I'm sure we all have those songs we sang as a child with our own versions of the lyrics. You know, the lyrics we thought everyone else was singing but really weren't. The one I miss sang for years (like until I was 10 or 11) was the primary song, As I Have Loved You. But that's another story.
P has been singing Up On the House Top since July. No one else has been singing it, so what she is singing is based on what she remembers from when she was 3 last Christmas.
Up on the house tops reindeer smile.
Out jumps good old Santa Claus
Down through the chimney with lots of toys.
All for the little ones Christmas joys.
Ho ho ho
Do na do (Don't know exactly what that is but it's what she sings.)
Ho ho ho
Do na do
Up on the house tops reindeer smile.
Down through the chimney with old friend Nicks. :-)
After enjoying her cute version for a few months, I helped her re-learn it the traditional way.
A couple of days ago she started to sing...
Here comes Santa Claus
Here comes Santa Claus
Right down Santa Claus Knee (?????)
Then she appealed to me for help. We had just been at a tree lighting ceremony a couple of days before where we had sung that song and so she was trying to remember it. I tried to tell her it was Santa Claus Lane but she insisted it was "knee". When I asked why, she said it was "like when kids slide down Santa's knee."
One day she'll get them all figured out, for now, we'll enjoy listening to her versions as she sings around the house.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Hospital Hill
The kids got to spend the day at home yesterday thanks to a snow/ice storm that canceled school. The rain that followed washed a lot of the snow away but left enough for B and C to go sledding. So, they set off to the end of the road to sled the "Hospital Hill". (Notice their helmets.)
Now, sometimes I feel like our society is getting a little out of control with all of the safety equipment that kids have to wear just to go outside and have some fun. But, the "helmets required for sledding" rule was instituted by me last year for this particular hill only. Of course, B put up a huge fight and argued, but I didn't give in. "If you want to go on that hill you have to wear your helmet. If you don't want to wear your helmet then sled in a different spot." He wore his helmet, went sledding, came home, walked through the door and said, "It was a good thing I was wearing my helmet because the first time I went down the hill, I went over the bump and my head hit the pavement." I resisted the urge to say, "I told you so" and instead just smiled and said, "Wow, I'm glad you are okay."
This hill is called the hospital hill for two two reasons. First, it is the hill between our houses and the hospital. Second, sledding this hill could put you in the hospital. Hence, the need for helmets.
The hill is VERY steep. (Think crazy black diamond ski hill.) To get up, you have to climb it like you are climbing a ladder. When the snow on it gets packed, you have to go around and up a different way. It is even steep enough to go down on your snow pants (no sled) even when the snow is wet and slushy.
What really makes it dangerous is not how steep it is but the fact that it ends abruptly at the street/alley that runs behind our quarters. So, you come flying down a very steep hill only to have your sled fly over the mound of the snow the plows have pushed up and then crash down into the road. It's pretty crazy but quite fun, although I personally have never sledded this hill.
B, C and a couple of the neighbor boys had tons of fun on it yesterday until they wore all of the snow off and had to come in. Now they are waiting for it to snow again.
Now, sometimes I feel like our society is getting a little out of control with all of the safety equipment that kids have to wear just to go outside and have some fun. But, the "helmets required for sledding" rule was instituted by me last year for this particular hill only. Of course, B put up a huge fight and argued, but I didn't give in. "If you want to go on that hill you have to wear your helmet. If you don't want to wear your helmet then sled in a different spot." He wore his helmet, went sledding, came home, walked through the door and said, "It was a good thing I was wearing my helmet because the first time I went down the hill, I went over the bump and my head hit the pavement." I resisted the urge to say, "I told you so" and instead just smiled and said, "Wow, I'm glad you are okay."
This hill is called the hospital hill for two two reasons. First, it is the hill between our houses and the hospital. Second, sledding this hill could put you in the hospital. Hence, the need for helmets.
