Southern drivers meet snow.

This photo isn't recent--at least not this week. I think it was taken in early November in Western ND. The caption on it had something to do with how the Wiliston area is inundated with people from all over the US to work in the Bakken, and many of them are from the south and don't know how to drive in snow. :) They'll learn.

We are so brave!

Yesterday we let the prince drive to the local ski resort BY HIMSELF! He asked the day before. Our roads were clear, and so we told him IF there was no bad weather that evening or scheduled for later yesterday, that we MIGHT let him. The weather was great and he was on his best behavior so we let him go. He went up with 2 friends. They took the Taurus (and the low tire pressure light came on AGAIN before he left town--what is up with that car????). But they had a great, SAFE time. He texted me several times, as I required of him. They headed into town around 2:00 to have pizza with friends who were staying in town and then headed home. He didn't break any bones, which was my other concern, and he was home safely before 5:00. Phew! That was really hard for us. We won't let him go again though unless there's more great weather. Just so you know, it's really, really hard letting go.

Christmas Parade

The princess marched in the Christmas parade last night with her choir. They sang classic Christmas carols and stayed warmer than those of us watching! There was hot chocolate when they were done too. Merry Christmas!

A Successful Thanksgiving

We had a wonderfully successful Thanksgiving. Great family, good food, lots of fun. Yeah, us!

Today I did a little Black Friday shopping. It was also successful AND pleasant! We met for breakfast at 6:00 and then hit Walmart, Target, and the mall after all the crazies. Best of all we were able to get most of the stuff on our lists. I will say it loud and proud--I LOVE TARGET! They really got it right this year!

Grandma and her peeps.

Happy Thanksgiving

Facebook is all a-buzz this November with people posting a daily item them are grateful for. I decided that instead of putting mine on fb, I'd put it here--all 30 at once. There are many things I'm thankful for. This is a short list and was complied not all at once but over several days. You can tell by the list what was going on that day! Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

30 Things I’m Thankful For:

1. My Family.
2. My friends.
3. My job.
4. Good health.
5. Health insurance.
6. The smell of coffee.
7. Sugar-free syrup and cream for my coffee.
8. Diet cola.
9. Margaritas.
10. Middle school kids—they make me laugh.
11. Good grades.
12. Music.
13. My laptop.
14. A large Diet Coke at McDonald’s for $1.
15. Mechanical pencils.
16. Books.
17. Travel.
18. Warm climates.
19. Sparky and the Princess (they keep our family young).
20. Babies.
21. Trips to Vegas with the girls.
22. A car that’s not a gas hog.
23. My friend, Wendy, who reminds me every time I read her blog to appreciate my kids.
24. A quiet house in the morning.
25. Laughter.
26. Logical thinking.
27. A happy heart.
28. Sunshine
29. That I attended the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in person once.
30. Days off.

District Music Festival

The prince spent the last 2 days at a local high school working with a guest conductor. His choir and the two top choirs from the other 2 high schools worked long hours to put together last night's concert. It was truly impressive. The theater is small, but the conductor had the kids march in and move up and down the aisles and on and off the stage for the whole first song. It was COOL! And it was a great experience for the prince. This is what high school is all about!

Group shot.

Can you spot him?

How about now?

Second row, about 3rd in on the left?

It's the best I could do. Guess what I'm getting for Christmas? A new camera! Hopefully it'll take better/closer photos in dark places!

WHY????

WHY DOES HE ALWAYS MAKE MY BABY GUARD THE TALL GIRLS????

BECAUSE SHE CAN!!!!

Holiday Dance Show

The princess had the first of two holiday dance performances yesterday. All the girls did an awesome job. It was a great way to get in the holiday spirit. We thank Grandma and her friend, Jill, for coming to watch too.

In the first photos the princess is in her pointe shoes, dancing with some of the littlest dancers she teaches. It was such a cute performance, and NOTHING is cuter than those little ones!

After that she did a jazz piece that her group will compete with in a couple of months.

They ended the show with the kick-line, which her teacher says they will retire after this season. Bummer. I like those candy-cane tights!

Bring on the holiday FUN!

Inflation?

When my mom was young, her parents would give her a quarter to go to the movies. It cost $.15 to get in. Popcorn cost $.10, and soda and candy were each $.05. She had to decide if she wanted popcorn OR soda and candy. Popcorn AND soda was not an option.

When we were kids, she and my dad would send the 4 of us to the movies sometimes. I do not remember the exact price, but I'm pretty sure it was about $1 to get in. She would give me $10. After paying to get us all in, we each had about $2 to spend on food, and it was more than enough. I can remember sending Libby (the youngest and probably 4-6 years old at the time) back to the snack bar to get us more junk! (We were all busy enjoying the movie, while she was easily distracted. Hee, hee.)

Last night the princess went to see Breaking Dawn (without ME!!!! Darn her). She bought her own ticket, which was $12. I scrounged around and found $7 for snacks. She and I both knew that wouldn't get her pop and soda but might get her soda and candy. Later I found a $5 and trader her that for the $2 so she now had $10, though I'm pretty sure it still wouldn't get her pop and soda unless she got the small of each.

To me, this is a ridiculous situation. If my math is correct (and I know MB will check it for me), that's a 1100% increase from my mom to me, a 633% from me to the princess, and a 8700% increase overall! (You'd really better check that, MB. It's early.) Does anyone else find it surprising that there was a bigger increase in the first set of numbers? I did.

