Christmas with Jessi

Watching two little girls all week while they're parents are in Paris. Challenging seems to be the most appropriate description.

Father/Daughter Night

Tonight was date night with Baba. We've been planning it since I heard in October that sweet Sabrina won the part of Clara in the Nutcracker. It has given Dad something to look forward to to get him out and about a little more after surgery.

He rode the Frex bus to Denver where I picked him up and took him to his meeting. Then, he treated me to a beautiful lobster dinner during which he initiated conversation about my boyfriend, and only nagged me slightly about going to law school. Then it was off to see the ballet.

The thing about this man (which any of you who know him will chuckle when you read) is that his theater etiquette is virtually non-existent. Fortunately, I have attended enough concerts and shows with him to anticipate this fact. I planned the parking so that he wouldn't have to walk too far, and got him there early enough to get the seats we wanted, but not too early that he'd get bored. I made sure we had box seats so that he wouldn't disturb the people around us (as much), and made sure we had quick access to the exit.

I am pretty much convinced that he has absolutely no idea how to whisper, so during the overture it was "where is everybody?" and then, "HA HA, the mousies," as they came scurrying across the stage. He snuck in a bag of nuts from the Asian market (as if it were candy into the movies), and left crumbs on the floor under his seat.

I'm grateful that I was fully prepared for this behavior so that I could enjoy his company rather than feel embarrassed or self-conscious. The man is a hoot. As I was driving him home he apologized for not having the endurance to stay through the whole performance (which I did not expect anyway) and thanked me for the "treat." Hee. I'd say it was a successful daddy date night.

What's going on?

I'm pretty sure Baba takes every opportunity he gets to teach me life skills. This can take several forms, but often it's attending meetings with him. Tonight was one such occasion. I took him to a meeting with his CPA in Denver and eagerly absorbing everything, and mentally writing follow up questions on my mind. As we were walking back to the car he said, "You know, Mei Mei, the only reason I talked to him in English was so you would know what the hell was going on."

Xie xie, Baba. It would have been a significantly more boring meeting otherwise. Ha.

Letting the Sunshine In

Quack

I love this man.

Turkey Day in Black and White

Thanksgiving this year took place on Friday, and instead of turkey, we had a standing rib roast and clams.

Playing Black Jack--Tony, you're a goof.

Our peace offering.

Boys talking about things the rest of us don't understand.

Athena (who Tina calls Austina)

Aunt Viven's China

Black Jack quarters (I finished with much less.)

Holden played with us this year.

Koopa Troopa (aka: Cooper)

Making music.

Such a sweet day.

Last Class

Raku Pottery

This piece began as a specific type of white clay (resistant to thermal shock) and was fired in the kiln that Toby built in his backyard. After two hours in the kiln he placed it, still searing hot, on a pile of leaves in a metal trash can and covered it with a lid. The leaves instantly caught of fire, and that fire consumed all the oxygen in the can as well as the oxygen in the clay. The effect are these unique black characteristics.

Such a sweet gift....thanks, Toby.

My New Running Buddy

Sea Breeze and I went for a beautiful, albeit it chilly, run today. One of these days I'll get a dog of my own...don't you worry. (We're actually going to have two :).)

Morning Workout

I decided to try out Baba's new treadmill this morning since it's so chilly out, and Benny came down to hang out. All of the sudden he jumped on the thing and started walking with me. Ha! But then it automatically began speeding up...

Rollin' in the leaves with Athena!

My coat is covered with leaves and dog hair...and a little Athena slobber.

Kasia and Tony :)

Home

Growing up, we spent so much time outside. SO much time. Digging in the dirt, playing on the mounds, splashing in the puddles, building forts in the snow, bailing out of the sled in time for it to hit the pond, helping Mom in the garden, helping dad on the house...you get the idea. And what a beautiful home we had to explore in, at, and around.

As I look back, I cannot believe how much our parents let us do...from zooming down hills on our bikes, to crossing the creek and railroad tracks to run down the ravine to my best friend's house, to consolidating the furniture in the house so we could roller blade around on the brand new hardwood floors ("those scuff marks will wipe right off," was Mom's justification).

Some of my favorite parts of this acre lot were Mom's garden (of course), Mark's dogs on the other side of the fence, the mounds (I cried when they leveled one to build the addition), the pound, and last but not least the gazebo and bridge.

One summer Jordyn Downs came over for a sleepover, and we decided to build a tree-house without asking my parents. So we dug through the woodpile in the back to find what we needed, found nails and hammers in my dad's workshop, and went to work! Hammering was probably not the most discreet of methods, and my dad eventually came outside to see what we were up to. For any of you that know my dad, you know that we froze when we saw him coming, feared for our lives, and our minds scrambled desperately to find a escape. His response was not, however, outrage at the fact that we are hammering nails into his beautiful Ponderosa Pine, or that there is little to nothing safe about what we were doing, or even that we had taken his things without asking. His response instead was, "you know that would be a lot easier if you used screws and a power drill." So, he replaced our nails and hammer with screws and a drill, and we spent the rest of the day working on and building our fort--complete with a pulley system with which to bring books and snacks to the top landing.

I spent hours in this tree reading books, writing in my journal, and watching cars go by...it was my little haven.

Such a sweet, beautiful home with more rich memories than can be numbered.

Dressing up like a grownup tonight!

This is my heart. This is why I'm in education.

Ken Robinson on education:

*click me*

(Mom, you'll appreciate this.)

As the Deer Panteth

EPIC!!!!!!!

I'm bringing a boy home for Thanksgiving :), and I can hardly wait!!!

Boyd Lake and Pancakes for the Heart Center

Why, good morning beautiful lake!

Looks like November to me :).

What else would you mix a bucket of pancake batter with besides a power drill?

Enjoying the view post-run.

Chris let me have the Mickey Mouse pancake (though I only ate the ears and he at the face).

Waitin' in line for PANCAKES!

Yes, we actually ran.

Though maybe not so seriously...