Archive for January, 2012

10 Jan

A Christmas Story

Posted by Rebecca in Ava.

Shortly after Ava arrived home from the last day of school in December, I found this little package under the tree, and I swear my heart grew three sizes.

Then, later that same day, she searched frantically for a little missing snowman ornanament that was supposed to sit on top of this gift to her parents. She didn’t want to share too many details with us for fear of ruining the surprise, but she did leave this little note for Santa. It made my newly-enlarged heart sink:

Thankfully, Bryan found the ornament under the car in the garage on Christmas eve—she must have dropped it on her way in the house. We tucked the note away, but Santa found it and left a short response, much to sweet Ava’s surprise.

We did indeed like the present—a cute little storybook Ava created on her own at school. And, that snowman ornament will happily hang on our tree each Christmas, a reminder of how thoughtful and generous a six year old can be.

7 Jan

Life Lister

Posted by Rebecca in Outdoor life.

Over Christmas break, our local paper reported unusual Snowy Owls sighting in the area as they move south in search of food. Our friend Dawn emailed last week to say she’d twice seen a Snowy Owl below the dam south of town.

We headed that direction this morning on what we thought would be a long shot. But, as we turned to drive below the dam, we found a group of people watching a Snowy Owl as it perched on a speed limit sign.We never imagined we’d be so lucky!

Despite the cars and spectators all around, the owl stayed put for quite a long time.

You can see the owl below—he’s just left of the roof rack on blue SUV.

As we headed down this road, we ended up a bit closer.

6 Jan

Christmas morning

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Family, Olivia.

The girlies woke up pretty early Christmas morning—Ava was up before the sun. She scoped out Santa’s spoils before heading back up stairs to rouse her sleepy sister.

The girls tore into their gifts, with grandparents and an aunt and soon-to-be uncle watching (while downing coffee–it was early!).

Highlights of the morning included doorbells for the girls’ rooms (what was Santa thinking?!) and a “Let’s Play School” set that has already elicited hours of joint play.

Many thanks to our family members for joining us in Kansas. We all headed back to Nebraska that morning to join other celebrations—we had a great week of travels!

 

5 Jan

Christmas Eve

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Olivia.

For the second year in a row, we spent Christmas Eve at home in Kansas with my family, and we had a few extra days to spend on fun projects like reindeer food. Ava and Olivia mixed up a special snack that included oatmeal, granulated sugar and red and green sanding sugar (the “magic” ingredients to aid the reindeer in flight). Once their concoction was complete, they spread it throughout the yard.

Then, it was time for the girls to turn their attention to the big guy. Following a present opening with the grandparents, great grandparents and Katie and Tom, Ava and Olivia donned their new Christmas pajamas and set to work on letters to convince Santa they were indeed more good than bad.

Were they successful? You’ll have to wait and see!

 

Newer Entries »