Tuesday, January 29, 2008
haunted snow house
It seems I spoke too soon. This is what we woke up to Monday morning. Last week I was running on the trail and letting the boys play at the park, and now it's winter again. All James wanted to do all day was play in the snow, so that's what we did. I'm talking hours. He was quite thrilled with the snow house we made, although he thought my attempt at a roof was pretty lame (agreed, buddy). We took it off and built a chimney instead. He was pretty disappointed that we couldn't sleep in it. Too bad it was all but melted this morning. It was fun while it lasted!
Monday, January 21, 2008
snow anyone?
For those of you getting dumped on in Utah, here's one reason you should consider moving to Seattle (or at least coming to visit). Today was beautiful, sunny, and green, and about 40°. No snow.
Christian had the day off, so we took a short drive up the canyon to Iron Horse State Park. See, we can play in the snow anytime we want to during the winter, but we hardly ever have to deal with it at home. In the immortal words of Nelson Muntz, "Ha-ha!"
It took us about 20 minutes to get all our snow gear on. Addy is set because we still lived in Utah when James was this age.
This is how the outing started out.
But we fixed it real quick with a little destructive fun.
James loved using his walking stick from Grandpa Layne. Although he couldn't understand why we weren't using two of them like all the skiers.
Yes, those are galoshes. I know. We live in Seattle, remember?
King(s) of the Mountain!
Okay, they're starting to get a little cold at this point. No more smiles for pictures.
And this is how the outing ended. James didn't need to use words for us to know he was ready to go home. All I could understand through the crying anyway was something about a "vanilla bar" (translation: granola bar). Next year we'll get you some real snow gear, buddy.
Christian had the day off, so we took a short drive up the canyon to Iron Horse State Park. See, we can play in the snow anytime we want to during the winter, but we hardly ever have to deal with it at home. In the immortal words of Nelson Muntz, "Ha-ha!"
It took us about 20 minutes to get all our snow gear on. Addy is set because we still lived in Utah when James was this age.
This is how the outing started out.
But we fixed it real quick with a little destructive fun.
James loved using his walking stick from Grandpa Layne. Although he couldn't understand why we weren't using two of them like all the skiers.
Yes, those are galoshes. I know. We live in Seattle, remember?
King(s) of the Mountain!
Okay, they're starting to get a little cold at this point. No more smiles for pictures.
And this is how the outing ended. James didn't need to use words for us to know he was ready to go home. All I could understand through the crying anyway was something about a "vanilla bar" (translation: granola bar). Next year we'll get you some real snow gear, buddy.
my husband the celebrity
Christian gets little to no face time on this blog, so I thought I'd post a little something for him tonight. Check out his celeb look-a-likes. Who do you think he looks most like? I'm hoping you pick Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice. Dreamy. . . I'm kinda surprised they didn't show Eddie Munster, though! :)
Even though he's not really a Hollywood celebrity, he is a celebrity in our house. You should see the boys when he walks in the door at night. Dad-dy! Dad-dy!
I love you, Tree! (Even though you did drag me to that horrible movie tonight. You owe me big time.)
P.S. I didn't post my own celeb look-a-likes because one of them was a MAN! How's that for a self-esteem killer?
Saturday, January 19, 2008
first crush
One day on the way out of preschool, James told me a girl in his class, Dylan, said she was going to marry him when she grew up.
"And what did you say?" I asked.
"I said, 'Okay.'"
In the weeks that have followed, James has been drawing pictures he entitles "Curls." I couldn't figure out why he kept scribbling these curls when he's been drawing such elaborate pictures lately, so I probed a little further.
"James, how come you keep drawing pictures of curls?"
"Because Dylan has the curliest hair I have ever seen," he replied. Ah-ha.
I told her mom this today at preschool, and she told me this story.
"Yesterday after school Dylan said, 'Mom, James was at school today and I didn't kiss him. Or hug him.' Well I should hope not! That is not appropriate behavior for school," she told her.
