Ringing in 2012

Celebrating the new year at an entirely civilized hour, Beaver Creek CO. (yes, my finger is in the way in the shot of the fireworks.)

Sushi

We gave FFM three choices of restaurants for dinner last night.  He picked his current favorite meal....sushi.  It was a mad scramble to beat him to the nibbles, Travis and I both thought he was going to burst.  When we asked which was his favorite, he said..."This one (philadelphia roll), and this one (spider roll), and this one (tamago sushi), this one (vege roll), and this one (the radish decoration in the middle).  The staff fussed over him as he kept shouting "I LOVE SUSHI!"

The Best

The best thing to do in snow? Why snow angels of course.

QOTD

So many today I wish I could just record them all.  One of my favorites...
”Do you think the elves can see me at the hotel?”

The Yellow Fox

A few days ago I left FFM in the kitchen to finish up his leisurly breakfast while I went upstairs to finish my morning ablutions.  He suddenly cried out, "Mommy, there's a fox in the greenbelt!"  I peeked out the upstairs window and saw big, loping tracks but no fox.  Oh well.

I finished up, came downstairs and asked about the fox.  FFM said, "It was a yellowish, grayish fox and it went that way."  Yellowish, grayish?  Really?  I double check, and he stands firm with his description.  This kid knows his greenbelt fauna.  Not ten minutes later he calls me again and tells me it's back.  It's not a fox.  It's the biggest, fattest coyote I've ever seen.

Our neighbor has two German Shepherds, one regular size and one extra large size.  You can't tell from the photo, my tiny camera's perspective and my nature shooting skill aren't great, but this coyote was bigger than the extra large size  German Shepherd. I've seen coyotes in our neighborhood before, but never one this size, and only on the perimeter of the neighborhood at dusk.  Keep your kitties in and look out bunnies!

Dear Old Santa Claus

This is the year of true believing.  It is magic this holiday season, and FFM is being SO SO good. He KNOWS that Santa is watching.  And that Red the Elf on the Shelf flies back to the North Pole every night to give Santa a full report.  He gives me the countdown several times a day, checks our advent calendar, turns the Christmas tree on, sings songs constantly, he smells like cookies and just exudes holiday joy non-stop.

We went to visit Santa (the real one, with the right belt) on a nice, quiet weekday early in the month.  We were turned away as it was a special day for deaf and hard of hearing children to visit Santa.  While he was sad, FFM was very, very good about it, he stood nearby to watch Santa 'talk' with the kids.  We got busy and before we knew it we only had weekend days left to go see Santa.  Off we went, as early as we could.  The wait wasn't bad, everyone in line was jolly, and Santa lived up to all expectations. For those that know him, FFM did his vibrating thing as we got to the head of the line.

 He was so excited to finally get to sit down and have a chat with Santa that it took us several tries to get him to pay attention for a photo.  We aren't too hung up on the photo but these days it's part of getting to see this Santa - if you want to chat with him you have to get a photo.  FFM was so excited it even took a couple of minutes to get around to his list.  He DID remember to wish Santa a Merry Christmas, though.

Santa visits through the years, clockwise from top left 2010, 2009, 2007, 2008.

Things We Learned On Our Walk Today

1. Tricycles should come with snow tires.
2. People should do a better job shoveling their sidewalks.

Checking it twice

'Tis the season for holiday entertainment and last night The Moores, of course, did some going.  All three of us spent the evening downtown at dinner out and the Colorado Symphony Christmas.  It was a spectacular program, exceeded all expectations, and definitely put me (finally) into the holiday spirit.  The concert included the symphony, the Colorado Chorus, and the Colorado Children's Chorale.

When the Children's Chorale came onto stage they entered in the middle of a carol, from the wings and from the aisles in the middle of the audience.  FFM was awed, he knew there were going to be kids singing but I don't think he expected quite the spectacle it ended up being.  As they processed to center stage he leaned over and whispered into my ear, "Mommy, I want to go on stage and sing with the kids, too!"

