Winter Break

These are our awesome friends. They told us they were going up to Crystal Mountain for 2 days of skiing for Winter Break and said we should come up. We couldn't go for both days (dance, natch), but were going to drive up as far as Cadillac after Em was done with class Thursday night, get a cheap room and be on the slopes first thing Friday morning. "That's silly, crash in our room!" our awesome friends said. So we did!

These are some more awesome friends. They had planned on the weekend at Boyne, but decided to stop at Crystal on the way because their girls, our girls and the girls pictured above really get along great.
That's Jim on the left. He turned 11 today :)
He spent a lot of time teaching the little girls how to snake down the hill instead of barrelling straight down. I think I owe him a six pack of Heineken.



Take a look at Trouble times three.
On second thought, maybe I owe Jim a twelve pack.





How about Maggie's goggles and helmet? I couldn't risk that pretty little head getting crushed by a snow boarder.
I was really glad she was wearing it as I watched her follow one of the bigger girls down one run and take a double jump! She actually made it up and over the first one, then was about 5 feet in the air off the second and took quite a spill.



These gals were off on their own for most of the day. They hooked up with another friend from Hudsonville that was there, too.







Em's hanging out with girls that are a little more experienced skiers than she is. I asked her on the way up if she was worried about being able to keep up with them. She said "One, they're good friends, they'll wait for me. Two, they like to watch me come down the hill because my mess ups are entertaining. "






Yes, I see what she means.








And after we saw these two waiting for one of the little girls at the bottom of our last run down the North Face, we figured it wouldn't be too much of a battle getting them in the car for the ride home.

Single Mom

Don't worry, it's only for 10 days.

Rick has been at The Press forever and therefore has way more vacation time accumulated than I do. He left at 4 this morning with his friend Doug, and Mark and A.J. (Mark's girlfriend) for some fun in the sun in Gulf Shores visiting his parents.

They took along fishing poles and golf clubs. As long as they make a stop at JoePatti's and bring me back some royal red shrimp and maybe some trigger fish, it will make all the extra work worth while. Poor Maggie had to get up at the crack of dawn this morning so I could drop her off at daycare and get to work.

The girls have winter break Thursday and Friday, so we're going to join the Livingston girls for some skiing at Crystal Mountain on Friday.

Saturday will be extra dance rehearsals due to all the snow days. And then next week will be a long, long week knowing the boys are off enjoying themselves and we're stuck in the snow.

Girl's Night Out

Saturday night I went to a concert with Toni Kay and Sharon, friends from the GRP. I'm not the biggest country music fan in the world (like they are) but I do appreciate most any kind of music, particularly when it is performed by really nice looking men that know how to entertain a crowd.



That's Dierks Bently.
He's one of the 'really nice looking men' I mentioned above.
Really, really nice looking.








And if you look closely on the ticket stub below, you'll see that one of the opening acts was B. Covington. Yes, that's Bucky Covington of American Idol fame. I wasn't too sure about him before the show, but he was actually a very good performer. Very high energy and not a bad singer.


Had to post my ticket stub because the two super-fans I was with kept accusing me of trying to destroy the evidence.

Thanks for a fun night, girls!

Projects

The queen of unfinished projects actually completed something!
Mom taught me how to do this spiral bead pattern when she met us in Lansing. I had the necklace finished a while ago, but I actually went out and bought the end caps and put it all together today.


This is made of black delicas and brown size 11 beads.

I love the clasp - it's magnetic!

Now I can't wait to get the swarovski drop mom made for me.

I also picked up a tiger eye cabuchon that I'll try to make a drop out of myself.

spring break

This winter has been brutal, hasn't it? I mean, I like living in Michigan. I like the different seasons. But if I'm going to be buried in snow up to my armpits I'd at least like the sun to shine a little so I could get out and enjoy it. Enough, already!

So yesterday on my lunch hour I had to stop at a big box home improvement mecca. I walked in and was blasted with the heater. Nice.
It gets better.
I'm wandering around in my quest for the perfect dance competition costume rack. I'm in a well lit, high ceilinged building being hit with a warm breeze and then I stumble across the new display of patio furniture. And there are birds flying around inside.

