Who Knew?

Last night our family was invited over to Jenny's house to play games with their family. We eagerly accepted the invitation! Jenny prepared lots of treats & goodies to eat (yay) and we got right to the games. We played Apples to Apples first (remember how much we like this game?) ... there were 9 of us ... SO fun to play with such a big group, several we don't know well at all!!! The 2nd game we played was Guesstures. We had never played before but it was fun. I'm not the best at acting stuff out (it's a fast-paced Charades-type game) but I managed to do ok. It was really fun to see how everyone chose to act ... the adults & the kids. Fun stuff. The last game we played was Whoonu. Haven't heard of it yet? You should definitely give it a try. It's sort of like Apples to Apples but not. You are essentially guessing what you think is someone's favorite thing(s). Sometimes you are right on & sometimes you are way off. Jenny had NO idea how much I enjoyed dog shows. I truly do LOVE dog shows. I don't like dogs in real life (woof, woof ... SCARY) but I love them on T.V. lol Go figure. Either way we had lots of fun & learned a lot about each other.

Tuesday Sweets

Jerrie & I went to town yesterday with a plan

... to eat sweet treats.

We succeeded.

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We started at Rocket Donuts. We'd talked about going before but never made it together. Jerrie had gone ... but yesterday was my first time. They have a donut with bacon on it. Ewwwww. We didn't get one of those. I got a glazed donut (seriously, what's better than a glazed donut) and a cinnamon crumb cake. They were good. Not fabulous but good. I also drank a blackberry Izze ... yummy. Jerrie had a latte & a bismark.

The atmosphere/decor is interesting. Apparently there's information about it on the website. I didn't read it beforehand. Maybe if I had I wouldn't have been so surprised by what I saw inside. lol

We then shopped at odd stores here & there before we ended our day at Katie's Cupcakes. We've been before but yesterday they had a hummingbird cupcake which HAD to be tried. It was ok but it was not nearly as good as the hummingbird cupcakes they have a Trophy Cupcakes. Don't get me wrong though ... if I went to Katie's again, I'd have it ... but I'd know it wasn't going to knock my socks off. And that's ok. :)

Fettuccini Anyone?

The final (I think) birthday celebration for Calob was held this past Sunday at Olive Garden. Our family and Sharon's family ate to our heart's content (and then some). Calob ordered the Seafood Fettuccini, which is his favorite.

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This picture just kills me. I'm not sure how much wider Calob can open his mouth ... sheesh, can you imagine when he's eating something that's actually big?!? HAHA

Successful Sleepover

Calob had his birthday "celebration" on Saturday. He invited 2 friends over for food, video games & a sleepover. I bet you're wondering what a successful sleepover is, aren't you? Well, apparently a successful sleepover is one where they don't sleep. You're welcome for that little bit of education on a Monday. ☺

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Calob, Eli & Henry

Such boys
Henry wasn't able to stay for the "sleepover" which was a bummer. Although since there wasn't any sleeping until after 6:30 am, maybe that's a good thing for him. You'll have to excuse the graininess of the pictures below. It was pretty dark & I didn't want to use the flash or turn on the lights & wake up the boys. Calob is on the left & Eli is on the right.

The aftermath

Friends & Apples

Remember when we played "Apples to Apples" for the first time? Of course you do, it was only a few days ago ... ha ... anyway, remember when I mentioned how much fun it would be to play with another family? Of course you do ... ha ... so I emailed Sharon & Gord and suggested we have a game night. They accepted the 'challenge' and we played on New Year's Eve. Oh my goodness we had a lot of fun. There were 8 of playing for the first few rounds & then just 6 of us (Callie & Emily went upstairs) playing for the final couple of rounds. To say it was interesting is putting it mildly. We definitely had some disagreements about the choices made but it was all in good fun. I know it's something we need to do again ... soon!

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Here's my attempt at a group shot of us playing. You can barely see Callie to my left & somehow Emily didn't even make it in the picture (sorry Emily). I absolutely LOVE the look on T's face though ... hahahaha

Movie Date

On Monday, Calob & I accompanied Callie & Oskar on what I classify as their "first date." Granted we were with them BUT they sat on their own to eat & in the movies. Yep, they saw their first movie together. We saw "Alvin the the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" which wouldn't have been the first choice for any of us but it was pretty much the only appropriate movie showing. So that's what we saw. It wasn't great but it certainly wasn't horrible. I've read some people talking about how awful it is. Seriously, it's a cartoon about chipmunks ... if you're expecting Oscar worthy stuff, you're in the wrong place. If you go into it rationally you will get exactly what you expect ... at least I think so. They both seemed to enjoy the movie (although I couldn't really see them). The whole thing was super sweet ... they even shared a drink (his idea). Memories for sure. After the movie Oskar came to our house for a bit to wait for his mom to pick him up. Callie & Oskar played Wii ... because really, what else is there to do when mom is right there with a camera? ☺

Christmas Eve Dinner

We went to Sharon & Gord's last night for a lovely Christmas Eve dinner. Normally we have dinner on Christmas day but Gord had to work so we celebrated early. It was great as always. It's amazing to have such good friends who are always willing to invite us to share their holidays with them!!!

