Sunday, January 27, 2013

Thought for the Day

January 27, 2012

Most of the time when I'm on Pinterest, I'm all, "Oooh...pretty shoes and dresses! And look at all the yummy food I can try!" But there's always a subtle subtext of, "I must be a terrible mom--look at all the cool party ideas and fun science experiments and cool crafts and interesting photo shoots that I never did with my kids when they were young!"

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Sharpshooter

January 24. 2013

Long before Katness Everdeen made her mark on the literary world or stood up on screen to volunteer as tribute, Danielle has been asking us to sign her up for archery lessons.  I'm not really sure where the interest initially came from, but Danielle is nothing if not persistent.  Once she gets ahold of an idea, she wants to see it through.  However, when she first asked five or six years ago, I was quite reluctant.  I wasn't convinced that with the impulsivity number two and kid number three sometimes exhibited that I might suddenly find myself with one of them in the emergency room watching a doctor extricate an arrow from one of my kids' bodies. Not that I thought anyone would intentionally shoot an arrow through their sibling; they just weren't always well-known for attention to detail and watching their surroundings when they were younger. 


So now we're several years past her initial request, and it hasn't dimmed for her at all.  In the meantime, both of the kids have matured and grown up, so I'm not quite so fearful of accidental 'spearings'.  We decided this Christmas would be the perfect time to get Danielle the gift of lessons.  We got her a gift certificate to Impact Archery, which is run by a professional archer.  He apparently has trained and taught several actors to shoot for various movies.  He's a little gruff--a 'man's man', I suppose, but he clearly knows his sport.

Doug took Danielle for her first lesson today, and she absolutely loved it.  Within minutes she had settled into a rhythm and stance, and Doug even overheard another patron say she looked like a real natural.  He got a few pictures of her as she was shooting, and for a first time out, her aim was pretty impressive.  She's very excited to continue on with her lessons.  If she really takes to it, we'll soon get her her own bow and arrows and set up an archery lane in the back yard.






Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Danielle's Self-Portrait

January 16, 2013


I'm so impressed with Danielle's artistic ability.  For her 8th grade Advanced Art class, she had to take a small picture of herself and recreate it in pencil.  It's hard to tell from the picture, but her artwork is a 16 x 20 sized portrait. 

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Leadership Camp

January 13, 2013

This is a group photo of Bree and her fellow attendees at the leadership camp she attended this weekend.  She was selected to attend by virtue of her involvement in several organizations on campus.  I continue to be amazed and proud of all the things she's accomplishing at San Diego State.


Well, This Came for Me a Little Earlier Than Expected

January 13, 2013

As I am slowly but surely making my recovery from knee surgery, I am reminded almost by the minute of how much I am NOT yet my former self.  A week and a half  post-surgery, and I'm still hobbling about painfully on crutches.  However, I am making progress for sure.  When Doug and I decided to hit the grocery store (late at night, on a Sunday, so as to avoid crowds), I felt fairly certain I was up to the task.  I had bought quite a lot of groceries in advance of my surgery, making sure the pantry was very well stocked, but we still needed a few items that I hadn't covered.  (More milk, for one.  My goodness, the boys in our household--Doug included--make milk disappear like magic!)

Anyway, we got out of the car and headed toward the front of the store.  Barely inside, I realized how daunting the thought was of me making my way down all the aisles to collect the things we needed.  I was already tired.  The cashier nearest the door happened to see us as we made our way inside and offered up this:

My first thought was, "No way! Those are for people who really need them."  And then I thought, "Hey-right now, I AM one of those people." I was at once grateful and embarrassed, but I climbed aboard and took off.  The cashier even said that if their other one wasn't being repaired, Doug and I could have a race to see who was faster.  Now THAT would have been fun!  I felt silly driving my little cart around the grocery store, but let me tell you, it was fun, too.  I'm just glad that my condition is a temporary one.  Perhaps later, in my Golden Years, when my body chooses to betray me in a somewhat more permanent way, I'll be happy to have a little cart of my own to amble about in.  And by that time, if Doug is in need of one too, I'll be happy to show him who would have won that race if Vons had both of their carts ready for action. 

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Winter Formal, Sophomore Year

January 12, 2013

Nicholas asked Natalie Gonzales to accompany him to the Winter Formal this year.  She had a previous commitment for dinner, but she was able to meet up with him at the dance.  Normally I have Winter Formal dance duty, but because of my knee surgery I had to bow out.  In addition, we had to have Danielle at her soccer game at the same time Nicholas was getting dressed for formal, so I never even got to see him all dressed up, nor did I get to see his date!  I had to rely on a few photos from his dad and from my good friend Allison, who was chaperoning.

Nicholas didn't seem too disappointed that he didn't get to take Natalie to dinner.  I think he just focused on having a good time at the dance.  He said they both had a great time!





Monday, January 7, 2013

Should We Just Keep It?

January 7, 2013

Brianna asked for this T-Shirt for Christmas (a chip off the old block, so to speak), and although I ordered it well before the holidays, it took its time getting here.  I told her that she could expect a late Christmas gift in one of the care packages I send her, but now I'm wondering if I should just keep it.  Ha ha!