"Branch"ing Out

While we were at the cabin in Tahoe over Thanksgiving part of the outdoor fun was building a fort. Materials used to build the fort included lose pine tree branches, some that were quite large. Before we left the cabin I decided to take along  a bag full of the branches. I admit that in doing so I somewhat destroyed the fort, however it left a  blank slate of imaginable possibilities for the next group of fort builders  :-). I ended up with  a giant bag of branches all for the project of making a homemade Christmas wreath.

 

I have never made one before and it seemed easy enough, plus I thought it added that extra memorial flair as we could look at the wreath and remember our Thanksgiving trip. I headed to collect craft supplies (a couple weeks later) and as I always do, let the craft aisles be my guide. I I have found you never find exactly what you are looking for material wise, so I always just wait and see what inspires me and works best. 

I was lucky to find a grape vine wreath that made the perfect base, some floral wire for securing branches, and little inexpensive ornaments; Morgan was most excited about the ornaments of course. I think the first try ended in success... 

Lights...Camera...Christmas Program

The month of December brings many  things, one of which is the annual Blue Kangaroo holiday program. The kids spend a couple of weeks before hand practicing a series of songs, making headbands, etc. all in an effort to present a united singing front to their parents and extended family.

Morgan was excited about her program and I was too. Last year she did SO well; I was shocked. Not that she sang well, just that she didn't freeze at the sight of all the people watching. Her enthusiasm led me to believe this too would be a year of masterful singing. 

We started the morning with the usual tasks, but when dressing time was announced she made sure to check that her clothes were "extra special" for the day as she wanted to be the "cutest". Yes, she really said this. Of course an outfit is not complete without a complimentary hair style so curling commenced and shiny ribbon was added to the pulled back pieces. All in all I think she was quite happy with the end product. 

Another big part of the morning was wrestling with chocolate marshmallows (yes, I used the idea that quickly). It seemed such an easy thing to make. In retrospect maybe not as easy as  thought. The main issue was the chocolate hardening and lack of fridge space. I was going to individually bag each marshmallow stick, WAS being the operative word.  They were not in a state of bag"ability" so instead we stacked. They still looked nice and she was happy to be bringing this fantastic Morgan approved treat! 

Three hours later came the big show. The kids all lined up in place...

 

And then the singing began. First there was Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

Followed by Santa Claus is Coming to Town... 

It appears that this year she was a bit tired and distracted by itchy headband and tights.  They way it sounds in the video is exactly as it was in person. Many, many children singing. All in their own time. We will consider it a studio mix type version of Christmas Caroling!

They finished their show, took a bow (just a few, most declined) and moved on to lunch. One thing I have learned as a parent and the mom of Morgan is keep food familiar. In this case there was a large piece of ham on her plate. Ham is not a meat she is uber-familiar with (probably my doing I am not so much a fan of ham) and so I went straight for the known factor by calling it Turkey Ham. This turkey ham though slightly different in taste and color was okay because, it was turkey, and turkey is ok! :-)

All Aboard!

  

On Saturday we (Morgan, my mom (AKA Grandma, and I) went up to Virginia City to ride the Santa Christmas Lights train. The train was advertised to be a special train ride with "Father Christmas (it's Virginia City so they try to keep it old school), however it was a tad bit different. After purchasing our tickets we waited for the train to arrive during that time they offered hot chocolate and candy canes (i.e. sticky and stickier). Morgan was thrilled to have her own coffee cup of hot chocolate and quite liked the fact that you could add marshmallows. The candy cane was less impressive, she said it tasted weird and because she had gloves on it got glove fluff all over it after one lick. 

We only had to wait about 15 minutes and the train arrived. It is funny to watch little kids get excited over simple things - in this case the train horn. They heard it coming down the tracks and everyone jumped to line up. Morgan too was very concerned about being in line; I came to discover it is because she thought this was like many other lines where you may have a ticket, but you might not get on this round of the trip. Once she understood that everyone with a ticket would get to ride this time she relaxed a bit. 