"Or anywhere! You're only three!" her husband chimed in.
After school today James told me he sat by Dylan all day. And as we were walking to the car, she waved and said, "Bye James!" from her car seat. He kept walking without taking his eyes off her, but he was tongue-tied. "Say 'bye' James," I whispered. He barely managed a weak "bye" and looked away quickly. I guess the feeling is mutual.
"And what did you say?" I asked.
"I said, 'Okay.'"
In the weeks that have followed, James has been drawing pictures he entitles "Curls." I couldn't figure out why he kept scribbling these curls when he's been drawing such elaborate pictures lately, so I probed a little further.
"James, how come you keep drawing pictures of curls?"
"Because Dylan has the curliest hair I have ever seen," he replied. Ah-ha.
I told her mom this today at preschool, and she told me this story.
"Yesterday after school Dylan said, 'Mom, James was at school today and I didn't kiss him. Or hug him.' Well I should hope not! That is not appropriate behavior for school," she told her.
"Or anywhere! You're only three!" her husband chimed in.
After school today James told me he sat by Dylan all day. And as we were walking to the car, she waved and said, "Bye James!" from her car seat. He kept walking without taking his eyes off her, but he was tongue-tied. "Say 'bye' James," I whispered. He barely managed a weak "bye" and looked away quickly. I guess the feeling is mutual.
what we're reading
Reading is one of my passions. I spent entire summers holed up in my bedroom reading the Anne of Green Gables series and everything else by L.M. Montgomery, plus every Nancy Drew ever written. When we read Austen's Pride and Prejudice in high school it was like a light went on inside me. It's one reason I decided on an English degree in college. My favorite courses were 19th Century English Lit, The Bronte Sisters, and American Lit: Wallace Stegner. I love to see what my friends are reading and get good recommendations. I have a long list of books I want to read. Not that I have time to read. I barely squeeze in one book a month for my book club these days. But that's something, right? If you're reading something great, leave me a comment so I can add it to my list!
Here's what the Sybrowsky family is reading in case you're looking for a good book.
Mandy: Eat Cake by Jeanne Ray. Hilarious so far! She even includes recipes for the cakes she describes in the back of the book!
East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I borrowed my brother's copy from my mom and started during book club's summer break, but I never finished it before it started up again! It is great so far, though, and I will finish it. (Bet you wondered what happened to your book, huh Dan? Sorry. You'll get it back eventually!)
Christian: Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics
I don't know if this is the one he's currently reading--he usually falls asleep before he can get any reading done. I just know I see it out a lot. I don't recommend this one unless you have incurable insomnia. There are four volumes totaling over 4,000 pages. About 2 pages would do the trick for me.
Addy: Disney Pixar Friends and Heroes
He loves to look at the Cars pages and point out each character.
James: Extreme Dinosaurs and The Human Body. He took The Human Body book to school for show-and-tell today and his teacher told me it was the most amazing show-and-tell of the year. She said he went through each page, pointing out things like red and white blood cells, bacteria and viruses, the heart, the brain, and x-rays of broken bones for the class. She couldn't believe he knew all that. She asked him if he was going to be a doctor when he grows up, and of course he said 'yes.' He asks Christian things like, "Daddy, have you touched brains before? Are they slimy?" Even if he doesn't go to med school, his curiosity and love of learning will make him an incredible candidate in any field he chooses from his list. Like "astrophysics"or "owl." Yes, he said he wants to be an owl when he grows up. That was just after he decided he'd like to work at Chik-Fil-A. But I'm not worried. Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” With an imagination like his, he can be anything he wants to be.
Here's what the Sybrowsky family is reading in case you're looking for a good book.
Mandy: Eat Cake by Jeanne Ray. Hilarious so far! She even includes recipes for the cakes she describes in the back of the book!
East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I borrowed my brother's copy from my mom and started during book club's summer break, but I never finished it before it started up again! It is great so far, though, and I will finish it. (Bet you wondered what happened to your book, huh Dan? Sorry. You'll get it back eventually!)
