My girls' school, the Weilenmann School of Discovery, is nominated to receive a $50,000 grant from Clorox. We were nominated on the strength of our proposal to create an amazing outdoor education program, building a yurt on our beautiful property, equipping it with computers, and hiring a trainer to teach our staff how to design and run a great outdoor education science and PE program.
If you happen to see this blog, could you please vote for Weilenmann?
You can vote TWICE each day between now and December 19th.
Text 2307pbf to 95248.
AND
Vote online at https://powerabrightfuture.clorox.com/nominees/detail/?nid=2307
Anyone who is 13 years old with a valid email address can vote every single day. Weilenmann needs your help.
So, I joined a special sorority when I became pregnant with my twins over 7 years ago. With the birth of Miss-D in 2004, I became involved with a group of women online who all had kids around her same age. But when I found out we were having twins the second go 'round, I knew there was an online community of women with twins and I glommed on to them like they were a life raft. Turns out, they really were my life raft!
Lucky for me, they had experience with twins, and knew the tips and tricks that saved me from having to figure everything out all by myself.
Little did I know, but they started a tradition of getting together every year in October for a long weekend of, well, female bonding. When the kids were little, we used to just enjoy sitting around the house we had rented doing absolutely nothing. Now we get a little more adventurous and plan some outings, but there's still a lot of sitting around chit-chatting.
Anyway, my twin-mom friends are some of the most important people in my life. If anyone ever tells you that people you meet online aren't real friends, you can tell them from me that they don't know what the heck they're talking about. I have great friends in real life, but I also have a whole community of women who've all had twins, many of whom I've never met in real life, who are every bit as important to me as anyone I know face-to-face.
Here's a picture of our latest gathering, in Phoenix, in October of this year...
We got a large dump of snow from Friday - Sunday this weekend. With over two feet of snow on the ground, we woke up Sunday and everyone wanted to go skiing.
So we did!
And after a few times hiking back up to "earn our turns," we got out the redneck chair lift!
This is my second year on the board of my girls' school's Parent-Student-Teacher Organization. My job is Communication and Records. So essentially, I put out the school directory and a weekly newsletter, as well as create online signups for all our various volunteer opportunities.
I spent all day Monday working on the directory. We bought new software to make putting out a directory so much easier than it was last year. Last year, I did it by hand with an Excel spreadsheet and it took forever. Like, two weeks almost full time to get it out the door.
This year, it is still a lot of work, because the import template is so different from the format the school uses to store information. But I spent about 12 hours sorting the data into the template and now it's almost ready to go!
Good news is that this year we solicited parents with businesses to buy ads in the directory and we got enough ad revenue to cover the cost of printing a nice directory! Woohoo!
Even better news for whoever takes over this job next year... all that will need to be done is import any new families and delete any families who've left and then push a button and print the directory!
Friday and Saturday was our fall karate tournament with Bobby Lawrence Karate. Miss-D and I competed on Friday night, and I didn't get home until almost midnight. Ugh!
Miss-D had a tough division and did not win any medals, but she actual had her best tournament performance ever. I was really proud of how hard she worked and how well she did.
My division was small, only six, and I scored a first in sparring and a second in weapons.
Saturday morning, we were right back at it, and I took the Littles down to their competition.
M-Moo and K-Wiggles both did well. Their division was tough too, but they both came away with a third place. M-Moo won third in weapons for her nunchucks routine, and K-Wiggles won third in sparring, by beating her sister in their final match!
I took the girls to the polls with me after school and dance were over at about 5:30 on election night. I was worried there would be a long line, but nope, walked right in and voted just like always.
We have talked about the presidential election quite a bit, as the girls have asked questions. Their school did an election for school "mascot" as well.
They wondered where the "ballot box" was, so I had to explain that in Utah we vote by electronic voting machine instead of paper ballot!
Anyway, I got one of these...
