Merry Christmas!

I'm sure today will be filled with lots of memories we'll have to share very soon but for now here's a video I made of Christmas 2006. So sweet...
Lily's 3rd Christmas

Virtual Family

On the eve of Christmas eve we were able to be with our family via Google video chat.  The whole family and then some was gathered for a party at the Dorval home in Vassalboro and decided to give us a call.  We "hung out" with them for some time and got to talk to a good number of our extended family.  My sister-in-law, Julie snapped this family photo of us at the party...it's like we were really there!

Christmas is almost here

We've been pretty busy here with celebrations and preparations for the Christmas holiday. The kids are so excited and to top it all off Meme and Grampy will be visiting next week. Here's some of what we've been up to.

Meme sweater

DSC_0336, originally uploaded by LeahBea.
You might ask yourself...what is it that Leah does with all her "spare" time? When I'm not writing completely useless blog entries, doing laundry, shuttling children or generally wasting time on the computer I knit. What do I knit? Well...
Sophie has long ago outgrown what we call in this house her "Meme sweater" while Lily is still enjoy the warm coziness of hers. My very talented mother-in-law was kind enough to share with me this top secret pattern ( Knitting Pure & Simple's Neckdown Pullover) so I'm whipping one up for Sophie as a Christmas present. So far so good, one arm to go.

I got a little bored in the final stages of the sweater and couldn't resist the yarn I bought for Levi's hat so I cranked that out and am pretty pleased with the result. I had to make quite a few modifications since the pattern is for an infant and Levi's head is gigantic...I think this hat would fit me. I give you....Gnomey Hat


With any luck I'll finish all my projects before Christmas!

You don't have to play hockey to get hurt...

Levi has his first black eye.  It happened last night we were at the hockey rink watching Lily play hockey.  As is their custom Sophie and Levi spend most of our waiting going up and down the bleachers.  Levi was running along, tripped and fell and met the stairs.  So sad to see such a tiny little guy banged up but we found someone with a first aid kit and bandaged him up. All is well, except for the huge bruise on his face to remind me of my baby's pain...

Sooner or later they all fall asleep at the table

This morning while I was updating the blog Levi polished of a yogurt and some graham crackers. After a couple minutes of what I thought was contented thumb sucking I looked over to discover the little guy fast asleep in his highchair. Tough life!

Something Old...Something New

So we're getting by what is turning out to be a wintry month of November. There have been many frigid mornings and the flakes have been flying. The ski slopes opened up last weekend and we're preparing for winter activities. Leah is the proud owner of new boots (no skis yet); Sophie got her first pair of skis (flowery and girlie, sorry Levi); and both girls were in need of helmets so we hit the ski swaps and sporting goods stores to find the appropriate gear. It turned out to be impossible to talk the girls out of getting bright pink girlie helmets so we went with it. Wouldn't you know that they also come with more than enough stickers to plaster your brand new (and not exactly cheap) helmet with an assortment of flames, flowers and cute animals to depreciate the value of your new purchase faster than you can say 'bunny slope'.

Oh, well. At least Levi stands to inherit the plain old black helmet that Lily wore last year and DID NOT pass the "does is keep your goggles from flying off in the snowbank" test. I guess we'll worry about that when the time comes.

In other happenings we are the proud owners of a 'new to us' dining table. Our friends recently remodeled their house and bought new furniture. As luck would have it they were looking for a new home for a much loved dining set they've had for years (originally bought in Boston). It needs to be refinished and time will tell if the chairs hold up to our abuse but we are more than happy to have it and look forward to entertaining ourselves and our guests at our new table.

Halloween

Halloween was an eventful weekend. It started Thursday night with a trip to Red Butte Garden "After Dark" and celebration of Halloween around the world. Friday night was Dia de los Muertes at Lily's school. And here in Salt Lake City we did our Trick or Treating on Saturday night. It was cold and wet but that didn't stop the kids from having fun.

Sophie's big girl bed

After a lot of complaining about her toddler bed we finally broke down and got Sophie a big girl bed.  Never mind that Lily had been in one for a year by the time she was Sophie's age but such is the lot in life of the younger siblings.  Sophie is super excited about it and helped pick out her new big girl bedding.  It's a pretty sweet setup and I'm a little jealous she gets the whole thing all to herself. 

I wonder how long we can keep Levi in a crib....?

Lily tries hockey

The kids are back in school and life is busy.  The newest activity in our family is hockey.  Lily has signed up for a learn to play hockey clinic.  Her skating is a little rusty but getting better each time she goes out.  She is only one of a couple girls among many boys.  Her dad is looking out for her and volunteers at practice when he can...lucky girl.
Stay tuned because Sophie starts skating lessons very soon....

We're baaack!!!

We'll it started with a busy summer with lots of traveling and continued into the fall with more traveling but there is no longer any excuse.  Here are some highlights from the past few months.

 Red Sox Game

Lily's first catch

Pooler Family reunion

a wedding

Lily's first Gifford's

the beach

Levi loves pink

night out in Portland

first day of First Grade

a day on the Kennebec

just love this face

another wedding

and one last trip to Maine for yet another wedding

Levi playing on a slide

Pioneer Day

In Utah the big patriotic holiday is Pioneer Day. It celebrates the arrival of the original Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley. Celebrations are similar to July 4th and are a big deal here. We spent the afternoon at the pool and then set off firecrackers in the street before calling it a day.

Photo of the Day

Boomah!

For his birthday this year Levi was given a touch and feel book about cats by his godmother, Aunt Diana. He's loved the book since he got it but recently discovered a cat in it that bears a resemblance to Meme's new dog Boomer, a Japanese Chin. He gets so excited when we get to this page in particular and because it's a pop-up book thinks that he can take the cat out of the book, all the while exclaiming "Boomer!" (He's the puss in boots). Just for authenticity, he pronounces it like a true Mainah...Boomah.

