A Gold Medal Experience

The 21st Winter Olympics came and went, but not without notice from the Neal family. While I enjoy the Olympics usually, this year was extra special because Best Friend/ Godmother / Aunt Sherry was up in Vancouver hard at work making sure that all spectators got their tickets smoothly no matter how stupid they were (Now, she never said that... I just know from her past jobs that anyone who purchases a ticket has the capacity to completely lose their common sense when on the phone with ticketing problems.) Sherry didn't sit in a booth selling tickets, she managed ticket sales with lots of skill and determination. I always thought, you pay your money, you get a ticket, what's so complicated. HA... lots is complicated behind the scenes and then if something goes wrong... whew lots can go wrong. So there was Sherry up in Vancouver hard at work, but was it all work and no play for Sherry in the Great White North?

Well... maybe there were some perks. Hmmm... like attending opening ceremonies and the gold medal hockey game between Canada and USA. Oh and making awesome friends and having great experiences. But if that weren't enough she got a once in a lifetime chance to be a torch bearer. Yes our Sherry carried the torch. She got to keep her torch also thanks to her company Tickets.com. Pretty awesome.

Sherry and Torchy


Part of the awesomeness of Sherry carrying the torch was there was a webcam that followed the torch. So a couple of us gathered at my house to watch Sherry in this tremendous moment. We made a night of it, making paper torches to keep Lea entertained and had dinner. Here is the gang around the computer waiting to watch Sherry.


Unfortunately the webcam experience was fraught with glitches. I got a call from a friend way before Sherry's time saying "I think that was her" so we cut dinner short and I raced around all 3 computers in the house trying to find the best feed. We then watched for an hour as torch bearer after torch bearer paraded by. we were finally one person away from Sherry and ... it went black. The feed cut out. We were so disappointed. But thanks to Facebook and Twitter we knew it wasn't just our connection. From Colorado to Arizona to North Carolina, Sherry's friends were watching and got cut off. While we didn't get to see Sherry live, we were all watching & rooting for her!
And in the Neal house, we all had our own torches.


Here is a photo of Mommy and Lea with their Olympic mittens, a present from Aunt Sherry so we could be warm just like the torch bearers and athletes. The mittens are amazingly warm and kept up dry as we played in the snow!


Besides paying close attention to the torch run, we also managed to watch some of the games. I noted in the last post that we watched the opening ceremonies during our snowmageddon refugee experience with friends and that was fun. Nothing better than watching old white men read from a paper with people you love.

Then I was excited for Lea to see figure skating since she plays skating in socks on the kitchen floor. She enjoyed the spangly costumes. But an unexpected favorite sport for Lea and I was ski jumping. I encouraged her to pretend ski jumping and this is what we got. I thought it was adorable.
Video of Lea as she ski jumps

She'd "ski" through the kitchen and "jump" off the step and then push her body forward and her arms back as she "soared" though the air. Lots of fun. She always won.

In fact Lea had so much fun playing at each sport we watched, she told Daddy that for my birthday we needed a new wii game and selected Winter Sports. With the Wii controllers we flip them back and forth to speed skate or flip them in time to music to figure skate. We can hold them like ski poles for the Super G and slalom. But the absolute best is Wii curling! I thought bowling was fun until I beat the socks off my husband at curling! Nothing feels better than sweeping the stone from the house to right on the button, eh.

The Olympics are all over, well except the Para-Olympics which is keeping Sherry busy now and cleaning up all loose ends will keep her there though spring. So I'm taking advantage to visit in late April. I'm looking forward to a much warmer Vancouver than the athletes got and seeing the sites.

Snowmageddon Refugees

So I posted that it was snowing. What I didn't know that it would continue to snow.

Lea and Daddy came up to lunch at my work and we went down to the courtyard to play in the snow. Little did I know it would snow all day, and night and again the next day! Here I am catching snow flakes on my tongue and holding a variety of make shift sleds.