The train was decorated with lights and some toys inside. The conducter and other train staff were Santas helper elves and on board was Mrs. Claus with Jimmy the elf. I was disappointed that Santa did not make an appearance on the train, but she did not seem to mind. She liked the experience of riding on a train, going through the one long dark tunnel, and of course, traveling with her hot chocolate beverage (to be featured later as a stain (or stains) on her jeans. 

After our train ride (about 45 minutes later) we drove from the train station up to the main street area of VC.  Our first stop was the "Forever Christmas" store. They are open all year and mainly carry tree ornaments. Morgan was able to pick out her 2008 ornament (and so was mommy). She ended up choosing a very pretty ballerina ornament, complete with a little sparkle. She has decided the ornament should get premier standing this year and sit at the top of the tree. *this picture hi-lights the hot chocolate that escaped the cup and spilled on her pants while riding on the train, luckily I had napkins - thank goodness for the abyss that is my purse* 

Outside of the ornament store was an old mechanical ride on toy, this one is Rudolph the Reindeer and only costs a quarter per ride.  Morgan sat on the reindeer, we inserted the quarter.... and then..... 

It started up with this rough fast shaking motion and her face immediately switched from excited anticipation to a look of "holy crap". Really no other term explains it. I could not help but laugh (I know, bad mommy), but it was sooooo funny (again, bad mommy). Had I faster reflexes I would have switched my camera to video mode. Grandma helped her off the reindeer. I think she would have jumped off had she not been holding on for dear life. 

After the reindeer incident we continued our journey down the wooden walk way to look in various stores, one of which was Grandma's Fudge Factory. She originally wanted fudge but as it turns out you have to buy at minimum one-half pound and that = WAY too much fudge for one little person! Plan B was chocolate covered marshmallows on a stick. She loved it and I got a killer idea for more homemade treats (act surprised if you ever receive such a gift). 

  

We were going to stay to watch the parade but it did not begin until 5 p.m. and although we tried our best, at around 4:30 it was just too cold to stay and tantrum Morgan was about to hit. We had a good couple of hours overall. The picture below was taken for fun.....however, later on the scrooge bench would have been quite appropriate. It seems the day was a little too long without enough rest for Ms. Morgan. Let me say the car ride home was AWESOME. ha ha ha Luckily she returned to a pleasant state about an hour later, she was even able to go out to dinner, and Mommy was thankful for that. 

Float Like a Butterfly... Swim Like a Fish.

As some out there are aware of, and often remind me of, my relationship with water was not an immediate friendship. Partially because at just over one-year-old I was thrown into a pool repeatedly in order to evoke the "floating reflex" that babies are supposed to have. No, it was not an attempt at my life - it was SWIMMING LESSONS, or I guess more appropriately floating lessons circa 1979. Now, because I am not one of those amazing (or questionable) people that can remember things from baby-toddlerhood I have no recollection of plummeting toward the H2O, nor my fear of baths in the years proceeding. I do remember crying a bit around the age of 5 or so when needing to go to more swimming lessons (of yes, they kept coming and coming) but, eventually water became my friend and I love it still to this day.  

Now has come the time to pass on the age-old tradition of swimming lessons. I thought I was right on track. I had Morgan around water since birth (well come on, tub baths count), but later came pools, lakes, ocean, rivers, etc. any and every type of water play was had. She was not afraid of any of them (okay okay, the ocean waves took her awhile to tackle) and loves being in the water. And then, came SWIMMING LESSONS. The one little caveat to her fun times in the water has been that she does not want her head under water - no thank you very much, hand her a floaty and she'll be on our way. :-) Well the main premise of the lessons is going under water and so the tradition of a cry

ing little girl entering a swimming class continued.

The first few weeks were HORRIBLE. I even began to have anxiety. The crying started at preschool when we changed into her suit, all the way in the car, through the parking lot, and lastly at the check in desk. She wailed, begging for me to instruct them to not have her "dunk" (this is what she calls the part where they in fact drop them from a seated position into the water ). The purpose of the dunk is to have them turn and find the wall and climb out in the event they should ever fall into a pool, etc. It's a great thing - it just scared the holy heck out of a 4-year-old named Morgan. 