Then when we got home, the girls wanted to watch the election returns. Okay....
I let them stay up until about 8, which wasn't late enough for the networks to call the election. They made me promise to tell them in the morning who won, and to record Obama's speech so they could watch it later.
Little did I know this would require staying up past midnight for me! Ugh.
Anyway, I'm proud my kids are interested in politics and elections. In 12 years, all three will be voting for president of this amazing country for the very first time!
Daddy-J and I went to Alaska to go skiing. This was back in April, but I realize I never posted about it. So I'm doing it now. What a great way to fill my NaBloPoMo assignment!
Anyway, we went to Alaska because there was no snow at home last year. There was some in Alaska. Actually, there was a lot!
Two of the best parts of the trip were cat skiing and a Denali overflight.
This is Denali, the mountain. This is what our daughter, Miss-D, and her cousin McKinley, are named after. We took a scenic overflight and it was truly amazing. The scale of this mountain and the surrounding area just cannot be conveyed with photographs.
This is looking back down the approach valley with Denali behind us.
This is from inside the plane. Very tiny!
On another day of our adventure, we went cat skiing. This is a way of getting to some of the amazing "good stuff" that surrounds Alyeska ski resort. Everywhere you look in Alaska, there is something that you want to go ski!
This is a shot of the boot pack we hiked twice. The cat only gets you up so high, so if you want to get to the really good stuff, you hike!
It was a fantastic trip. We are so lucky to be able to go to places like Alaska. Seward was a smart man to snap up this magestic place for the United States of America!
Daddy-J and I had a fancy-dress event we had to attend on the night of my birthday. It's been years since I bought a fancy dress, so I decided to treat myself. Found a beautiful, chic deep-purple Ralph Lauren jersey knit sheath dress that fit me perfectly right off the rack. But I decided that since it was so simple, I wanted some blingy shoes to go with it.
I don't think I have ever owned a pair of shoes with bling, so thankfully, the nice sales lady at Dillard's was able to help me pick out these fabulous babies. Believe it or not, they were relatively comfortable. I know, hard to imagine.
Anyway, several people commented on my "J-Lo" shoes, so I think I achieved the effect I was going for.
Someone took pictures of me and Daddy-J all dressed up last night, but I don't have them yet, so for now you'll have to just love on the picture of my shoes!
Oh, and to top it off, we wound up at Molly Blooms for a little "after" party and Rich Wyman just happened to be playing, so he did a little Romeo and Juliet for me for my birthday!
29 for the 14th time! I had a wonderful breakfast in bed, truly stunning gifts, a great day with the kids, fun at the school gala, and capped it off with Rich Wyman singing me Romeo and Juliet and Happy Birthday at Molly Bloom's. So thankful tonight...
There isn't really any trick or treating in our neighborhood. It's about a 1/4 mile between driveways, with lots of steep hills and dirt roads... not exactly conducive to little kids going house-to-house. Plus it is often bitterly cold or even snowing on Halloween around here!
So it's become a bit of a tradition to go trick-or-treating with our friends over in another subdivision, where the houses are closer together and it's easier to get around.
Here are the six kids this year...
Last year we had a huge crew of 11...
In 2010, it was just six... (and I wasn't there... had to go to a football game in England somewhere...)
Then in 2009 our usual trick-or-treating friends went to Disney, so we had to find someone else to take us around in their neighborhood! (Oh yes, and M-Moo was sick that year, so she got dragged around in the wagon... the kid cleaned up in the candy department!)
And then 2008, we had 8 kids...
In 2007, we had 7 kids...
In 2006, we hadn't started the tradition yet. It was just us chickens...
And before that, it was just Miss D in 2005...
And our very first Halloween with a kid of our own... 2004...
Wow, what a fun walk down Halloween through the years!
My kids' school has a dress code. It is fairly strict. Shirts must have collars. Skirts/pants must be cotton twill or jeans. No spaghetti straps or tank tops. Bellies must be covered. Skirt/dress length must be mid-thigh or longer in length.