We tried to sled in boxes down the hill in the courtyard at work. It didn't really work, I mostly just pushed Lea down the hill.


When I got home that afternoon we had 6 inches of snow if not a whole foot. Lea was up to her knees in snow in front of our house!


Here is our snow angel. Everyone in the family made a snow angel.


In my last post you saw the piddly little snowman that Lea and I made in the morning. Well, Lea and Daddy built a REAL snowman... taller than Lea in his weather proof hat. This was Thursday Feb. 11.

He lasted for almost a week! This was taken probably Monday or Tuesday afternoon.
A slowly melting snowman after the weekend. See the carrot on the ground.

Then Thursday Feb. 18 the last remains of our snowman... the snow triangle. Lea ready for gymnastics in her pig tails.


So it snowed all day and accumulated on trees and power lines causing all kinds of problems. At work several people were without power. I happily offered for them to stay with us, fortunately no one took me up on it because our power went off in the middle of the night Thursday. I heard huge thumps on the roof which I thought were whole trees falling on our house. But no it was just clumps of snow. Dan went out to shake snow off our large Live Oak in the back. He got on the roof and shook branches with a rake. I don't know if it saved the tree, but we had no broken branches like the other houses on the streets. In the morning Dan went two houses down to help a neighbor with a branch that had fallen on his car.

This is a photo of our backyard at about 10 pm as Dan went up on the roof.. It was so beautiful, the sky just glowed with all the reflected light from the white snow covering. It was hard to shoot without a flash so everything is blurry, but the light was just beautiful.


So we woke to a winter wonderland in a cold dark house. The roads were slushy, but not icy.
Snow day video


So we decided to travel as a pack in one vehicle. We went to breakfast with our friend Michael Hopens who was staying home from work. Because the restaurant we chose (Barbec's) was one of the few neighborhood places with power so it was PACKED! But our tummies got full and we were ready to face the cold roads. But the main road to my work was blocked off with road partitions. It was a 3 lane road by the lake so I couldn't imagine what had happened. I took it as a sign that I shouldn't go in to work, a weak sign perhaps, but I felt like sticking with my tribe on the snowy day. It turned out to be a large old tree that had fallen across the road. While I kept saying my way to work was closed, Kris would later be quick to correct me with "One of your ways to work was closed."

We were slated to go out to my mom's house for the weekend, a perfect refuge under normal circumstances. But, alas, she was without power on Friday also. No since in going from one cold dark house to another, so we become snowmageddon refugees at Uncle Michael's house. He had toys, cable, lights, fireplace and wi-fi. Everything a displaced family could want!

We were not alone. The Scott clan sought refuge with us so Lea got to play with Hunter and WIlder all day and night.

They played in the snow at least 3 separate times. Long enough for pants and gloves to get soaked, fingers and toes to start to sting and then it was time to warm up by a roaring tv filled with sponge bob! Uncle Michael kept handing them cookies and marshmallows. They were in heaven! Here Lea and Wilder have one of many snowball fights.



More than anything Lea loved throwing snowballs. For the most part there were no snowballs to the face, just a friendly game of snowball to the back. Kris invented a game of throwing snowballs into the trees to get an avalanche to fall. I was not very good at it because I always managed to be under the branches I was dislodging snow from. Lots of snow down the back of my coat!



Uncle Scumfy and Hunter



Lea & Wilder Video


So we settled in, talked the Scotts into staying the night, like a giant slumber party. It was mostly fun and games. Hunter (age 2) took a shine to Lea and followed her around and wanted to play with whatever toy Lea was playing with and sit where Lea was sitting. I could see he was honoring her, by mimicking her, but of course to Lea it was "Hunter it taking my toys. Uh... Hunter is sitting on me." Well, it just so happened that the night before while reading a story, Lea told me she wanted a baby brother or sister. I took this teaching opportunity to point out to her that THIS is what having a brother or sister is like. She decided being an only child was fine.