The hill is VERY steep. (Think crazy black diamond ski hill.) To get up, you have to climb it like you are climbing a ladder. When the snow on it gets packed, you have to go around and up a different way. It is even steep enough to go down on your snow pants (no sled) even when the snow is wet and slushy.
What really makes it dangerous is not how steep it is but the fact that it ends abruptly at the street/alley that runs behind our quarters. So, you come flying down a very steep hill only to have your sled fly over the mound of the snow the plows have pushed up and then crash down into the road. It's pretty crazy but quite fun, although I personally have never sledded this hill.
B, C and a couple of the neighbor boys had tons of fun on it yesterday until they wore all of the snow off and had to come in. Now they are waiting for it to snow again.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Our Veteran's Day
(Some pictures courtesy of my friend. Captions by B.)
Since R was going to be marching in the NYC Veteran's Day Parade, we made a trip to the city to watch. Grandma J was here visiting so she came along. Also, a friend and her two girls joined us so they could watch their dad in the parade also.
Since the newly built and commissioned USS New York, was in port and open for tours, we decided to make a stop there too. The ship is built with steel from the World Trade Center Towers in its bow. Although it is a Naval ship, its primary function is to transport Marines and their vehicles.
We all got up nice and early and headed off to the city, making our first stop at the USS New York. I was expecting a quick walk through the ship and therefore was quite surprised when we bored and were told, "You can pretty much touch and climb on everything." And they meant it.
All throughout the areas of the ship where we were allowed, and up on the flight deck, there were vehicles, helicopters, and weapons, all of which we climbed on, sat in, and even got to hold. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Several of the vehicles and weapons we had seen before, but we had never been allowed to climb in and on and hold them before. We spent almost 2 hours in the ship and could have easily spent another 2 but we had to get to the parade and see R.
B in a Huey helicopter.
C in a Huey helicopter.
Huey Cobra helicopter gunship.
C and my friend's daughters in front of Hammerhead helicopter.
P in jeep.
B with R.P.G. (rocket propelled grenade).
C with unknown weapon.
C in A.P.C. (armored personnel carrier) cockpit.
B in A.P.C. cockpit.
The whole experience on the ship was made even more special be the Marines that were there. There were Marines everywhere, answering questions and helping the kids have a great experience. They'd help them crawl in and out of the hatches of some of the vehicles, show them how to fire the weapons, and then let them pull the trigger and pretend they were shooting. At the Armored Personnel Carrier a very patient Marine was helping kids, one at a time, crawl out the hatch and onto the top, where he'd place a helmet on their head, show them how to hold the weapon and fire it, and then get them all positioned just right so the Mom down below could get a great picture.
After spending two hour on the ship, we walked just over a mile into the city and set up to watch the parade.
The band was one of the first units in the parade so we didn't have to wait too long to see them.
R is playing bass drum.
We didn't stay for the whole parade as, after an hour, everyone was pretty tired and ready to go.
Since R was going to be marching in the NYC Veteran's Day Parade, we made a trip to the city to watch. Grandma J was here visiting so she came along. Also, a friend and her two girls joined us so they could watch their dad in the parade also.
Since the newly built and commissioned USS New York, was in port and open for tours, we decided to make a stop there too. The ship is built with steel from the World Trade Center Towers in its bow. Although it is a Naval ship, its primary function is to transport Marines and their vehicles.
We all got up nice and early and headed off to the city, making our first stop at the USS New York. I was expecting a quick walk through the ship and therefore was quite surprised when we bored and were told, "You can pretty much touch and climb on everything." And they meant it.
All throughout the areas of the ship where we were allowed, and up on the flight deck, there were vehicles, helicopters, and weapons, all of which we climbed on, sat in, and even got to hold. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Several of the vehicles and weapons we had seen before, but we had never been allowed to climb in and on and hold them before. We spent almost 2 hours in the ship and could have easily spent another 2 but we had to get to the parade and see R.B in a Huey helicopter.