Within these guidelines, my kids like to get creative.
Miss K-Wiggles looks totally school appropriate. Collared dress, proper length, very nice.
Miss-D looks very stylish. Collared shirt, cute cardigan, twill pants (ok, they're supposed to be solid color, but nobody seems to be enforcing that).
And then there's Miss Marlee. Collared shirt, yes. Totally mis-buttoned, well, ok (I asked her if she wanted to fix it and she said "No, I like it that way!). Patterned leggings... can't be worn as pants and supposed to be solid-colored, but again, nobody's enforcing that. Shorts over leggings? Interesting sartorial choice, no? Polka dot jacket and hiking shoes really make the outfit, don't you think?
Keep in mind that Miss M-Moo has been choosing her own outfits since she was, oh, 18 months old! I just love that she has a sense of style that is all her own!
I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted to this blog. Time really does fly faster and faster the older my kiddos get. The last thing I posted was about our trip to Australia last winter.
One of the things that's gotten me so busy since we got back from Australia is that Daddy-J and I started a crazy little thing called Crossfit in January. It's now been almost 10 months of doing Crossfit and it has been such a life-changing thing for us. Now that the kids are in school full time and Daddy-J's businesses are taking a little less of his time, we both made the commitment to get into shape.
Let's just say that our 30's were not kind to us in the fitness department! But Crossfit is changing that. We are in better shape at 42 (almost 43 for me!) than ever. In July we also started eating Paleo, which has led to great changes for us as well. We are leaner, have more energy, and are sleeping better. My fall allergies have just about disappeared this year, after having to take steroids the last two years just to make them tolerable.
For those wondering what Crossfit is, there are several great Youtube videos that explain it. This one from Reebok is my favorite...
Anyway, if you've been wondering what has been up at Casa Llamedos and why it hasn't been showing up on the blog, my time these past few months has been taken up with intense exercise, camaraderie, community, new friends, learning about Paleo, sourcing local fresh ingredients, and just getting healthier than we've ever been. It's a great feeling, but doesn't leave a lot of time for the computer!
I'll leave you with one last video about What is Crossfit? This one shows real people, just like me and Jim, doing Crossfit. It really is for anyone.
M-Moo and K-Wiggles are studying Australia in Kindergarten this week. Their teacher asked me to come in and show something about our trip there this winter... so I made this slideshow.
No time for a blow-by-blow as I post this today. But I wanted to throw up some more photos from our Australia trip.
Many of our days, the kids (and we) would start out like this...
Smiley, happy faces.
Goofy grins.
Anticipation.
(On the day the previous three shots were taken, we had driven into downtown Sydney, found reasonably-priced all-day parking, and were having a bit of food before we hit the aquarium... oh and it was hot and muggy too).
As each day's adventure would unfold, we would go through all the fun emotions of excitement and wonder.
(I believe this is the view back over Sydney Harbor from the amphitheatre at Taronga Zoo).
We would climb on seemingly almost anything.
And start getting kinda silly!
And the end of each day would find us all looking something like this.
Here, my eyes are still just about open. Probably 11 p.m. or so?
G'Ma and M-Moo are just about down for the count. Probably 11:30 or so.
And we had several days/nights like this. We loved riding the trains and ferries all over the Sydney area. Sometimes those last couple of miles from the train station to "home" were the longest part of the whole trip. Kudos to Jim for fetching the car while G'ma and I "babysit" three tired, exhausted, whiny, crying kids on the steps of the train station. Oh, and for finding a taxi to carry us all home (in two trips!) on New Year's Eve when the car got locked in the mall carpark!
It has been a busy year at Casa Llamedos. I am just now getting around to digging out my home-office desk, and made time to scan in the girls' school photos. Miss D (second grade), M-Moo (kindy) and K-Wiggles (kindy):
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