AND THEN... it was time for bed. Well we let the kids stay up a bit too long, they got over tired and while Lea was actually willing to lie down (a rarity) Wilder got (like Lea usually gets) more active the more tired he got. So of course they played off each other until it was determined they could not sleep in the same bed. Lea became almost inconsolably frightened for little 4 year old reasons that boiled down to "I want to be in my own bed!" Finally, after taking her to the bed we were sleeping in and back to the kid cot again I got her to sleep, only to be awakened at 2 am. All three of the Neals ended up sleeping in one bed my the middle of the night. We managed, but were a bit tired as the sun (and kids) rose. I was fortunate enough to sleep in thanks to Dan and Lea having other people to be interested in. Michael might have gotten the short end of that stick, but I takes my sleep when I get it!

The really great thing for me was that all the grown ups got to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics together. We joked about Canadian celebs, chatted about our friend Sherry being there and oohed and ahhed or mercilicly mocked as things happened, failed to happen and were commented on by tv personalities with too much time to fill. It was a lot of fun for me.

The next morning the Scotts took off for less crowded digs. We made Uncle Scumfy pancakes and played in the snow one last time.

Breakfast at chez Hopens with Tim Horton coffee
We greatly enjoyed the comfort and hospitality extended to us by good ol' Uncle Scumfy and chez Hopens.

Our power was still out on Saturday, but Mom's power in Emory had come on about midnight. So we headed out there, as previously planned. That Saturday night Mom and I went to a church supper of lasagna and wine, hosted by the women's club. It was very nice to see her friends again (I had gone last year). And while I cherish my husband, it is a nice tradition to go to dinner with my mom for valentine's day. Something we don't do (without Lea) very often. I enjoy her company and cherish her as well. So a couple hours of free box wine and conversation and we went home to warm beds and scattered patches of snow in Emory.

Then Sunday our power was on so Dan and I headed back to Dallas, while Lea stayed with Grandma. It was not exactly the original plan (Lea was going to stay with Grandma on Friday), but it allowed Dan and I to celebrate Valentine's day all by ourselves. He made a delicious beef Wellington, parsnip puree and roasted asparagus. It was so yummy and we were so glad to finally be able to sleep in our own beds after two nights as snowmageddon refugees.

SNOW!!!

It is snowing! It has been snowing all morning since 7:30. Its great fluffy snow that packs tight when you make snowballs or Snowmen.

Lea and I raced out this morning and cleared the snow off the car. I wanted to make a snowman, Lea just wanted to throw snowballs and push the snow around. But she got excited about putting the nose and eyes on the snowman.



But then she smashed him!



Its been very nice. The snow is beautiful, the roads are not frozen, gymnastics was not canceled.

And finally after 3 snowfalls in Dallas. Early December (we woke up and it was pretty much gone). Christmas Eve (we were out at mom's where it didn't snow). New Year's Eve (we were out at mom's where it didn't snow). And now Valentine's week we get to enjoy it!

Live by the microwave, play by the microwave

Like Pavlov's dog this morning I found myself responding to the beep of the microwave. My head perked up like a puppy and my mind scrambled to determine what activity I was supposed to transition into. While I will readily admit that I use the microwave to cook daily (my breakfast specialty is Scrambled Eggs with Cheese a la McWave thanks to Sherry's mom Nancy), more often I use the microwave to time our activities. A tool to keep me from abandoning what little sense of time I have, as I lose myself in Lea's play world.

We time bath for 15 - 20 minutes and when the beeper beeps, it is time to wash hair. We time playdoh time and when the beeper beeps it is time to make breakfast and get dressed for work. We use the beeper for time outs when things go terribly wrong. We use it to track playtime, computer time, bath time and even to tell us how much time until we have to leave for church or other time sensitive objective. There are even days I use it as incentive for getting ready. As in "Lea if you can get yourself dressed before the beeper beeps we will have time to go to the playground before our final destination. I am pitting my daughter against the microwave timer in a race to the finish!

