time celebrating. We had a special meal of fried raviolis, meatballs, and zucchini with raspberry italian sodas (Justin's choice, of course).

Opening presents...

For dessert, we had homemade black and white cookies instead of cake.

Justin tasting the first cookie! This was the first time making these at home and I assure you it will not be the last! They were wonderful!

The very next morning we were up bright and early for Jared's last soccer game of the season! We are very proud of his team, The Blue Cheese Comets, and all their hard work this season! And we are thrilled to report that they had an undefeated season! Now it is on to Tournament of Champions! Look for the results of their time at TOC in my upcoming December post! GO BLUE CHEESE COMETS!!!!

Thanksgiving 2009: Our Thanksgiving Day started off with a wonderful Thanksgiving Service at Church. We enjoyed a wonderful sermon, Come and Eat (listen here), reminding us to be thankful for not only the food for our bodies that we enjoy but, more importantly, for the spiritual food that we enjoy each week in Word and Sacrament as we come to worship. We also enjoyed beautiful prelude and offering music provided by 3 of our younger members. They blessed us greatly by sharing their talents. I am very proud of the three of them (yes, you may have guessed, that one of them is Madeline) for all the hard work they put into diligently practicing. I have on many occasions had the privilege of having them fill my home with music while they practice.

Here they are, getting ready to play.

We spent the rest of our day enjoying good food and relaxation with my Mom. Not your traditional Thanksgiving fare, since we were going to be eating that on Friday, but a tasty brunch of salad and quiche. After that we enjoyed the lovely weather on our newly completed screened-in patio.

Chatting on the patio and relaxing...

reading...

and baking.

Madeline shaping a pie crust. There comes a moment when the student surpasses the teacher. I must confess that at this point she has definitely surpassed me in her ability to shape a pie crust edge. It is a bittersweet fact to acknowledge.

Our Buttermilk pie! Another keeper of a recipe. We made this one on a whim to enjoy after our brunch. I found the recipe and happened to have quite a bit of leftover buttermilk in my fridge. It was so good!

and, of course, pumpkin and pecan pies for Friday.

We enjoyed a wonderful family meal on Friday with Jon's parents, brothers, and their families.

A few pictures of all of us relaxing around the table after another good meal.

October Highlights

Here they are:

Jared won the Thinker of the Year award at school, we celebrated with an award ceremony and reception with the other recipients. Here he is receiving his award.

And a close-up. Great work, Jared!

Asian Dynasty Days at School: The fantastic Korean dancers that performed for us.

Jared and Justin binding there Chinese Characters books.

Grace and her friend trying out some Origami.

And, Justin taking part in a reader's theater of an old chinese folk tale.

Jared and Grace are taking part in a Cotillion program this fall. They finished off the first half of the session with a Sock Hop where they got to practice their Swing skills!

And of course, Halloween... Justin dressed up as a Zombie and so we embarked on a little stage make-up fun for the full effect. Here are a few shots of the process.

First, the liquid latex.

Next, toilet paper and more liquid latex for the sagging skin effect and gapping wound.

Then, the make-up.

After a little more blending , we had a great looking zombie!

Jared sported the Michael Jackson look.

Madeline went with a literary character, Katarina from The Taming of the Shrew.

and Grace, along with her friend, Kirsten, were Rock Stars.

And since we were hosting a party, we decided to get in on the fun, as well. I was a tree and Jon was a tree hugger. His idea... pretty cute, huh! (His shirt says, "Unrepentant Tree Hugger")

Well, that is it for October... stay tuned as I am hoping to get around to pics from November while on break this next week!

September Highlights

The girl's birthdays are like bookends to our September each year. We celebrated Madeline's 15th birthday while we were in Catalina for Labor Day weekend. We forgot the candles for the cake, so we improvised with the chicken candle that was in the house we rented...We then enjoyed a delicious cake, chocolate cake with a whipped ganache filling and ganache frosting. Thanks to my wonderful cake baker, Jon, for all his labor on this one! It was all the more challenging because we weren't in our own kitchen.
We enjoyed our first field trip of the year with a visit to the Leonardo da Vinci exhibit at the Air and Space Museum. We planned the trip for a Monday so that Madeline could join us. We all had a great time and learned several new things about this remarkable man. Here are the kids with a portable bridge built from simple notched logs. Ideal for troops to carry and assemble while traveling. I had no idea that Da Vinci had created so many military tools! He truly was a Renaissance Man.
And we finished off the month, celebrating Grace's 12th birthday with the traditional sleep over. They had a scavenger hunt, decorated totes, painted nails, and played lots of games. Here are a couple pics of the fun!

showing off their totes...

... and playing the nail painting game

Check back soon for October highlight!

Catching up on blogging... again!

I can't believe I have let myself get so behind on the blogging, again. It has been a busy 4 months! Summer came to a close all too quickly: school is now in full swing, phase 1 of our patio/laundry room/kitchen project is nearly done, and I can't believe that the holidays are right around the corner! Stop the Merry-go-round, I want to get off! Life seems to continue on full steam ahead despite my attempts to slow it down. The kids are a year older, an inch taller, or a bit more independent every time I turn around. So, here is my start on catching up on the blogging!

Father's Day weekend, we enjoyed meeting Jon's cousin, Rebeca's, new twin baby boys! Here are Christian, Rebeca with Blake, and me.

Jon with Vincent, our great nephew, and me with Blake. It was a good baby fix day for this couple of baby-lovers!

We spent a fair amount of time this summer working on a household project. We began the process of screening -in our back patio. We first had to do a lot of repair: replacing several beams and a couple of the supports due to termite damage. Next came the half wall and new cover. The last step is screening and screen doors! I should have the completed pics in the next week or so. My amazing husband finished the screening this past weekend and now we just need to build and hang the screen doors! Then it will be time for phase 2: moving the laundry area out of the kitchen and into the screened in patio.

A picture of the progress!

And a picture of Fezzik, our neighborhood pheasant, walking through our yard.

We celebrated the end of summer with a trip to Catalina with Jon's family. We had a great time with his parents and his brothers and their families. We played in the water, snorkeled, ate, and relaxed. The best part: we walked everywhere! No cars for 3 whole days!

Jared, Grace and Justin with their cousin, Nichole, dripping wet from a spontaneous dip in the water!

At the top of Wrigley Monument. Quite a view from up there!

More to come... soon.