So, we're moving some stuff around on the office network and I found this little video. I figured, why not share it with you today. It's Aspen, more than 5 years ago...
I love that each of my girls has distinctive eyes... Aspen was giving me an intentionally dirty look here, but I got fully open eyes (instead of the constantly smiling ones) so I decided to post it.
OK, so it's fully 4 weeks or so after Christmas, and we're just finishing up a few things. The last of the decorations made it into the garage on Saturday, and we finally got to a project we'd been anticipating for a while.
You can see the birdhouse and the bird feeder that Uncool Brian gave to the girls for Christmas, complete with peanut butter and feed for the birds. We've "spackled" away, and both items are hung on the front of the house. We'll certainly let you know when we spy our first visitor.
Smoothies are often a part of our weekend breakfasts. Today was no exception. We had smoothies, "eggies", and some banana bread that Jenn makes. (Editor's note: The banana bread is perfect, even though Jenn continues to try to find ways to make it better.)
Aspen and Oakley set the table, and we sat down to eat. Lindy looked at her spoon (a metal one) and the following conversation ensued.
Lindy: Why do I have this spoon? Jenn: To be like us. Lindy (after a pause): I do like ducks.
Aspen was asked to write about her best friend at school this week. Her writing has gotten so good that I don't have interpret any of it for you. So, I'll offer commentary.
You know, you can't choose your kids' friends... you just can't. But when they choose a great one, you certainly feel grateful.
At last, after a few days of messing with formats and video companies, I have Aspen's Basketball Debut ready for you.
Quite frankly, I was worried about this game. Our practices have been quite chaotic, and I thought things could be remarkably ugly. Well, the game was a pleasant surprise, as was Aspen's play. She plays on a team with 5 2nd graders and one other 1st grader. But I think she looked like she belonged.
To help you, on this occasion, Aspen's team is wearing blue. She's number 7 (short, dark hair). The video consists of almost all of Aspen's relevant, visible plays. It is fully 9 minutes long, so don't feel you need to watch any/all of it. Things to watch for include Aspen's great defensive hustle (and aptitude) and the fact that she scored once, had a couple of assists, and even took a ball off the nose.
As for the video, I'm trusting that I've got the embedding figured out. You should see the video itself right beneath this post. It will look pretty good here, certainly better than YouTube. But, if you really want a high definition experience, you have to click through to Vimeo's hosting of the video. They have an HD option that make it look beautiful, even if you click the full screen option in lower right. So, if you want the full experience, click on this link ( Aspen's Basketball Debut) and enjoy it over there. On a video as long as this one, I would say it's worth it.
Also, special thanks to Jenn, who spent the whole game holding a video camera and watching two kids in the bleachers. No one would be able to watch any of this without Jenn's cramping biceps.
This post has a high def (or higher def) version of the swingslam video. I'm considering posting using this more often... but I want your feedback. Is it slow to load for you? Does it work great? Is the increased quality worth the time downloading?
Let me know what you think in the comments below or with an email. Thanks.
Note: This post should have shown the video in line. Something went wrong. If you review a later post, you'll see the embedded video.
That's right, we have more video tonight. These are basically things I throw together because I know that I'll love them in 2 years. Right now, they're a little funny, but time will improve them.
Real smiles can be hard to come by at this age, but I think this one is pretty lose. I love how Aspen's teeth actually tell a decent story about how she's growing up.
I chose this one of Lindy cause it's funny. If you would prefer cuter one, click on this picture and go through the flickr photostream... cute ones are there too.
If you recall, Oakley hosted a gingerbread party for her birthday. Well, the time has come for the disposal of said gingerbread house, so we decided to catch each of the girls with the houses after church. Enjoy.
As predicted, Cliff Batson (sorry I misspelled it last time) was a willing participant. Now, Cliff didn't have great material to work with, but he did a bit of work for all of you. Enjoy.
I'm told a certain follower of our family mocked one of our prized possessions, in particular, the inclusion of a yellow mixer in our kitchen. Well, we called on the experts, and none other than Martha Stewart offered this in her January issue...
Can anyone argue with Martha's style? I think not.
Tonight, after dinner, I decided to give the girls a bath early, and then play a game with them afterward. It worked out pretty well, because they did some funny stuff. After the game of Monopoly Junior (a Christmas gift to Oakley), we decided to read. Oakley had read The White Stallion to herself today (seriously), and she wanted to read it to us.
At dinner, she kept talking about Anna and "Grinch" as if they were both girls. I thought it a little odd that Grinch was a girl, but didn't worry about it. We got to learn that Grinch was actually spelled Gretchen.
As she was reading to us, Oakley ran right through another word, stating that the "Must-ej" did something. She missed the work mustang in this case, but I'm just amazed by Oakley's reading all the time. She really has no comprehension of phonics at all... she simply pays attention to words she's learned and the context of those words. Things like Gretchen and Mustang don't occur to her as wrong because they are words outside of the norm. She's not bothered, and neither am I.
Incidentally, this is one place where not watching TV really seems to pay off for us. I'm certain it plays a role in how well Aspen reads, and that spills over like crazy. Oakley has learned to read simply by watching Aspen and wanting to. As Oakley was reading, Lindy walked over to me with a Magic Treehouse book about buffalo and said, "Two buffaloes. Jack and Annie." I'm pretty sure that Lindy wasn't ready, but she certainly wanted to.
Lastly, Lindy was sporting some new pajamas from Uncle Dougie tonight. She chose them after the bath and was really into the "snow globe pajamas". The decal, like all decals, is kind of scratchy on the outside. She was rubbing it up and down with her fingernails and proceeded to say, "I'm playing my banjo."
This picture is just funny. I zoomed in on one of the treehouse pictures to get it.
I never really get it when people say one of the girls looks like me. Jenn never really sees how Aspen looks like her. But then you see a picture like this. If someone had given it to me, say, Cliff Baston, I would hvae been certain that he pasted an old picture of my face into Oakley's coat. But nothing of the kind happened... Oakley simply looks like me (or a much younger version of me) at this point.
Well, it's far closer to completion now. It sill lacks a ladder, a door, and railings on the front porch (in addition to screens, potentially) but the fundamental structure is now 8 - 10 feet off the ground and has a roof on it. If you want the full set of pictures, you can get that at the link below.