Christian: Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics
I don't know if this is the one he's currently reading--he usually falls asleep before he can get any reading done. I just know I see it out a lot. I don't recommend this one unless you have incurable insomnia. There are four volumes totaling over 4,000 pages. About 2 pages would do the trick for me.
Addy: Disney Pixar Friends and Heroes
He loves to look at the Cars pages and point out each character.
James: Extreme Dinosaurs and The Human Body. He took The Human Body book to school for show-and-tell today and his teacher told me it was the most amazing show-and-tell of the year. She said he went through each page, pointing out things like red and white blood cells, bacteria and viruses, the heart, the brain, and x-rays of broken bones for the class. She couldn't believe he knew all that. She asked him if he was going to be a doctor when he grows up, and of course he said 'yes.' He asks Christian things like, "Daddy, have you touched brains before? Are they slimy?" Even if he doesn't go to med school, his curiosity and love of learning will make him an incredible candidate in any field he chooses from his list. Like "astrophysics"or "owl." Yes, he said he wants to be an owl when he grows up. That was just after he decided he'd like to work at Chik-Fil-A. But I'm not worried. Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” With an imagination like his, he can be anything he wants to be.
Friday, January 11, 2008
christmas in seattle (and again in sandy)
I know, Christmas is SO over. I am just so far behind on everything. But I did promise the grandparents these snippets from Christmas morning and the rest of the pictures from our trip home. WARNING--marathon post ahead. (Feel free to just scan the pictures & videos--the text isn't that engrossing.)
The boys were so cute Christmas morning. They waited patiently (mostly) for Christian to get home from the hospital (around 9:30am) so we could all enjoy Christmas morning together.
Growing up, Christmas morning was always one of my favorite times with my brother and sister. We'd usually wake up way too early and our parents would tell us to go back to sleep, so we'd all get in one bed together and talk until they came to get us. Then we'd go down the stairs in a train, each covering the eyes of the person in front of them (being the eldest, I always had to close my own eyes, which I thought was totally unfair). We had to do it this way--even when we were teenagers. My boys didn't quite know what to do when they got to the bottom of the stairs this year (did James think Santa would actually be there? he looked terrified!), but I'm sure it won't be long until they have a ritual of their own.
Really, James does like his bike. He tells me it was his favorite present. He's just waiting on the helmet. Add it to the list!
Amazingly (and unpredicted by local weather forecasters) we had a white Christmas! Sort of. It started snowing about 10:30am and kept up most the afternoon. Of course it didn't stick, but James was ecstatic. He wanted to go build a snowman immediately, but I was able to persuade him to wait until we got to Utah where there was "real" snow. Unfortunately, this also meant we didn't get to ride the bike. Oh well. It was worth it to see snow!
The presents from the grandparents were out of control. I would say 90% of the gifts under our tree were from them. As Christian would say, "You guys have to knock it off!" But we appreciate everything so much. We had a great Christmas!
Hot Dog! The newest "Gickey" Mouse Muskateer. Thanks Grandma Lou!
The Daines crew joined us for Christmas dinner. After ham, potatoes, an awesome salad, rolls, homemade apple pie a la mode (WOW Carly!), and hot chocolate (courtesy of our new Cocoa-Latte machine), we were totally stuffed and retired to the piano for some Christmas carols. Well, not me. I can't sing a note. But I caught Christian and Brian in the middle of a little duet, which I promised not to post here. What can I say--I'm a danged liar. Notice Christian's Diet Coke microphone, and his solo at the end signifying that my attempt to capture some secret footage was busted!
On the 27th the monkeys and I took off for Utah and left Christi home alone for nine days. He complained a lot, but he made it through without us okay. (Luckily he's at the children's hospital right now where they feed him for free!) We arrived at Grandma Holly's to find another load of gifts, including a few small, pack-able gifts that Grandma Holly couldn't resist, and a tower of presents from Grandpa Brent. Grandma was totally shocked, since she had told Grandpa no more presents (because we had to get them all home on the plane), but I guess he didn't listen.
