29 Great Moments from January 2012

January, you were pretty rockin' too, with the help of a Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker concert in the middle of the month. But even without that great night, we had a blast, if you can omit the G.I. bug that passed through our house (at least 1.5 times), and the bouts of coughs, colds, and ear infections that we could not shake. I felt like I had a terrible cold for at least a solid 2 weeks, and the kids' immune systems definitely got a good crack at fighting that cold. At least we didn't get the pneumonia that was making the rounds through the Boston Metro area. So we count ourselves very lucky! Now on to the fun stuff. (For a look at the whole album, click here.)

The beginning of January found us just returned from our brief holiday in Chicago over New Year's. And upon return, we jumped right back into our old routines. We were happy to be back to one of Thora's beloved activities, tae kwon do, especially because it was stripe testing time! About once a month, they all get a new stripe of tape on their belt (it wraps around one end, perpendicular to the belt). Once they earn all three stripes, at the next stripe testing, they're eligible for the next higher belt. At the January stripe testing, Thora was eligible for a new belt. Here's a brief video of the new belt ceremony for her and the few other classmates who moved up in rank.

Thanks to Grandma Beverly and Granddad Brian, Thora and Auric got to pursue some fun classes this winter. Auric enrolled in a music class that he takes with his friend, Etta, on Wednesday mornings. And Thora got to try out a 4-week acting class with the Boston Children's Theater. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of either of these. (Delinquent Mother, I know!) Since I'm mixing it up with Auric and Etta during music class, I don't have the time or the hands to snap photos. (I'll keep trying.) And as for Thora's acting class, it was a drop-off class, with only a show for the parents on the last of the 4 classes. And of course, my phone told me at that very moment that its memory was full and it couldn't take any more photos. Arggg!

But the class was great fun for her. (Of course it makes total sense, but on the first morning, I was surprised to walk into a room full of Thoras. Talk about extroverted and attention-loving, strong-willed kids! I watched knowingly as one mother was having a stand-off with her daughter. I watched as the kids narrated their thoughts in song at the top of their voices. It was like a society of little performers. Thora fit right in!) They spent each Saturday morning learning about drama through games, crafts, and acting out story books. They learned about awareness of the audience and how to project your voice and actions towards them. They learned about being aware of the other actors, and how when telling a story, you need to know when it's your turn to convey the story, and when it's the other actor's turn. When the parents arrived early on the last day, they told us the story of The Gigantic Turnip. They acted out the planting and harvesting of the garden. And there was my Thora, picked to act out the part of the Turnip, the one vegetable in the garden that was so big that it took the whole cast of characters of the book to pull it out. Thora was acting her biggest, and most defiant, not budging as the kids pretended to pull and pull. And then finally, when all the characters were working together, POP! Thora exploded from the ground and everyone toppled over. Thora had a great time and I think it was a good introduction to her training as a thespian. Thank you Brian and Beverly.

The long weekend of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday was a very busy one for us. First, there was a great tradition, Thora's friend Olive's birthday party. For the past few years, we've all been entertained by Curious Creatures, a company that sends a couple dozen unusual and friendly animals and a very knowledgeable companion to show the animals around and tell us all about them. The kids sit on a rug and take turns getting close looks at the animals and most of the time getting to touch or hold them.

I love the above photo of Auric miming out what he wants to do to that animal! (There's Thora, and Olive, the birthday girl, in the blue shirt.)




Again, I love Auric's little hands patiently cupped and ready to hold the next creature.













Thora got up close and personal to a skunk.










And speaking of Thora and skunks, here's a little flash back to Thora's first Halloween costume. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)











Auric holding a kimoto dragon.












On the Sunday night of our long weekend, we rocked out, 5 feet from the stage, to Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker. It was awesome!









Sean and Thom, ready to rock!









Lisa, Summer, and I, also ready to rock! (Our friend, Jaime, Lisa's husband, was there too and I failed to get a picture of him. Also, Hilary and Dave came later, after the show had started and so I missed getting photos of them too. Guh!)



Sean has been a fan of Camper Van Beethoven since his college days and he introduced them to me during our early years together. Seeing them in concert, and VERY up-close, was awesome and incredible!

Camper Van Beethoven formed in 1983 but broke up in 1990. The lead singer, David Lowery, went on to form the band Cracker. They've all rebanded, and now tour together, with CVB opening the show and Cracker headlining.

Here's a short video of one of my favorite CVB songs, "All Her Favorite Fruit." Enjoy!

While I don't enjoy standing there during my favorite songs, my arm upstretched and motionless so that I can record, (I want to rock out!), for some reason my camera has stopped me from recording for more than around a minute. So in case your interest is piqued, here's the audio of the above song in it's entirety, a track from their excellent album Key Lime Pie.

After an intermission, Cracker took the stage. And they also completely rocked the house down. Needless to say, I did not want that night to end.









We actually got some snow in January! And each snow storm left snow on the ground for about a whopping 24 hours! Here is Auric happily stomping around in some snow.











One morning the kids decided to enjoy the snow by walking Thora to school.









A stomach bug swept through our house. One day, when we were all home but beginning to recover, we were playing picnic. Thora thought it would be a good idea to bring our "puke bucket" along on our picnic. Smart girl.








I saw this online (Pinterest) and had to give it a try. Masking tape all over our living room is a great way to use all those vehicles! We added a curvy road that made a huge loop around the "parking lot" road and even had to crest Mt. Wicker Chest next to the couch. Good times.








Auric often parks his cars when he's playing with them, so I had to make some parking spots on either end of the road.






Auric is getting more coordinated and more daring by the day. Here is his recent favorite exercise, hand stands. And check out Thora's head stands. Enjoy!

