Sunday, December 26, 2010

christmas 2010

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just a few snapshots of christmas... we had a nice quiet one, chilly weather and only a visit to my parents house on the schedule... today is chris' 39th birthday and we are all feeling a bit lazy. maybe a trip to see harry potter is in order? dinner out? we'll see.

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merry merry!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Lizzie turns 7!

we celebrated another birthday, our "little" lizzie turned 7! we are often last minute with her parties, but i think i figured out finally that its ok to plan a midweek party during the holiday school break. most people are looking for something fun to break up the time the kids are at home. it doesnt always have to be on a saturday or sunday. 


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we have a tiny house, teeny weeny tiny, but we managed to squeeze everyone around our dining room table for pizza, cake and then we opened presents. it was a fast paced party the REAL event was going to the 3d movie Photo-12


which was pretty good actually (as i was dreading lizzies choice of yogi bear... just looked super dumb to me, but wasnt as bad as i thought it would be)

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so i highly recommend a trip to the movies as an easy option for a birthday. midweek and in the evening, the kids were giddy and sang christmas songs in the car ride over... the girls were fast asleep about 5 minutes after returning home and there was very little clean up or prep work. we rarely go to the movies, maybe twice a year at most, so it was a real treat for my kids, like a trip to disneyland almost.

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happy birthday lizzie!!!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

quick gvl trip

i havent been to the cabin in months and months, all this new work has had an impact on my weekends. we had to drive up late saturday and come back sunday afternoon, not enough time for me to really settle in but gets me excited for the next visit over new years. four whole days in the mountains, hoping for snow!


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we drove over to big bear for a run on the alpine sleds, the view of the lake was amazing.




the road between gvl and big bear is the most nauseous road ever, really takes effort to not get sick so after lunch we spent some time hanging out at the lake before heading back to the cabin. this little park was a nice pit stop for us.

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back at the cabin the girls hung out with a few friends from school and we made a few christmas gifts...



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heading in to 12 days of work in a row, what was i thinking taking on this much work? january looks pretty bad as well, guess i need to pace myself and hope for the best!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

xmas

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while searching through some papers, i stumbled on to the christmas wish lists from emily and liz. since i am FINALLY getting around to making a few purchases, i thought i would look them over. to my surprise, liz had included me on her list and asked santa for a cookbook just for me! i thought it was sweet, since i often feel like such a nag around here, snapping at everyone to pick up their stuff and settle down. i just started a new part time job (added to my other two part time jobs) and the stress has been killing me! just another learning experience for me i guess. we'll see.



Sunday, December 5, 2010

christmas parade

this is the 5th year we have walked in the local christmas parade... always hard to photograph!


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we have come a long way since that first parade we walked in!! a no brainer now, five years later. even with 2 groups, we managed to have a great time. merry christmas!



Wednesday, November 17, 2010

camp wasewagan... link to camp yallani

for years i have heard about camp wasewagan (at leader meetings), a place we would go to in 4th or 5h grade... but little did i know it was the sister camp to camp yallani. that long lost camp i attended for many summers, working in the kitchen and as a counselor, a life guard and an archery instructor. camp yallani was one of the most defining experiences of my life, something i think of so much it's crazy. i take parenting too seriously, thinking hard about it and wondering how i can make the most of the responsibility i have for my girls, wonder if camp yallani was a clue to my life. going to camp is such a gift, teaching kids to get along and work together on a really nitty gritty level, getting dirty, playing and being in the world of nature. really, it's easy. just send them off... but how many parents do it? not enough. so back to wasewagan... i was stunned when i realized it was the camp next to camp yallani. all these years wondering what happened to yallani and here i am going up to it's sister camp. the one we stole off to, visiting the staff on the sly. i remember there were tv's and record players to investigate, all the wonderful things a teenager loves. new boys, new faces... spending 12 weeks a summer at camp, new was good.

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the caretakers cabin in all its glory!! sooooo, wasewagan with the girls was an adventure IMG_0120
driving fast on curves with chris' truck, fun times! IMG_0126
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the same river i spent many summers splashing in IMG_0209
my girls hanging at my "mosaic" booth, the craft that will not die!! IMG_0215
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food, fabulous food! IMG_0219
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so i got out my google maps and found out camp yallani was .4 miles away, yes we hiked through trees, brush, crossed ravines... and found it! 40762_454339947911_644332911_5580248_336372_n
the camp that so many years ago changed my life in so many ways... 148687_454194532911_644332911_5577867_796567_n
the old ropes course left from years past... IMG_0223
ahhhh camp yallani! and what a weekend it was! IMG_0240
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so what an amazing trip... past and present mixed just right.



Monday, November 15, 2010

camp fire, what's up?

we had a halloween pumpkin carving meeting with rootbeer floats for snack:

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an amazing halloween carnival (we did a fortune teller booth)

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and a rockin' "potential lunatics" concert!!

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october was PACKED to say the least.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

osborne house

sooo the long lost post on the osborne house!

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most of our photos were outside because photography was not allowed inside. i think what i really loved about this house was all the emphasis on kids. queen victoria had 9 kids and there was a large nursery upstairs where you sense a lot of fun happened. lots of toys and things kids would love to play with, of course the girls loved that. there was a house built toward the coast just for the kids, the style was danish. weird!


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(my photos blow more than usual this day for some reason)

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yes lizzie is drinking water coming off the roof gutter...

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so we REALLY liked the gardens

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while i took this the tour guide lady came out and scolded me for letting lizzie climb up on this statue... bad mama! oh well, i try!