The grand finale brought Santa himself onto the stage and suddenly FFM got very concerned.  At this point he was sitting on Travis' lap and he explained to Travis that Santa wasn't wearing the right belt.  A little backstory on this comment...We see other Santas around town and this has caused some confusion.  The first time the question came up about the multiple Santas who stray from the North Pole during the busy season (he's a very detail oriented little guy our Mr. F) I explained it's part of the checking who's naughty and nice job.  This passed muster until someone at school told him that the real Santa is the one at Cherry Creek mall and all the others are pretend.  Now he's pretty fixated on that mall Santa being the one true Santa.  We've seen him a couple of times, and F's memory is pretty darn good.  Back to the symphony concert where our 'new' Santa has taken the stage with the wrong belt...

Travis and I look at FFM who insists again and again that Santa is wearing the wrong belt.  What do we do?  He's obviously upset and fervently believes in Santa and KNOWS something is wrong.  I tell him, "Hey, you know this is a special show and that's Santa's special show belt.  He needs one that's extra shiny so everyone in the theater can see it."  FFM wavers... Travis adds, "Look, Santa has a special coat, too.  Doesn't it look different?  I bet he has a lot of different coats for all kinds of different things just like you."  That sealed it.  F's face lights up, the faith is back, he tells us, "I love coats!  I have lots of coats!  I bet Santa does have a lot of coats just like me!"

Phew.

I'll be honest, I don't remember what either Santa belt looked like.  Mr. Minute Detail is going to keep me hopping!

QOTD

During tuck in at nap today:

"Mommy, kisses don't last very long, do they?"

Making a Little Merry

After watching a thrilling football game this morning (go Broncos, Yay Tebow!) we headed across town for our second annual deck the halls at my grandpa's house.  The kids trimmed the tree, the husbands braved temps in the teens to light the great outdoors, and Melinda and I supervised and kept an eye on the cookie supply.
After grandpa's house it was time for dinner, and there is something about a cold and snowy Sunday night that brings take out Chinese to mind. While dishing it up here at home FFM announced,
” One dump for me daddy and two dumps for you.”
Translation-one spoonful of entree please, you get a bigger portion since you are the daddy.

QOTD

After watching his 1/2 hour of cartoons this morning:

"Mommy, did you know that all toys are 'sold seplaltely?'"

(that's not a typo)

Emily Post Would be Proud

Our trip for stitches last night threw a kink in my plans to prepare, cook, and serve dinner since it all happened early in the evening.  Once Travis was patched up and we were on our way home cries of "Chipotle please!" rang from the backseat so we gladly acquiesced to keep things simple.

The Chipotle we dined in is across from our local high school and is often full of teenagers, even during evenings and weekends.  As we ate our food a couple of tall, lanky, boys came in clad in athletic shorts, T-shirts and baseball hats despite the below freezing temperature outside.  The boys ordered their food, sat at a table, and then both removed their hats before they started eating.  Wow.

I would like to take this moment to say that when FFM and I went to the circus about a month ago there were GROWN MEN who did not remove their hats for the NATIONAL ANTHEM.  It made me sad to realize that their kids will grow up not knowing that they are supposed to doff their hats in respect to our nation.  I feel a bit restored now that I've also seen that there are families who teach table manners such that even when it's Saturday night at Chipotle (a very casual restaurant) their kids remember to take their hats off to eat.

DIY excitement

Today marks a milestone in our days as homeowner diy-ers.  Travis had a little slip with a utility knife and sliced open several fingers.  FFM and I are hanging out in the urgent care waiting room watching movies and reading books as he gets stitched up (I couldn't talk F into staying home with a neighbor).
Travis assures me he feels ok, mostly embarrassed.  Good news, out was his left hand, all fingers are in good working order but he'll probably be quite sore for a few days.

Special Turndown Service

Look what I found on my bedside table on my way to bed tonight. It's even got my name on it. What a great way to end the day :-)

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The Low Key Thanksgiving

It's just the three of us this Thanksgiving.  We just wrapped up a nice visit with Travis' Mom, will see all of his family at Christmas (plus some of mine will come along), and my Mom + Eric went to Phoenix to visit the clan there this year.  Given our recent bout of traipsing we opted to stay put for at least a few days.

