Christmas Program I and II

This year's school Christmas program was "Joyland."  Jake had a speaking part and Maggie got to be, well, you'll just have to read on to find out.

Joyland is a toy store - Jake was a sales clerk named Tommy.    Notice the lack of singing.  Pretty typical.

Maggie, on the other hand, loves the singing.

Jake did great - remembered all of his lines, even though his microphone gave out.  My favorite part was when it started working again and he whispered, "My mic is working again," for all the audience to hear.

And Maggie's special part?  She got to be 1 of 4 dancing sheep.  They had a routine during one entire song.  She did just great!

And looked pretty darn cute, too!

On to the church program.  This year, the kids got to play the nativity one of three Sundays in December.  Jake got to be a king - check out his royal crown!!

And Maggie was a camel.

Sorry about the less-than-stellar pictures.  I'm not the best photographer, especially in difficult lighting and from far away.

Anyway, I cherish these memories, because I know they won't always be so excited to play a camel and a king.  But I hope they will always be excited about celebrating Christmas - and for the right reasons; that it is the birth of our Savior.

The Perfect Ice

If the lake freezes on a perfectly calm day, with no snow, we get the perfect ice for skating.  That happened this year - it's a blast.  It's clear enough that you can see the seaweed swaying back and forth under the water; you might even spot an occasional fish.

We took complete advantage this year and skated, even while there was open water (you can see it in the distance on this picture).  It was like this for several weeks - Jake and I even skated to a different side of the lake to his friend's house.

Then it rained on our parade (literally rained) and ruined the nice smooth ice.  But never fear, there's a rink just down the road, and a couple more in town, and one in our friends' backyard....

Check out Mags' new blog!!

Maggie got a camera for Christmas and wanted somewhere to post her photos...so she has her very own blog!

Check out www.maggiedoodledesigns.blogspot.com for all of her musings and photos.

Merry Christmas!!

There and back again (and again and again)

We had the privilege of spending a week at the Causeys' right after Thanksgiving and had a blast.  We took advantage of their proximity to DC and did a little sightseeing. 

Isaiah went along and it was a beautiful day - sunny and nearly 70!  Awesome for walking around and seeing the White House...

The Washington Monument...

The Lincoln Memorial...

And the completely torn up reflecting pool.  :(

We also took in the Museum of Natural History on that day and had our fill of walking around.

So, Scott and I left the kids home the next day and headed back to DC.  I had never seen the Jefferson Memorial before - by far my favorite!  Worth the hike around the tidal basin.  It was also beautiful that day; 75 and sunny, so we walked and walked and walked.  It was great.  Took in the Air and Space Museum on Washington Mall; went in the Smithsonian Castle, saw a few more monuments and memorials and had lunch near the Capitol building.

A few days later, Scott and I hopped on the Metro once again and got a tour of the Pentagon, thanks to Charles.  By far, the highlight of our sightseeing.  This is the only place that pictures are allowed to be taken in the Pentagon, so Scott quickly briefed the nation and then we headed out on our tour.

We got a private tour from Charles and a couple of people he works with - one was at the Pentagon shortly after the plane hit on 9-11 and it was fascinating to hear his account of that day.  He took us to the chapel and the memorial that are now at the site where the plane hit the building.  It was amazing.

Each corridor of the Pentagon has a different theme and artifacts and displays line the hallways.  Several areas have quilts, etc. that people sent after 9-11.  My favorite was by a little old lady, who made a beautiful quilt...of a hexagon. So cute!!  Our tour guide told us there is a warehouse full of those kinds of things and they are traded out periodically so they will eventually all be on display.

We ended our trip with a morning at the Air and Space Museum by Dulles Airport.  The one on the Washington Mall ran out of room, so they built another one.  (Airplanes take up an awful lot of space...)  We thought the second was the coolest (and not just because one of the Transformers movies was filmed there).

It was a great trip!  Thanks to the Causeys for the hospitality!

The Number 10

Oh yes, he turned 10.  Double digits.  Hard to believe that in another ten, he'll probably be halfway through college.

We were in Virginia the week before the big day, so we got to celebrate with the cousins.  No better way to celebrate a birthday, in my opinion.

Maddie baked a cake - YUM!  Much tastier than the one he got on his actual birthday...

We flew home on Jake's birthday, and the flight attendants made a cake for him out of a toilet paper roll and some stir sticks; the crown is bags of peanuts held together with stir sticks.  And he got gifts!  10 bags of pretzels and 10 bags of peanuts.  They had everyone on the plane shut off their lights and turn on their "call" lights to make it look like candles and then everyone sang.

It was quite a birthday, to say the least.

Loooong time

I know it's been awhile since I posted and I will have some new pictures soon.  We celebrated Thanksgiving in the DC area with my family - had a blast!


Spent Jake's birthday flying home ( I will post pictures of the awesome crown and cake the flight attendants made for him).

And the kids both had parts in the school Christmas program.  Jake was a shop-keeper and Maggie was a dancing sheep.  Yes, that's right.  A dancing sheep.

We've also been doing some ice-skating on the lake and dreaming of snow.  (Can you believe I just said that??)  It's true, though.  Winter is ugly when the white stuff isn't around to cover up all the brown.

Anyway, I will get my pictures downloaded soon and get some updates on here.  (Especially for you, Judy!!)

What a Crock.

Scott and I were running some errands today and found this at one of my favorite stores - Public Market in Willmar.  I have never seen a Red Wing crock this large.  Scott has been asking what I wanted for my birthday, so I picked this. 

After we got it home, the birthday present I received 10 years ago decided to get in the crock.  (He just got home from swim practice, hence the wet hair and lack of shirt.)

I like them both, but the boy is still my favorite present ever.

Bye Bye furniture, Hello more work!

