Looking for a White Christmas

I know that very few people care about the Christmas pictures, so these are for the Grandparents. You can skip to the end for the winter wonderland photos!

 Christmas did come to our tiny house, even with no chimney.  These are our stockings, set on the couch with care.

Here are 5 happy children ready for loot!  Note the shorts.  It was a balmy 75 degrees on Christmas in Louisiana!

Yes, this is a totally staged picture, but Callie was so cute and asked me to take it.

We had a plan to drive to Arkansas the day after Christmas to hang out with family there.  Then we heard there was going to be a white Christmas up there and were concerned about the driving conditions.  So we drove 4 hours out on Christmas evening and finished the other 8 hours the next day.  It worked out well, since there was a foot of snow in Little Rock!

Driving up from Pine bluff to Little Rock.  The kids were SO excited to see snow and slush.  

I just love the frosted trees.  You might want to make this picture bigger to appreciate how pretty it was!

It was a lovely scene, and I was really glad the temp was just above freezing so the roads were not icy.

Sadly, with all the snow, there were lots of places with no power and very little was opened.  Even worse, it was lunchtime and some of us really, really needed to find a bathroom.  No one but me thought it would be fun to make yellow snow, and no one but the dog even attempted it.  Here we are at Sonic.  We FINALLY found something open, after searching for an hour. I think it was the only thing open for miles and miles. This is me, waiting for the kids to use the facility first.  And then we waited for 45 minutes for food. 

 The kids were all awesome for the drive.  I was really happy with them.  Callie is huddled for warmth.  We did not dress properly for snow, and she got wet feet and pants while running to the bathroom.

Isn't Delaney adorable?!

Levi was a good doggie for the trip.  Here he is with my nephew Aaron.  We had an extra seat, so we brought along an extra kid.

We drive some pretty windy roads to get to Grandma and Grandpa's house and they were clear to varying degrees.  This is what part of the drive was like.  Believe me, I did not go the usual 50 mph, slinging around corners.  We stayed at a sedate 30, and surprise, none of the kids felt carsick.

My goal was to reach my folk's place before dark- before the wet roads froze.  And this is the sunset, 5 miles from our destination!  We made it!

7 adults, 13 children, 2 dogs, all under one roof!  Here's some of us, gathered together for Movie Night.  Let the fun begin!

When Wrapping goes Awry

Kicking a little Trash!

Lately I have just been dropping the kids off for Karate, then racing home to work on dinner, before going back to pick them up.  This week, I finally planned ahead enough (cock pot dinner that didn't require rice!) and I hung out while the girls did their thing.  It was a sparring day, so it was extra fun.  The kids got to put on their sparring gear and brawl.  

Callie is in the black gear.  She is a cautious fighter.  Some of the kids go out pretty aggressive (Ah-hem, Marian!), but Callie hangs back and waits. 

She watches and has some pretty good blocks. 

 And sometimes she really does get in a punch or kick.  Sadly, I never seem to push the camera button at the right time to get the good shots.

Yep, that is Marian in the blue.  She goes out in a flurry of kicks and punches.  All movement, not much form. 

Her technique works well on the less aggressive kids because they can be intimidated by her no-holds-barred method.  The kids who have been doing this longer stay calm and kick back.  Like this kid here.  I think she scored more touch points and beat Marian.  Marian does not like sparring with the higher ranking belts because they win.  Heh heh heh.

This weekend, there was a little tournament at the Karate place.  Marian did not want to participate.  Joshua was mildly interested till he realized it might infringe on his fun.  So only Callie signed up to do it.  Dan took her in at 9am, and I swapped him out just before 10:30.  Callie had already done her sparring competing and had won.  Dan said there was only one other kid in her age division, so Callie beat her and won the first place trophy and the other girl got second.  Score!

I got to watch Callie do the sword fighting portion. Chumbara (That's what Callie calls it, but I don't know if it is spelled right), uses these foam swords.  There is nothing more fun than watching kids bash each other with them in a controlled environment!  Super fun!  Callie beat this kid.  Callie is the one on the right, with the blue tipped weapon.