Our traditional non-traditional feast this year - fondue!  We added some non-traditional dippers like oysters and cherry tomatoes.  We decided our favorites are still baguette pieces and green apples.  I'm not sure if FFM was more excited about the fondue or his special wine glass filled with sparkling pear juice.

 And our final course, Chocolate Cranberry Bread Pudding with Bittersweet Sauce.  We managed to sneak in a traditional Thanksgiving ingredient in after all.

Like most of our relatives we had a warm, balmy day here and we spent it relaxing and playing.  I spent a moderate amount of time in the kitchen (a bit more time cleaning up it seems) and both boys got a few rounds of T-ball and good naps in.  Tomorrow Travis sets forth on his next major home improvement project, which started last weekend with a new hole in our garage...

It's a bit of a big project, but not really a very exciting one.  It involves an unexplored attic, new wiring, and insulation.  My favorite part of this project?  I don't know how to do wiring and there's really only room for one person at a time up there.  FFM and I will just have to entertain ourselves.  Perhaps we'll trim the tree.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all, I hope you had a wonderful time with plenty to be thankful for and managed to stuff yourselves silly.

QOTD Part Two

So we went to the museum. the On the way home,
”So can we squeeze in a trip to toys r us? Can we make it be on the way home?”
Oh dear. He may look like Travis but he sure sounds a lot like me.

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QOTD

Me: "F, we have a totally free day today, what should we do?  Museum, Botanic Gardens, Wildlife Experience?"

F: "We should go to Toys For Us and check out all the Amazing Toys."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm also going to borrow someone else's QOTD because it involved FFM.

Last week we were at a playdate with our friend Andrew.  Andrew is the oldest of three boys.  The boys ate lunch together and played for a couple hours and it was time for us to leave.  We were headed out the door to the car and Andrew asked,

"Is your little brother in the car?"

F gave him a puzzled look while Andrew asked again.  I quickly explained that no, we did not leave F's brother in the car for the entire playdate, that F didn't have any brothers, it was just him.  Then it was Andrew's turn to look puzzled while his mom kindly stepped in to explain.

Late Night Football

As a parent and football fan, the final minutes of the ball game tonight were a struggle.  The Broncos are finally turning into a real team and played an exciting fourth quarter.  Said fourth quarter all happened after 9pm our time which is well after 4 year old bedtime.  I attempted to restrain myself, but after a great running play which ended in a touchdown a rather raucous cheer escaped which was so loud it woke FFM.  Guess I better work on my silent cheer technique for future late games.

Sans Kiddo

For years Travis and I talked about taking a trip for our 10 year anniversary.  If you haven't guessed by now we kind of like to travel.  About two years ago we decided to go to the German Christmas markets, but after a long cold winter last year that didn't sound quite right to us anymore.  We totally ditched Germany in lieu of a cruise.  We wanted to be gone more than 4-5 days, less than 14, and between Halloween and Thanksgiving.  We didn't want to go to Europe or just island hop around the Caribbean.  Panama?  Cool!  Did FFM come?  Nope!

Ahhh.....beach day in the Bahamas.  Bahamas in November?  Perfect.  

 Sunset in Aruba.

 Floating markets in Curacao.
The vendors sail up from Venezuela and sell their wares.  

They sleep in the hammocks above their fruit until it's time to go back to restock.

 Relaxing on deck as we prepare to depart Curacao.

 This is on deck before dawn the morning we sailed into the Panama Canal.  

The lights are the line of ships waiting their turn.  Our ship paid a hefty reservation fee for a specific time slot so we didn't have to wait in line.

 Entering the first lock of the Panama Canal.  These are the Gatun Locks on the Atlantic side.  1 of 3 locks on this side, there are another set on the Pacific side separated by Gatun Lake.

 It absolutely POURED rain on us in Panama.  October and November are the rainiest months there, they average about 11 feet of rain a year, most of it in Oct/Nov (so we were told...).  Other facts, our ship was just a few feet shy of the largest size that can go through the locks and it cost nearly $500,000 in fees for passage.  Traffic is heavy in the locks, you can see a ship ahead of us and one in the locks next to us.  During the morning the larger ships go through so they have plenty of daylight time to make the passage all the way through.  Smaller vessels are allotted later time slots.

