Bark

I will take total credit for this evening.  A flyer came home from school a while ago announcing an upcoming Art Showcase.  The flyer stated they were looking for entries for Paintings, Photography, Sculpture, etc, but participation was totally optional.  I immediately got on it working with both kids trying to come up with ideas for art projects.  With all we have going on pulled in a million different directions all day every day, Dave thought I was absolutely nuts.  As he said, "You do realize, we are going to have years to go of doing REQUIRED projects, don't you?"  But I thought it was a great opportunity to get involved, so I made sure both kids came up with something they could submit.  Tonight, we were invited to the Creative Arts Showcase where the entries were displayed and awards were announced.

Tanner in front of his project

He used tree bark to make a dog.  But it kind of ended up looking more like a fox.  So, we got a little creative with the title.

Lacey made a musical instrument out of a soda bottle and entitled it "Pop" music

We have a WINNER!

At the end of the reception, the Principal handed out awards in the following categories:  Most Inspiring, Most Creative Use of Media, Best use of the Title and Most Admired by Students.  And Tanner ended up winning for "Most Creative Use of Media."  Yeah Tanner!!

Cupid Meets Jack Frost

Plan A:  After a fun day at school with Valentine Class parties, kids would come home to these baskets

Plan B: Snow day.  So, had kids wake up to these instead.

Plan A:  Don't worry about doing anything fancy for breakfast since I'll be running around as usual like a crazy woman trying to get kids dressed, fed and out the door by 8:30am.

Plan B:  Snow Day..... Heart Shaped coffee cake!

Plan A:  Dress all 4 kids in cute Valentines outfits for school and various outings

Plan B:  Get a few cute shots of Ella

And don't bother with the other 3 because they'll be in snow suits all day!

Saturday Plan A:  Take the kids to their final basketball game of the season

Plan B:  Game canceled due to snow, so we decided to spend some 1:1 time taking the kids to movies they have been wanting to see.  We tag teamed and Dave took T to see the Lego Movie in the early afternoon....

And I took Lacey to see Frozen Singalong after they got home.  For those of you aren't aware, the Frozen movie now has a Sing-along version in the theaters.  So, even though Lacey has already been to see this movie twice already, she wanted to go back to sing along to all the songs.  We invited her neighbor friend to go with us.  And every time a song came on, the words appeared on the screen with a snowflake highlighting the words to sing and Lacey and all the other little girls sang their little hearts out.  Adorable.

Thankfully, the one and only Plan A that stuck this weekend was our plans to go out to dinner the night of Valentines Day.  We got a sitter and went to Stoney River Steakhouse, a place we had been three times prior and loved.

Our county has only allotted for four snow days.  We have now used six.  So, hopefully our snow dump for the season is wrapping up and we can get these kids back to school!!

Goooooooo Sharks!

Last Winter, I put Lacey in gymnastics and didn't put Tanner in anything.  This year, I discovered that Elvaton, a local league, combined Kindergartners and First Graders in addition to combining genders.... which meant I could put Lacey and Tanner on the same team!  With the realization that I could go to ONE practice/wk and ONE game/wk while the kids got great exercise in the middle of the Winter, in addition to learning how to play the game of Basketball (this was the first for either of them), in addition to having fun with their friends, I was on board!

Our last game isn't until Saturday, but three of our 10 team members won't be able to be there, so our wonderful Coach Patrick (the one on the couch dog piled by all the kids) hosted a party at his house tonight.  All 10 kids were there and they played basketball in their driveway for a solid hour from 6-7pm (he had lights) in the 20 degree weather.  I couldn't believe they lasted that long!  All I know is my toes were FROZEN by the end!  Then, we all went inside where we had pizza and ice cream sundaes followed by handing out trophies to all the kids.

You may notice from the above team picture that one person stands out.  Yes, Lacey was the one and only girl on the entire team.  I thought she was going to hate it, but she took it in stride and it never seemed to bother her a bit.  She said it made her "special."  She had a great season and scored in several games.  I thought the Coach's trophy presentation to her was very sweet.

Charles

I first heard of Charles Krauthammer a few years ago, right around the time I started really caring about and learning about government, politics, the world.  I started studying all the issues, reading the paper, watching the news, forming opinions.  Educated opinions.  And one of the writers/speakers that I absolutely fell in love with was Charles Krauthammer.  I just thought he was "right on the money" nearly every time I heard him speak or read an article.  He frequently appears on Fox News and other networks as a Political Commentator and is a Columnist for the Washington Post.  He is also an author and recently wrote a book, entitled, "Things that Matter, Three Decades of Passions Pastimes and Politics." He is also a MD (Psychiatrist) and also happens to be paralyzed, following a tragic accident.  He also happens to be absolutely brilliant.  So, when I heard that he was speaking on his new book in Bethesda this past Sunday evening, I absolutely made it a point to be there.  And I'm so glad I did.  I loved hearing him speak, enjoyed the Q&A he entertained afterward (and I was able to ask one of the questions) and loved being able to meet him.

Ice Princess

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

I am all about EXPERIENCES rather than THINGS.  I would take a trip somewhere any day over a piece of jewelry (not that I would turn jewelry down, Dave if you read this :)).   But seriously, 9 times out of 10, I choose the experience over the thing.  So, in hoping my kids inherited a bit of this into their genes, for Lacey's birthday, we decided to give her two tickets to the upcoming Disney on Ice as her birthday gift instead of a toy, etc.  It was also our way of making sure she had some 1:1 time with one of us, a goal that we constantly work on as a family with four children.  Anyway, we asked her if she wanted to choose or if mom and dad should just work it out who went.  She wanted to choose.  The night before the event, she presented her decision to us.  "Okay, Mom and Dad.... I've decided that since Dad and I had our New York City date recently and since mom had a really hard weekend taking care of all four kids by herself while Dad was in San Francisco, I've decided to take Mom to the show."  Dave and I both laughed at the long thought process that went into this "big" decision.  And, for you Bachelor fans, I felt just like I had been selected for the big "one on one date."  Anyway, the two of us had our 1:1 time and it was fabulous.  Fun show and fabulous company!

Super Bowl Sunday

It must be the future..... a couch full of cousins riveted by Minecraft each on their own iphone/ipad.  Superbowl advertisers definitely didn't get their money's worth on this crew!

So, when Lacey was about 3 seconds old, we traipsed three houses down to Dave's brother's house who had invited the whole family over for a Super Bowl Party.  Somehow a tradition got started that year and we have spent every Super Bowl since at their home, usually, with a new baby in tow!  Last year, it was Ella's turn to be 3 seconds old and make her Super Bowl debut.  Anyway, it has been a fun time to get all the Strom cousins together.  This year, I dressed up my barely one-year old baby in her BYU cheerleader outfit for the occasion.  And, I realized, when I did so, that she was wearing the outfit that was handed down to us from her now 14 year old cousin, Becky, who is pictured here wearing the exact same outfit along with Jordan when they were ~2 years old.  It just struck me about that little outfit coming full circle through the oldest Strom cousins down to the youngest and I had to capture it.

Wedding Bells on the Bay

On Sunday, Dave returned from a weekend in San Francisco, where he was attending the wedding of a good friend, Emily.  I am just "marking his spot" here on the blog for him to come back and write about/post pictures about his weekend festivities!