C in a Huey helicopter.
Huey Cobra helicopter gunship.
C and my friend's daughters in front of Hammerhead helicopter.
P in jeep.
B with R.P.G. (rocket propelled grenade).
C with unknown weapon.
C in A.P.C. (armored personnel carrier) cockpit.
B in A.P.C. cockpit.
The whole experience on the ship was made even more special be the Marines that were there. There were Marines everywhere, answering questions and helping the kids have a great experience. They'd help them crawl in and out of the hatches of some of the vehicles, show them how to fire the weapons, and then let them pull the trigger and pretend they were shooting. At the Armored Personnel Carrier a very patient Marine was helping kids, one at a time, crawl out the hatch and onto the top, where he'd place a helmet on their head, show them how to hold the weapon and fire it, and then get them all positioned just right so the Mom down below could get a great picture.
After spending two hour on the ship, we walked just over a mile into the city and set up to watch the parade.
The band was one of the first units in the parade so we didn't have to wait too long to see them. 
R is playing bass drum.
We didn't stay for the whole parade as, after an hour, everyone was pretty tired and ready to go.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Happy Halloween
This is the warmest Halloween I can remember. It was comfortable in a long sleeve shirt with no jacket. It was a little misty but the rain held off until we finished trick-or-treating our neighborhood.
The best part this year, for the kids, was getting to dress up twice. We attended a friend's costume party on Friday night so the kids wore their costumes 2 times. The pictures are from Friday as I wasn't sure if the rain was going to ruin picture taking on Saturday.
We only carved 2 pumpkins this year since when we cut C's open it was soup inside. Gross!!! P was kind enough to share with her. P took all of the stuff out of the inside and C carved their ghost flying in front of the windows.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Now We've Been To Boston in the Fall
(L's family - Do you know the song referenced in the title?)
We just returned from a 4 day family trip to Boston. It's been over a year since the whole family was on vacation together (we had lots of vacations involving different parts of the family this summer but none all together). We felt like we needed to go somewhere all together so we took the kids out of school for a couple of days and went to Boston. We had a great time and got to enjoy Boston in the fall.
After driving over Saturday morning, we visited to the Children's Museum where R kept insisting we were going to get to see children of all nationalities in the exhibits. He only fooled P for just a second. What we did see was an exhibit about trees where C and P had fun dressing up as woodland animals. Here they are as a bird and an owl.
We also saw a real Japanese house that was sent from Japan and then re-assembled in the museum. It was my favorite part. We have no pictures though because it was at this point in the trip that I realized that I'd lost the camera. Thank goodness an honest person found it and turned it in to lost and found. But, due to my stressed out condition, I forgot to go back later and take pictures of the house.
We also watched a production of The Three Little Bigs, had an art lesson on drawing with charcoal and all drew our own pictures, played in sand, danced on a lighted floor, and so much more.
Sunday, after attending church, we visited the Minute Man National Park that encompasses the old road that leads from Lexington to Concord. We walked parts of it and drove the rest.
We saw the site on the road where Paul Revere was captured and then later let go during his midnight ride. We saw the grave site of 3 British Soldiers. We saw some historical buildings and walked across the North Bridge in Concord where "The shot heard round the world" was fired. I heard someone behind us say "This place is too beautiful to have a war." It truly is a beautiful place, especially this time of year.
I jumped out of the car to grab a quick picture when we drove past Louisa May Alcott's house. Little Women is my favorite book.
Monday we headed in to Boston to walk the Freedom trail. The kids enjoyed the train ride in and were troopers as we walked all over the city. There is so much to see. Highlights were the cemetery where we saw the graves up Paul Revere, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and victims of the Boston Massacre, the site of the first public high school attended by several great men including Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin didn't graduate though, he was a high school drop out. We also saw Paul Revere's home where he was living at the time he made his midnight ride.
Not far from his home we stopped at the Old North Church where the lanterns were hung.
