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!
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