I was contemplating "throwing in the towel", yes I have been known to be an enabler at times, but luckily a conversation with the staff (complete with being on the verge of tears myself) resulted in a slower course of action. Morgan has been in swimming classes now for the last four months and I am happy to report the crying has ceased, swimming skills are building, and she is now dunking and swimming under water. Last night she stayed under for longer than ever before and while there is still a long swimming lane (just seems more appropriate than road) ahead, she is progressing and I am very proud!  

Happy Holidays to You!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Many of you may have seen this before (the Elf Yourself concept). To me, it never gets old. Especially with the new multi-elf option. 

We wish everyone very happy holidays and a season of celebration! Now go Elf Yourself! :-)

Water Proof Boots

 

On the day after Thanksgiving we were able to spend some "chill" time at the lake.  Mom and dad headed out to check out potential camp sites for next year; we are always in constant search of the most awesome camping location ever (so if you have any suggestions I would be glad to hear them).  Morgan and I (and banana) took off to find lake exploration access. 

Banana was in fact the yellow peel-able fruit we all know. For whatever reason she picked up the banana and took it with us. Banana danced to a Hannah Montana song that she sang along to, after that we had to turn down the music so that banana could take a nap. Banana was (I say was, because banana is no longer with us) her new version of the pet rock. However, bananas are WAY less sturdy than rocks.

Down the road from our cabin was a state park with some trails and a rock-filled beach.  I did not at first see all the trails, instead spying a small fence with a hill that seemed to lead to the water - so we went that way. Later my parents joined and when I gave them directions of how to get where we were my dad said "oh, you mean walk right past this sign that says do not enter". (it said something similar - not as severe as do not enter, but still an indicator to take another way). However, the sign was farther down than where I entered - or at least that would have been my defense, I can be impatient, and it was much more fun to walk down the woodsy hill than a standard paved trail. 

Once we reached our destination Morgan spent lots of time searching for and throwing rocks into the water...  

Climbing on rocks.... And then came the greatest discovery of the day - WATERPROOF BOOTS! She had not realized that her boots are waterproof and once I told her it was test time. She stomped around the water for at least 45 minutes (with breaks here and there to bring me sticks shaped like snakes). She was (and still is) SO impressed with her fantastic boots.    

*We dedicate this blog entry to Banana - our friend lived a fruitful life :-)* 

Tahoe Turkey Time

For Thanksgiving 2008 we decided to spend the holiday in a "different way" - different being a change of scenery. Instead of turkey time at home, the very generous parents / grandparents rented a cabin at Lake Tahoe (west shore to be exact) that served as our Thanksgiving home base.  

It was a perfect weekend for driving up the mountain and around the lake (although I will say I was hoping for just a bit of snow).  Our family was joined by a few of John's friends who brought with them two kids Morgan was able to play with. She was shy at first but about an hour in decided she wanted to play with the kids - just with the kids. She turned to me and said, "Mama, I want to play with the kids now", followed by the look that told me I do not qualify as a kid.  

Upon request her kid only space was granted. In actuality I was very proud of her for playing well with other kids and felt her happy excitement for being able to play with the "big kids" all by herself. Which, is true, however there was a wonderful window in the cabin that I could look out and both see and hear the happenings. It was a perfect situation, she felt independent and I was still able to keep watch. 

The outside  yard of the cabin was a great playland. Tree trunks lay on the ground creating a fun bridge path, there was a little cut out between two trees that served as the perfect place to build a fort, 

and then there was.... the tree swing!

 

I had not seen a tree swing in at least 20 years and they are still as fantastic as I remember (yes, I  too took a turn on the swing).

 

In the end the decision to leave our normal surroundings was a phenomenal idea. All of the elements were in place for a fantastic Thanksgiving day - beautiful scenery, friends and family, time away, and of course.... yummy food!