Ally, the Artiste

Well, surprise, surprise....BOTH of my kids have art skills far superior to mine. We all know that Jake is a great artist, with a wonderful knack for drawing and shading. But, who would've known that Ally, who normally takes after me in most areas, would be recognized for HER art skills as well? Two weeks ago, Ally was a awarded a $25 1st place prize for an art project she created at school. It was entered into the school's annual art contest, sponsored by a local Savings Bank. Two entries from each grade were chosen to receive awards...and Ally was one of them for Kindergarten!!! I got to attend the awards ceremony, which the entire school attended (all 250 kids and faculty- haha). It was a big deal in little Elbert, for sure! (Photo coming soon.)

Snow Fun!

The Funniest Picture in the World

Many of you have probably already seen this photo, but it is so funny, I thought you'd enjoy seeing it one more time. It was taken on the biggest roller coaster ride at Legoland, CA. We visited over spring break, and had a blast. This was Ally's first "big kid" roller coaster, as she was finally tall enough to ride. Well, right after this ride begins, you go up this really tall hill, and then SWOOSH....down you go! That is precisely when they snap your photo. Ally and I started off at the top of the hill clutching hands and screaming our lungs out. Probably about the time this photo was taken, I realized I was the only one screaming. I looked over at Ally and immediately knew she was terrified, but had NO idea how much until we saw this photo after the ride. hahahahahahahaha It STILL cracks me up!

Meistro, Please.

So, today was Jake's very first public piano performance. He'd been practicing his song for about two weeks, and had it down pat. He was scheduled to play a duet with an older boy - Meet the Flinstones. Well, when it was time to get dressed, Jake decided he didn't want to go. "NOOOOOO!!!!" I thought. It took some reassuring and a little bit of bribery, but I eventually convinced him to follow through with his commitment. So he got dressed in his new white, button-up shirt, black jeans, and western belt and we left for the performance. Oh, of course I took a photo of him first. He looked too dang cute not to. : )

So we get to the venue and are shocked to find two shiny, black GRAND PIANOS, connected like the yin/yang symbol for the kids to play! Wow- it very impressive!! Jake was very stoic the whole time, maybe just trying to keep his nerves in check. Who knows. He was second to play in a line-up of about 24 performances. He and his partner walked up, sat down, and played flawlessly. I was so proud of him! He looked so cute, and little up there playing on that grand piano. haha I took video while Ally shot photos. Jake didn't wait around to take a bow- it was right back to his seat in the same stoic manner in which he entered the room. My little meistro. : )

Vrrrrrooooommmmm!!!!

So the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby race last week was a blast. There were over 20 cars racing, three at a time, in probably over 15 heats. Jake's pack was using a brand new race track this year- about 30 feet long! It is all electronic, hooked up to a special race computer program that displays heats, racers, car names, and race times on a big overhead screen. It's just awesome. The scouts raced their cars first. Then, the siblings got to race their cars. Even though paint held high importance over design in this house, Jake's "Gold Bomb" ended up leaving all of the other Bear Cub cars in the dust!! haha No kidding. He won first place for fastest Bear Cub car out of probably 7-8. Ally's car, "Flower Power", while probably the prettiest car on the track, wasn't all that fast. That's ok though, Ally was very supportive of her brother's win and just happy to be there in general. Overall, the day was very fun. Next up...wooden sailboats for the Rain gutter Regatta in the spring. Tim...come home!!!

The Race Is On...

Well, here we are...the night before the big race. Emotions are high, nerves are on edge. You can feel the excitement in the air. You might be wondering, "when did Kym start following NASCAR?" NOT! Of course, I'm talking about tomorrow's big Cub Scout Pinewood Derby races! Jake and Ally worked diligently for two weeks on their cars. (Thanks to Daddy for carving out the bodies the night before he left.) Now, even though the Scouts have very detailed specs about size and weight of the cars, I quickly realized that what mattered most in THIS house was. . . the PAINT! Oh, how we had fun spray painting our cars. First, several coats of primer, then several coats of base color. I'm sure the dogs just really appreciated going to bed with paint fumes each night in the garage. But, when its 16 degrees outside, you're not going to spray outside. Sorry puppies. But the fun didn't stop there. Oh no, after taking the cars to the official "weigh in" and attaching the correct amount of weights to each car, we got to bring them back home, break out the teeny tiny brushes and get down to the detail work. Jake decided to go with small, simple designs- letting the base color speak for itself, you know? Ally, on the other hand, opted for a bright, bold statement. The kids decided not to name them, but I call them "Flower Power" and "The Gold Bomb". haha Both cars turned out great. I wonder if tomorrow they'll let me stand at the end of the track and wave my pink chiffon scarf to start the race. . . you know, like they did in Grease? haha Maybe I'll just sit on the sidelines and videotape. On your marks. . . Get set. . .

A Day of Change

Yep, first thing this morning, I was racing around trying to dig up enough change ($2.00 to be exact) so that Ally could buy hot lunch at school. I guess buying hot lunch at school is some kind of cool thing because here in this house, it was a must that I gather up the change.
That's the kind of change that matters around here. That, and a clean change of underwear, changing up my exercise routine so that I trick my body into burning more calories, remembering to change out the batteries in the fire alarms, etc.
All day long there will be coverage of the Presidential Inauguration. There are as many empty buzz words floating around as there are people on the Washington Mall. "Hope", "Change", Optimism", "New Day". I really want to be able to get past all the media hysteria and connect with the basic historical significance of witnessing the first black President take his oath. But what keeps me from doing that is all the Hollywood hype surrounding the event. This is one man, one man I did not vote for, taking the same oath of office as 43 other men have before. The only difference this time is the color of his skin. I get the significance of that, but this the United States of America. All things are possible. This is not the first black man, or woman for that matter, to hold a high office in our government. I'm really exhausted with all the talk about this one man being any more significant than any other President. We don't know yet if this man is significant at all. He may in fact, turn out to be just the opposite, although for the sake of our great nation, I sincerely hope that not to be the case. I wish everyone would simply quit being hypocritical, speak with politeness and respect for every President of this nation, and stop pretending that this inauguration is somehow greater than any other in the past. Every one is an important part of our history, regardless of the skin color of the person taking the highest oath. Today, as we change over Presidencies, I would like to extend a personal thank you to President George W. Bush for serving this country and for keeping us safe after 9/11. Thank you, Mr. President.
Now, I may just watch the inauguration with the sound turned off, and continue counting my "change" ...for if this new President can't turn around the economy, we will all be needing as much change as we can get.
As always, God bless the President, and God bless the USA.