The hospital gala was last night.  This year's theme was "Rock Star Ball" and no pictures of me.  Oh shoot.  One quick note; I left my hair curly and one woman said, "Oh, you came with big hair!!"  Nice.  You Schoon girls understand...

Anyway, this little desk and chair was on the silent auction; I had about twenty bucks into it; it sold for two-hundred.  And I got some business out of it.  A friend of my who is an interior designer asked me to send her photos of any pieces I do; she said she always has clients that are looking for unique furniture.  I was also asked to do a piece for a 14-year old for Christmas.

So.....the new furnace gets installed in the workshop on Friday and I will go to town. Mags and I are excited that Maggie-Doodle Designs is finally getting off the ground.

All because Scott built a shed for me... (I'll post pics of that soon.)

All Better

Well, I finally have my computer back.  I was dreading the final tally...and it ended up being about fifty bucks, so I was mighty pleased.  I was thinking hundreds.

Anyway; here are a few photos of happenings in our world the last few weeks.

Mags turned 9 and had a party at the bowling alley.  We also did a craft involving pumpkins.

I dropped my cell phone in a can of paint.  Yep. Amazingly, we were able to get it turned on long enough to get my contacts transferred into my super-cool new iPhone.  And I had the old phone for about three years, so I was due for an upgrade, which means I got a pretty good deal on my new phone. 

And we had some sort of large cat and a pirate parading around the neighborhood on Halloween.  They went to six houses and had full pumpkins - they are the only kids who trick-or-treat in our neighborhood and everyone buys candy for them.  Which means I get to enjoy a little myself.

And right now as I type this, I am keeping a new kitten company.  Mittens.  I'll introduce her another time.

Busted

So, my laptop fell on the floor the other day; and totally still works.  But the little place that the charger attaches to is broken.  So, I can't charge my computer.  I've been keeping it turned off and letting myself have it on for about two minutes every day to check email.

My plan is to take it somewhere to get it fixed when Mom gets back to Minnesota, because then I can use her computer.  (Thanks, Mom.)  No one here fixes macs; so I will have to take it elsewhere.

I just got really sick of seeing that picture of the desk on my blog, so thought I would throw this out there quick.  And I'm still working on trying to figure out why some people aren't able to post...technology is not my thing.  I will get it fixed someday.  When I can have my computer on for more than two minutes.

Gotta go now; time's up!

Ye Olde Writing Desk

So here it is.  Mags and I decided to go with an old world look for our writing desk and chair. 

I made stencils with my Silhouette machine; an old-fashioned compass for the chair seat.

And a map of the world for the top of the desk.

I also added a quote by J.R.R. Tolkein to the front of the drawer:  Not all those who wander are lost.

I ended up spray painting the desk and chair, which I normally don't do, but given all the spindles and nooks and crannies in this piece, it seemed like the best thing to do.  After it was dry, I did the stencils with acrylic craft paint; let that dry and then sanded it a little bit to distress it.  I used a latex stain to "dirty" it all up; it kind of looks like old parchment.  I finished it all off with a coat of poly.  Adds a little shine and some protection.

I want to keep it.  Maybe Scott will buy it back for me.  I have about 15 bucks in materials into it; but a whole lot of time and effort, so hopefully it goes for more than that!!

She's NINE!!

Nine years ago today, this is what we were doing.  Thought I'd just give you a little walk down memory lane.  She was a cute little bugger.  Still is. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAGS!  We love you!

The Biggest Bonfire In Our Backyard

We had a pile of pallet wood that needed to be burned (courtesy of the collapsed Menard's shed...I promise to eventually tell that whole story.)  So, we decided to have a bonfire.

It turned out so big, we had to move our furniture away from the fire pit; and never did get to roast marshmallows - we couldn't get close enough, it was way too hot.  So we ate some apple crisp instead.

The kids are still talking about it.

A Face Lift

So, I mentioned that Scott didn't really care for the color of our dining room/entry.  This is what is used to look like.  (At Christmas time, apparently.)  Notice the ceiling is the same color as the walls.  (It looks darker, but it is the same color.)  Grrrr.

And this is what it looks like now.  Ahhhh.  Scott requested drapes, so I made some and had to get the world's longest curtain rod.  (It's two cheap-o's from Ikea, stuck together.)

And here is the entry way.  We added beadboard, and used boat cleats to make a coat rack.  Changed the light fixture...(notice the big blue oars in the corner) and added a few other highlights.

This chair was one that I got for a few bucks at my favorite antique store.  All it needed was a coat of paint and some new fabric on the seat.

Mom and I found this Red Wing crock at a garage sale in Iowa this summer; I added an antique umbrella just because I wanted to. It never rains in Minnesota, you know.  (HAH.)

This board above the coat rack was something that Jake pulled out of a lake.  He finds the coolest stuff.

Got some funky new lamps for the front table. (LOVE Home Goods - thanks, Sara, for introducing me to that place!!)

Painted the interior of my front door black - the exterior was already black.

Added a big puffy Ikea chair and, a family picture, a funky sunburst mirror (another home goods score) and some new rugs.

And got this awesome table from Mom - she found it by the side of the road.  It's been sitting in her garage for awhile, I've been coveting it.  So, when she moved, she gave it to me.  That's my favorite way to decorate.

I found an old cheese salt sack at a junk bonanza in the Twin Cities and made it into a pillow for my puffy chair.  (It's where I sit and do my devotions in the morning - needed a little lumbar support!)

I love that it's from Chicago - reminds me of our time living there.  And kind of makes me hungry.  I like cheese.  And salt.

I am very happy with how it all turned out and just the fact that it's done.  I also repainted all of the trim, crown molding and doors.  Scott was right, the other color wasn't so good.  This is much more "us" and makes me happy every time I'm in there.