I did not realize how readily I rely on the timer until this morning when I heard the beep that signified the eggs were done. I didn't think "breakfast is done," I thought "ooh time to move on, which way do I go?" I don't know if its sad and unfortunate that I live my life in 20 minute increments denoted by the beep of the Magic Chef, but I do know I make it to work each day (in an acceptable time frame, if not on time). Perhaps I am even addicted to these 20 minute increments. Over the weekend I will try letting myself play without the timed knowledge of the beeper beeping.

Seener & Mars

We got a Children's Almanac for Christmas from Mrs. Hopens (Thank you Marge!) so we've been reading about all kinds of stuff from bacteria to robots to planets. I read all the planet names the other day and we even played "driving to Mars on a space mission" One day. So Lea's got a rudimentary knowledge of the solar system.

So as I hugged Lea for the last good night huggle, I was squeezed tight and told "I love you the whole world. I love you more than Seener and Mars."

Now I'm pretty sure she meant "Venus & Mars," but I like "Seener & Mars" much better. I'm pretty sure "Seener & Mars" is a bigger amount when it comes to the measure of love than just Venus & Mars.

A box of socks

"What's in that box?" we'd ask Lea. "A box of socks," she'd reply matter of factly. That's what we taught Lea to say about any wrapped package. During previous holidays — Christmas, birthdays, etc... — we've had a problem with Lea keeping a secret. We'd wrap something and she'd run to Daddy and say "Daddy we got you a so and so." Ug! So finally I just told her to tell everyone it was a box of socks. It was very cute, she'd say "Its a box of socks" and then lean in to whisper "But, its not really a box of socks."

I think this year's best box of socks (but it wasn't really a box of socks) came from Aunt Kaitlin. She sent a package with two Cabbage Patch dolls, one hand made by Grandma JoAnn and one store bought (but old enough to have painted on eyes and a signature on the tush), with a full box of doll clothes (also many of which where handmade by Grandma JoAnn) and a doll bed made by Grandpa Dan. All things Kaitlin played with when she was a girl. A very precious gift for us to share such a piece of family history.

Lea isn't so much moved by the nostalgia of it all, she just thinks they are super great doll with a lot of clothes and the best little bed ever!

But as Dan read Kaitlin's letter the whole family got a bit misty eyed. It was very sweet and Lea loves playing with them. We even had to pack a bag of clothes (which came with the clothes) to take the doll with us when we went to go visit Aunt Bonny after Christmas. Lea was decked out like a little mommy. It was very cute. Here is a video of Lea opening the box and Dan reading the letter on Christmas day.


Of course Lea wasn't the only one who got an unexpected awesome gift fromt the whole family! I got a wii!

What a box of socks that was!!

The family got together and got us a wii game system. I'd wanted one for more than a year. I was really appreciative that Dan got everyone together to make such an extravagant present possible. It is so much fun! We even got Grampy to play. Margarete played almost every time we did during the 10 days we were with them and had a lot of fun. Here is a video of Grampy and wii.


We all got a lot of boxes of socks (but they weren't really socks)! We got wonderful gifts all around. It would be a bit dull to catalog them all, but thank you to everyone for everything!

Here are a few highlights of some of the presents.

Grandma was surprised at what's in her box of socks.

Marvin Slippers! We found them on Craig's list! My Dad had gotten a pair for her long ago and she'd worn that pair until it had 3 inch holes in the bottom! At first, we could only find "collector's items" on ebay for like $75, but Dan found this pair on Craig's list for under $10 and with some phone calls and extra shipping we managed to really surprise mom for Christmas.


Here Grampy and Margarete model the beach robes I made for them. Mom had the idea (they match a swim suit she got Grampy for his birthday over the summer). Mom bought the material and helped me pick a pattern and I sewed at her house two weekends in a row. It was part of the handmade Christmas push. I also made throw pillows with the Morgan family crest for Dan's dad, an Elvis pillow for Teresa and several bags or items with Lea drawings on them. In all I sewed two beach robes, two scarfs, 5 pillows, 5 bags and 3 sweatshirts (just the Lea drawing patch on, not a whole sweatshirt).