The theater my mom went to (and that we went to as kids) has closed down. All the theaters I went to here in town as a teen have closed. For the next few weeks I know our current theaters will THRIVE. I also know they don't get much business during the weekdays most of the year. Still, I've gotta wonder, how much profit are they making on the $5.00 soda??? And will my kids even be able to afford to send their kids to the movies? Will they even need to? More and more I am singing the praises of Netflix!

Beautiful

I totally nabbed this from someones facebook. I think it's local (taken a few weeks ago), but I'm not certain, because she didn't respond when I asked her. Still, it's beautiful.

Vegas Anyone?

Nope, I don't have another trip scheduled, but I wish I did. Here we are enjoying our trip last July. It was a great trip.

Exotic dinners with Knights of the Roundtable.

Winning!

Elvis.

Please note: Tina has a drink near her in EVERY photo! She had the best trip of all!

The Annual Hanging of the Christmas Lights

How many people does it take to hang the Christmas lights?

4

1 to hang the lights.
1 to hold the ladder.
1 to supervise.
1 to take the photo.

In this photo you'll notice the king is also holding the next strand. Multi-tasking.

He promised the prince and Kooter lunch if they would hang the lights yesterday. The weather was decent so it all worked out swell. When asked if the king will still hang lights when the prince no longer lives here, the answer was an emphatic, "NO." I can't blame him. All I do is photograph their efforts.

We won't actually turn on the lights until Thanksgiving, but let the holiday fun begin!

Happy Birthday Lynelle!

Happy Birthday, Lynelle.

We wish you an amazing year!

11-11-11

Happy Veteran's Day!

Thanks to Grandpa Darrell, Grandpa Chuck, and Uncle Rick for your service.

Happy Birthday Mark!

Happy Birthday MARK!

Have a great year.

We love you!

Fall Music Concert

The prince had his fall concert last night. His choir did a great job. He asked if I could tell he messed up. Ummm...NO. There were a million of you singing! Now on to state Volleyball later today and a PBS taping of one of their concert songs on Friday. Life is good in Princeland!

Fancy.

Can you spot him? ;)



How about now?

Third in on his row...look for the glasses!

Workin' It

The princess and friends had to work the school carnival before the dance a couple of weeks ago. They were lucky. They got the "duck pond" which was a sit-down job.

Birthday Party With Friends

The princess invited 5 friends to spend the night, but only 2 were able to make it. They had a great time. The king made nachos for dinner, she opened some sweet gifts, and then they went to Geyser Park to play in the arcade for awhile. After that they headed home for a scary movie marathon. That's how they roll!

That's a BIG bag!

But you need a big bag for your pillow pet.



You can't go wrong with Itunes gift cards!

Let's not forget the "Hello Kitty" cupcakes.

This concludes the "turning 14" celebrations!

Extra Sleep!

Ahhh, the extra hour of sleep was delightful. I hope you remembered to set you clock back one hour last night!

Family Birthday Party

Grandma, Kathi, and Rick joined us for ice cream cake and presents to celebrate turning 14. The Prince's friend, Travis, made an appearance too. It was coincidental, but it's always good to have another voice to add when singing "Happy Birthday".

Yes! The black, fleece, Columbia jacket she longed for.

You can't go wrong with cash!

Especially when you still owe $60 on your

DC/NYNY trip.

Happy Birthday!

Halloween Photos

What you see is the only photo documentation that Halloween happened at our house. The prince went to a friend's house for a party, and the princess had the "lamest Halloween ever"! Just ask her. But she chose not to trick-or-treat and didn't make other plans so that's on her!

Here is the king, looking sad as he carves his lone pumpkin with no help from his children. We did have at least 60 trick-or-treaters though, which made him happy. And "Tinkerbutter" made an appearance (our 2-year-old neighbor LOVES Tinkerbell but calls her "Tinkerbutter), which made us all smile!

The finished product. Not too shabby!

Happens to me ALL the time!

Happy Birthday Mariah!

Happy Birthday beautiful girl!

17!

Have a wonderful year.

We love you.

Lions WIN!

Congratulations to the Lady Lions! They beat the Scouts last night by a score of 22-12! Way to play ball, ladies! And way to be aggressive. This basketball stuff is NOT for sissies!

Road Trip!

Congratulations to the Lady Falcons. They won last night in a CLOSE match, and now it's on to state! That means the prince gets a 3-day road trip next week! He's excited!

While we're walking down Memory Lane...

The Volleyball girls have to win tonight to get to go to state. The prince is hoping for the win so he can have a junk-food fueled road trip. He's also supposed to go with the choir out-of-town to tape a Christmas program at the same time. As luck would have it, volleyball and choir are in the same town and on the same campus so it should all work out. One question though: choir tux in the gym bag? I think not. Hopefully one of his choir buddies will take the tux for him! He might look good standing there in his cheer uniform though...stand out in the crowd and all!

Happy Birthday Sparky!!

Look who turned 6 yesterday!

Happy Birthday Isaiah!

We love and miss you!

High Lights

Besides the highlight of it being the princess' birthday, I've had a few other great things happen today.

1. It's 11-1-11. That's pretty cool.

2. I got to tighten a kid's pants with zip ties today. I'm sure it'll end up on Youtube via our security cameras. I hope I make a bundle.

3. I had 47 kids in OTC today. I have 27 desks. You do the math...

Talent show rehearsal and a basketball game still to come today.

Bring it!

Happy 14th to our baby!

Awww...we miss the little cutie she used to be with her determination and cute speech impediment! But we love the young lady she's turning into with her competitive spirit and great smile! Happy, Happy Birthday to the "Bees in the Trees"!