Loose Moose

Look what was in our backyard yesterday! The kids were stuck to our kitchen window for over an hour watching the moose being tranquilized and then hauled away. What an experience for them!

It was pretty neat. The kids especially liked it when they actually had to use a gun to sedate the moose (after I told them that they weren't trying to hurt it). They also loved watching the police & firemen help lift the moose onto the crate and push it down the pathway.

The news was also there and they interviewed our neighbours kids in from our backyard. Katie did not want the news man to come and see us -- she was more scared of him than the moose!

Gold Medals on the Stairs

Practicing the piano was becoming a painful exercise, and seemed that Scott's piano career could not continue if things did not change somehow. We came up with a plan. We decided to begin awarding gold medals.

For FHE, we talked about the different roles and responsibilities we all have. Scott is a "piano student" so he has certain duties associated with that. We made a chart that he fills in when he completes one of his duties. He can earn a "Gold Medal" for completing all the requirements in one of four categories, including: 1) New Song One Hand; 2) New Song Two Hands; 3) Review Songs; 4) Study.



There are 7 weeks until the Winter Olympics are over, and we challenged him to work on earning medals every week to see if he can get more than any of the countries participating.

He rushed off to practice and got a gold medal that first night. Gold medals are awarded immediately. Bronze & silver medals are awarded Sunday evening, if those categories are not completed to the gold standard.



Katie wanted to have a duty chart and get medals too.

R made a chart for her (although she wasn't quite satisfied until she had a computer-printed one like Scott's). She is to practice going potty without being prompted. She also goes to her various classes (dance, music, sports, play group). There are only so many times that a person can go potty in one evening, so she earned a bronze medal.



She was very sad that she would have to wait until the next day to get a medal. She struggled with the concept of bronze, silver, gold. Eventually I relented and said that she could have a bronze medal tonight, and then we'll still give her a gold when she finishes that.

We started making the bronze medal out of paper and she was sad that Scott would get a nice medal made from melted beads and she would only get paper. So I started making her a little bead one. She wanted it to have purple and pink in it, as well as brown. Since Scott's gold medal had a #1 in the center of it, I started with a purple #3 for hers.

She said, "I don't want to have a THREE -- I am almost FOUR!" She did not want to listen to me when I pointed out that Scott is 6 but his medal only has a #1 on it.

"Fine," I said. "You can have a four on it. Whatever. But if you cry again, then I am not making you a medal at all, okay?"

"Okay. [sniff]"

A few moments later when it came time for the medal ceremony, Scott was sure to point out to Katie that she had to stand on the bottom stair, while he would get to be higher up on the third stair with his gold medal. The tears were still barely below the surface, but we avoided another outburst by pointing out that the bronze medalist gets her medal first. Whew.



We sang O Canada together, and then the kids went up to bed. Katie kept looking down and saying, "I love my brawn medal!"

Happy Birthday Katie!

Our baby girl is turning four!



For weeks we have been talking about Katie's upcoming birthday. I think it is challenging for her to grasp what it really means. She knows she has to wait, but she struggles a bit to tell the difference between waiting until tomorrow or waiting for 3 weeks. Plus, I'm pretty sure she doesn't remember her previous birthday very well, so she wasn't sure quite to expect on the big day.



I just LOVED to watch her as we sang to her. She is so special to us and I hoped she could feel some of that as we all celebrated her big day. She was a little angel baby and she is still such a sweetheart. Good-natured. Friendly. Shy. Happy. Cuddly. Silly. We just love Katie.



Katie is #2 for a lot of stuff. Scott's pretty quick on the trigger to make sure he is first in line for most things, so Katie is accustomed to being somewhere further back in the order. No matter how many times we told her, she seemed surprised that she was going to be the first one to get a piece of cake, first to hit the pinata, the one to open the presents, etc.



Cousins Eating Cake


Scary Fairy


So, the fairy pinata didn't look very glamourous. It was fittingly dubbed the "Scary Fairy". I would blame my team of assistants, but this was mostly a solo effort:

S: Dad! You didn't let me help finish the pinata!
D: Sorry. But I couldn't let you see what I put inside. It's a secret.
S: It's always t-shirts in there.
D: Not this time.
S: Well, then you just gave it away!
D: What?
S: Now we know it is something but not t-shirts


Luke Assumes His Traditional Role


Adalia On the Attack


Let this be a warning to other Scary Fairies


Presents

Skiing With Cousins at Whitefish

We spent 3 nights on the mountain at Whitefish, Montana with the Kalispell cousins and my parents. We rented a cute little condo right next to the main lodge and then we were inundated with snow. More than a foot of snow fell during our time there, and I had some of the best runs I can remember as I came down the front of the mountain.