Among the goodies were remote control cars for all the boys, including a giant remote-controlled Hummer for Grandpa to play along with them! They really did have a blast driving the things around all week. I just hope your furniture and baseboards survived it, Mom!
Tower 'O Gifts
Presents? Who needs presents when we've got this giant box and some plastic flags?
Playing in the snow--at last!
Utah needs to tighten up their child-labor laws. Who makes a snow shovel this small, anyway? And who buys it? Oh wait, that would be my parents. I never did hear why they have this. Mom or Dad, care to leave a comment and enlighten us all?
We had fun times with Sybrowskys, too--like a night at Chuck E. Cheese's! (Dont' worry, the adults didn't eat the pizza. We got our own take-out afterward by suggestion of Peen & Reed, frequent patron's of Chuck E. Cheese's.)
Grandma Jody took us to see The Waterhorse, too. It was so cute! The boys loved it--Adam didn't move off my lap the whole time or take his eyes off the screen. He just ate bite after bite of popcorn and watched attentively, occasionally yelling out, "Shark!"
James really loved the show, although he liked the waterhorse a lot more when he was just a little guy. The big monster version was a bit scary. He literally sat on the edge of his seat the entire movie. Oh, except for at one point when he stood up and shouted loudly down the aisle to me (and everyone else in the theater), "Mom, I'm not handsome anymore!" Apparently he realized his hair was messy after taking off his hood and was completely freaked out. Jody and I laughed for about five minutes. What a goofball. Thanks for all the fun Sybrowskys, Keys's, and Boogaards!
We had so much fun visiting with Dan, Sara, Sam, and Lucy. We never get to see them, so to spend four whole days together was amazing! They played so hard. My dad can't believe how quiet the house is now that they're gone. Lucy, good luck surviving this lot of rowdy boys!
James finally got to make a snowman the day we left (after most the snow had melted). Grandpa Brent found a carrot for the nose, radishes for the eyes, and pine needles for hair. It also sported a tail and purple polka-dots, making it a James original.
We are so grateful for all our blessings, especially all the amazing people in our lives. Amidst all the fun, our family truly felt the meaning of the season this year, and it meant so much to me to share the importance of our Savior and his birth with the monkeys. We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, too!
The boys were so cute Christmas morning. They waited patiently (mostly) for Christian to get home from the hospital (around 9:30am) so we could all enjoy Christmas morning together.
Growing up, Christmas morning was always one of my favorite times with my brother and sister. We'd usually wake up way too early and our parents would tell us to go back to sleep, so we'd all get in one bed together and talk until they came to get us. Then we'd go down the stairs in a train, each covering the eyes of the person in front of them (being the eldest, I always had to close my own eyes, which I thought was totally unfair). We had to do it this way--even when we were teenagers. My boys didn't quite know what to do when they got to the bottom of the stairs this year (did James think Santa would actually be there? he looked terrified!), but I'm sure it won't be long until they have a ritual of their own.
Really, James does like his bike. He tells me it was his favorite present. He's just waiting on the helmet. Add it to the list!
Amazingly (and unpredicted by local weather forecasters) we had a white Christmas! Sort of. It started snowing about 10:30am and kept up most the afternoon. Of course it didn't stick, but James was ecstatic. He wanted to go build a snowman immediately, but I was able to persuade him to wait until we got to Utah where there was "real" snow. Unfortunately, this also meant we didn't get to ride the bike. Oh well. It was worth it to see snow!
The presents from the grandparents were out of control. I would say 90% of the gifts under our tree were from them. As Christian would say, "You guys have to knock it off!" But we appreciate everything so much. We had a great Christmas!
Hot Dog! The newest "Gickey" Mouse Muskateer. Thanks Grandma Lou!
