Weekly Wrap UP 12/11/20. Christmas ornaments

 Every year since the kids were born they have gotten a special ornament that somehow represents what has happened to them during the year!  When they were younger my husband or I would chose the ornament based on their interests or accomplishments, but now that the kids are older they are choosing their own special ornament.  

MarioFan chose this ornament for his collection 

I guess it sums up his year

Firedrake chose these ornaments which we got at her college bookstore (last year but have been saving them for this Christmas as it is her first year at college

I also bought her the ornament that MarioFan picked out because I thought it was important and sort of funny 

In addition we lost our Bearded Dragon last month so I wanted to have something small to remember him by.  I found a site that could turn pictures into Christmas ornaments so I order one 

I also had one designed for my Hedgehog that I lost a couple of years ago because I still remember him and really enjoyed having him as a pet.

We are now working on getting additional ornaments made for all the other animals in the house: the dog, cat, leopard gecko and two guinea pigs.  They haven't arrived yet but hopefully will get here before Christmas. 

Lastly, my mother started sending me the White House Christmas ornament every year since I got married in 1999.  This year's ornament is to honor JFK.  

We always decorate the house the weekend after Thanksgiving 

                                             

Most of these Christmas ornaments were given to my Husband and I as a wedding gift.  We honeymooned in Germany and someone gifted us with a box of ornaments from Germany that our given to the Bride for their first Christmas which is suppose to bring good luck.  I love them

Next I decorate stair -- Deck the halls -- as they sing:)

The felt Christmas tree here I purchased when the kids were very young and they still insist it goes up and love to fill it in every day till Christmas

Our 7 foot tree.  Discovered yet another strand of light that are out.  One I can hide by placing it towards the window.  The second strand that is out we didn't discover until the tree was up and now I can't rearrange it.  I have the worst luck trying to correct lights that our out.  I am dreaming of one day owning an LED Christmas tree!

My Mantle of Scottish Christmas Santa's.  They go up every single year!  

Weekly Wrap Up 1/10/20-- What we did over Christmas break

Happy New Year! The year is already going so fast that I forgot to post last week, lol.  Actually I was still on Christmas break.  We didn't start back until this Monday and we have hit the road at full speed ahead.

The weather was amazing these last two weeks, temps in the high 60's and we took advantage of it

took the dog for a walk

spotted an Bald eagle fishing at the local pond

 

 

 

 

 

The day after Christmas we took the kids to see the Trans Serbian Orchestra.  It was an amazing show.  Lots of lights and pyrotechnics.   The kids want to go next year. 

When the Tesla Coil went up the whole audience was transfixed, including my family

IF they come to your town it was a fantastic show and I highly recommend going:)

I met up with some friends and explored a few new places.  I attended a museum exhibit at one of the local colleges on the Chinese artist Al WeiWei.  I didn't know much about him but my friend had lived in China and knew quite a bit about this artist.

He is very controversial in China and has been placed under house arrest several times and the Chinese government recently destroyed his art studio.  He is known for taking very ancient pieces of art from the Ming and Qing dynasties and making some sort of statement about it. 

Three legged table--is made without nails following tradition joinery techniques.  It is making a statement that due to the radical reforms of the Cultural revolution (1966-1976) these skills were threatened by China's participation in the global move toward mechanized production.

The artist began painting Coca Cola logo onto ancient vases he found in flea markets.  This vase is from the Han dynasty.

 

This pieces is called Grapes -- This sculpture features stools from the Qing dynasty

This was his studio before the Chinese government destroyed it due to the artist criticism of the government's lack of transparency.

The artist salvaged bricks and debris from his studio and reassembled the materials into a solid block in which he embedded an ornate Qing dynasty bed frame

Forever bicycle -- this pieces forms a monumental arch which visitors can walk thru.  Bicycles are affordable and widely available mode of transportation in China

another view of it

 I did a little bit of lesson planning.  I finally finished sorting though Firedrake's 10 year home school journey paperwork.  I sorted, threw away and consolidated all the paperwork and put it into one single box.  I tried to keep samples of her best work for every month of every year since we started this amazing home school journey.  Hard to believe it is almost over for her.  I plan on giving her this box once she graduates and then she can do with it what she wants.  Hopefully she will have fun looking though it one day and remember all the amazing things we did together.  I know I had fun looking through it all and it was very hard to get rid of things. 

 I met up with another friend at a new to me Tea house.  They had the most amazing Strawberry soup!!

 My husband I had a few dates.  We tried an Ethiopian restaurant, it was spicy but very good.

Lastly the family went to the new Star Wars Movie.  It was a busy but relaxing 2 weeks.  Now it is time to hit the books

weekly Wrap Up 12/27/19 -- Piano recitals

Kids completed their Christmas Piano recital 2 weeks ago, and I am just now getting around to posting it.  They both did very well but I am of course very biased.  Both kids performed 2 Christmas songs.

their musical pieces came from the above books

we took the kids for a fancy lunch/dinner at our local Italian restaurant to celebrate a job well done:) 

Next piano performance that is scheduled for the kids is a Sonatina festival in January!
There will be no post next week as I am taking the week off to rest and maybe do a little lesson planning.  See you next year!

Weekly Wrap UP 10/25/19-- Scarecrow festival

Our little town has a Scarecrow festival every October.  It started about five years ago and has grown bigger every year.  There are a few people who hate the scarecrows and complain but fortunately they are in the minority.  The festival brings in tourist from other neighboring towns and it brings a little business for our local shops.  This year there are over 100 scarecrows scattered around town.  Here are a few of my favorites this year.

IN the newspaper it said that one of the founding volunteers for this festival died this year and he made over 20 different scarecrows per year.  They memorialize him by making him the leader of the band in this set up.  I thought it was really a nice tribute

Outside the music store where the kids have their piano lessons

outside our favorite Mexican restaurant in town

I love this one, which is outside the motorcycle shop:)

Lots of business included the Stanley cup theme since  STL won last year:)

Popeye, Olive and sweet pea!

There is a voting system going on, so the scarecrow with the most votes wins the trophy this year.
We enjoy walking or driving around town to see who put up a scarecrow.  every year the themes seem to change and this year it is more skeletons and the Stanley cup. Some places are very creative:)!!!

Weekly Wrap UP 10/18/19--Anniversary Trip to New Mexico

My husband and I try to get away as a couple every couple of years just the two of us to reconnect and to just be together. Since this was our 20th anniversary recently we decided to go away on a trip just the two of us.  My husband's dream is to retire in New Mexico one day so we decided to go back and visit and visit a few areas that we might consider living in one day.  In addition we took a few side trips and saw some interesting sites.

Our first day we woke up very early and drove out to the Trinity site.  They only have it open 2 days a year and it has been on our bucket list to see.  We got to see a beautiful sun rise over the mountains

this site is where the first nuclear bomb was tested.  This monument is made of lava stones and is located very near where the bomb was dropped 

the casing that would have held the bomb 

you can still find lots of TRINITITE stones in the area but there is a large sign saying do not remove stones or face arrest:)

model of Fat man

UP close look at a trinitite stone.  Lots of signs saying that the risk of radiation
 is minimal 

the house that the scientist hide in when the bomb exploded which was about 2 and a half miles away.  It was reported that all the windows blew out of the house but otherwise no further damage was done

It is a very barren location 

ON the way back we visited the famous road runner statue along I-10

Looks majestic from the highway but up close you can see it is made of  scraps and trash.  

We visited a western town called Cloud Croft and had a very nice brunch in a haunted resort 

Magnificent views  

Visited White sands national park.  Walked the dunes and even saw a camel! 

husband drew in the sand to commemorate our 20th wedding anniversary trip:)

Ate a a Whataburger as there are now near us.  Honestly I don't get what the fuss is about this chain from our friends in Texas, lol.  Tastes like any other hamburger joint to me.

Once we retire my husband wants to get another camper and we are interested in this particular company as they are known for making better quality campers.  They don't have any dealers near us so when we saw one on the way somewhere we stopped and took a quick peak to see.

Visited another quaint little town called Silver city and did some shopping

Supposedly Billy the Kid lived here..but honestly every where we went there was a Billy the Kid reference, for a person to live only until 21-22 she sure got around the entire state of NM. lol

While on Vacation my daughter recommended a book for me to read.  This  book is excellent and I have now put it on the list for MarioFan to read.  I finished it on the plane and it was so hard not to cry 

On the way home our plane was delayed for nearly four hours due to engine issues  

We had an amazing trip and it was nice to reconnect as a couple.  The kids did amazing on their own and can't wait for us to leave again, haha. The animals were still alive and the house didn't burn down so it was a success all around.  :)  I left MarioFan with a list of school activities to get done and he accomplished all of them, yay.