 Then Callie beat this kid too!  It was single elimination and there were 10 kids in her category.  Only one other girl, the rest were boys. And Callie kicked some trash! She looks so cute and little and passive, and the kids would come swinging, and she'd step back and then deliver a blow that counted.

A 2 second video of Callie getting clobbered.  If you watch it carefully, you see that the kid bashes her pretty good, but Callie sneaks in a shot that counts a split second before.  It is a pretty accurate depiction of her fighting style.  She rocks!

Callie fought in 4 rounds and won them all.  So she won the Chumbara portion in her age group as well!  Here she is with her 2 trophies.  I was incredibly impressed (and a bit shocked) at how well she did.  Watch out world! 

And Rylee wanted a picture in here too.  Here she is, torturing the poor dog and asking for a picture with him.  Love my kids!

Base 5K Race

Saturday was the Base 5K.  Dan and I ran it last year and it was a very small affair.  It was also very very cold.  This year was a little different!  There were probably twice as many runners, and it was hot and humid for the run.  Bleh.  I think there were 30 runners and it was 70 degrees when we started off at 9am.  Well, 9:15.

We're Off!  This is the start.  Again, low key, small race.  This is all the people in it.  I'm in the center, in one of the teal shirts.  My running group got matching "Stroller Warrior" shirts and I wore mine.

 Dan was awesome and trotted over to a point 2/3 of the way through the race to take pictures.  Here I am.  I'm running with my friend and she made me run faster than I usually do!

I thought it wouldn't be that much harder to step it up, but I was wrong!  I can go forever at an 11 minute mile and I can feel pretty good at a 10 minute mile, but she had me at 9! It did not feel good at all.

Yeah, we're cool.  We hammed it up for Dan.  I'm gasping for air but you can't tell.   I was so done in that I couldn't even make a glorious sprint to the end.  I was only able to lengthen my stride.  She whupped me big time on the finish.   But I don't care.  My time was 27:17.  And I will confess, it was only a 3 mile run.  The Garmin put it at 3 on the dot.  No .2 in there at all.  Still don't care.  27:17 is still a PR for me at 3 miles!  So I was happy, but pooped.

This was the best shot ever.  This family started out running together- 1 kid running, and 2 in the stroller.  This is how the Dad finished- 2 kids in the stroller, 1 on his shoulders.  He was still jogging along.  I was immensely impressed!

Silly Socks are Funny.

Today in church, Rylee was disgruntled with her sister.  So she hucked her binky across the aisle.  Yeah, she still has a binkey and yeah, I let her have it in church because it keeps her quieter.  (Not quiet, just quietER!)

Rylee thought I should go and get her binkey from across the aisle and 2 rows up.  I sent Callie to do it and this made Rylee very angry.  She threw the binky again and scowled at me.  I, of course, laughed at her.  Callie giggled and said, "That's funny!"   Rylee glowered at me and growled,  "That's not funny!  Silly Socks are funny!"

Why I love my dog

Sometimes Levi is a naughty dog.   Earlier this week, he managed to get up high enough on the table to lick the butter dish clean. He will snag plates left unattended as well.  Sometimes he gets into the trash. Sometimes he shreds napkins or chews stuff he shouldn't, and sometimes he is a little rough with the kids.  However, he lets Rylee sit on his head and pull his legs.  He lets Callie "wheelbarrow" him and manhandle him around. He is always happy to wrestle and play with Marian. So he is a very good dog too.

Here, we have Rylee riding Levi like a pony.  Callie is dragging him around by the blanket. 

He is a good dog and I love that my kids have a friend.

Lost

The Christmas Season is upon us and I LOVE Christmas.  For me it has always represented family togetherness and that special feeling where all is right with the world.  And, of course, my mom always baked a lot and there was usually a ton of chocolatey goodness involved.  I love baking and I especially love Christmas baking.  Toffee, caramel, oh yes!