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Calob & Gord playing Mario Kart.

The 2 families.

Skating PJ Party

Yesterday at Callie's school they had pajama day. It happened to coincide with a 5th grade skating party too. It was quite funny to see so many kids skating in their pj's. While wearing pj's isn't required, most of the kids join in the fun.

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Icee energy before skating

Heading into the rink
Practically a pro!

Smile!

Katie & Callie

Recital Nights 1 & 2 ... "The Nutcracker" - 2009

We made it through yet another recital weekend. Whew! There's nothing like recitals to make you go a little crazy, especially at this time of year. I can't imagine Callie NOT having the chance to dance on the stage though. She loves it. She soaks up the energy ... and pours her heart out on the stage. It truly is a beautiful thing to watch ... and that's saying a LOT since I don't like ballet. Callie did a terrific job as a rat & as a Spanish dancer. She now has 3 weeks off until the next session of dance starts & she's beside herself not knowing what to do. Poor girl just needs to dance ... all the time! Here are assorted pictures from the 2 recital nights.

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FRIDAY NIGHT PICTURES

Makenna & Callie

Fellow rats & "Clara" (aka Taylor) Callie with flowers from Oskar
Callie & Oskar exchanged Christmas presents for the first time this year. It was fun to help her shop for him & find just the right gift.
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Callie is totally blurry in this picture
but I just LOVE the look of anticipation on
Oskar's face ... LOVE IT!!!
Oskar bought Callie sweet pea perfume
Callie bought Oskar a funny shirt
So cute!

On Saturday nights I help backstage ... so I'm also known as a "helper mom." It's a whole different perspective on recitals but can be fun ... at times ... you never can tell. ☺

SATURDAY NIGHT PICTURES

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Oskar (dressed as Fritz) and Callie

Callie as a rat & the rats w/Clara

before dancing onstage

Callie the rat

More rat dancing

Spanish dance & curtain call

Oskar (dressed as The Nutcracker) & Callie and Oskar (wearing the shirt Callie gave him the night before) and Callie.

In case you're wondering, the shirts says "Don't play with duct tape." Kind of an inside thing related to D.I. ☺

Lighted Christmas Parade

For the first time Callie's ballet studio was in the lighted Christmas parade. To say it was cold is a major understatement but it wasn't snowing, so at least that was good. I tried to talk Callie out of it but there was no keeping her away. Callie was pleased as punch to be able to sit by Oskar on the float! Oh yeah, it's the little things in life that make a difference.

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Callie & Oskar

Oskar & Callie

The dance teachers (and some students)

dancing behind the float

Winter Recital - 2009

The ballet studio where Callie dances had their winter recital dress rehearsal on Wednesday night. They are having "The Nutcracker" as their production again this year. You might remember last year ... here and here ... when Callie danced the part of Clara (such good memories for her). This year, Callie moved up to Ballet 4 and therefore was unable to dance the part of Clara again. She was SUPER excited to find out she'd be dancing as a rat. Yep, my daughter the rat. If you don't know the story of "The Nutcracker" at all, the rats are ultimately out to get Clara & she is protected by the dolls & eventually saved by "The Nutracker" (danced again by Oskar, Callie's "special" friend). Here are some rat pictures.

That's a doll behind her ... as the rats are circling Clara The other dance she was in was the Spanish dance. (She was in the Russian & Chinese dances last year). It's a short dance (about a minute) but pretty & fun to watch.

Totally blurry but I like this picture.

The color is really good & it shows

her "in motion" ... groovy

So pretty!

Thanks to our friends that came to watch Callie (and others) on dress rehearsal night. Sharon & Emily, Andrea & Kelsey and even Jerrie came this year. Thanks ladies, Callie (and I) very much appreciate the support!

A Visit With Miss Hope

Callie & I were thrilled to learn that Miss Hope (Callie's ballet teacher that moved to Georgia) was heading "home" for a Thanksgiving visit. We were able to spend a few hours with her and while those few hours were great, they definitely weren't enough. We're trying to find a way to keep Hope here but she's resisting ... I'm thinking of some sort of underground room for her ... what do you think? ☺

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Callie & Hope ... lunch at Bob's

Callie with her ballet stickers from Miss Hope
Callie & Miss Hope ... power-shopping ... lol
Never enough hugs
Callie LOVING the sun!
Callie, Hope & Me ... a final good-bye :(