Oh Blessed Mid-Winter Break

Here in our little slice of the great American pie known as the Cascade Foothills there is an annual occurrence that serves as a reminder that although we happily nest amidst the tall pines and low-hanging clouds of this soggy Utopia, mortal irritations occur as naturally as the falling rain. The particular annual occurrence to which I refer is this: mid-winter break.

As if winter break and spring break don't provide enough, well, "breaks" from formal education, our school district is among the several that have enough faith in our children's innate brilliance and ability to self-educate that they have kindly provided an additional break between the two afore-mentioned breaks.

So if you're wondering what we, the Sundwalls, do to further our budding intellects and satiate our inherent curiosity during this blessed five-day occasion, I've thought to enlighten you both in word and visual aid. Here goes.

Tanner, our budding saxophonist (is that a word?), has taken to sink-dancing while practicing his instrument; an inspired medium for such unhampered creativity. They don't teach that in school, now, do they?

On our way to a two-day sojourn in Eastern WA to visit my sister-in-law, Keslie, and her three sweet babies (bro Judah was out of town), we came across this little gem in the high desert. Although we did not have time to stop for the tour, I did make a mental earmark of the location for future reference, as a cheese factory tour is on my list of things to do before I die. Seriously.

My 11-year-old-going-on-16-year-old Kate gives driving lessons to baby Maylie. Incidentally, no one was hurt in this demonstration, and Kate is convinced she's now ready to take on my Toyota.

Always striving to maintain a balance in her young yet energetic life, Kate shows her skill on the Ripstick. Have you tried this death-trap-on-wheels? I almost broke my neck!

Anxious to use her time wisely in new pursuits, Kalli stretches her tomboy wings a bit under the direction of her more girly cousin, Shani. Her first official dance lesson (as well as her first makeup session, compliments of sister Kate).

Tucker, ever the creative genius, tries his luck as a human chew toy. Cousin Grayson obediently plays the part of the over-eager puppy.

With an obvious flair for ingenuity, Kalli commandeers a sheet of bubble wrap and two permanent markers, items rarely found in first grade art class. The result? A stained-plastic window.

In a rare moment of raw sunshine, Kate seizes the moment and relaxes with a good book in her butterfly chair...

... while sister Kalli multi-tasks by doing calisthenics and reading at the same time. Such coalescent skills are rarely seen in children this young.

On Friday night the boys and I attended a Harlem Globetrotters game. It was insanely entertaining to hear their goofy comments and giggles. Woefully noneducational, to be sure, but I guess we could consider this outing the "recess" of the week. :)

Although completely unrelated, I admittedly had a great time watching these two little ladies at the game. I imagine the conversation earlier that day went something like this:

"Hey, Gretta, let's ditch Bingo Night and head to the Globetrotter game. I hear the geriatric security guard is single."

I would love to say the week was filled to the brim with enriching activities, but it wasn't. There was some trash-kicking on Mario Kart, a few good sibling squabbles, a pesky flu bug, some boredom, a few occasions where I hid from my children, and a blast-to-the-past "Popeye the Movie" viewing that I ended up watching alone (the "Popeye" starring Robin Williams. A true classic).

But in the end it was all good. And as far as my hostility regarding another school break amidst breaks, well, I've come to terms with it. After all, if my kids end up uneducated burger-flippers, there's really no one to blame but themselves. And if things play out that way, then in the words of Popeye himself I say to the higher-ups in our school administration: "You may think I blames ya, but I don't."

Popular

As a child and teen, I honestly never aspired to being popular. Which is fortunate, as popularity soundly eluded me throughout my formative years.

But today I experienced my first taste of it. And it tasted goooood.

I helped coordinate a Valentine's Spaghetti Feed for the entire fifth grade at the elementary school. It wasn't much work thanks to email and several ambitious pasta-cooking mothers. In fact, I didn't even have to provide an entree for the event because we had so many volunteers. I did, however, offer my services for setup, cleanup and serving food.

I admit, I did have to do a little pushing and shoving to work my way through the crowd of over-eager mommies who showed up to help out while secretly spying on their socially-budding fifth graders. I bee-lined for the alfredo sauce, seized the ladel, and waited. When the throng of pre-pubescents formed a ragged line and started politely (surprisingly!) asking for pasta, the spotlight instantly turned on me. Fetuccine alfredo is apparently the bomb.

