Finally!

After last year's epic winter snowfall, I will admit that we were hoping for a bit of a reprieve from having to shovel 10 feet of snow. Nevertheless, this winter, so far, has been a crushing disappointment--particularly for the kids. Clara has yearned for snow, and although Jonathan is not incredibly fond of being cold (and has a particular dislike for cold wind), even he was thrilled by the sight of falling "no" out the window this morning. They watched the snow fall for a full 10 minutes, with Clara asking, "Can we go and play yet? Can we go and play yet?" Finally the snow let up, and Jeremy popped out of his office to see if anyone was interested in a little snow play.

Happy taste of winter!

Costume drama

Clara loves to dress up, and Jonathan loves to wear the lion costume at the children's museum, so we thought we'd try our chicken costume on for size. As you can see in this little triptych, sometimes being a chicken is for the birds.

Dance, Poppet!

We signed Clara up for an eight week dance class through the city recreation department. Good times! She got to pick out some tap and ballet shoes to bring home for the duration of the class, which thrilled her deeply. She loves to wear her black leotard around the house as much as possible so she can practice her moves. I'm most excited for the recital in March. Who knows what will happen?

The first class went well for Clara, although it was tricky for her to do all of the steps. She tried hard, though, and had fun, and she can't wait to go back to "Dancing School" next week.

This video shows how Clara reacted to the news that she'd be taking dance lessons, which Jeremy told her about 30 minutes before her class started (I was not home from teaching yet). Sorry about the bad camera angle at the beginning; he was trying not to distract her with the camera. I'll try to get some better dancing action videos for next week.

A new post for a new year

I'm finally back on my computer after what has admittedly been a nice, long break. We enjoyed nearly two weeks in Utah over the Christmas break, splitting the time between my family and Jeremy's. It was fun to see all but two of our six collective siblings and their families. As always, though, it was a busy couple of weeks and we were happy to be home by the time all was said and done. Now our Christmas stuff is all packed away, the house is (relatively) clean, and I'm busily working to get my syllabi in order for the upcoming semester.

I've been thinking quite a bit about goals and new beginnings. My only official resolution of 2009 was to have feet as soft as my mother's (seriously), and I was a total failure. (My foot-softening efforts have perked up a bit in 2010, since I got a pumice stone in my stocking. From myself. But it still works like a champ.)

For 2010, I want to read more (I'm thinking two books a month, which is not nearly what I'd like to read but is probably realistic given the other strains on my time), go to the Temple every month, play the piano more (not including the better part of three hours at church I'm either sitting at an organ or a piano), do another triathlon, and do more to develop my spiritual strength. So there you go. I have a few other things in the works, but I figure I can make goals whenever I want to (even if Jeremy thinks it's barbaric to start a new goal on any day that's not either a Monday or the first day of a new month).

While you chew on all of this, please enjoy a few pictures of our Christmas fun--or, really, just a sample of our fun over the last month or so, since the odds of my going back and posting past events are quite slim. The pictures are in no particular order, but I think that adds to the excitement and uncertainty of the new year. Happy 2010!

What we're listening to

Need a little lift to your Christmas listening? Try NPR's Jingle Jams. I'll credit this find to Jeremy.

Best Film of 2009

Hands down, Little Dorrit. I was absolutely riveted for nearly eight hours. Highly worth watching. Highly.

Biggest Accomplishments of 2009

..Jonathan.. Our little Bug gets to have two biggest accomplishments: finally learned to walk (at nearly 15 months) and finally learning to say Mama (after probably two full months of saying "Dada"). Here's a moving picture of him walking. Such a sweet baby!



..Clara.. This is the face of a girl who no longer wears nappies! (I thought just a picture of Clara would be better than an "action shot," if you know what I mean.)



..Rachel.. If I do a repeat performance of this accomplishment, my only goal is to not come in last in my age division. I aim high.



..Jeremy.. I really debated about this one. At first I thought I could list all the progress he's made on his dissertation, or the publications he's had accepted. Then I realized that nothing says "biggest accomplishment" like jumping over a 6'5" man. Even though Jeremy screams like a girl and nearly kills himself (as you'll see in the video), it's still impressive. Six foot five. Wow. (Additional information, as (truthfully) provided by Jeremy: 1)the sun was in his eyes; 2)he had already lept gracefully over me twice, which is fatiguing even though I'm only 5'4"; 3)he'd eaten a worrisome amount of roasted pig.) I recognize that it doesn't look that impressive in the video, but in the moment it was truly a sight to behold.

Best Book of 2009

Looking back over my Goodreads list, I noticed that I read several books that I quite liked this year. But if I had to choose one book that I read in the last 12 months and truly enjoyed, I'd have to go with Life of Pi. There's a chance I actually read this just before the New Year, but even so it meets all of the qualifications of good reading to me: great writing, a gripping story, sympathetic characters, and--perhaps most importantly--it stayed with me. Even after a full year (if not more) I still find myself thinking about Life of Pi. Great read.

At the same time, I vaguely remember having shed actual tears while reading this year. What book was that? Does anyone remember?

Lights!

Last evening we braved some very chilly weather (18 degrees--but it isn't getting any warmer in the next week, if you know what I'm saying) to see the Christmas lights downtown. Perhaps you are not aware that the Coeur d'Alene Resort features The Largest Floating Resort Holiday Light Show in America, but it is indeed true.


We are fortunate that one of Jonathan's only words is "lights," which meant that he was an active and blissful participant in the evening's conversation ("What do you see, Jonathan?" "Ites!" "What's that, Jonathan?" "Ites!"). Clara was disappointed to not be able to "go through" the castle of lights, but she was pretty excited about the lit Nativity, the lit sea monster, the lit Noah's Ark, and the lit world. And she was particularly thrilled to meet Rudolph and Frosty on the boardwalk (The World's Longest Floating Boardwalk, as it happens), both of whom gave her a hug and a candy cane.



It was a fun, if cold night. We were practically running towards the end, both to expidite the holiday cheer and to increase our distance from the random person in a Santa suit lurking at one of the docks. Odd.

Stay tuned for our holiday cruise to the North Pole, upon which we will hopefully embark when temperatures are out of the teens. Brrrr...

Best Article of 2009

A fellow instructor shared this article with me, and I had my students read and discuss it. The article is from a 1996 edition of Newsweek and talks about how some (many!) college students are prone to, you know, not really doing anything in class for an entire semester. Then when they receive their well-deserved (and dismal) grade they start in with the phone calls and emails begging for extra credit and leniency. Well, my friend Kurt Wiesenfeld and I do not buy their sob stories, no indeed we do not. I am much more merciful as an instructor to my students who communicate with me throughout the semester than I am to the students who come in the 13th hour and just cannot understand why never coming to class or doing any homework warrants a failing grade.

Can you tell it's almost the end of the semester? I think if any such emails from students start coming my way I will just forward them a link to this article with my kindest regards for better luck next time. If only luck was all it took...

Best Restaurant Moment of 2009

In times like these, you know...

Best of 2009

I've decided to let myself be inspired by my sister Megan and my friend Reba, both of whom are doing a little "Best of 2009" series on their blogs. I think I'll march to my own drummer here, though, rather than following a specific list. This is primarily because when I looked at the prompt for December 3rd and it asked me whether I have "delicious'd" anything this year I just stared blankly at the computer screen. I am not hip, and I had to google "delicious," which clearly means I need to make up my own entries.

Nevertheless, here's a moment for December 1st.

Best Trip of 2009


Twenty-four hours in Seattle, 10 hours in the car, two parents, two kids, one day of sun, one day of rain, and hundreds of zoo animals.