Merry Christmas from our village

to yours. Wouldn't life be simpler if we all had marshmallow Peeps snowmen outside and a graham cracker paddleboat to get around?

Need a new roof? Get out the Jujubes. New fence? Grab the marshmallows.

Not quite the Sheraton gingerbread display, but they're ours and they had fun creating them.

View from the top

Bitty Girl's gingerbread yard decor

They're both such sugar hounds I don't know how they manage to get anything actually glued down. Next year my goal is to start on cardboard so I can actually move them or put them together. Somehow the blue polka dot plates just don't scream "Merry Christmas!"

We're all shopped, mostly wrapped, and ready for Christmas. After a big day of standing in multiple lines with the World's Greatest Daddy, the kids have checked Santa pictures, visiting the gingerbread houses at the Sheraton and riding the holiday carousel off their lists.

The final stretch

Today The Boy celebrates the end of kindergarten. Friday is the official last day of school, but today is the ceremony.

He decided to start the party a day early by calling a 2nd grader a jackass on the bus yesterday. Because another friend told him he wouldn't be his friend UNLESS he called the bigger kid a jackass. Lovely. He lost Pokemon card privileges for the week and got a nice dose of "If someone tells you to do something you know is wrong..." but I promise I didn't ask him if his friend jumped off a bridge, would he follow?

But back to my nostalgia. The end of kindergarten. Excuse me while I get a tissue.

He has had an amazing year. He had a fantastic teacher, who in spite of being about to give birth any day, has managed to make it through the year. She is kind and understanding and puts up with an energetic class that includes many livewire boys.

This year the Boy learned to read, to write, tons of math concepts like addition, subtraction, partners of 10, teen numbers, all about isopods (bugs like those roly poly bugs), sea life, riding the school bus, took two field trips, had recess with big kids, played on a soccer team, played an entire t-ball season without breaking his arm, and learned how to appropriately use "asshole" and "jackass" in a sentence.

He made new friends, STILL hasn't lost a tooth, learned all about Bakugan and Pokemon and how everyone has been to Disneyland except for him. Oh, he learned how to say something "sucks," too. As in "You suck because everyone else in my class has been to Disneyland but me."

In September, writing was an excruciating task that he would speed through as quickly as possible. Now, if he's motivated and interested in the subject, he'll write a 10 page book. And by motivated, I mean that NuNu offered to pay him 50 cents a story.

We're ready for summer, but not before we celebrate an amazing year of milestones.

Congratulations to our boy. We are so, so proud of you. But we could do without the curse words.
Pictures from the "graduation" ceremony...

They read out loud their pictures of "What I liked best about kindergarten." Almost every kid said P.E. the field trip to the beach that was 2 weeks ago, or making gingerbread houses. You gotta love kindergarteners. I'm sure his teacher is wondering why she bothered with all that useless math and reading, or even being nice to them.

Thanks to Grandma and Papa for coming!

reluctantly posing with his annoying mom

Showing Grandma his memory book

And from the trip to Baskin Robbins later - waffle cone double scoop!

The Big NINE-OH

NuNu turned 90 on March 10.

We gathered for a special dinner at the Willows

I failed in my photography and didn't get a picture of the little lamb chops and salmon, but I did get the cheesecake!

Cheesecake, anyone?


We showered her with gifts, memories, and songs

The presentation of the gifts

The reading of The Memory Book

She was serenaded by dear friends and family.

NuNu with Flip after her serenade

We took many photos to mark the occasion (not very good photos, unfortunately)

NuNu with her girls

NuNu with her boys

NuNu with the kids

And then carefully walked her back to her room when it was over.



We love you NuNu! Happy Birthday!

A night he will remember forever

In the last few days, he's been very interested in the whole red/blue states, and Daddy tried to explain the basic electoral votes thing to him.

He knows who we wanted to win, but he's been saying "I think McCain is going to win," mostly just to annoy us. But tonight he was all about Obama. It just became a "counting of the points," and since so much happened before bedtime, he was able to see much of it.

I did not stage this photo. He really went to sleep, Star Wars sheets and all, with the map. After he was half asleep and we dragged him out of bed to see all the people celebrating in Chicago.

For his sake and for her sake, I am extra thankful.