Scenes from Christmas - Part 1

Despite already being on vacation for the first of two weeks this month, I've barely had time to sit down at a computer.  So I decided to take a moment to post some pictures and video from before, during, and after Christmas.  I have saved up quite a bit so I'll split it up into different posts.  (Also it is getting late tonight)

A couple of weeks ago, Alex's school held their annual Christmas pageant.  Alex's preschool class sang "Jingle Bell Rock" and "I Have a Little Dreidel" (the dreidel song). 

Here is Alex's preschool class and the other preschool class at his school, on stage together.  Alex is second from right in the red plaid shirt.

The quality is not fantastic, but I managed to capture a snippet of the performance

 

The children were treated to a surprise visit from Santa Claus after the show.  Alex got to sit on the big guy's lap and tell him what he wanted (a take-apart toy Jeep) - and sure enough, he was a good boy and Santa brought him one!

Speaking of school, just before Christmas we finally got Alex's school pictures back from early this Fall.  Here are a couple of cute ones

Christmas in Colorado

This one photograph pretty much sums it up:




It is 50 F, sunny, and calm. We are gearing up to grill a big fat goose on the BBQ and enjoy a sunny day outside.

More to follow...

Our Creative Little People

Genevieve loves to sing.  Her favorite song - her theme song - is a mix between Frère Jacques and "moo moo moo".  Dana managed to capture it on video.

 

Alex is an accomplished artist.  Last night he sat down on the sofa with the iPhone and helped us draw this picture of the mountains:

December Weekend Outings

On Saturday morning, Alex's school held a parent's shopping day, watching the kids to allow the parents a few hours to shop in peace and quiet.  Both Genevieve and Alex went to school.  Alex got to spend the morning with his old teacher Ms. Catrinna, and Genevieve got to try out "big kid school" with Ms. Evelyn.  She liked it!


Then we decided to head down to the Children's Museum of Denver for the afternoon.

Alex and I worked on part of an enormous wooden train set

Could it be? Genevieve the fire fighter?

Alex and Genevieve had fun playing in the kid-size Whole Foods mock-up

Both of our kids are natural dancers.  They loved the dance floor and the props

Could it be?  Alex the scientist?

The bubble exhibit was a huge hit.  And since we were there late in the afternoon we had the place to ourselves!

Alex practices making HUGE bubbles

After the museum, our plan was to head downtown to look for some ice cream.  However we realized only after we reached downtown that it was the night of the annual Christmas parade.  There was NO parking to be found whatsoever within 10+ blocks of downtown since the parade was starting in less than an hour!  Much as we would have liked to stay to watch the parade, in our haste leaving the house earlier we had not packed any warm coats, and it was starting to get very chilly.


So instead we headed north to see where Dana's new office is likely to be.  We also found an awesome Mexican restaurant across the street, Laguna's, that may become a new favorite.  Finally, after dinner we finally got our ice cream.  There was a Dairy Queen in the same shopping center!


Today was quite a bit more relaxed than yesterday.  We barely left the house, but still managed to have fun.  It was finally time to rake up the last of the leaves in the back yard.  I was actually busy working on plans for replacing one of our kitchen cabinets while Dana and Alex headed outside.  By the time Genevieve woke up from her nap and she and I headed outside, A & D were already knee-deep in leaves - literally!

Alex mid-jump into the big pile

Alex really wanted to help Genevieve get into the wagon.  G was not as sure

Dana pulls the leaf train!

Thanksgiving 2010

For Thanksgiving this year, we decided to try something a little different.  We rented a cozy house in scenic Estes Park, Colorado for the long weekend from Wednesday to Sunday.

Despite some absolutely frigid temperatures (0F the first night with windchill to -28F) we managed to stay very warm and comfortable.  There was much cooking, reading, guitar playing, and indeed - we even managed to get out of the house a few times!

