Thursday, November 11, 2010

My Daughter's First Blog (plus commentary by mommy)

My daughter has been keeping a journal at kindergarten.  It is such an accurate depiction of the happenings in our household, I thought I would use it as my blog entry and save myself some personal effort.

Barbeque (BrB)
All summer we searched unsuccessfully for a deal on decking so we could put a floor on the skeleton of an unfinished deck in our backyard.  I desperately wanted to use composite decking instead of wood because we have already exceeded my lifetime quota of painting/staining projects around here for this neverending remodel. The thought of sentancing ourselves to an annual backyard deck painting or staining project made me feel ill.  One day I noticed a stack of used composite decking sitting in our next-door neighbor's driveway.  He makes decks for a living and had removed the old decking from a client's house to replace it with new stuff. I asked if we could buy it and our kind neighbors gave it to us!  My ever hardworking, talented husband made us a beautiful deck that is much larger than the original skeleton.  It's made of previously used decking made of post-consumer recycled materials.  How earth-friendly! And no painting or staining is required.  When he finished the deck, we celebrated by buying patio tables and umbrellas on fall clearance and buying a used grill and having a barbeque.

Cookies (CooE)
My kids love to help us make cookies.  Its a fun activity for them and my husband says he likes it, too.  Don't tell my kids, but I secretly hate cooking with the kids.  It is chaotic and messy. 

Curious George Costume
My daughter planned to wear this costume since last year.  Last Halloween, she would have worn it but my husband, who was going with her as the Man in the Yellow Hat, ended up quarantined with flu over Halloween. My daughter saved Curious George for this year, instead. Apparently, she was still planning on Curious George when she drew her Halloween costume in her journal. The day of the Halloween parade, however, she changed her mind last minute and insisted on wearing her princess costume from two years ago. "If I dress like a monkey, the kids will laugh at me. So I am going to be a princess instead," she explained. I was kind of repulsed by her lack of bravery and individuality, but in the end I decided to wait to encourage her to defy the crowd until some time when rising above peer pressure would actually mean something.


Balance Beam (BAL)
 My daughter has been taking gymnastics since the beginning of the school year.  I am not sure she is learning anything.  After her most recent lesson, she reported that she can "almost do a cartwheel," a feat the class has worked on since day one.  So I doubt that she is destined for the Olympics, but she is having fun so we are sticking with it.


Sunday, November 7, 2010

Reuniting

Both sides of my husband's family held family reunions in Utah on the same weekend this summer.  Here are some highlights:

My Mother-in-law's Side of the Family
This was the first  reunion I have experienced for this side of my husband's family, who I mostly know through weddings and funerals, since the family lives all across the country.  It was great fun.  We spent a day swimming at Cherry Hills, had a family talent show, and created an extended family scrapbook.


 
My Father-in-law's Side of the Family
My husband's dad's family gets together once every summer at his uncle's camping property in Weber County, Utah.  Since we reside in Utah, we attend this reunion every year, but it was nice to be able to bring my husband's mom and siblings with us this year, who all live in other states. The highlight of this reunion is always a delicious picnic, including dutch oven cooking, home-made root beer, and fresh produce. (This family includes some excellent gardeners.)







 

A Visit from My In-Laws

This summer, both sides of my husband's family coincidentally had family reunions in Utah in the same weekend, so his mom and three of his four siblings (with our nieces and nephews) came to visit us for the occasion. Here are pics of us at some of the places we visited while they were here.

Classic Skating
Museum of Ancient Life
County Fair