Well it's been a year since I've blogged so here I try again. 2010 was a little hard for us but we really learned alot about being thankful for each other and for blessings which we have a plethara of (I love that word!) 2011 so far, has been full of sickness, concerts, tryouts, stress, and pranks. Selling a house is more stressful than I ever could imagine! But, cross your fingers, it is hopefully coming to an end so we can move into our new place. Right now it's just a shell, but we are excited to call it home.

Aww - the moment you've all been waiting for.....Syd's first cello recital! I know she had an orchestra concert, but there were so many kids, you couldn't even see her, let alone hear her. Compare these videos with the first video I posted a few months ago. Hear the difference?

I know it looks like an odd place to have a recital, but it was at an old folks home nearby. This song is called Caterpillar Caterpillar. I will try and post her other videos, but they don't seem to download very well.

A couple weeks ago, Sydnie was able to participate in AIM (Achievement In Music) through piano. She had to sigth read, perform 2 pieces, and give an oral report in front of judges! She was a little nervous, but did fabulous! Her score was 99 points out of 100. She gave her report on the cello, and even played a song for the judge on it. I was so proud! I took her out to breakfast after since it was at 8am on a Saturday. Of course she had the chocolate chip smiley face pancakes. She is becoming quite the little musiancian! Stay tuned for her cello recital pieces - I will try and get them up later this week.

Green eggs and well, we didn't have any ham. In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday this week, we had green eggs for dinner. It was a little weird, but fun! Oh the things I make Syd do with me - it's a good thing she's such a good sport!

Good idea - letting your kids play in the snow.
Bad idea - letting your kids play in the snow without boots, gloves, snowpants, winter coats, you get the idea.
Syd & TJ started out wanting to make bombs (pretend of course) or at least I thought. They came in asking me for something to start a fire. I decided that would be a bad idea. So they played in the snow instead. They made a jump and took turns sledding. When they came inside they were SOAKED through - seriously dripping from head to toe. Boy did I feel like mother/aunt of the year! We got them dried off and into dry clothes, then I snuggled them down on the couch with lots of blankets and turned on a movie. What was I doing during all this? Taking some pictures of course!

Last week, Sydnie found this squishy ball she hadn't seen in a while. She was so excited and was playing with it and driving me crazy! We were sitting on the couch watching a movie when all of a sudden........MAJOR EXPLOSION! Bright neon yellow/green went everywhere! It was dripping off Syd's face and covered my couch. I took this picture after Syd had washed some of it off her face. She is covering some of it up. I was very proud of myself because I did not yell - I stayed very calm as we cleaned the mess up. We keep finding neon yellow/green in odd places - like the carpet behind the couch. Syd was sad to say goodbye to her new found squishy ball, but I can't say I was.

I was so glad V-day was on a weekend! Syd goes to Grandma D's house on Fridays after school. The Friday before V-day she helped her and TJ make Valentines for their mom's. Isn't it beautiful? It tasted really good too! Oh, I forgot to say one thing - as payment for Syd having a good attitude and serviving her Valentine's Tea at school, I took her to see the Lightening Thief. Great movie! Syd loves the book too, I haven't read it yet.



I snuck out early Saturday morning (we don't shop on Sundays) to get my valentine for Syd. Heart shaped donuts! She LOVES donuts! We had a fun morning!

Okay, I'm playing catch-up again. February has been a fun and interesting month. Sydnie had her Valentine's Tea (aka Doom's Day Dance) that she has been dreading for the past year. To help the kids learn manners and respect for the 'opposite gender' they have cake and punch - the boys are to get the food for the girls and pull chairs out for them, etc. Then they have a dance - you know, square dance type. In Syd's class, they let the boys invite the girls to go get cake and punch, then they paired them up for the dance. A few days before this, Grandma D and I were talking to Sydnie about it, trying to get her to have a better outlook on the whole thing. Syd said, "I'll be fine as long as he doesn't get on my last nerve!" I tried not to chuckle too much.


Sydnie made a penguin for her Valentine holder - she did a great job! She had to dress up for the dance - thanks to her Aunt K - she has a beautiful new skirt that worked perfect! She said the dance wasn't too bad except when they had to hold hands. Whew! We made it. I'm glad to know I still have a little while before she's boy crazy!

I forgot to add a few things on Syd's wish list. Pre-paid phone cards are always nice (for her to call her dad), she also likes penguins and snow globes.

Okay, so about these pictures. Chel has the most awesome camera ever! She let me borrow it to take pictures of Syd's orchestra (for a fundraiser calendar) so of course I had to use it for a photo shoot with Syd. Didn't they turn out so cute? Of course it doesn't help that she is so photo-genic (definately doesn't get that from me). I hope you enjoy them!