New Christmas pajamas
A blazing Yuletide Christmas Eve
We got some nice fresh snow and went sledding on Christmas Eve morning
Ben trying to snowboard on a sled

Rebecca and the Geo Bee

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of it, but on Friday, Rebecca got 4th place in her school's National Geographic geography bee. It was a bitter battle in the final round, but she did great, and we're very proud of her.

Piano Recital

Spencer Skating

Ice Skating

This fall wasn't serious, but the skating monitors in their bright yellow jackets did have to get Spencer an ice pack for his wrist when he fell on it later. I thought maybe they could skip the ice packet and just have him hold his wrist down on the ice, but what do I know?

Eva's on the left; Rebecca's on the right (with short sleeves--brrrr).

These Cub Scouts sure look like superheroes to me.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Our ward Christmas party was last night, and Santa made an appearance.
"You'll shoot your eye out, Kid."
I'm very curious about this conversation between Santa and Rebecca, but I was too far away to overhear it.
Emily asked Santa for tickets to "Wicked." Does that put her on the naughty list?

Prairie Dog Bones

This post requires a little more explanation than usual. We went to a prairie dog field near the library to learn about prairie dogs. We measured the openings of their burrows and listened to their little chirping noises. We watched them run for their burrows as we approached. But then, the kids noticed something we hadn't counted on: prairie dog bones.

We collected a whole bunch of prairie dog bones, and the kids brought them home. They washed them, sorted them, examined them under magnifying glasses, and tried to figure out how the bones fit together to make a whole prairie dog skeleton. Then they wrote up their conclusions. Now the bones are all sitting in a bowl in the basement, abandoned. Do you think the hauntings are about to begin?

YW Volleyball

The Broomfield 1st Ward won 3rd place in the regional YW Volleyball tournament! And check out those socks!

On the Ladder

When your husband is up on a ladder, it's a bit disconcerting to hear, "Oops. I was cutting the very board I was leaning against."

This is the demolition for the new and much-anticipated Reading Nook.

Happy Halloween

The butterfly fairy, the skeleton, and Cyndi Lauper assess heir booty.

Girls just wanna have fun.

No arm bones?

Cyndi Lauper's agent poses with two fairies, a bunny, and a kitty cat.

That's a playground.

That's a creek. I guess I should have taken these after the sun came up.

That's our front yard.

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock. . .

Dirt Hills

Science and Physical Education

Fabulous Fairy Friday! Eva and her friend enjoy a fairy tea party.

George Washington (on the quarters) experiences both gravity and friction as he parachutes during Science class.
Eva enjoys off-roading at the Dirt Hills.

Dirt Hills

A Long-awaited Visit from the Tooth Fairy

Eva lost her first tooth! We were all beginning to wonder if it would ever happen. At her last checkup, the dentist said that if she didn't have a loose tooth within 6 months, we'd need to get some special x-rays to find out if she had any adult teeth. Last week, I overheard Eva talking with one of her 7-year-old friends. The friend said, "You haven't lost any teeth? I've lost nine!" Eva hung her head low and said, "Everybody says that." But lo and behold, on October 13, 2009, Eva lost a tooth! I've never seen a kid so proud of a tooth before.

Late September

We didn't quite satisfy our appetite for destruction when we had the driveway replaced, so we decided to replace the main sewer line this week. Last Saturday, we meticulously trimmed the hedges and pulled tiny tree suckers; three days later, our front yard looked like this:

Ben had never been beneath the sidewalk before. Now he can cross that item off his bucket list.

The Rockies made it to the playoffs! Emily and Grandpa joined us for a Rockies game last week. Emily sure can boogie down. They didn't win on this particular day, but at least it was an exciting game.

Also, for those of you who took part in the Great Tolman/Terry Health Care Debate of 2009, I have a proposal: next time let's just see if we can arrange a boxing match between, say, Sarah Palin and Jimmy Carter and call it good. What say you?

And, as an additional postscript, H1N1 hit our house this week. Rebecca is the only family member who hasn't grown a pig snout at this point.