Genevieve enjoys standing by the fire

She also likes to show off her stylish new glasses

We had some guests visiting to help us recognize how fortunate we are, and how many wonderful things we can be thankful for this year

Herb, Carla, and Gene are thankful for good margaritas

Gene was thankful for not dropping his omelet on the floor

Everyone was thankful for Alex's help making the cranberry sauce

Genevieve was thankful for having so many loving big people around to shower her with attention

Dan was thankful that he did not burn down the deck while frying the turkey

...and here it comes...

My best, and least messy, fried turkey yet!  5 years strong and counting.  It was when Ali, Eric, Dana and I rented a rustic cabin in Estes Park back in 2005 that we had no choice but to fry our first turkey, owing to the lack of an oven

Susan cooking up a storm in the kitchen

And here is the dining room set for Thanksgiving dinner

What a feast! And everyone helped in so many ways

Herb, Susan, Alex, Carla, Gene, Genevieve, Dana, and Dan sit down to dinner

One of the nicest features of the house was the hot tub on the back patio, overlooking the mountains.  Everyone had a chance to take some time to relax and enjoy the views.  The elk were quite curious what these strange monkeys were doing in the water in the dead of winter.

 

On Friday night we braved the cold temperatures to attend the annual Estes Park Christmas Parade.  Alex's favorite part was the float with the Christmas robot being worked on.  Genevieve liked all of the floats, but perhaps got the biggest kick out of the horse-drawn carriages

Genevieve and Alex had the most fun of all during our visit

Halloween 2010

At the Anderson Farms pumpkin patch

Halloween proved to be tricky this year. We were visiting California the week leading up to Halloween, and we did not return home until Saturday evening 10/30. At the same time, Alex decided early on that he wanted to be a minivan. So we knew we had our work cut out for us.

On the plane flight home, Alex changed his mind slightly, and in a flash of inspiration decided that he wanted to be the Arnold Schwarzenegger character from the movie Cars. It's a big yellow Hummer SUV. This gave us something concrete to work towards -- and easy too, since those big SUVs are boxy and flat.

Arnold as he appears in Cars, "Lighting McQueen must be found at all costs!"

At work we routinely recycle large amounts of big cardboard boxes, so getting the raw materials proved pretty easy.  The next steps were to lay out the design and figure out a reliable way to connect the pieces together.

Me and Alex during the early stages of construction

We ended up with a pretty simple, yet complete, design.  We traced and cut out the two sides of the SUV on big, rigid sheets of cardboard.  Along each edge, we included an extra flap 1-2 inches wide running the length of each edge.  This gave us a surface to attach the hood/roof/windshield to.  We also used a single, very long, sheet of cardboard to create the hood, windshield, roof, and rear of the car.  This gave us extra strength, and simplicity too.  We used a box-cutter to cut through the cardboard, and an Xacto knife to score the insides of the folds where we needed to create 90 degree folds in the cardboard.

Bonding together the cardboard proved to be the most difficult challenge.  Originally we were going to use basic packing tape.  But this could not hold the large pieces together reliably.  As we were assembling it, the taped joints began to give out.  So we had to find a better mechanical way to connect the pieces.  First I tried using my big T-50 staple gun, but the 1/2" staples barely poked through two sheets of cardboard.  Then I ran to Ace to try and get some brads, but they didn't have anything suitable.  So I bought a pop riveter instead and some plastic-sleeved rivets.  This would have worked beautifully, I think, except that the rivets were not long enough to bond the two sheets together, and by the time I realized it, Ace had closed for the night.

So finally I ended up using the staple gun and a pair of needle-nose pliers to pinch the ends of the nails and turn them in just enough to take hold in the cardboard.  It worked!  After I'd joined all the pieces together, I used additional packing tape to help secure the sheets together.

We painted the truck with a couple of cans of yellow spray paint.  We used a big sharpie and black duct tape to create the fine details.  And voila!