If there had been a margarita stand close by I don't think I would have made it back to work.

jokes lost in translation

I've been very lucky that my older two girls have inherited my sense of humor, sarcasm, whatever. They get me.

Tonight I realized that Maggie may need a little extra help.

As she was getting into bed she hurt her toe somehow and, of course, said "Ow, I hurt my toe!".
I, being the sarcastic queen of puns that I am, replied "We'd better call the tow truck!".

Maggie looked at me with great big eyes, paused for just a second while she thought it through and couldn't figure it out, and then said kinda quietly "What will it do?"

I had to explain to her that it was a joke. Toe vs. tow, the whole nine yards.
She wasn't pleased.

sigh

Productive, despite...

Yesterday I cleaned the kitchen and my room. Did our taxes (not good). Did 4 loads of laundry. Made a yummy pot of chicken corn chowder.

Oh, and read The Sea of Monsters, book two in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Finished it at 11:51 p.m. It was quite good.

It was all I could do to not sneak book 3 into my bag and take it to work today.

Guilty Pleasure

I'm a busy person. I'm not trying to make excuses for myself, just stating the facts. But I do have a guilty pleasure that I need to share- kiddy lit. I'm hooked on good books for kids. Those who know me well know I have a freakish obsession with Laura Ingalls Wilder that started back in the 3rd grade. I even dragged Emily and our friends Patty and Abby to the Ozark home of Laura and Almanzo on our first dance trip to Branson. (Ok, they came willingly). I read all the Narnia books as a kids, and again as an adult. I've devoured all the Harry Potter books.

When Emily recommended a series based on Greek Mythology in the modern world I had to check it out. I read The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan yesterday.

Yes, yesterday. I did have to finish the last couple chapters this morning, but the bulk of the 375 pages was yesterday. Which is why my poor husband cringes when he sees me pick up a new book.

Anyway, if you are like me and appreciate good books for kids that may actually help them get excited about that mythology unit in middle school, you should check them out. I'm going to start book 2 today - The Sea of Monsters.

Don't tell Rick.

Preview

It was stage rehearsal day. All the larger groups practice on the big stage so they can get their spacing, entrances and exits down.


Maggie's two large groups are hip-hop and tap.

Check out this sick freeze!

That's her above, looking off to your left.

She was very exited that she got to try out her stage make-up, complete with false eyelashes. She said to write "Maggie likes it!"

Emily's large groups are hip-hop, tap, jazz, ballet and lyrical.

Maybe I'm just a proud mom, but I think she has really improved since last year.

Check out her arabesque in the center below. Great form, eh?

Here's a closer look.

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

2008 is Emily's year, the year of the rat

Super Bowl Sunday

Rick was off to the annual Super Bowl party he goes to, so the girls and I decided to have a fondue dinner before we sent Katie back to school. I made a chicken broth for the meat (beef and chicken) and the veggies, with asian sesame and dijon mustard dipping sauces.
And of course we had chocolate for dessert, with apples, pears, strawberries and pound cake for dipping.
We just don't get to see this smiling face often enough.
It was sure nice to have her home, even if it was only for one night.

Bittersweet

Actually, there was nothing Bittersweet about it except the name of the place. Emily and Katie Livingston planned a ski outing for the Girl Scout troop. The rest of the Livingston girls came along. Our Katie was home for the weekend and said she'd help Maggie on the bunny hill, so they joined us as well.

I was a bit nervous about taking Maggie. I wanted to make sure I could be attentive to the Girl Scouts that were new to skiing. But I didn't need to worry. After a trip up the magic carpet (picture a conveyor belt that you stand on) and helping her up the tow rope once, she was off! I think next time we go I'll try to get her on a chair lift.

I hardly saw Emily all night. She was off with the Girl Scouts who had skied before. I did manage to catch her once at the top of a lift before she took off again.Katie decided that since she was on the bunny hill most of the night with Maggie she might just as well try snowboarding. She had gone with a friend once last year. She did get more comfortable and went up one of the chair lifts before the end of the night, but it seemed like every time I saw her she was on her butt!

Here's a picture of her coming down Creeping Myrtle.

I'll have to talk to our friend Holmes about getting the girls properly equipped for next season so we can do this a lot more!