Simple Gifts

In the middle of what has been a fairly rough week (nothing major - just one of those weeks,) this little bright spot had a chance to shine through.  Grace has been working on this song for... I don't know how many weeks.  But, finally, after the last 2 solid weeks of buckling down and practicing right and well, she pulled it off and was able to play the duet with her teacher.  (She hates playing duets because the other person's part messes her up, so it was HUGE that she could play this well with a second part going on.) I am so proud of her for seeing it through and fixing all her mistakes.  

Have we mentioned how much we LOVE Grace's guitar teacher, DJ Armijo?  He's super awesome in so many ways.  We are extremely thankful for him.

Grace and DJ playing "Simple Gifts"
(unfortunately, I didn't catch the beginning with the video cam, but this is most of it.)

Wrapping up 2011

We ended the year with what seems like an epic-long school break.  Today is January 3rd, and the kids have been home from school since my birthday!  That was a really long time ago.  They go back tomorrow, and I have to admit, I kind of don't want them to.  I have loved having them at home and being able to do things with them every day.  I have loved the break from the rigorous school day schedule, and I have not missed packing lunches or checking homework.

Here's how we spent the rest of the school break after Christmas:

Tons of Colorado Cousin time!  (we're SO glad Janie and Evan came to visit us.)  sleep-overs, movies, outings, board games, video games, sugar eating, duck tape creations, and general silliness... cousins are just the best.

 (girl sleepover)

(photo op with "Rexie" at the science museum - his real name is Stan, but we like to call him Rexie)

(This giant tree in the plaza in Old Town is actually made of 135 smaller, real, Christmas trees.  

It was cool to look at the many different kinds of trees it is made out of.)

After Janie and Evan left, we decided to take a little family ski outing to Sandia Peak.  With their "reported base of 61 inches" of snow; we weren't the only ones who had this idea.  Apparently every resident and holiday visitor between New Mexico and Colorado decided to hit the same slope.  Too bad for me that I don't have my own gear and got to spend 1.5 hours in the rental line.  David and the girls spent an hour in the ski school line and by nearly lunch time, we had all made at least 2 runs!  

This was Harriet's first time really trying the skiing.  (Last year, she sat in the chairlift swing while the other kids skied.)  She was a good little trooper and stayed in ski school by herself and learned the pizza.  Grace worked on her pizza-french fry moves; I tried to stay on my skis, but went down an ungroomed blue run and was not standing up at the bottom of it.  David patiently waited for all of us unsteady skiers and helped Harriet up her first chairlift ride and down her first bunny hill after ski school was over.  Minus the howling ABQ wind coming over the peak, and the insane crowds it was a great day!

I tried to get a video with both girls skiing, while skiing myself, while trying not to run into anyone... 

New Year's Eve was spent cleaning and putting up our new table (oh wait, that was just me - David drove to Texas with his friend Matt to watch the Utes in the Sun Bowl) and then we all were home and awake to ring in the New Year with the ball dropping on TV, our neighbors' illegal fireworks, and a few pop-its thrown out the back door for extra oomph.  It was so exciting - we didn't take all of these pictures...

Then, we didn't take more pictures on New Year's Day when we filled our house to capacity with some old friends and some new friends for a soup tasting party.  

Actually, what I would like a picture of is every single clean room in my house right now.  They are all clean at the same time for the first time, in I don't know when.  Happy New Year to me!!!