Christmas Vacation

This year we took our first Christmas vacation, at Snowshoe Resort in West Virginia.

Pete took two ski classes, and we were very proud that he persevered through 7 hour classes on Saturday and Tuesday. He was able to take the Skidder lift and ski down the small hill by himself.

Happy Holidays

We are off for our Christmas vacation to West Virginia. Happy Holidays and we will be back with new posts on December 28.

Most Rockinest Christmas Song Ever

Pete and I have been checking the mail every day for a new CD coming from LaLa. It finally arrived the other day, and we were not disappointed by what we had been waiting for - the most rockinest Christmas song ever - Oi To The World by No Doubt (cover of the original by The Vandals). (Video)

Karate Santa

Saturday was the holiday party at karate school. Sam graduated to his "black" belt, which is a white belt with a black stripe.

There was also a surprise guest, who gave a gift to Pete and Sam (a little stuffed bear with a black belt). Sam, of course, calls the bear "beary".

Blue Christmas

I don't know what they're feeding him, but this is how Sam arrived home from church on Sunday.

Helping The Needy

Pete wanted to help give out food to the needy again this year. He went to Christ the Redeemer (same distribution location as last year) with mom. They did mostly re-stocking the shelves with food as people went through and took the items for their families.

Here is a picture of Pete wearing his "Lending Hand" t-shirt that he got for volunteering.



Also, here is Sam. He wanted a picture of how he can help, too.

Kids Just Don't Appreciate Quality Humor

Me: What book did you bring home from school today for bedtime?
Pete: All About Magnets
Me: Well, it's pretty late. I think we need to change the title of that book to Half About Magnets
Pete: Grrr

A True Patriot

It is undeniable that Sam is a true American patriot. As you can see, he sleeps with an American flag and bald eagles on his pillow. Also, he has a special power which is not well-known but you can see it if you watch him sleep. Any time someone anywhere in the world discusses an attack against the U.S. while he is sleeping, Sam sits up and rolls over.

I predict that at age 11, he will become the first person in history to simultaneously defuse a bomb with one hand while signing a peace treaty with the other. You heard it here first.

Deal Or No Deal

Pete loves to watch the TV show Deal or No Deal. He is ahead of his time in this regard, since based on the intellectual content I think the target audience is ages 8-12.

Towards the end it gets exciting, so he can't watch. He closes his eyes and says: "If it's a low number, give me a smack and if it's a high number, give me a punch."

Dinner Spelling

Sam decided that he didn't want to finish his dinner last night because "it has mustard and ketchup on it" (it didn't).

So the challenge is on - to keep Sam entertained long enough for everyone else to finish eating. We tried asking him to spell some words. He was able to spell P-e-t-e, but he had trouble with dad. He said it was m-s-e-e-e-

Pete thought this was pretty funny, the prospect of a word with three consecutive e's.

Then we bought some time by having him go count the presents under the tree. However, we were disturbed to learn upon his return that he did not count the presents with his hands, but rather "I counted them with side kicks". I'm not sure what this meant - so far I have been afraid to go check.

Piano Lesson

Pete had his first piano lesson on Saturday with Ruth Ann.


Here he is practicing at home. You may be able to see the tape line on the floor. Sam is not allowed inside the tape when Pete is practicing. Then Sam gets a turn, and Pete needs to stay outside the line. As you can imagine, there is still quite a bit of debate as to whether you are allowed to touch the line, reach over the line, etc.

Karate Ornaments

Pete wanted to put an ornament with his picture on the Christmas tree at the karate place. We took a picture of Pete pretending to hold his bow staff, then printed it out and glued on a toothpick for a 3-D effect.

Sam wanted to make one too, so he held up his horse as his bow staff.

Frozen Pancake

Sam likes the little mini-pancakes that you toss in the microwave for 30 seconds. He dips them in a little bowl of syrup.

Somewhere along the line he figured out that he also likes to eat them cold, right out of the freezer. Here he is enjoying a frozen pancake.

Just Checking

I noticed a few times this week that Pete was feeling around in the stockings by the fireplace. He said he was just checking to see if anything arrived early.

Sam is 3

Sam wanted to have a carnival party (like Pete) for his 3rd birthday. On Saturday a week earlier, it was 70 degrees and sunny, but the forecast for his birthday was in the 40's so we decided to move the carnival into the living room.

The games we did were Mystery Machine, Tic Tac Toe, Super Putt, Bucket Bash, and Fishing Frenzy. And of course we had the calliope music, tickets, and prizes.

The festivities then spilled over to Sunday (more presents from Nana) and Monday (presents from Mom and Dad on his ACTUAL birthday). All in all, we did better than last year. The only known evidence of Sam's birthday last year is a single photograph of him blowing out a candle on a cupcake.

Here are some pictures from the party: