Hard Work & Snuggles.

Just a few anecdotes of our last few days . . .

After Christian cleared a good part of the driveway, it got all covered again. When Nolan got back home from sledding in the neighborhood all day, he still had energy to clear the whole driveway and steps to the front door. It's no surprise that he woke up the next day with aching muscles, but what made it even worse, was that there was not a hint of any snow left! The temperature had risen and the rains had melted the snow during the night. All that hard work and nothing left to show for (kind of like preparing a Thanksgiving dinner). The good news was that with all the snow gone, my aunt Ursula and her husband had no problem getting to our house for our Thanksgiving celebration.

Can you think of any place more comfy and cozy to snuggle than this hat rack? No matter how much Ethan stroked this cat, she would not let herself be bothered or even open her eyes. Can't say that I blame her. The excitement to get in the first skiing day was great, but it was damped a bit when Ethan realized he had forgotten his jacket at home. My extra jacket came in handy, and it didn't even look that big on him. It still does not quite seem right that my youngest child can fit into my clothes! My aunt had seen the Mt Baker area in three different seasons; we just needed to get he up there one more time, in the winter, to complete the circle. She could not believe the beauty and the completely different scene around her. We had been at this exact same place less then two months ago and there was not a speck of snow anywhere. It's too much to wrap my head around it as well.

Greetings

We got snow! Christian's work has all been covered up again. I told him to think of it as a good morning exercise and in the afternoon he can go out for another workout. I have not seen Nolan & Ethan since they left hours ago with their sleds to go play in the neighborhood with their friends. Which left our backyard unspoiled and peaceful for other visitors.

Happy Thanksgiving

I started my day by finding out I was the winner of a giveaway. The neat think is that I'm now going to loan my prize to an entrepreneur in a developing country. I was the recipient of a $25.00 Kiva certificate. Forgive me for being a bit nostalgic, but what a better day to reflect on all of our blessings and pass some of it along. You even have an extra incentive to do it today with a groupon from Kiva, as I'm writing this there are still 1,486 left. So you may as well start your shopping by benefeting someone else.

Chili to Fight the Chill

What a perfect evening for a tasty & nourishing black bean & quinoa chili. Thanks Jill, for posting this delicious recipe. I thought that maybe along with the chili, I would also get her will and positive outlook on running in frigid weather. Yesterday morning Shawn asked me if I wanted to go running and I was very honest, "no way!" We have this unspoken agreement that although you might not feel like it, you still say yes. Most likely the person asking does not have the gumption to go out either, but together we can pretend. Of course once we are out on the trail, we are so glad we made it, and that's what keeps us going back. I reconsidered my decision and put on my running clothes, but once I checked the thermometer outside (-6C), I wanted to reclaim my original answer. That's when I thought about my friend in Quebec and realized what a wimp I was. It took a lot of hand pumping and arm circles but eventually even my fingers warmed up and I truly enjoyed the crunch beneath my feet and the chill on my face.

Morning Walk

It felt very refreshing and invigorating to take a walk in the morning after a nice little snow fall. The sun warmed our faces and the fresh crisp beauty around us warmed our spirits. Our boys wanted to stay "cozy" inside, so we took our neighbor's dog to keep us company. She never declines an invitation for a walk.

Another Blessed Year

We celebrated this day by welcoming Shawn & Christian back from a scout camping trip. They were out on Sucia Island putting their scout skills to the test. Braving the weather, improvising for the lack of food that resulted from miscommunication and finding a way to get water on an Island with no fresh water supply. They passed all the tests with flying colors and came home full of enthusiasm and stories to share. I knew that the best gift I could give him, was a nice home cooked meal in a warm home surrounded by his family that adores him.

Happy Birthday Shawn!

Flip Flop Illusion

Ethan was told that once October ended, flip flops and shorts would be banned, at least outside of the house. I know that an 8yo boy's body temperature varies greatly from his mother's, but still, it was time to at least put on some socks. Most likely the reason for his choice of attire was what he would call efficiency and I would call commodity. Much easier and faster to don a pair of flip flops than shoes. However, how could I enforce the rules when we were greeted with unusual warm days in November? Yesterday evening we even had burgers on the BBQ while the boys played catch outside (in flip flops). I was almost fooled that we were nearing Summer Solstice instead of the Winter one. That illusion passed on this misty, rainy morning as we waited until past 8am for it to be light enough to go out jogging. Ethan is now wearing shoes.

Scouts About

To honor our cubscout "Turn Back the Clock" theme for this month, I decided to take my den on a historical walk of the old town in Bellingham. Thanks to Sally, who did a lot of research and discovered some amazing historical facts, we had a great educational experience planned out.

The windy & rainy weather gave us a break at exact time our walk was scheduled for.

What we had not planned, was for fierce competition for our boys attention!

The start of our tour was the site of the first sawmill, which was being visited today by dozen of fisherman catching tons of huge salmon. It's hard to listen to what happened in the 1850's when their are salmon flapping & flailing all around you. So, we added an improv education on the life cycle of the salmon, which also happened to be around in the 19th century, right?

General Pickett's house still stands today where it was built in 1856. The surroundings of course, have changed significantly. This was the first brick building built north of San Francisco. The brick was shipped from Philadelphia via Cape Horn route. I wonder what the shipping & handling cost must have been!! It is now surrounded by the recycle facility and I wonder how many people notice it and would know of its significance. The yellow tape and constructions signs give me hope that it's being restored. The first legislation passed in this city hall was to not allow cows to wander the streets of the town any longer. We spend a good amount of time learning, growing and sharing experiences with our scout group. I realized I have not posted some important accomplishments.

Nolan earned his Webelos badge, and is now on his way to become a boys scout, which he can hardly wait for. Just a few more months, my son.

One of the requirements he worked hard on this past month, was his showman badge, producing a puppet show. Along with two of his fellow scouts, he wrote the script, created his puppets, painted the backdrop and helped the Webelos in the construction of the stage.

Their play was a great success, you can check out the results here.

Pumpkins and such

Halloween is really not a day I'm particularly fond of, but I will not dwell on that. I do enjoy all of the fall activities that surround Halloween. This year as we carved our pumpkins, I baked chocolate chip pumpkin cookies. I was able to transfer them from the baking stone to the cooling rack, but as you can see by the the empty the container, they never made it past that stage. Eventually I managed to secure a few for future enjoyment.

Except for when the boys were very young, (and you could get cute little outfits), I never spent a dime on costumes. We have a bin full of stuff from which they can come up with something. Invariably, they come out as some variation of a dark knight. This year it was no different, except Nolan was a "Ranger". We just finished reading the "Ranger Apprentice", hence the inspiration for his costume. The boys joined their friends, Joe, Peter and Philip, and out they went to raid the neighbourhood, while Bridget and I enjoyed some tea and had some time to chat. A very pleasent arrangement, I must say. Thanks Tim for running about with the boys.

I can only imagine what must have crossed Philip's mind, as this was his first time trick or treating. He arrived in America a couple of months ago, after being adopted from Lesotho. Talk about abundance and indulgence in this country!!

The good news is that I will not have to cook for a few days!

P.S. If you noticed that one of our boys is MIA, it's bc he was working on his English assignment. Before you feel sorry for him, just know that he had a fun packed weekend; with a boys scout camp out, followed by a trip to a haunted house and ghost walks with a good friend's family. His brothers also evenly shared their loot with him.