Date Night

What do you do when your babysitters both accept paying jobs on the same night?

How about taking your baby with you?

We took a much-needed break from the Christmas chaos and enjoyed the movie THE BLIND SIDE.

Mauri didn't mind hanging out with her parents, and even liked the show.

Ahhh..... only 5 more days until Christmas.

Third Grade Trends

Mauri's third grade experience has been unique.

This year I've noticed some TRENDS among those third graders.

One of the latest fashion trends is to wear a Santa hat to school.

(The friend NOT in the Santa hat is NOT a third grader.)

Another recent trend: bring an exercise ball to replace your chair in class.

(The other three third graders here already HAVE their exercise ball at school.)

And they're off to another day at school. 

It has been an interesting phenomenon.

I can't wait to find out what the next big trend will be!

Wondering...

Mauri has been talking about Santa lately.

She has said things like,
"I just wish I knew if Santa was real..."

This has never happened to ME before. 

Years back Taylor had a talk with Bill.

"Alan says his dad is Santa."

Bill's response, "Well, that sounds pretty amazing.  Do YOU think Alan's dad is Santa??"

I'm not so quick.

I just gulped at Mauri's wondering, not really knowing HOW to respond. 

I finally managed to ask, "What do you think?"

"I don't know."

I can tell she's torn between WANTING to believe, and all the
talk, talk, talk

of her classmates at school.

It's made me a little sad. 

Our days of making that magic happen are numbered.

(Or maybe they are already gone.)

Courage

Shilo had another swim meet.
The entire week before she kept saying, "I can't wait until Saturday's over."  I could tell the anxiety was building.  
I told her that we would pray that she would do her best.
She said, "I'm just going to pray for courage."  

That morning we had Breakfast with Santa at the church, then we would head to Fort Collins for the meet.

She didn't enjoy the breakfast.

Or the 1-1/2 hour drive to the meet.

Or the wait once we got there.

Shilo is in lane 10 for the 100 Freestyle.

Preparing for the turn...

...and the first to touch the wall.

Shilo won two of her three heats, and proved to herself that she COULD swim a 200IM. She was glad to have the meet over, and happy with her efforts. I am impressed with her courage. In fact, I'm impressed with ALL of my children and their ability to overcome performance anxiety.

That is something I am still learning to do.

A Tale of Two Trees

We have had a "country tree" for as long as I can remember. 

Probably because I LOVE that old-fashioned, hand-made look. 

And I'm the mom, and I buy the ornaments and decorations. 

I have been collecting those country ornaments FOR YEARS. 

I have even actually made a few.

(I made those really cool clear balls with the image of Christ... one of my forever favorites)

(Another favorite... the dried orange slices.  I made those about 15 years ago.  Just sliced some oranges, borrowed a friend's dehydrator, and presto... ornaments that have lasted longer than I could have ever imagined.  They look SO COOL when the lights are on.)

This year Bill, Mauri and my Dad decorated the country tree.  I had absolutely NO INPUT. 

They only used a fraction of my ornaments.  But it still looks lovely.  It still evokes that modern-old-fashioned feel that I love.

A few years back, my children COMPLAINED.  They were tired of the country tree. 

They wanted glitz.  They wanted sparkle.

So, wanting to please my children, I started the collecting process again.

My first attempts at a more tradional glitzy tree failed miserably.

I hated those trees.  They just didn't "go."

Last year I was determined to "make it work" (as Tim Gunn would say)

So I visited my friend Alexa, who had very beautiful, sparkling, glitzy trees in her home.

She had taken a class.  She shared her secrets.

I found an ornament that I LOVED. 

I loved the colors. 

I loved that it centered on the Savior

(which is, after all, why we celebrate).

Last year, the tree turned out okay.  I only had so much in my budget to spend on it. 

I would need more ornaments, more sparkle, more stuff.

The collecting process begins.  Again.

This year I have actually had a few compliments on my tree.  It must look okay.

I didn't have ultimate control of the decorating... I had LOTS of help

(and we were hurrying to make the early movie... you know, it's CHEAPER).

But I think I'm going to like this tree.

It may even "work" for many years to come.

It "goes" with my house and the room it's in.

It has the glitz and sparkle desired by my children.

It has been worth the effort.

O Christmas Tree!

School of Hard Knocks

It is a Syddall Family tradition to take pictures on the first day of school...

When Lexee started this school year, she didn't realize that she would occasionally be attending 

THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS.

She had exciting things to look forward to:

Turning 16 (a brand new phone for her birthday!)

Getting her braces off

Getting her drivers license

But in the past month she has attended THAT school.

She left her phone unattended in the locker room for a few minutes...

it was stolen.

And then, if THAT wasn't enough, she gets a speeding ticket right after school, right BY the school (luckily NOT in the school zone).

Not only embarrassing, but involving long-lasting consequences.

She DOES get her day in court... with a parent...

I'll be sending Bill.

She will also be looking for a job to help cover those insurance costs.

Good-bye hair

After careful consideration, Shilo decided to cut her beautiful long, straight hair. 

Maybe because it was a little hard to stuff into her swim cap...

...maybe because she had to have her Dad help comb out the snarls after her shower...

...or maybe she's like most girls and just wanted a change.

We were all a little nervous when I put her long hair in an elastic and cut it off.

(Especially me, who thought maybe I had been TOO QUICK to cut, 

and had MAYBE cut off a little too much.) 

She plans to donate that pony-tail.

The results....

a happy girl...

...with awesome hair (still).