First Family Fishing Trip

The weekend after Christmas, we decided to make good use of their Christmas presents and the awesome weather by taking all three boys fishing for the first time.

All in all the boys had a nice time, despite the fact hey were out-fished by a couple using chicken liver.  They didn't catch anything but it was good practice casting and switching bait.  Amber enjoyed playing with the worms.

Lance then decided we needed to take another trip to Bass Pro shop to get different weights, bobbers and bait.  He definitely has the bug, he even pays the tab.

Week of Christmas

The week of Christmas was both joyous and productive. 

• We spent two days playing with friends.
• Rock Climbing
• I was able complete my history plans for next semester. 
• Our fireplace was finally up and running
• Our gift to the family this year was a second cage for the bird, so he would sleep in a bit as we put it in the guest/lego room where we have dark drapes.
• We Feng Shuied ALL the kids clothes, moving out and redistributing the old between the boys.
• I finally got access to to all my pictures on my computer so I could finally move forward on all the blog posts I was behind.
• Chris replaced all the lower cabinet hinges on all the kitchen cabinets.
• We learned the meaning of Boxing Day and plan to celebrate accordingly next year.
• Chris had a bike clinic and did much need maintenance on all the bikes, followed by a joint test ride.
  

We celebrated Christmas Eve by reading for the first time "Twas the Night before Christmas" to the boys.  Our purpose was not really nostalgia but to give them a better appreciation to the Hillbilly parody we laugh at on some CDs we got years ago from Dollywood.  After the reading, I originally planned a more serious reading of Dickens. However, we I decided we might all enjoy the "Muppets Christmas Carol" a bit more this year, so we rented if from Amazon.  It turned out to be a good choice because even it was a bit tense for some in certain parts.


Christmas Day we continued the tradition of "Daddy French Toast" for breakfast.  One of the few meals everyone in the house will eat.  Followed by our other family tradition, the Otto Family Scavenger Hunt.  I gave them ten hints they had to find before they found their gifts.  I always hold back letting them open some gift from someone till Christmas morning this year if was their gifts from the Parays.


This year we even had a little Christmas miracle; Chris took two broken computers and made one working computer.  The miracle was that it worked the first try and it didn't take too long either.

In the afternoon, we enjoyed a the beautiful day and took a walk together.  There are still no animals pics on the Game Cam.  We had high hope because of scat we found the day of bird escaped but I'm sure we'll get something soon.

We finished up the evening playing board games and watching the boys race their RC cars.  It was particularly nice that Chris had off these two days.  It gave us all time to relish in each others company and remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Winter Soltice Concert

"Concert" I suppose is a bit of a stretch, but it was a public performance.  The boys' piano teacher had arranged for her students to have the opportunity to play at her local Chamber of Commerce to provide entertainment for the folks waiting to see Santa.

Miss Kathy said the boys were "awesome" and she wished they could have stayed all afternoon to play.  There was a funny though when Titus spontaneous declared "Santa isn't real." as he approached the bench to play.  Thankfully, people laughed and thought it was cute.  Here's the videos of their performances.

When it was all over they relaxed at home with a nice up of tea.

Santa Bob Comes for a Visit

The boys (and I) eagerly awaited Grandpa Bob's (my dad) arrival yesterday.  Lance had himself posed in a chair by the window and Jared kept coming in to ask when he was going to come; they were very, very excited.  I was in the kitchen when the house exploded with "HE'S HERE!".  They were out the door before he even got in the drive way.

The boys had come up with this zany idea that we adults should unload the presents and put them under the tree while they waited in the bonus room, then they could come down and be "surprised" with the gifts.  I have no idea where they got the idea but we decided to play along and Chris added his own flare.  He yelled up the stairs - "Grandpa Bob is sorry he forgot to bring the presents, he'll have to bring them another time."  The only response he got was a quizzical "Really?". 

Grandpa Bob and Grandma Sherry clearly spoiled them but that's what grandparents are for, right?

I was pleased at the sincere interest the boys took in each of their new gifts.  The girl was so enamored with the first present she opened, that she would have nothing to do with opening the other presents for over an hour.  It makes me proud that they were so appreciative.

Lance spent a great deal of time organizing all his fishing paraphernalia in his new tackle box.  All the boys are really excited about being able to fish together.

Titus went wild with his new RC car outside.  He also managed to loose his second front tooth.  Now he can officially say "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth".

We initially told Jared he needed to wait until tomorrow after his school work was finished to put his new Lego set together. A bit later, we found him in the school room getting his work done ahead of time. At this point, Chris sent them upstairs to assemble the new set.  They even tried out their new sleds on the leaves. 

Chris and I enjoyed talking with my dad about all manner of things past and present.  The boys enjoyed listening in too.  I few times Lance popped up with a "please keep telling the story" if an old tale was cut short.  These are the special times they'll remember when they are older.