Dana and Genevieve decided to stay home and brood while the boys went out Trick-or-Treating around the neighborhood.

My two favorite witches

Everyone we met on the street complimented Alex on his original costume.  It made me smile to know that our frantic 4-5 hours of construction had paid off and made him the star of the neighborhood.

What a haul!

Great Visit

We had an outstanding visit to the Bay Area last week. As is usually the case, we did too much to cover with just a few pictures and text. But I wanted to share some of the highlights.

The main reason for the visit were two weddings we were invited to.  The first was in Pescadero, way down the coast past Half Moon Bay.  It was at a YMCA camp set back in the hills among the redwoods.  It rained the whole time, but that seemed only to complement the serene setting.

Dana and Dan amongst the redwood trees along a babbling brook

OK, to be honest it was a little chilly, but who can resist a stop at the beach?

Unfortunately the day we arrived Alex came down with a very nasty stomach bug that prevented him from coming with us.  However while he was sick, he made friends with Bangor, and for the entire rest of the week they were best buddies!  This is a major breakthrough for Alex, who for the last several visits has been very nervous around Bangor - probably due to his very loud WOOF.

Alex shares his blanket with Bangor

Dana and I had both planned to work remotely for the whole week, but that plan quickly fell apart.  First everyone picked up Alex's stomach bug to one degree or another (my Mom and I were probably the worst off).  Then we were shorthanded a couple of days while Grandpa Gene had work to attend to. It was very difficult working from the library where we thought we would find sanctuary from small children.  And finally Genevieve's eye doctor appointments ended up taking up more than half of each of the two days they were scheduled for.  We have learned our lesson and will plan our next trip accordingly.

On Wednesday evening Grandpa Gene, Alex, and I went to the Warriors opening home game.  Alex has become a pretty big basketball fan, and he really enjoyed watching the game in person, not to mention all of the sights and sounds

Watching the game at the Coliseum

Grandpa and Alex had lots of fun together all week.  Alex got to go visit the Baskin Robbins ice cream shop in Vallejo that me, Ali, and Dad used to frequent.  It's still there!

Alex also got the opportunity to go see Grandpa's airplane.  He probably won't get to actually fly in it for a couple of years, until we're sure that he will do exactly what Grandpa tells him and not accidentally (or intentionally) grab any controls.

Alex has really gotten the hang of potty training.  We seem to be over the hurdle now and just refining skills and timing at this point.  One of our tricks has been to offer Alex a small "special treat" when he remembers to do the right thing.  For an especially big reward we got donuts one day

This was a big hit with everyone!

Genevieve spent more of her time at home with Grandma Carla.  They get along famously, but they had one argument about the rocking chair.  Genevieve really enjoyed climbing up on her own and sitting in the old rocking chair.

It was all well and good until the chair toppled over on her. (She was fine, but quite surprised)

Genevieve also discovered Peek-a-Boo Wild, a game for the iPhone.  It is the follow-on to her other favorite game, Peek-a-boo Barn, which has saved us from some tight situations (like airplanes, dinners out, serious conversations, etc)

The only problem is that now anytime Genevieve sees Dana using her phone, she immediately assumes that Peek-a-Boo Wild is being played.  Why else would anyone use a phone?  So Genevieve trots over and demands to see the phone.  It's very cute, if a little counterproductive.

Genevieve and Grandpa had a disagreement over whether shirts were to be worn at dinner time

We also visited with one additional pediatric ophthalmologist for Genevieve.  As with the first consultation, the second MD agreed that we were doing everything right, and no surgery was called for.  Woohoo!

Just before we left Dana needed to complete some research at a law library, so we took the opportunity to visit Berkeley with Alex.  While Dana worked, Alex and I walked around campus, and I showed him some of my favorite sites.  It was a real treat!  I have not had so much fun walking around Berkeley since I was a student.

Alex and Mommy visit her favorite bakery in the whole world, the Cheeseboard!