I was a mad woman. Ladeling left, ladeling right. The students eyes watered in anticipation of the much-coveted suicide sauce (do you have any idea what the fat content of alfredo is!?). I didn't work up a sweat, mind you, because that would be undignified, and popularity demands dignity. But I was one busy beaver and drew more attention, received more genuine gratitude, and ladeled faster than any other mommy there. Doesn't that equate to popularity? I even saw my friend Amy throw me a few envious glances while she stood idly by her massive bowl of largely untouched marinara sauce.

I had my moment of glory, but sadly, it ended all too soon. Whoever provided the alfredo sauce hadn't anticipated its popularity (such short-sightedness!) and I was left with an empty bowl and a dirty ladel halfway through the event. I busied myself by trying to one-up Debbie's puppy-problem tales (you see, Debbie had nothing to do, as she was in charge of the salad. What half-intelligent fifth grader asks for salad when their mom isn't there to make them eat it?!).

Afterward, as I savored the memory of glory, I was absent-mindedly carrying empty dishes back to the teacher's lounge when I was attacked from behind by my first-grader, Kalli. I plopped the dish down on a nearby table and seized her in a bear hug.

Now THAT's my kind of popular.

Cali with the She-Folk

Disneyland has been dubbed the "happiest place on earth," and I would concur. What they don't mention in the propaganda-laden brochures and commercials is that the dynamic changes depending on whom you choose to cruise Walt's acreage with. Sean and I have taken the kids on various occasions and had a great time, but I must say the dynamic of cavorting at Disneyland for three days with my two beautiful daughters, my mom, my four little sisters and their collective five daughters was priceless. Our clan would have been a terrific fit for a B-rated Mastercard commercial.

Kate, Kalli and I flew into Sacramento and spent a day with my sister Becca and her family before we headed south to Anaheim to meet the rest of the crew.

While at Becca's we walked to a local farm and teased a few horses with carrots.

The carrots were also put to good use as weapons and alternative body parts before being fed to the stinky steeds.

Claire and Kalli. They were separated by two weeks at birth and a thousand miles as mini-mortals, but I suspect they share some kind of pre-life history as they are two goofballs from the same mold.

Becca and I loaded up the kids late Friday afternoon and drove to Anaheim. I loved just chatting with Bec in the car. She's one amazing mother and a truly morally-driven woman. I always come away inspired. Plus, she let me read all the road signs without a single complaint or comment about my weirdness!

Saturday morning we converged at the hotel in Anaheim and unloaded the 12-tons of snacks provided by mom, Tami and Debbie from Tam's car. I had the privilege of shacking up with Debbie and thoroughly enjoyed our late-night chats. She outlasted me the final night though. I fell asleep mid-sentence, she claims. Deb is such a tender heart and a fantastic mommy to her two beautiful girls.

Grandma and the girls. And the Webkinz. Grandma never can help but shower her grandkids with gifts.

Claire, Kalli and Macy. All lovers of animals, especially stuffed ones.

Cooling off (yes, it was hot!) in the astro-spray near Space Mountain. I was proud of my girls; there was no chickening out on rides whatsover! In fact, Kalli threw a hissy fit when we realized she was too short to ride the monster coaster, California Screamin'. I appreciate her bravery, but could have done without the hissy fit.

Kate and Savannah and their horses. No carrots required.

Victoria, sweet, Victoria. One morning she was found hiding in the bathroom where she had stomped a banana to death.

Victoria is the spitting image of her mama Tami at age two. And because I so easily remember sweet Tami at that age, I couldn't get enough of V. Even though Tami was the youngest of all the girls, she has always been so very wise, lovable and forgiving. For example, I used to pin her down and breath up her nose after dinner, and yet she still likes me.

Claire, Kalli and Macy. Clearly good friends. And photo-op hogs. :)

Victoria before we even got started. Obviously Disneyland has its entertainment limits for two-year-olds.

All the females, minus Mom. I wonder what the accumulative hormone level of this moment would have been...?

Someone had the right idea with the whole child prison thing. Lure them in and leave them while the moms enjoy a quiet lunch. :)

Seriously, who doesn't just love Goofy?