Throughout the day, the boys challenged Grandpa to three different games; Blockus, Ticket to Ride and the finally traditional Grandpa vs. Jared chess match.  Grandpa made sure to jovially remind the boys that he won all three games.

We also continued our tradition of French Toast meal for dinner.  It's one of the few meals that EVERY member of our family really enjoys.  Chris was kind enough to be the chef this year and let Grandpa off the hook.

In the evening, the boys put on a beautiful piano concert, complete with singing by all.  Jared had worked on a special piece by request and it was great to see him play "The Yellow Rose of Texas" while Grandpa sat with him on the bench singing along.  

(You may have to click "You Tube" not the picture to see the video)

It was an absolutely wonderful evening that everyone was reluctant to let it come to an end.  But end it must and with sad hearts we said our goodbyes and yet look forward till the next time when we get together again.

PS.  The next morning found the kids up early busy playing together again.

Rabbit Day Book Review - November

One of the things I like about our family is our love for books.  Often they bring them to the table to eat meals because they don't want to put them down (Of course, we tell them they have too once we start eating).  For that reason, my husband gave me leave years ago to buy whatever books I wanted for our personal library.  I'm frugal and try to buy used and not take advantage of it.

I like old books, they have so much personality.  I will search, sometimes for years, for a bargain on old book.  Plus, when you buy used you never know when it will be delivered; it's like Christmas all year.  The kids and my husband will ask what it is and I'll honestly say "I don't know" because if it came from overseas it can take many weeks to arrive. If you are having trouble finding a book I recommend in the library or for a good price used, I encourage you to keep looking, sometimes it just takes time and patience.

One more note on buying used books - if you use amazon to buy your used books, you might want to search heavy this month; they'll be adding sales tax to all used book sales starting soon.  Abebooks has been much cheaper lately anyway but it takes longer to get the books.

Big John's Secret by Eleanore M. Jewett was our family History Read-Aloud this month.  This covers the time period of the 5th Crusade.  The story centers on a young boy's search for his missing father and his heritage.  The plot was well liked and not easily discerned by any.  The most charming part was the weaving of a true account between St. Francis of Assisi and Sultan of Egypt at the time.  This is the best book I have found about the Crusades, giving insight to the perspective of both sides at the time, without getting into a lot of gory battles.

I went off topic for Lance's Independent Read this month.  He's reading a modern biography of the most famous German Shepherd trainer/award winner ever.  Her name is Winifred Strickland and she only died a few years back. Chris and I had followed her for years before the boys were born and this book was on our shelf. Joll and Me describes both her life and the evolution of her remarkable training techniques.  He is really enjoying this book and talks even more about someday training his own dog.  With the chaos of the holidays it will probably take him through December to finish.

Jared surprised me this month by asking to read a book Lance had finished reading a few months ago.  It was nice both to see his enthusiasm for reading a longer book and desire to challenge himself.  The book he chose was The Good Master by Kate Seredy.  This is one of my all time favorite books and the fact that it's the author's autobiography makes it all the better.  It takes place in Hungary at the end of the 1800's.  The amount of trouble this young girl gets into is amazing, as she slowly matures from a "bag of monkeys" to a beautiful young lady.  It's incredibly written; has adventure, humor and sentimental moments as well.  This should be on every book list. Both my boys enjoyed it immensely and want to read part two but I'm making them wait till we approach WWI in World history.

For Titus, I picked up three books by Peter Reynolds called Ish, Sky Color and The Dot.  These are cute books that encourage the artist in all children.  They have be requested more than once so I'd call them a success.

For himself Titus again found a gem.  Science books by Vicki Cobb.  These are the best early elementary science books I've ever read.  I fall Down was our first selection.  I have to admit I thought it was a baseball book until we started reading.  I was pleasantly surprised by the simple yet complete explanations and fun experiments.  Though it was suppose to be our bedtime read, the family found Titus and I downstairs doing the experiments. They were very easy and amazingly still fun.  Next, from the library, we checked-out I Get Wet.  It was equally pleasing and we look forward to finding the rest. (I wish science books were listed by author at the library.) 

When I started my blog, I wanted to only talk about books that we enjoyed. Listing and critiquing every mediocre or inappropriate book I try would take too much time. I have decided to change my stance on this and I will occasionally comment on popular books that I just don't understand why anyone puts them on a reading list.

The first book I will comment on and the reason I changed my stance is Kidnapped by Rudyard Kipling.  I am a fan his other works, but I simply could find no redeeming quality in this book.  There's tons of violence, child abuse, compromised morals and, well, that's about it. These types of books are why I pre-read them before the kids have access to it. Just because a book is popular does not mean it will be appropriate for my (or your) family.