LONDON

Since arriving in London (safely) Catherine has called home a couple of times. Her voice is very chipper, she giggles a lot, and she says that she's tired! They've been so many places and seen so many things!

Here are a few photos she's been able to send to us already.

Catherine and Lauren at the Tower Bridge.














The girls with their cheerleading smiles and uniforms.

The three girls together: Lauren, Catherine and Dawn.

2008-2009

How are you finishing off 2008? I hope peacefully!!

We had snow for almost two weeks (very unusual for us), and I was hoping that as it fell, it would thaw out quickly. That did not happen and on Christmas Day it was a winter wonderland in our town.

The snow fell Christmas morning and kept us indoors and away from our plans. We had planned to head up to Seattle and spend the night. December 26 is Stephanie's birthday and she loves to shop in Seattle (after-Christmas sales) and visit the Experience Music Project. We hoped to do things for Stephanie's birthday on Friday before dropping Catherine off at SeaTac Airport for a 6 o'clock flight.

The weather cleared up Friday and we drove up to Seattle for Catherine. At the airport we hooked up with her friend, Lauren, and Lauren's mom, Dawn. The three of them were traveling with at least 3o other cheerleaders to London. This past summer, Catherine and Lauren secured spots on the Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) All Star team which will be marching in a New Year's Day parade in London. Several family members and friends have helped us out with the expenses for this incredible trip! (Thank you.)

Tower Bridge...the view from the hotel.

Lauren and Catherine ham it up at Catherine's 10th birthday. The theme was "disco party." Catherine and Lauren at Cheer Camp (Summer, 2oo8) with other team members from Three Rivers Christian School.Dawn at summer cheer camp...she's the coach.


Catherine and Lauren have been wonderful friends for years! I am looking forward to seeing pictures and hearing of their London adventures when they return.


So the big girl is gone, the little girl turned 13 and the boy is home for semester break. The snow is gone (yea! yea! yea!) and now I can see green grass in my backyard and the black pavement of the road in front of my house! That whole "White Christmas" thing is so overrated.

I hope y'all have a blessed transition from 2008 to 2009!

MORE SNOW PICTURES

Icicles hanging off the north side of our house.
The longest is about 2.5 ft. (0.76 m)

I've never seen this at my house before!

While Steve and I ran errands around town Saturday, the

kids were smart enough to play in the snow.

Catherine and Steph pose for themselves while someone gets a shot of Mitchell "boarding" down the south side of the house. These kids are in the habit of taking wheels off skateboards and riding the decks on the snow. This time, however, Mitchell had a little run-in with a bush catching a branch in the face. That's going to leave a scar.

By the time Steve and I were done running errands, enough snow and ice had accumulated so that we couldn't quite make it up the hill and home. We tried putting chains on the tires but they didn't quite fit so after abandoning the car on the side of the road, I walked up the hill to home. Through the snow...wind blowing in my face...toes getting cold...(dramatic enough?) Okay, we left the car four houses down the street.

Evolution of a snowy backyard.

Wednesday, December 18

Friday, December 19

Sunday, December 21

ALMOST WINTER

So volleyball season ended and I took a nosedive in regard to the blog. I'm sorry. But I'm back!

Officially winter begins in two days, but our wintery weather arrived two days ago.

We woke Wednesday to an inch or so of snow, and school was cancelled for the day. We had spent Tuesday afternoon and evening at basketball games at school and the girls stayed up late when we got home to finish their homework. (They make me so proud!) They were a little bummed that after all that effort, they were not going to school.
Stephanie was especially bummed as her basketball game (final one of the season) had also been cancelled.
The snow has stuck around and we've even gotten more, so school was cancelled Thursday and again today. Three days off on account of snow is very rare around here! It's a bummer too as I missed sharing Christmas celebrations with my students and colleagues. We don't return to school now until January 5.
In the meantime, Steve goes off to work faithfully, braving the snow and ice. For all who live where it really snows, this is nothing. For those of us who grew up in Southern California and have learned to live with rain in Washington, this is a big deal! Humor us, please.
Finally, Mitchell has come home for Christmas! He drove from Albuquerque, NM, leaving Monday morning and arriving here Tuesday evening. (He met us at the school during the basketball games.) I am very excited to have him home, and I am very grateful that he arrived just before our big storm hit. God takes very good care of us all.

Here are a few pictures I took around the house this morning. Maybe later I'll venture outside and take more.

My cat, Little Sox, is spending more time indoors than out these days. (He's very cuddly.)

Catherine's dog, Meeko.
He ferociously barks at the snow as it falls. I'm pretty certain that he will drive me crazy.

This is Candy, Stephanie's cat.

She's very independent.

As I was wrapping up this blog entry, I got a visit from some friends. The deer are hanging out in the backyard again! (Did I mention that I grew up in L.A. and this stuff is really cool to me?)