A Beautiful Day

We have had a very unseasonably warm winter. We have therefore been able to enjoy some nice time outside in the sun. This past Monday was one of those days. We went for a bike ride, and finished off the day at the park, which included a hike in the woods.

Gabi loves to sing

Jeff got us these awesome new phones for Christmas. One of my biggest complaints about my blackberry was the horrible quality of pictures its camera took, so when we were shopping for new phones, a quality camera was one thing I was looking for. This phone has a very nice camera.

So I was taking advantage of its quality camera by capturing a moment with Rachel and Gabi making ice cream. That turned into a solo recital for Gabi, performing all of her favorite numbers.



Enjoy Gabi's first solo recital (with occasional accompaniment by Scout).



























The ice cream turned out pretty good too. Here's Rachel enjoying her handiwork.

A Fun Treat

A very long time ago, I acquired a calendar that had recipes using jell-o. I hung on to it because several of the recipes were awfully good, and pretty easy (two very important criteria). Rachel has on many occasions admired the delicious treats pictured there, and as she is growing up, she really likes doing stuff in the kitchen. So today we made dirt cups together.

Rachel is the kind of cook that likes to taste all of the ingredients. That is especially true when the ingredients consist of things like oreo cookies (although I'm cheap so I bought the off brand - Great Value), chocolate pudding, cool whip (again, Great Value whipped topping), and gummy worms. So if you are ever interested in sampling our fare, be warned that Rachel probably licked the spoon, and possibly her hands too, and I can't promise that it is the most sanitary dish ever prepared. But my philosophy is, it's all good, just a little extra protein.

It has been too long!

Today we did something that I have not done in way too long! I got to ride a horse. It all started when I called a friend of mine who works with a charity called Hearts In Motion. (I was passing down some clothes that Gabi has outgrown.) I brought the clothes to her house, and she happened to be in her barn, saddling up her horses for a ride with her daughter. So we walked down to the barn to say hi and to pet the horses. While there we let both Rachel and Gabi sit up on the horse's back.
Having nothing better to do, we stuck around to watch them ride. Before long she offered to let me ride too. Unfortunately I was not prepared, and was wearing sandals. Fortunately our feet are the same size, so she let me borrow her hiking boots, so I got to ride for a while. It was GREAT. It has been much too long since I have ridden.

While I was riding Blondie, she and her husband helped Rachel and Gabi take a ride on Honey. They both really liked it! Now I can't wait to do it again.

Halloween 2011

After 4 separate and distinct Trick or Treat outings, I think we have plenty of candy.

Outing #1 - The Worlds Largest Halloween Party at the Louisville Zoo.
Outing #2 - Our ward's trick or treat. This year we did it a little different. Instead of "trunk or treat" in the parking lot going to the different cars, people decorated the classrooms and handed out treats at each different classroom.

Outing #3 - We crashed Jeff's mom's ward's trunk or treat.

Outing #4 - Halloween night we went to Jeff's mom's house and went trick or treating in her neighborhood. She lives in a more rural area, so we walked a little bit further between houses. It was good for 2 reasons - 1. Since those houses don't usually get as many trick or treaters, each house gave out quite a bit of candy. The last house dumped several handfuls in each girl's bag. 2. The girls had to walk further, and that night they crashed! Didn't hear from either of them until 9:00 the next morning.

At the Pumpkin Patch

Today Jeff's office had its party for the employees. It was at Huber Farm. It was an absolutely beautiful day, so it was a lot of fun to wander around the farm and get pumpkins from the pumpkin patch.

First was lunch (hot dogs, fried chicken, mac and cheese, cole slaw, lemonade, chicken and dumplings, etc.)


Then we found a koi pond, and we fed the fish (and the ducks, geese and swans). These fish are obviously well fed. They were HUGE!
Next we wandered through the Farmer's Market. We got to check out the different kinds of pumpkins, squash and gourds, not to mention the cool tractor.
Finally we went to the pumpkin patch and checked out all of the pumpkins. The girls had a great time, and we found some excellent pumpkins to decorate, and maybe, if I get ambitious, I might even make a pumpkin pie from scratch. (Not the crust, though.)

Finally we took a hay ride back from the pumpkin patch. (It was actually a wagon behind a tractor, no hay involved.)
It was a wonderful afternoon, and we had a great time. And best of all, the girls came home nice and tired, and went to bed with no fuss. That's a success by any definition!

Parent Teacher Conference

Today was Rachel's first parent teacher conference. In it I got Rachel's first progress report. Rachel, unsurprisingly, is doing very well in school. She really enjoys it a lot, and is making good progress. The two categories of the score were "usually" and "working on." The "usually" category sounds weird, but it makes sense after you read the progress report.