At first our kids were intimidated to go down the longer runs where things got steeper than they were used to. I ended up walking down for my first run so that I could help them along. By the end of the first day Scott had cut loose from me completely so that he and Afton could go up the chair and back down as many times as possible. I was a little concerned for Scott's safety, as he seems to have a "speed first, turns second" approach to skiing. I could tell Cam had similar concerns for Afton at the beginning of the day -- I could tell because I turned around to see him race up and tackle her when she seemed to be going too fast and out of control. That would have been a funny thing to watch from the chair.

Katie enjoyed the magic carpet area, but then that broke, so we had to figure out how to ride the chair together. It is not easy for an adult on a snowboard to assist a toddler on skis on the chair lift. She was so cute to watch coming down the hill. She makes perfect little snowplow turns and sings Christmas songs to herself as she goes. Her favourite one was the chorus of "What Child is This?" Adorable. You don't really have to teach technique to Katie. You ask her to make a turn and she kind of just does it. Then she saw a someone do a quick stop and she said, "I should do that too" and she did it.

Because there is night skiing until 9 pm on part of the hill, we essentially had 12 hours of skiing available daily. It was great to be on the hill, because we could take breaks whenever we wanted to, and the older kids were out almost every minute of it. R hasn't skied in several years but she put on some skis and went out for a few runs with Krissy in the evening. No one could resist all that powder.

The condo was outfitted with lots of games and fun things to do, so there was never a dull moment. When they were on the hill, Afton and Scott were great ski partners, and then when they came indoors, Afton would play with Katie and Scott would play with Cannon. Grandma was such a good sport about watching whichever kids were taking a break in the condo.

Everyone had such a good time that we decided that we need to do a repeat.

Ready to Ski


Chair #6: Cam, Scott & Afton


Big Snow (Connor)


Apres Ski


Becca


Kaitlin


Connor


Bailey


Afton & Grandpa


Cannon


Monopoly


Uno


Puzzles


The Momma

Books I Read in 2013

Heft - Liz Moore (Audiobook version)
I picked this one because one of the narrators was Kirby Heyborne. I was intrigued and thought it probably was a decent book if Kirby decided to read it. It was totally engrossing, but I was a bit surprised at the language Kirby's character used some of the time.

The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver (Audiobook version)
It was distressingly sad at times, but it was engrossing throughout. I listened to it on long runs while I trained for a marathon and I would get so wrapped up in the story that the physical exertion of running would seem to bleed together with the emotions of the book. I suppose this book is mainly read by women. I heard about it from my aunt and female cousins. I don't know what it did for them, but it made me want to be a better person.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum (Audiobook version)
How many times have we all seen this film? It seems dishonest to just watch the film and never invest the time to get to know the book as well. It was funnier than I expected. Here is a passage that made me laugh out loud:

The soldier with the green whiskers led them through the streets of the Emerald City until they reached the room where the Guardian of the Gates lived. This officer unlocked their spectacles to put them back in his great box, and then he politely opened the gate for our friends.
"Which road leads to the Wicked Witch of the West?" asked Dorothy.
"There is no road," answered the Guardian of the Gates. "No one ever wishes to go that way."
"How, then, are we to find her?" inquired the girl.
"That will be easy," replied the man, "for when she knows you are in the country of the Winkies she will find you, and make you all her slaves."
"Perhaps not," said the Scarecrow, "for we mean to destroy her."
"Oh, that is different," said the Guardian of the Gates. "No one has ever destroyed her before, so I naturally thought she would make slaves of you, as she has of the rest. But take care; for she is wicked and fierce, and may not allow you to destroy her. Keep to the West, where the sun sets, and you cannot fail to find her."

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (Audiobook version)
My younger brother got into F. Scott Fitzgerald a few years ago and I followed his recommendation and read a collection of short stories back in 2010. I had always meant to read the Great Gatsby, but I hadn't gotten around to it. In preparation to watch the new movie, I listened to an unabridged audiobook during our trip to Kalispell. I enjoyed it immensely. I also appreciated how the movie stayed very true to the book.

Across Asia on a Bicycle: The Journey of Two American Students from Constantinople to Peking - William Lewis Sachtleben (Author), Thomas Gaskell, Jr. Allen (Author), Michael W. Perry (Editor)
My brother J gave me this one. It's part of an ongoing tradition of ours of sharing interesting non-fiction books about various travels and exploits. The sheer daring of this pair of explorers is a marvel. Also, they must have had uncanny survival instincts to come through the endless flow of craziness -- or they must have been insanely lucky.

