Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to one and all!

We had our annual New Year's Eve Party last night and are still recovering. Festivities ran until 2 am and we didn't manage to tumble off to dreamland until 4 am. Needless to say, we slept in late.

The Christmas Break has gone by way too fast, and I am dreading the return to the routine of school. I keep reminding myself that I only have four more years left to teach until I can take early retirement. With all the changes in education, I will be glad to go. I love teaching, but I sure hate all the other garbage that has infiltrated the profession since No Child Left Behind. I seriously feel that it has done more damage than good. Teaching isn't about the kids anymore - it's about test scores.

It's snowing pretty heavily today, which I love to see. The more snow, the better. I am secretly hoping we get snowed in! ha ha! Seriously, it is so beautiful! Nothing feels more cozy than a good snowstorm and a warm fire. Happily, we have both.

Silly dog Caribou has had a wonderful holiday. He got to rip up lots of paper on Christmas day (one of his all time favorite activities), he has new toys to play with, and he loves the snow. He promptly went out and made himself a bed out in the firepit. It's quite lovely. He is definitely a "snow dog" through and through. Bailee is determined that someday she will train him to pull her on a sled. I'm sure he has the strength to do so, but he's much more interested in kissing his girl than pulling her.

We've been watching lots of movies over the break. Yesterday we saw "Imagine This" with Eddie Murphy. I am always a little hesitant about his movies (they can really vary in quality), but this one was a nice surprise. It was a great family flick. I recommend it highly.

I hope you all have a wonderful 2010. The way I see it, we have nowhere to go but UP!

Merry Christmas

This is Bailee's good friend Aleks. Her face seems to epitomize the season!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday. We certainly did. On Christmas Eve we went out to eat at The Olive Garden, then attending the 5:30 p.m. church services at St. Paul's. Bailee was a shepherd in the Christmas Program. It was really nicely done and very sweet.

On Christmas Day we spent the morning opening gifts and laughing at Caribou. He finds Christmas terribly exciting, and loves to rip up wrapping paper. Needless to say, it was an active and messy affair.

In the afternoon, we went over to good friends, Rick and Dalene Owen's home for supper. Dalene and I prepared different parts of the meal, and it went off really well. We had a wonderful time with them, visiting and playing games. I am thankful for such good friends.

Of course, we missed all of you who did not have the opportunity to be with us. I hope you all had a wonderful day filled with joy and the true spirit of the season. God Bless you all!

Post Nutcracker

Our beautiful little "Clara" did a wonderful job. We were so proud of her! The past week has been crazy and exhausting. But by Saturday night it was all worth it.

We all wondered if the theater gods had turned on us during the matinee performance! The studio owner, Becky Gili, took a bad tumble down the stairs at the Civic Auditorium and was hurt quite badly. She soldiered on though, as Becky always seems to do. Some of the pyrotechnics shot out instead of up and the tree (the one that magically grows during the first act) caught on fire. It was quickly extinguished by on the ball stage hands, but it still was quite the scare! During the scene where Clara and Fritz fight over the nutcracker, the little guy completely fell apart (only his head is supposed to come off)! Herr Drosselmeyer had to perform a massive quick fix while on stage! We had some slips and some wardrobe malfunctions, but otherwise all was well.

The kids knocked the evening performance out of the park. It was incredible! I was so proud of all of them. They really brought it! Bailee received a lot of support from her friends, the people from her church (St. Paul's), our home teacher, her fifth grade teacher, and wonderful godparents. It was an amazing night for her. For all of us, really. We will never forget it.

Now we are focusing on recovering and finishing preparations for Christmas. Haste! It comes a pace! God Bless you all!

Christmas is Coming!

Christmas is on its way, and it is approaching at a speed that has me reeling. Time just seems to be evaporating! Luckily, we have a good helper in Bailee. She is becoming quite the little chef. I taught her how to make squash rolls this year, and they turned out better than ever. Will she have her own show on Food Network someday? I wouldn't be at all surprised to find myself tuning in to "The Ballerina Baker."

Not a day goes by that isn't consumed in one way or another by THE NUTCRACKER. It is hard to believe that we are only nine days from the big performance. Bailee brought home her dress and had a good time hamming it up for the camera. This dress weighs a ton, and is proving to be a big challenge for her to dance in. When she spins, the dress creates its own momentum and Bailee finds it difficult to STOP spinning!

Of course, there are moments when we realize just how much she has grown up. In this photo I can see much more of the young lady than the little girl. She just got her second set of braces - pink, to match the dress of course. I'm glad that she is not one of those kids who give up smiling because of their braces. Of course, I don't think that there is much that could wipe that smile off her face these days. She is living her big dream, after all.

Not exactly "cheesecake," but she had to show off her beautiful pantalettes. We've been working hard on costumes, so we appreciate the effort that went into the creation of this beautiful dress all the more. Funny, we all decided that the smell of hot glue and burned fingers are becoming a part of the aura of Christmas for us. We are looking forward to the big performance on the 19th at the Civic Auditorium. Grandma is nearly giddy over the prospect of seeing her little granddaughter dance the lead. What a wonderful experience this has been for all of us!