One snow storm was heavy enough to allow for some sledding. We met our friends, River and his dad Thom. Here are some pictures from that cold and fun afternoon.































Here is the second sick day of January.











If all the precipitation that we got in January had been snow, we would've been buried under as much snow as last winter. However, it almost always came down as rain. And then you have Auric's favorite activity: puddle jumping. Here is one of my more inspired videos. Enjoy!

Another Pinterest-inspired project: Moroccan-style lanterns (glass paint on the inside of recycled jars with gold puff paint designs on the top and bottoms). Thora's love of all things fancy compelled us to make these. Now our candle light dinners are very fancy indeed.








Silliness: Auric is expecting!










Now for some progress of Thora's Chinese instruction: here she reads from one of her many books. Each week they study a concept. I think this particular week was learning about comparisons between two things, like this animal is faster than that animal. Also, they were gearing up for the Chinese New Year and so all the animals in this book are the animals from the Chinese calendar. Enjoy!

Greg and I took Etta, Auric, and Ellie to the aquarium. I like this photo.









Poor Mr. Potato Head. He made some bad choices.

Time Out.

And finally, Thora and I started on our annual winter tradition: a castle out of recycled cardboard. Initial construction complete!


Stay tuned for our fun-filled February, including almost a week in Tucson!

26 Great Moments from Trip to Chicago (Dec 2011/Jan 2012)

We squeezed in a quick trip to Chicago to see my family during Thora's winter break from school. (Sean was working long days and one 24-hour call shift 4 of the 5 days that we'd be gone, so it kind of made sense to go.) For a look at the whole album, click here.

Here we are having just arrived. NuNu got these very silly but cute hat/mittens/scarf items. The kids love them. Thora wears hers every day to school.







We have some traditions, and one of those is to meet my sister at The Silo, a pizza parlour down the road from BaBa and NuNu's place. NuNu loves to have fancy things for dress-up when Thora comes. She was given these flowers from her mom (I think) and you can see that they're just perfect for the occasion!





Another tradition is to have dinner at the Rainforest Cafe that's near Grandma Jane's place. Thora became very serious all of a sudden, about posing for photos and reviewing them on the camera to make sure that they were just right. This is one of many posed shots, initiated by her, during the trip.

Grandma Jane and Thora.

Aunt Natalie joined us for dinner too. Great fun had by all, including when Natalie and Thora accidentally walked into the kitchen. (Thora thought they'd done something very illicit!)







And of course, we spend about ten minutes riding these coin-operated vehicles.











Auric: "Okay, total mayhem on the count of three. You ready?"

Thora: "I was born ready."









At the Chicago Botanic Gardens, they had an incredible exhibit called Wonderland Express. This was the first part of the exhibit, a gingerbread house village made entirely out of candy. (We liked the log cabin--lower left of photo--made out of pretzel rods, complete with its own outhouse.)






The exhibit was a miniature city, all made out of plant life and organic material, in which sit replicas of Chicago landmarks. It was all so intricate and detailed, I was completely blown away. I tried to express to Thora that in my whole life I'd never seen anything like this. And if that wasn't mindblowing enough, freight trains and commuter trains continually circled the city of "Wonderland."








Here is a replica of the Obama family home, again all made out of plants and trees.









Auric was quite impressed. (On the left is a replica of the Field Museum.)









Periodically, fake snow would fall down over Wonderland. Really it was light, frothy bubbles that dissolved once it landed (on people, or the city). Here is my attempt to capture the magic of a brief snow storm over Wonderland, with the Chicago skyline in the background. The Navy Pier ferris wheel near the shore of the river really rotated.









Auric and NuNu











After some time in the exhibit and a short meal in the cafeteria, the kids needed to burn off some steam. They basically did sprints all around the grounds of the Botanic Gardens.









On New Year's Eve, we met Natalie downtown and redeemed ourselves with a successful trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo! (Our last attempt in September was a bust.) We had a great time!









Aunt Natalie and Thora











If there's a train to be ridden, Auric will ride that train.









This was a great find, in the Children's Zoo--a nice, warm, incredibly involved indoor climbing structure. Thora was still challenged by it, and thankfully feeling gracious enough to help her brother when he occasionally got stuck. But they made it through the whole obstacle course. It only took them a half hour!






I'd read that the Lincoln Park Zoo was putting on a light show and family-friendly celebration for New Year's Eve. But I'd figured that by the time we'd need to leave to head back up to the north suburbs, we would miss it. Happily, I was wrong. Since it was dark at 4:30, they had all the lights on when we emerged from the Children's Zoo. The bear figure in the photo at the left was actually by far the lamest of the lights. (It was the only one I seemed to capture.) There were dozens of these kinds of huge, glowing statues, along with lights in trees and lights over awnings, and one of the coolest effects: blinking and moving lights hung vertically from the branches of a towering tree that gave the effect of snow falling down over us. We were happy to enjoy the lights as we made our way to the carousel for one last ride before leaving the Zoo.




On New Year's Day, we spent the day with Grandma Jane and Grandpa Terry. The kids got to do Christmas all over again and we all enjoyed the time together.










Thora got a deluxe art supply set and set to work coloring in some "fancy ladies" that I was commissioned to draw.








That afternoon, we were happy to learn that Monkey Joe's, a jumping castle play center, was open for shortened holiday hours. And so we drove there for about an hour of jumping. The kids absolutely love this place. And it's great to see them playing together. Usually, for the first 30 minutes or so, they love experiencing all the slides together. Here, Thora waits for Auric to join her.



























On our last morning, Thora enjoyed a prolonged story on the couch with NuNu.










Here is a nice little moment between Grandfather and Grandson. I like to imagine BaBa imparting some real sage advice to Auric, like, "It's important to try to always wear pants when someone has their camera out."