Hmmmm...

 

Based on the spelling skills displayed in this card, maybe the statement isn't quite accurate.

She Writes...

 A Poem by Staley

There once was a man who had no horse, no wagon and no car

The only steed he had was an old green turtle whose name was Star

When the man rode Star from work at night he was always very late

His food was always very cold upon his shining plate

He was tired of always being late and so he formed a plan 

It would make Star hurry up "if" he thought "Star can"

He didn't know if Star could go fast, but it was worth a shot

If he could make his turtle fast, he'd like that quite a lot

The man got some cat food, and tied it to Star's tail

If the plan went well then Star would run "Oh please don't let this fail!"

Pretty soon every cat was chasing Star around, 

But Star didn't want to run, so she layed down on the ground

The man was getting very mad, but he had just one more trick,

He would get Star's favorite food, and make her run to have a lick

But Star just looked at her food, then sighed and went to sleep

The man was now considering trading Star out for a jeep

The man went over to where Star sat and looked her in the eye

"If you make me late for work, I will bake you in a pie!"

But Star ignored his empty threat and went back to her bed

And a great idea came floating into the man's head

"Who says I need to go to work?" He said smiling wide

"I can work from home you see" and he was practically swelling with pride

Now the man worked from home and Star remained his pet

The man was never late again, and he never broke a sweat

Love my poet!

Tis the Season...

 

for coughing and fevers and tissues and tears.  For days off school and chicken noodle soup and time on the couch. This has been a week of sickness at our house with Staley starting the trend and Adelie joining in today.  All I want for Christmas at this point is a fever free home and for my daughter to no longer sound like she's been a smoker since birth.  We'll see if that's something Santa can find in his sack.

A Very NTA Christmas

My kids love being involved with NTA.  They love having opportunities to perform in front of others.  And Rising Stars, the NTA show choir, has given them ample opportunities to perform this holiday season.  At least once every week-end (and sometimes 2 or 3 times) since mid-November, my kids have performed in some kind of parade, tree lighting ceremony, Christmas fund raiser, or other festive event.  It has kept us hopping, but they love it.  (Briggs, on the other hand, does not always love being dragged along to all their performances.)

The festival of lights parade was FREEZING this year.  We bundled the girls to the max and then waited in the car for them to dance by.

Thankfully their elf costumes were roomy enough to shove lots of layers underneath.

The Santa Claus parade, although only a week after the Festival of Lights parade, was WAY nicer weather.

It also helped that dressing in the blue and white color scheme meant that they could wear their coats.  By the end of this parade, they were ready to shed some layers.

At each performance, they perform their group numbers with occasional opportunities to perform solos.

Both girls got to perform their solos twice this season.  Adelie performed "That Time of Year" and Staley performed "Red Ryder Carbine Action BB Gun" at the Christmas in Kickapoo event and at NTA's Christmas Cabaret.

One of their favorite parts of Rising Stars is having the opportunity to hang out with their NTA friends more often.  One of their favorite days this season was a 2 performance day where they got to go to lunch and hang out with friends between their performances.

The NTA Christmas Cabaret provided the opportunity for the girls to show off their routine from their Broadway Dance class as well.

In addition to performing their Rising Stars group numbers and solos, they also entertained with an Irish tap routine that they were working on throughout this past session of Broadway Dance.

Although NTA has kept us busy this Christmas season with Elf, Rising Stars performances, and the Christmas Cabaret, it has also brought so much fun and joy to our kids.

We have attended way more festive Christmas activities than we would have without their involvement.

It has been a very NTA Christmas season!

Basketball

Briggs just finished a 6 week session of basketball clinic on Saturday mornings.  He always complained about going, but seemed to have a good time once he was there.  We had more than one talk about how, if you ask me to sign you up for something, then you are not allowed to complain about going.  It didn't work.

Briggs had friends in his session of the basketball clinic and enjoyed spending time with them.  He improved with his dribbling skills, passing skills, and even made a few baskets.

Understanding the rules of the game, playing defense, and what the skills should look like in a game setting were harder for him to grasp.  Part of that is our fault as I don't think he's ever been to or seen an actual basketball game.  Although there were a few kids in his clinic that had strong skills with basketball, his skill level and understanding were about on par with many of the kids.

During his last basketball clinic, the coach had the boys scrimmage for part of the time.  Zach took him that week and he texted me saying, "This is painful.  Briggs is doing an okay job of covering Eli at times.  Of course, they are on the same team so..."

Briggs was not sad when his basketball clinics were over.  Although he enjoyed time with friends and improved with his skills, I anticipate this being the end of his formal basketball journey.  And that's okay.  

Question of the Day

Is there something ironic about the fact that my kids argue at dinner about who gets to pray before the meal?

Truth

Staley has a habit of snapping her fingers whenever she is walking around the house.  Adelie has recently learned to whistle and is constantly whistling as she walks.  So now I never have to wonder where in the house my girls are.  It's like having a cat with a bell around its neck, only less weird and inappropriate than actually putting a bell around my children's necks.