Julianne's quilt

This is the quilt I made for Julianne for her high school graduation. It represents all the dresses and outfits I made for her over the years, including first day of school dresses, her curtains, which she cut holes in to see the trees out the window she was afraid of, a princess costume, mother/daughter dresses and even her graduation dress. It has never made it to college, so I'm using it. I am not a quilter. It's not very even and will probably be one of those quilts she throws on a spare bed someday, but I love looking at the squares and remembering the first 18 years of her life. Lots of good memories...

homework and bedtime

It sure is cute to see Abby reading to Gabe while he has his nebulizer. Abby is becoming such a good reader. Math is another issue. It will be a miracle if that girl learns her math facts, even just addition up to 10 is a mystery to her. We used lots of pennies to make it more tangible. But, I know that she will get it. Gabe seems to have no problem with math, and much more of a problem with spelling and his phonograms. Boys and girls really are different no matter what we used to be led to believe.

Dinner and a concert

Tonight, Tim and I got to go experience some culture thanks to our great kids. Julianne, Ben and Nate gave us tickets to the Vivaldi concert for Christmas. We went to Nosh, a great restaurant first. They serve only tapas, or little plates of food, so we started with rosemary potato chips and dip. Then, we had a huge scallop with pickled apples and garlic spun sugar-so good! Then, we had spicy shrimp with creme fraiche and jalapenos, and roasted chicken in a scallion sauce, very tender and succulent! For dessert, Tim ordered a mini Black Forest Cake-one of my favorites that will always remind me of the best trip I ever took with my parents and Daphne to Great Britain, where we spent 3 wks. eating After Eight mints and trying every pub we could to sample the best Black Forest Gateau in each one. Anyway, Tim also though we needed a triple berry walnut bar and 2 chocolate chip cookies (who orders those at a restaurant when you can make them at home?) I ate half the cake and left the rest to him.

We got to the Pike's Peak Center as it started and found our seats 3 rows from the top-did I mention I am terrified of heights? . It was a wonderful experience, and because I am so immature, I have to say, the evening ended perfectly getting stuck in an elevator. No, it wasn't scary, and I didn't even panic. I was having too much fun laughing at the old couple trying to get us unstuck. They were at opposite ends of the elevator. The old gentleman was right in front of me facing the buttons which he repeatedly pushed in random order. Then, he decided to push the alarm button non stop for about 10 min. all the while his wife was asking, "is the elevator moving?" I then pointed out that there was a phone behind her, so she called whoever it is you get when you pick up the phone. The nice woman on the other end was trying to hear her asking for help over the man pushing the emergency fire call button. While this was going on, another older lady was talking to her friends on her cell phone asking them to get a security person. Her response was priceless,"oh, is someone coming to get us out of the elevator? Yes, we'll wait right here!" Haha! I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Finally, Tim grabbed the old man's coat and told him to stop pushing the button, and the Security guard did indeed, get us out of the elevator in about 20 min.

The whole thing reminded me of my parents. Good times!

an elementary school dance

Tonight, Gabe and Abby came home from school begging us to take them to the Family dance at school. I was hoping if I didn't mention it, and instead, focused on the Superbowl party we are having on Sunday, maybe, just maybe they wouldn't remember. Unfortunately, they already conspired with their friends on the bus and had it all planned out to meet at the dance. Abby came into the house telling me that she was meeting Ethan at the dance and was going to dance with him the whole time. I said she was NOT going to dance with him the whole time, and she said,"Mom, we won't hold hands while we dance, we will just dance together and maybe hold hands if we walk around". Oh brother. Gabe wanted to wear his velvet blazer and a tie. Abby wanted to wear "a dress, no, a fancy dress, no, not those shoes, they're ugly, okay, just a skirt, but with a short sleeved shirt, it has to be black, no pink, with tights, no, just shoes." Man, isn't she too young for this?

So, we went to the dance. It was like a jr. high school dance: disco ball, loud music, lots and lots and lots of kids running around, girls finding each other and holding hands with their friends. Gabe busted his usual groovy moves, and Abby chased a poor little boy named Ian (Ethan apparently didn't show) the entire time. The parents for the most part watched, and sat in the cafeteria talking over the music. All in all the kids had a good time, and we survived it until next year.

Bedhead breakfast

Pack 55 Tiger Cubs visit the fire station

Tonight, Gabe's den visited the Firestation. There were a lot of excited little boys asking questions, looking at a lot of cool stuff, and even got to see how the firemen respond to a call. Gabe was convinced it was a real emergency even though the firemen didn't suit up or move very quickly. I guess they are good actors too.