Photo of the Day: Joey meets Dolly

Photo of the Day: Costume Parade

Photo Session

This morning the kids and I attempted a photo session in the garden of a neighborhood church. It is the historical Garden Park Ward, a popular site for weddings and photographers. Despite the oil spill in Red Butte Creek which runs through the garden and our neighborhood, it is still very beautiful. I'm not sure if I got THE shot so I'll keep trying. It's pretty tough to get all three kids in the same frame in a reasonable pose. There were some keepers including this one of the girls which I love so I'll share. Hope you like it!

Red Butte Garden

Today we met Dad for a lunch picnic at Red Butte Garden. It was our first time there with the kids. After lunch we explored the children's garden which contains fountains, mazes, sculpture, playhouses and a sandbox just to name a few of the many things there. Finally the heat got to us and it was home for nap time. Yeah!

Sophie asleep; saved by the ottoman

Mini Golf

We played 18 holes of mini golf, on some sweet holes created by SLC artists. The fund raiser went to benefit, well, the artists. Here Sophie is, framed as the Taco Bell dog on hole #8.

July 4th, for real!

What the city of Salt Lake couldn't do on a Sunday, the Salt Lake Bees could.  See, it's okay if private businesses disrespect our particular religious traditions to celebrate the birth of our government, just so long as the government is appropriately indeferential to the first amendment, and forces public institutions to obey our particularly asinine god.

We took the kids to our first baseball game of 2010.  The Bees got killed, they were down 7-0 by the second inning.  Still, we spent lots of money on popcorn, and french fries, and hot dogs that the kids begged for then refused to eat.  After the game, we were herded out onto the field for an awesome fireworks show. You can see the field lights (off) in the photo.  Levi was terrified of the noise. Lily buried her face in my chest at the lights.  Sophie lapped it all up.

July 4th, One day early!

Today Utah celebrated Independence Day, 1 day early. Because, you know, Sunday is saved for the Angel Moroni et al., and really, the Jews won't mind if we move the party to their day of rest because, well, you know.  So we hit the library.  Lily played chess, Sophie played with that unusable abacus thing that kids love, and Levi ate pop up books.  Later we lit off some of our own fireworks with the neighbors, then Leah took the girls to the fireworks show.  No pics of that.

Fairy Camp

Lily finished a two week session of Fairy Camp at The Children's Theatre here in Salt Lake City. Although she did not learn to fly, the kids did put on a really cute show for family and friends on the last day. Each day they earned a badge for a skill such as stage direction, ensemble, movement, diction etc. All eighteen girls ages 4 to 8 demonstrated these skills collectively and without injuring anyone during the performance. Seriously thought, it was really cute and quite impressive that they memorized lines, stage direction and were able to work together to put on a really cute show.

Boy's best friend

Boy's best friend
Originally uploaded by LeahBea

Levi met Boomer when he went to Maine with Chuck back in June. I'm afraid he's in love with him and now sees Boomer in anything cute and fuzzy; cats, dogs, whatever...

Visit to the Zoo

Today it was just the girls. Chuck went to Maine for Uncle Vince's funeral and took Levi with him! I can't believe I let him take my baby. While I'm sitting here wondering how everything is going for all my family in Maine I figured it would be a good idea to take the girls to the zoo. Kind of lonely but pretty standard zoo visit...

Levi takes a trip

Levi and Chuck made the trip home to Maine for Uncle Vince's funeral. It was Levi's first time away from Mom and perhaps Chuck's first time flying solo with a kid. They took the red eye so they were both good and tired. Their departure from SLC was delayed two hours but other than that everything went smoothly. All the girls will be very glad when they return.

Three in a row

Lily is now missing three teeth up top. She was fooling around with Dad and he "accidentally" punched her in the face, leaving her already loose tooth bloody, dangling and ready to be yanked out. All in good fun. Luckily the two front teeth look like they're coming in pretty soon. Three in a row leaves a big gap!

Saturday out, with 3 kids

Sophie broke Lily's reading light. to replace it we headed to Ikea where we dumped the girls into Smileland, and recalled the days when shopping with one kid was a hassle ... now it's a relief!

Utah Museum of Natural History

Today the kids and I went to the Utah Museum of Natural History. They have lots of great dinosaur bones, rock and mineral displays, and creepy insects among other things. Here the girls are putting on a puppet show for Levi. Afterward, Chuck met us for a picnic dinner. Good times!

By the way, that's one way glass the girls are standing behind in case you're wondering why there's a reflection of Levi and my legs. It looks a little strange.

Lily's Class Picnic

Today we celebrated the end of school with Lily's Class Picnic. Highlights included a magician, cookout, robot costume contest, water balloon fight, and generally enjoying the company of our friends from Lily's class. Luckily most of these kids will be going on together to first grade so it's only goodbye for the summer. Great job kiddos!

Lily's Kindergarten Graduation

Lily's class held their Kindergarten Program tonight. The kids have been working hard putting together a musical number, "Heal the World by Michael Jackson; a dance, "Beat It", also by Michael Jackson; and learning the salsa, "Corazon de Melao". Ms. Tiburcio did this all by herself, keeping the details a secret from the parents so we could all be surprised. There was also a slideshow and presentation of "diplomas". Chuck was good enough to volunteer me to play the piano for the the graduation march. If he didn't, who would? The kids did a great job and we presented Ms. Tiburcio with flowers and a gorgeous Diego Rivera art book as a thank you for all her hard work. It's been a great year and we're looking forward to moving on to 1st grade!