Uno Moo was a big hit. Its loads of fun to play. Lea loves the skunks, which mean pick two!

Lea's Doctor kit was a huge hit. A gift from Mommy (found at an estate sale for $2.50! I love a bargain!). Lea did a checkup on anything that would stay still long enough.

This was Lea's shopping spree. Grandma JoAnn got Lea a big gift card and Daddy and Lea went shopping. They were there for 2 hours! But Lea got a lot of stuff. Including a van for her doll house family of kitties, something she had told Grandma Bubby she wanted, but no one else. She picked out the perfect one with seats for the whole family, including the two babies.


In all we were very lucky for every box of socks under the tree!

Welcome 2010

One of my New Year's resolution is to blog more often. Seeing as how the last time I posted was like May I think I can do better than 2009. I will post some of the same stuff as facebook, but I miss my little diary. I just never recovered from the overwhelming amount of photos of Disney World and then a few months later Myrtle Beach. Perhaps I'll find time to do a 2009 in review, but my solemn vow is to not get bogged down in a) posting things in order and 2) feeling the need to post the entire photo album or story. I'll also try not to babble... too late.

We decided that since New Year's eve fell on a long weekend AND a full moon — not just a full moon, a blue moon. I figured that meant the night would be crazier then usual. Plus while most people at work were saying "Christmas was great, but I've had enough family," Well... we headed back out for another 5 days with my family. The opportunity to spend an extra 5 days with my grandpa was irresistable. And its really been picture perfect.

We spent the day by all traveling back to Dallas to watch Lea in Gymnastics class. I had never been able to take her and the grandparents were excited to watch too. It was fun since she's moved to the level 2 class she gets to do a floor exercise every week which includes tumbling and a cartwheel and it was really just super to watch her bounce and tumble.





We celebrated New Year's Eve at 9pm after a game of Mexican Train dominos. We popped open the champagne and twisted open the sparkling grape juice. Lea and I made a clock to do the count down. She wrote all the numbers (not perfectly) all by herself. Grandma, Lea and I made hats and EVERYONE wore them. It was adorable! We set the microwave to 10 seconds, counted down and yelled "Happy New Year." I put on one of Grampy's favorite songs and he and Margarete danced... He even found a new dance partner for a few twirls around the kitchen with is Great Grand Baby.

For New Year's day, Dan made an excellent Ham (with Root Beer glaze like we saw on TV, it was phenomenal!). We had cheesy potatoes and the good luck black eyed peas, as well as green salad for wealth. It was fantastic and I don't know if I'll ever be able to eat again, I'm so stuffed. We then headed out for wonderful weather and a rare glimse of sunshine. It was really a beautiful day and we appreciated it all the more since we've had nothing but rain (Emory where mom lives didn't get the snow Dallas got, so we just got wet and cold.)




It was still a bit chilly, but very nice. We sat around the fire pit. Although some of the family (ahem... Grandma) wondered why were were leaving a perfectly good house to sit in the yard, everyone really enjoyed sitting around something other than a TV for a few hours.

Here Dan and Lea are trying to determine if the thing WAY up in the sky is a plane or bird... the verdict was a plane.


Grampy and Lea went for a little walk. Lea mostly ran around the yard finding other things to do while us old people sat around and talked.

But occasionally she would flit by and shove a marshamallow in her mouth. For a while she was entertained by roasting them. Dan — an Eagle scout you know — made an excellent fire, complete with a little area of coals just for marshmallow roasting. Lea liked that they were gooey, but would peel off the brown crispy part and feed it to me or Grandma.

I think we need to plan a camping trip this year so she can get the hang of this fire business.

I hope everyone's new year's was as happy and safe as ours. I'm looking forward to 2010!