 The 'mules' are little trains that guide the ship through the locks.  They do not pull the ship, simply make sure that it stays in position without banging around left to right.  As you can see we had about 2 feet to spare.  

 Did I mention it poured?  It was a three change of clothes day.  

Here you can also see the ship that came in right behind us using the other set of locks next door.

 Going up...

 We tendered ashore in Panama from the lake after the first set of locks.  It was a bit surreal to dash around in the tiny tenders as massive cargo ships meandered around.  The green and white ship is a car transport and just out of the right side of the frame was a tanker.

 In Panama we chose to stay in the canal and in the lake instead of going ashore so we left the tenders and got right on another boat.  We cruised around the tiny islands that dot the lake and kept our eyes open for wildlife.

 Do you think we had a good time?

 Hey!  Some wildlife!  White Faced Capuchin.  We also came across howler monkeys, a giant crocodile, toucan, turtles, and some iguana.

 Our guide dug up a granola bar (hmmm...think he's ever done that before?) and asked if anyone wanted to try to feed the monkey.  Our geriatric crew was reluctant, but I was a willing volunteer.  Those monkeys have grip.

 Next stop, Costa Rica.  We adored Costa Rica, even though the Atlantic coast averages 22 feet of rain and it was seriously damp.  Lucky for us, it was just damp and NOT pouring rain on the day we were there.  We spent our day at an animal refuge and botanic garden.  A sharp eyed person spotted a wild sloth high up in the trees during our nature walk.

 In the reserve the sloths are prepared for life back in the wild but until then you can get up close and personal and watch them just hanging out.  They are beautiful and so interesting but react so slowly it was comical.  The leaves they eat make them high and lethargic all the time so they look a bit like stoned muppets.

 We got a bonus side trip to a banana plantation where we saw the trees held up with guy wires because the bananas are so much heavier than they should be and the fruit is all covered in blue plastic to keep the pesticides on.  Our driver also stopped at a road side stand and wouldn't let us off (remember we are on the geriatric cruise, it would have taken an hour to get everyone off then back on) but he bought an entire stalk of lady finger bananas and gave them to our guide to pass around.  My banana was fresh, warm, and I think the best I've ever eaten.

 Our last formal dinner night.  FFM loves this shirt and earrings (you can't really see them).  He calls it my disco ball shirt and disco earrings.

 Full moon on a restless sea during our last two sea days getting back to Florida.

 We had a great time, even being the youngest on the ship, and kept saying things like, "Boy, FFM would LOVE this!" but did not pine away too much for our faraway child.  Likewise, FFM talked about us and followed our travels on his globe, but managed just fine at home having a grand time with Grammie Pen Pen.  

At Sea

After twelve days of vacation, eleven days cruising at sea, five new countries, and one massive downpour, we had a really good time and are ready to get on our flight home so we can hug our wee one. Yup, vacationing sans kiddo is fantastic, but you miss them like mad the whole time.

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Happy Halloween!

Back in the day, way way back, we only had one Halloween.  Now there are parties, events, school get togethers, and the grand finale, Trick or Treating on Halloween night!  I wasn't sure the penguin costume was going to make it, but it survived.  

School parade...

 Trick or Treating with Emma, the Pink Power Ranger Samurai.

 I especially like Emma's action pose.  She always has her buddy's back.

 Ooky spooky...ok, not so spooky pumpkins.  Can you guess who picked the kitty pattern to carve?  One hint, they dressed up in all black with a big yellow beak this year.

And for the uber-patient, nothing is quite as cute as preschoolers serenading their parents.  FFM announced to us before the performance that they would get to do some shouting of the word BOO and that was his favorite part.


http://youtu.be/ueCgheCMruM

Left to His Own Devices

Travis' Mom is coming to town this weekend, shortly after her birthday.  To celebrate we are taking her out to dinner, sans kiddo.  I was unsuccessful in lining up one of our normal babysitters and over the lunch Travis and I were discussing alternative options.  We have a couple neighbors who have looked after him in the past and my Mom occasionally does nighttime babysitting duty.