Legends of the Outer Banks and Tar Heel Tidewater - Judge Charles Harry Whedbee
In preparation for our trip to North Carolina I ordered up a few books of Outer Banks folklore. Author Judge Whedbee compiled several volumes of legends and ghost stories that were really entertaining to read. He also wore a killer sweater for the dust jacket photo.

Life Annuities: An Optimal Product for Retirement Income - Moshe A. Milevsky
Every year I have to do at least 20 hours of continuing education credits for my CFA designation. This year I cranked out quite a few hours by reading this 150-page masterpiece on life annuities. It was strangely entertaining, and deserves inclusion in my reading list for the year.

A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II - Adam Makos & Larry Alexander
My brother recommended that I read this and I blasted through it while we were on vacation this summer. Amazing book about an elite German fighter pilot -- a man who had to figure out his own morals while fighting a losing battle for a cause he had never really believed in.

Brave Companions: Portraits in History - David McCullough
This book was on my sister's book club list and since we share a Kindle account, I could read it for free. It turned out to be a great book. I liked the essay format, because you could put it down for a few weeks and come back without really missing a step. I have a new appreciation for things like the Brooklyn Bridge, Teddy Roosevelt and the Panamanian Isthmus.

Bear Child: The Life and Times of Jerry Potts - Rodger D. Touchie
I bumped into the name Jerry Potts when reading an article about the beginnings of the NWMP, which later became the RCMP (Mounties). The article credited Potts as selecting the location of Fort MacLeod and being a key figure in making peace with the local native populations. R went to an elementary school named for Potts, so I was familiar with the name without knowing anything about him. Why not read the whole story? Wow. Honestly, they should have named more than an elementary school after this man. He was a key player in the success of the Mounties and the peaceful evolution of the Canadian West.

The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story - Elliott West
The book about Jerry Potts briefly described the 1877 campaign of the Nez Perce people to escape to Canada, pursued by US Calvary across 1,500 miles of mountainous terrain in harsh conditions. My dad had told about the Nez Perce before, so I asked him what book I should read to find out more. He recommended this one. The first half of the book describes the history of the people leading up to 1877 and the second half describes the 1877 Nez Perce war in detail. The great bravery and resilience of this people is amazing, inspiring, and ultimately saddening.

Nursery Graduation

Katie is no longer in Nursery. She is moving on to Sunday School. To commemorate the big day, her teachers signed a graduation certificate for her.



For the last 6 months or so she has struggled with going to nursery. She has struggled a bit with going to all of her various classes (ballet class, music class, etc), but she has been particularly spooked of nursery. We wonder if it's because she is nearly 3 years older than some of the smallest kids, and they probably don't follow the rules of sharing the way she would like. Of course, once she goes in, she seems to have a fabulous time. Anyways, she is ready to move on to the next step.



Everyone was dressed to the nines for this gala event, including Scott, who owned the red carpet in a charcoal 3-piece suit. He got this suit as a Chrismas present and he was very excited to wear it.



As the paparazzi's pink cameras fired successive salvos, he considered the proceedings with mysteriously distant eyes.

Fun and Games Chez Nous

We had everyone over to our house for dinner (GF Chinese food) and a game (Flapdoodle). This game worked pretty well with our group, even though we spanned an age range of greater than 60 years. Even the kids got into it, especially Adalia, who climbed on anyone any chance she got.

The Day After Boxing Day

We stayed over for two nights -- Christmas Eve and Christmas Day -- and then we packed up our stuff on Boxing Day and went home to sleep in our own beds. The next morning was like Christmas all over again, as the kids woke up to discover the new toys that had been obscured during the craziness of the big day.

Karla's First Turkey

[Dec 25 2013]

On Christmas Day Jenny decided that it was time for Karla to learn how to cook a turkey. The training was very hands-on and Karla was hilarious to watch.





But she did it. Way to go, Karla.

Christmas Morning

There were 7 adults and 8 young children (including 1 baby) crammed into the basement Christmas Eve, so sleeping was minimal. Brad & Katie's air mattress was essentially flat by morning, so they were almost as anxious as the kids to wake up. However, you can't go upstairs until Grandpa has checked to see if Santa has already come. He loves to take his time with stuff like that, and it is hilarious to watch the kids squirm.

Santa Came!


Princess Candy Cane


A day or two before Christmas, Scott decided he wanted to write something to Santa. R suggested that the mail might not get to the North Pole on time, but he could leave a note by his stocking for Santa to read.



Christmas Morning, we noticed there was something written on the backside of the paper. Amazing.