The Daines crew joined us for Christmas dinner. After ham, potatoes, an awesome salad, rolls, homemade apple pie a la mode (WOW Carly!), and hot chocolate (courtesy of our new Cocoa-Latte machine), we were totally stuffed and retired to the piano for some Christmas carols. Well, not me. I can't sing a note. But I caught Christian and Brian in the middle of a little duet, which I promised not to post here. What can I say--I'm a danged liar. Notice Christian's Diet Coke microphone, and his solo at the end signifying that my attempt to capture some secret footage was busted!
On the 27th the monkeys and I took off for Utah and left Christi home alone for nine days. He complained a lot, but he made it through without us okay. (Luckily he's at the children's hospital right now where they feed him for free!) We arrived at Grandma Holly's to find another load of gifts, including a few small, pack-able gifts that Grandma Holly couldn't resist, and a tower of presents from Grandpa Brent. Grandma was totally shocked, since she had told Grandpa no more presents (because we had to get them all home on the plane), but I guess he didn't listen.
Among the goodies were remote control cars for all the boys, including a giant remote-controlled Hummer for Grandpa to play along with them! They really did have a blast driving the things around all week. I just hope your furniture and baseboards survived it, Mom!
Tower 'O Gifts
Presents? Who needs presents when we've got this giant box and some plastic flags?
Playing in the snow--at last!
Utah needs to tighten up their child-labor laws. Who makes a snow shovel this small, anyway? And who buys it? Oh wait, that would be my parents. I never did hear why they have this. Mom or Dad, care to leave a comment and enlighten us all?
We had fun times with Sybrowskys, too--like a night at Chuck E. Cheese's! (Dont' worry, the adults didn't eat the pizza. We got our own take-out afterward by suggestion of Peen & Reed, frequent patron's of Chuck E. Cheese's.)
Grandma Jody took us to see The Waterhorse, too. It was so cute! The boys loved it--Adam didn't move off my lap the whole time or take his eyes off the screen. He just ate bite after bite of popcorn and watched attentively, occasionally yelling out, "Shark!"
James really loved the show, although he liked the waterhorse a lot more when he was just a little guy. The big monster version was a bit scary. He literally sat on the edge of his seat the entire movie. Oh, except for at one point when he stood up and shouted loudly down the aisle to me (and everyone else in the theater), "Mom, I'm not handsome anymore!" Apparently he realized his hair was messy after taking off his hood and was completely freaked out. Jody and I laughed for about five minutes. What a goofball. Thanks for all the fun Sybrowskys, Keys's, and Boogaards!
We had so much fun visiting with Dan, Sara, Sam, and Lucy. We never get to see them, so to spend four whole days together was amazing! They played so hard. My dad can't believe how quiet the house is now that they're gone. Lucy, good luck surviving this lot of rowdy boys!
James finally got to make a snowman the day we left (after most the snow had melted). Grandpa Brent found a carrot for the nose, radishes for the eyes, and pine needles for hair. It also sported a tail and purple polka-dots, making it a James original.
We are so grateful for all our blessings, especially all the amazing people in our lives. Amidst all the fun, our family truly felt the meaning of the season this year, and it meant so much to me to share the importance of our Savior and his birth with the monkeys. We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, too!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
look dad, new hair!
A few photos for Our Dad who is missing us at home while we play hard in Utah. . .
Finally, no more Shaggy & Scooby [hair]do's! Thanks for spending a whole night sprucing us up, Uncle Code! Handsome fellas!
Grandma Jody and Grandpa Layne took us sledding today with the Keys'. We love our family! It was a perfect, beautiful, sunny winter day and we had such a great time (mostly). James just needed a little smaller hill to convince him it was fun.
Finally, no more Shaggy & Scooby [hair]do's! Thanks for spending a whole night sprucing us up, Uncle Code! Handsome fellas!
Grandma Jody and Grandpa Layne took us sledding today with the Keys'. We love our family! It was a perfect, beautiful, sunny winter day and we had such a great time (mostly). James just needed a little smaller hill to convince him it was fun.
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