Kate on a hard plastic Minnie Mouse House bed. Sweet cousin Aislyn got injured jumping up on the couch, that's how hard it was. :)

The kids ditched Anna and I on the Gadget Go-Coaster. Anna has always had a flair for humor and a nose for good clean trouble. She has an alter-ego named Angelique that has provided plenty of entertainment over the years. She's a crazy-hard worker and an incredible mother from whom I've borrowed many a good idea. :)

Playing on Donald's Boat in Toon Town. I would love to live in Toon Town. You can just hose the whole place down and call it clean.

Kate and Kalli on Splash Mountain. I got this great shot by sitting in the front of the boat, which was a brave step for me. I've always been secretly afraid to sit in front, for fear of falling out at the monster waterfall plunge at the end. If there's someone else in front of me and they start to fall out, I could death-grip the safety handles while watching the sorry shmuck in front of me dive to their death. But hey, at least I'd be safe!

Mary Poppins tying Kalli's shoe. It's true; Mary won't stand for anything being out of order! I so need one of her at my house.

Even Burt showed up for the photo-op.

I must say, if there is any character at Disneyland that I'd want a picture with it would be Mary Poppins (Burt optional), and she'd be wearing this dress.

Look at my beautiful sisters and mama! I sometimes joke that I, being the oldest, was the beta version of the Houser girls. Ma and Pa worked out the snags on me, cuz the rest of the girls turned out so darn great!!!!

So here's a little Disney tip: If you stay late enough on a Monday night, people start ditching their rented strollers. We picked up extras for each of the girls (minus Kate; she's always been more of a stroller pusher than a stroller rider). Sure, we got a little wild and crazy but it was all in good fun until someone got hurt. Sorry Macy. :)

V waving to her fans. Or fightin' off sleep while spinning wildly on the Teacups.

We capped the whole trip off with a 10:30 take-out feast from The Cheesecake Factory. A true Houser girl hallmark.

The trip was a smashing success and my girls came home with wonderful memories of Grandma, aunts and cousins. I came away with a muffin top and a sunburn on my nose. :) J/K...I honestly savor these times together and am so grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed me with such amazing women in my life.

The cherry on top was bringing my mom home with me from Cali to spend an additional week with my family and I. We thoroughly enjoyed her company. She's an angel to have around; so easy-going and good natured. I feel especially blessed to have her as my mom and appreciate the time she took coming up for a visit. My boys both cried when she left yesterday.

My next blog post will be far less sappy and emotional. Unless I'm premenstrual.

Ta!

Wrappin' It Up

I thought I'd better post our Christmas break pictures before next Christmas break. At the rate I'm going, I'll be mailing our "New Years" card out by Valentine's Day...

We got plastered with snow the week before Christmas. Which made for a white Christmas, but also a curiously large amount of yellow snow in the backyard (we'll blame the dog).

Because of the angle at which our house sits, the gale force winds blew the snow into huge drifts in the front of our house.

My kids version of "shut-in syndrome." Oh yes, they cleaned it all up!

Some pre-Christmas craft time with friends and cousins.

Christmas Eve dinner with the Reynolds and Grandma and Grandpa Sundwall.

Nativity time. Tucker the Magi riding on Donkey Dale.

Baby Talmage made the perfect baby Jesus. He's such a quiet little guy!

Jammie time. I love this tradition.

Christmas morning and the stocking routine.

Kalli got two Baby Alives for Christmas. She kept them both so that they wouldn't be lonely.

Tucker chillin' on the kitchen floor.

Interjection: my Christmas Day pictures are lame-o due to the fact that I got hit hard with a nasty sinus infection and don't honestly remember much.

Sledding with Kate's friend at Kite Hill during the break.

A few days after Christmas, Sean and I took the kids to a cabin near White Pass. The snow was primo and the acommodations were cozy.

Sean carved a great S-curved sledding run out of the hill behind our cabin. The kids spent hours wearing themselves out.

Another great hill that just happened to be close by.

Kalli's face usually says it all. Especially the mouth part of her face.

Tuck and Kalli had some fun on the roof of a maintenance shed. Cuz hey, what could be more fun than a maintenance shed?

Man, did it snow HARD!

Our cabin was smaller than our master bedroom at home, but worked great for all the games we played.

Isn't this a great little tree? It reminded me of why I dropped out of basketball in 7th grade. A dwarf among giants. :)

And in closing, I just had to show you what our cat Lincoln looks like when he's ticked off.

And here's why...

My kids got Lincoln a shirt for Christmas. Who the heck dresses a cat?!