Today we went back in to Boston to visit the USS Constitution and Bunker Hill. The kids loved the tour of the ship. The USS Constitution (Old Iron sides), which was used in the war of 1812, is the oldest commissioned, still afloat, war ship in the world.
We concluded our trip by putting our physical fitness to the test at the Bunker hill monument. We all, including P, climbed the 294 stairs to the top of the monument where we had a great 360 degree view of the Boston area. (P was only carried for about 50 of the steps.) 
Here is the Boston sky line as seen from the top of the monument. The white steeple across the river is the Old North church.
We just returned from a 4 day family trip to Boston. It's been over a year since the whole family was on vacation together (we had lots of vacations involving different parts of the family this summer but none all together). We felt like we needed to go somewhere all together so we took the kids out of school for a couple of days and went to Boston. We had a great time and got to enjoy Boston in the fall.
After driving over Saturday morning, we visited to the Children's Museum where R kept insisting we were going to get to see children of all nationalities in the exhibits. He only fooled P for just a second. What we did see was an exhibit about trees where C and P had fun dressing up as woodland animals. Here they are as a bird and an owl.
We also saw a real Japanese house that was sent from Japan and then re-assembled in the museum. It was my favorite part. We have no pictures though because it was at this point in the trip that I realized that I'd lost the camera. Thank goodness an honest person found it and turned it in to lost and found. But, due to my stressed out condition, I forgot to go back later and take pictures of the house.We also watched a production of The Three Little Bigs, had an art lesson on drawing with charcoal and all drew our own pictures, played in sand, danced on a lighted floor, and so much more.
Sunday, after attending church, we visited the Minute Man National Park that encompasses the old road that leads from Lexington to Concord. We walked parts of it and drove the rest.
We saw the site on the road where Paul Revere was captured and then later let go during his midnight ride. We saw the grave site of 3 British Soldiers. We saw some historical buildings and walked across the North Bridge in Concord where "The shot heard round the world" was fired. I heard someone behind us say "This place is too beautiful to have a war." It truly is a beautiful place, especially this time of year.
I jumped out of the car to grab a quick picture when we drove past Louisa May Alcott's house. Little Women is my favorite book.
Monday we headed in to Boston to walk the Freedom trail. The kids enjoyed the train ride in and were troopers as we walked all over the city. There is so much to see. Highlights were the cemetery where we saw the graves up Paul Revere, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and victims of the Boston Massacre, the site of the first public high school attended by several great men including Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin didn't graduate though, he was a high school drop out. We also saw Paul Revere's home where he was living at the time he made his midnight ride.
Not far from his home we stopped at the Old North Church where the lanterns were hung.
Today we went back in to Boston to visit the USS Constitution and Bunker Hill. The kids loved the tour of the ship. The USS Constitution (Old Iron sides), which was used in the war of 1812, is the oldest commissioned, still afloat, war ship in the world.
We concluded our trip by putting our physical fitness to the test at the Bunker hill monument. We all, including P, climbed the 294 stairs to the top of the monument where we had a great 360 degree view of the Boston area. (P was only carried for about 50 of the steps.) 
Here is the Boston sky line as seen from the top of the monument. The white steeple across the river is the Old North church.
Friday, October 23, 2009
3rd Time's a Charm
B ran his last cross country meet of this season today. He ran back on the same course where he ran his first race. When he ran the first time, he ran in 14 min 30 seconds. He ran the same course again mid way through the season and got the EXACT same time. He was a little discouraged as he thought he had done better. (He has run some better times on some other courses but since each course has a little different terrain, it is hard to compare from one race to the next how much you're really improving.) Today was his chance to once again see if he had improved.
Getting ready.
Here he is warming up for the race.
Here is B bout 1/4 of the way through the race. The cool thing about this picture is that all of the people in the background are friends of ours who are cheering for B as he went past. There are the 2 neighbor girls that B's known since kindergarten and one of the neighbor girls' mother and brother. The other two mom's and children are the mother's of the other two deacon's from church. There are only 3 deacons and all 3 of them are on the cross country team.
