Christmas Piano Recital

I started teaching piano lessons again this fall and decided to have a recital on Saturday with my students. They all worked so hard and I was so proud of all of them. Here's a couple videos of my two kids for all to enjoy!

Shiner

It has been an interesting week around here.  We had sub-zero temperatures here yesterday which only reminded me that I am not tough and I really hate the cold.  But, we did still walk to and from school with the kids and Caleb even fell asleep in the stroller on the way home (I still can’t figure out how). 

Our car was completely frozen shut which made it hard to get anywhere yesterday too, but with a little man-power from my man, we at least got in.  The rest of the doors are now working today since it has warmed up to a whopping 21 degrees (but feels like 10).

Wally has been up late every night and up early every day preparing for his talk he is giving at his job interview next week.  I think he is going to crash hard tonight!

And, as a final note, you may have notice the shiner Brandon is sporting.  That is what happens when you run smack dab into the side of the table with your eye.  It was pretty swollen for the first couple of days and is finally starting to look better now, but I wouldn’t be a good mom if I didn’t document it with a picture now, would I?!

This Is What You Get

If you ask your kids to write the Christmas letter:

Dancing Queen

Kelsie has been having a lot of fun dressing her brothers up in her old dress up clothes.  Surprisingly, Brandon agreed to her little idea.  This is probably a once in a lifetime event, and I’m just glad he let me take his picture!

Silver or Gold?

We were watching a jewelry commercial on TV, and you know, since it’s getting close to Christmas, there’s a lot of them going on now.  Anyway, after watching the commercial, Kelsie said (with a totally straight face by the way):

“If I was watching that with my boyfriend, I’d make sure he knows that I like silver more than gold.”

I guess you can’t blame her. 

This girl knows what she wants!

Who Said Science Isn't Cool?!

The Friday before Halloween, we kept the kids home from school in the morning and took them over to the Northwestern Chemistry department for their annual Halloween show. This was a pretty serious thing. The NU marching band, cheerleaders, various dance groups and even a live band was there to help entertain. It was so cool and definitely worth going late to school!

The Sister’s

{I’ve realized how easy it is for me to move on with my life and forget about blogging for a few days and then not want to go back and catch up.  But, I promised a post about our sister’s weekend, so here you go.}

 

I had the honor and privilege to host our sister’s weekend here in Chicago at the beginning of September.  I was so excited and couldn’t wait to show everyone around where I live.  I figured since this would probably be the one and only time (unless we end up living here forever) that they were going to come out to visit, I had to make the most of our time here.  I tried to squeeze everything I could into our 2 1/2 days together and think I did a pretty good job keeping everyone entertained! 

 

After making 3 different trips to the airport to pick everyone up, we started the night off with a few little surprises.  Everyone was staying at our house, so with a lot of thought and preparation, we turned it into the Hotel Paxtonia complete with 24-hour service, transportation, and free entertainment.  We were able to give everyone a brochure about their hotel of choice listing all the detailed information they would need to know about the place, including the Paxton Pizzeria with their “shorter than average serving staff”.  We also opened our surprise package from our parents that was completely filled with snacks and treats for the weekend.  It’s one of the best things for us, since some of us (myself included) don’t function very well without food. 

We had a lot of fun going down into the city one day.  We did as much as we could while we were there (believe me, there really was no rest for the weary!) and enjoyed all the sights and sounds.  We went on an architecture tour, toured Millennium Park, The Chicago Cultural Center, and the John Hancock Building, and did a little shopping and eating as well.  There was so much that we didn’t get to, but I think we hit most of the big stuff.  We also spent some time at the Chicago Botanic Gardens, the beach on Lake Michigan, our own little downtown close to where I live, and more shopping. 

A trip to our house isn’t complete without pizza, so Wally made us some great pizza with the help of Kelsie as our waitress.  It was so fun having everyone come here.  The weekend went by way to fast and it was sad for me to see everyone go so quickly.  We really love seeing each other every year like this and are already looking forward to next year—where ever it may be!

and one more…