Our first few weeks . . .

Social/Emotional Development

Shares things usually

Initiates play with others usually

Is considerate of others usually

Shows respect usually

Asks for help when needed usually

Adjusts easily to transition times usually

Self Awareness

Knows first and last name usually

Is able to tell own age usually

Can go to the bathroom alone usually

Readiness

Matches shapes usually

Recognizes and names shapes usually

Recognizes numbers 1 to 10 working on

Counts objects 1 to 10 usually

Can identify size differences usually

Recognizes and names colors usually

Recognizes alphabet letters usually (MTZFA - those are the letters they've learned so far.)

Learning is lots of fun!

Fine Motor Skills

Holds crayon correctly working on

Cuts well with scissors working on (I don't let her use scissors at home much because she's cut her hair 3 times. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me, fool me three times, I don't know, but that's really bad!)

Coloring usually

Puzzle assembly usually

gluing or pasting usually

Work Habits in Group Time

Participates in discussions usually

Enjoys books and story time usually

Listens attentively usually (could have fooled me!)

Completes tasks usually

Participates in art usually

Enjoys gym and outside time usually

Follows classroom rules usually

Work Habits - Independent Skills

Cares for tools and possessions usually

Responds to directions promptly usually

Relaxes during quiet times usually

Is independent in routine usually

Works/plays well alone usually

My day started at 5:00 this morning. I had to get up early because I was on TV this morning. A small group of people from my barbershop chorus were invited to sing on a show to highlight our upcoming competition, as well as our upcoming guest night. The show wasn't until 9:00, but we were supposed to be there by 7:00 so we could pre-record some Christmas music that they will use in the future.

Here is a link to our segment from this morning. (I hope this works!)

http://www.whas11.com/great-day-live/video/Sweet-Adelines---131873348.html

First Day of School

Today was Rachel's first day of school this school year. She is in the 4-year-old preschool class. She was very excited to go, and this morning went very smoothly. This year is different because instead of walking her into the school myself (and helping her use the potty and wash her hands) we drop her off in a carpool lane. I learned that if I leave my house with the perfect amount of time for the ride, I will get caught behind a school bus in my neighborhood, and I will end up in the back of the long carpool line. (Okay, it wasn't that long.) Tomorrow we'll leave a little earlier.

Rachel was a little unsure when we got to the school, but pretty soon she was off.

When it came time to pick her up I got there early (a little too early) and ended up in the "early carpool" line, so I had to go back to another carpool line. So Rachel learned some stuff today, and so did I.

Rachel said that she really like it a lot. Apparently they learned about gingerbread men. That's what she kept on talking about, and sure enough, there was a gingerbread man that she had colored, in her backpack.

Rachel excited for her first day of school

Gabi didn't want to be left out of the fun

Gabi's first day of preschool (1 day a week) starts tomorrow, but we've got a picture from today anyway.

On the way home from school we stopped at the vet to pick up Scout (the dog). We saw this horse pasture on the way home. Rachel said "Look! I see horses and ponies and unicorns!"

Henry's Ark

I've been wanting to take the girls to Henry's Ark all summer long, but it has been pretty hot so the pool was usually a better choice, but it is finally cooling down some, so we decided to go there this week.

We made our first attempt on Monday, but as we arrived we realized (with the help of a sign) that it is closed on Monday, so instead we went to the play ground at Norton Common.

We made our next attempt on Tuesday, and this time we had success.

As we were walking toward the animals a lady asked me if we had brought carrots. Uh, no. I didn't even think about that. So she handed me a bag full of baby carrots. Rachel is absolutely fearless when it comes to animals. She was petting and feeding everything. Gabi, while not exactly scared, was a little more nervous. She was fine around the goats, but the emu had her a little intimidated.

We used all of the carrots, and another family offered us some of their carrots. They had the big kind of carrot, and they had quite a few of them, but they were ready to go home, so they gave us some of theirs. I don't know who appreciated the kindness of our fellow zoo-goers more, my girls or the animals.

Swimming Lessons

Rachel has taken swimming lessons this summer, and I can officially say that Rachel can swim. Okay, she can't swim an extremely long distance, but she can swim. I didn't measure it officially, but my estimate is that she can swim about 10 or 12 feet. That's both good and bad. I'm glad she can swim, but now she wants to not wear her floaties anymore, so I need to be right with her all the time. It's good, because when she does wear floaties, she just relaxes and floats, and doesn't swim, but when she doesn't wear floaties she is becoming a stronger and stronger swimmer. Now my challenge is to convince her to wear floaties when I want her to. It's a challenge because she enjoys the freedom of not wearing floaties.