Here is B sprinting for the finish.
His time.... 13 minutes 32 seconds. Just 2 seconds short of a whole minute faster than his other two times.
Getting ready.
Here he is warming up for the race.
Here is B bout 1/4 of the way through the race. The cool thing about this picture is that all of the people in the background are friends of ours who are cheering for B as he went past. There are the 2 neighbor girls that B's known since kindergarten and one of the neighbor girls' mother and brother. The other two mom's and children are the mother's of the other two deacon's from church. There are only 3 deacons and all 3 of them are on the cross country team.
Here is B sprinting for the finish.
His time.... 13 minutes 32 seconds. Just 2 seconds short of a whole minute faster than his other two times.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tongue Talent
P has discovered that she can do something that no one else in our family can. About a month ago the kids were goofing around and someone said something about touching tongues to noses and so P tried it. She got really close, probably about 1/8 of an inch. Over the next couple of weeks she practice, and soon enough, she was successful. Now she enjoys demonstrating her talent for us on a regular basis. We thought it would be fun to share it with all of you too.
Here are the rest of us trying our best but not making it. B gets the closest.
And then there is R. He said, "I can stick out my tongue and touch my nose."
Here are the rest of us trying our best but not making it. B gets the closest.
And then there is R. He said, "I can stick out my tongue and touch my nose."
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Happy Birthday Byron
Today is my brother Byron's Birthday. I won't say how old he is turning since it would only date me too. He is the youngest of my siblings, and of my two brothers, the one I probably hated the most. Hate is really a strong word but so I'll temper it by saying that he is also the brother who I missed the most when I was off at college.
I love to remember Byron as the sweet and cute little boy that he used to be. (He is still sweet but now that he is all grown up he is no longer a little boy with his cute little boy face.) I remember him bringing me his favorite stuffed animal to sleep with when I was home from school sick one day before he was even in kindergarten. When he was still too little to have his own chores, I remember teaching him to wash the bathroom sink as we pretended the faucet was a kitten.
Byron was also always game for "dressing up". What big sister hasn't dressed up their younger brothers? Leah and I did our fair share of dressing up Byron and Warren. As I was going through my albums looking for a great picture of Byron I found pictures from 2 different occasions when we dressed up Byron and Warren as girls. He made a very cute girl but out of respect for him, I decided not to share those pictures. (Or the picture of him dressed up as a girl when he was a teenager.)
Along with all of the fun memories of Byron, there are an equal or greater number of times I remember him being a pain. Annoying me, in particular, seemed to be one of his goals in life. So many times I remember Mom telling me that if I just learned to ignore him, it would take his fun away and he would leave me alone. Sometimes, no amount of ignoring would get rid of him though and I just had to endure. Case in point... Our family had a sailboat and both Byron and I loved to sail. The boat took 2 people to sail it so when I would come home from college in the summer and want to go sailing with my friends, I had to take someone else along. Being that Byron was six years younger than me, he didn't really have a life yet so he was always available to go. And, although he was willing to go, that didn't mean he was going to be nice about it. In fact, when ever he went with me, he would be a huge pain in my side, pesky little brother. But, if I wanted to go, I had to take him, and he knew that. In fact, when he was a little older and a little more mature, he admitted that to my parents. Thanks Byron!
Thank goodness everyone eventually grows up. Now Byron lives with his wonderful wife about 11 hours away from us and in a short while will but just 5 hours away. I can't wait. I always love it when he and his wife come to visit. We have a great time (and he doesn't try to annoy me anymore). He is even considering buying a sailboat and you can believe I will be visiting him as much as possible when that happens. And I'll be careful, when we're sailing, that I not be the bossy older sister as long as he isn't the annoying little brother.