After this lunchtime discussion Travis and FFM went outside to continue winterizing and FFM spotted our neighbor, Jann.  He immediately ran across the street, looking both ways, and proceeded to ask her if she was free to babysit him this upcoming Saturday night.  She, being a wonderful neighbor, didn't bat an eye and told him she'd check her schedule but that she thought it would work just fine and what would he like for dinner that night?

How about that, sorting out his own childcare. We are already becoming obsolete and he's only 4.

Fall

It's been a lovely long fall here this year.  I'm remembering two years ago when our fall lasted about three days in  early October before we had weeks and feet of snow.  We haven't even had a hard freeze or any real snow yet. Lucky for us as we spent a month on holiday instead of getting ready for winter.

FFM helped out this weekend, cleaning out one of the flowerbeds.

 Travis is finishing up the hardscape around the new deck, cutting the final stones to fit.  FFM is a safe distance away wearing his safety glasses.  Later he added ear protectors, too.

There's time for play, too.  Super F flies around keeping our neighborhood safe.

However our weather is not to last.  We've had a few shots of cold already, but 45 degree drop in daytime temps and that hard freeze are right around the corner.

On the Mend

You know you've been really sick when you:
1) Get your husband to take sick time to come home and take care of you/your kid.
2) Go to the doctor and your cold/flu/sinus infection is bad enough they actually prescribe stuff for you.
3) Same husband voluntarily cleans the house.  And I didn't even ask him to...
4) I've driven so little it's been nearly three weeks since I put gas in my car.
5) Your family does the wave at the dinner table because you've made it through a whole day all the way to dinner.

Finally seem to be on the mend.  I don't think I've slept this much and still been this tired since I was a student.

Pikkuveli

I finished the Pikkuveli sweater for FFM and am quite pleased with it.  The pattern was lovely to knit, and while I knit the intarsia pattern on one sleeve a little tight I think it will be OK once he's wearing it and is a blue and green blur.  It's a bit big on him still, I had a choice of knitting it in a size 4 or 6 so went with the 6, but I know he'll grow into it soon!  This is by far the best written pattern I have ever had the pleasure to knit.  If you are on Ravelry the author has several other patterns, kids and adults alike.  FFM picked out the buttons, I'm ever impressed with his color knowledge.

Ten

It's been a blink.  It's been long enough now that when we go back and look at our wedding photos the kids are all grown up, we've lost a few of our beloveds, and gosh darn it, we're just not as young as we were!

Happy tenth my sweet, I couldn't be happier.

Brisbane

After working his tail off in Canada for a week and Melbourne for five weeks Travis took a week of vacation.  We flew to Brisbane to visit our dear friends the Hodsons.  Their oldest child, Cooper, is exactly the same age as FFM and they played together when we were Brisbane residents.  It did not take the two of them very long to connect again and together with 2.5 yr old Scarlet and 14 month old Harper the kids managed to keep four adults on our toes.

Cooper and FFM catching some wind on the City Cat enroute to Southbank.  

If you recall the City Cat is public transport up and down the Brisbane River, like a bus or train, just on water.  Southbank is the neighborhood we lived in while we were there.

The Hodson and Moore clans (you can just see Harper's pram in the corner) enjoying the evening at Southbank.

After a couple of days enjoying the city life (shopping, dining, Southbank, shopping...) we headed north for some beach time.  On our way we stopped to spend a day at the Australia Zoo.  This is the zoo created by Steve Irwin of Crocodile Hunter fame, and is my favorite zoo.

Scarlet and FFM banging the bongos at the new Africa exhibit.

Sara, Cooper, FFM, and Harper petting and posing with a kangaroo.  Harper's in the pram again.

Look!  A Mama and her joey!  The boys even spotted the joey sneaking into the pouch for a snack.  And look, there's cutie Harper, out of the pram at last.

After the trams, FFM will continue on to tell you that this was his next favorite part of his trip to Australia.  Petting the koala.  After that comes the baby kangaroo/joey.  And then he remembers the waves at the beach...but that's another post.

See, they may be thousands of miles and a giant ocean apart, but they're still buddies.  It felt like we'd never been gone, some friends are just great like that :-)  Thank you Sara and David!