But I cannot seem to get myself in gear.  I feel like I can't quite seem to get things together.  I know I have made good stuff in the past and I was doing well with making gingerbread houses till someone stomped on my Christmas cheer a few years ago. But this year I can't seem to do anything right.  (Case and point, was last nights dinner rolls debacle.)

Sure, I have some marvelously grandiose plans, but I am exceedingly lacking in the execution department.  How is this happening?!  Who is sucking away my motivation and organizational skills?  I need them back!  If you happen to find some spare work ethic floating around, please send it my way.

thank you

Orange Festival

I was reminded that my goal was to seek out the interesting things to do here, and to make sure we experienced New Orleans before we moved away.  With that in mind, I told Dan I wanted to go to the Orange Festival. Normally I would balk at the idea of driving an hour away for an unknown "festival" but there was going to be a 5 k, and I figured if we did that then we'd have accomplished something.  Dan said he'd do the run, so I was relegated to photographer and babysitter status.

It really was an hour drive.  There were signs by the base saying that the Orange Festival was at Fort Jackson, but we'd never been there, and honestly, I have never turned right at the gate- not ever, in the 16 months we have lived here.  Who even knew there was an hour worth of drive south of New Orleans?!!  So it was a little worrisome, to be driving forever (56 miles!) with no sign we were going the right way.  Fortunately, when you can see the levee on either side of you, you know you won't miss it.

So yes, we made it and Dan was able to register for the race.  It seems that this has been such the annual event that folks just know what's happening.  We didn't.   I wish we'd known there was a 1/2 mile run for the kids.  I think they all would have liked to do that.  The children did have a lovely time climbing on everything they could.  (And yes, at 8:30am, it was warm enough for shorts.)

This was the 5 k line up.  Maybe 50 people were in it. It was a run straight out and back on the levee on gravel.  I thought that was a pretty good set up. No timing chips, but there weren't enough people to need them, and they did a good job with the timing.

Did I mention that the kids had a blast climbing all over everything?! 

Dan's glorious sprint to the finish.  He was beat out by 3 high school boys track stars, but not by much. So he was 4th overall, and 1st in his age category.  And he got Jambalaya after the race.  He didn't want it, but I made him get a bowl so I could eat it- yum!

Rylee wanted a picture of her balancing a water bottle on her head.  Funny-bunny! 

No medals for the grown ups, but all the placers got a bag-o-oranges!  Woohoo! 

Callie was quite excited about the oranges.  They are "Satsumas" which I'd never heard of but apparently that's what the festival was about!

Then there were kid races!  Delaney did the "Orange Run" which was a shuttle run type race-   you run out, grab an orange, put it in your bag, and run back for the next orange.   

She got a medal and got to keep her bag of oranges! 

While waiting for events, the girls scavenged by the river and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. 

 Joshua did the Orange Run as well and now we had MORE oranges!

 Callie rocked the sack race, coming in second, beat only by a giant 12 year old gal. Delaney also hopped and had fun.

Delaney really had a great time with the races.  It was so cute to see her try new things and find out that it was fun. 

They let Rylee enter the Egg and Spoon Race, which I thought would go badly for her. 

But Rylee was great and came in second place.... well, I confessed she'd been holding onto her egg with her other hand and she was quietly disqualified, which merely meant she got a medal and not a trophy.   

Marian refused to do any of the games, but she managed to keep herself quite entertained running around.  

After the games, there were lots of booths and vendors to wander through.  It was like a mini-fair with no animals and no judging.  Well, there might have been, but we didn't see it.  We paid large sums to eat funnel cake and shrimp on a stick and then let the kids do a few rides. The rides were cheaper than I expected.

To sum up, it was a fun morning.  The race was great, the kid games were fun, the carnival rides were not too pricey.  Would I drive an hour again just for the Festival?  No.  With the race, Yes.  We're actually planning on doing it again next year, and entering the kids in the 1/2 mile race!