Happy Birthday Byron. I love you!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Running
Last spring B informed me that he wanted to join the cross country team in the fall. I was a little shocked. Running has never been "his thing". He isn't fast, and when they have had to do it in P.E. it was never something that he talked excitedly about. I questioned him about it and when I realized he was serious, I recommended that we start training. So, last spring after school got out, he and I started to run. When we started, he could hardly run 1/4 mile without stopping. He got up to a half mile and then due to an injury I received (over training my no longer young body...specifically knees) our running came to an end by late June.
When, cross country started up a month ago, B still insisted that he wanted to do it so he joined the team. Practices are 4 days a week, right after school. Some days are long runs and some days are shorter training. He comes home sweaty and tired but seems to be enjoying it.
Yesterday was B's first meet. I was so proud of him and happy for him that I almost cried several times. In fact, every time I start talking about cross country and B's accomplishments I always just about cry.
Here's the boy's team warming up. B is on the far left.
Checking their laces.
On your mark!
About 1/3 of the way into the 1.5 mile race.
This picture isn't the greatest but this was one of the times I got tears in my eyes. In the past, when B ran, he never really looked like a runner but when he came past us at this point, his form was excellent, he looked like a runner, and he was moving right along.
Here he is sprinting for the finish. He really kicked it hard.
At this point, there was no one close in front or behind him but he ran his heart out for himself, trying to reach his goal.
Here he is just seconds from the finish.
And here he is shortly after finishing, a little hot and tired but doing great.
He finished the 1.5 miles in 14 1/2 minutes and came in 10th out of 11 boys on his team, and 32nd out of 40 something boys in the race. I couldn't have been more proud of him. Distance running is one of those things that isn't exactly fun and takes discipline and dedication. It is so wonderful to see him growing in this experience.
One of my favorite stories is from a week ago when he came home from Monday's practice and told me that he probably wouldn't do cross country in high school because in high school you have to run 3 miles and "I don't think I could run that far." Tuesday he came home from practice, walked through the door and announced "we ran three miles at practice today and I only had to walk for just about 1/8 of a mile in the middle of it." It is so great to see him building his character as he accomplishes things that he didn't think he could do.
And so, my sweet boy who could barely make it 1/4 of a mile 4 months ago can now run three miles. Way to go B!!
When, cross country started up a month ago, B still insisted that he wanted to do it so he joined the team. Practices are 4 days a week, right after school. Some days are long runs and some days are shorter training. He comes home sweaty and tired but seems to be enjoying it.
Yesterday was B's first meet. I was so proud of him and happy for him that I almost cried several times. In fact, every time I start talking about cross country and B's accomplishments I always just about cry.
Here's the boy's team warming up. B is on the far left.
Checking their laces.
On your mark!
About 1/3 of the way into the 1.5 mile race.
This picture isn't the greatest but this was one of the times I got tears in my eyes. In the past, when B ran, he never really looked like a runner but when he came past us at this point, his form was excellent, he looked like a runner, and he was moving right along.
Here he is sprinting for the finish. He really kicked it hard.At this point, there was no one close in front or behind him but he ran his heart out for himself, trying to reach his goal.
Here he is just seconds from the finish.
And here he is shortly after finishing, a little hot and tired but doing great.
He finished the 1.5 miles in 14 1/2 minutes and came in 10th out of 11 boys on his team, and 32nd out of 40 something boys in the race. I couldn't have been more proud of him. Distance running is one of those things that isn't exactly fun and takes discipline and dedication. It is so wonderful to see him growing in this experience.
One of my favorite stories is from a week ago when he came home from Monday's practice and told me that he probably wouldn't do cross country in high school because in high school you have to run 3 miles and "I don't think I could run that far." Tuesday he came home from practice, walked through the door and announced "we ran three miles at practice today and I only had to walk for just about 1/8 of a mile in the middle of it." It is so great to see him building his character as he accomplishes things that he didn't think he could do.
And so, my sweet boy who could barely make it 1/4 of a mile 4 months ago can now run three miles. Way to go B!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)