2010 Rundown

I just love this photo. Payton got a hold of my camera to take this picture of Alyssa's new teeth growing in.

2010 was the year of the Tooth Fairy --- she visited our home 5 times! First, she made two visits to collect Alyssa's 2 front bottom teeth.

About that time we began calling her "Tooth-Alyss" after the night furey, Toothless, developed a longing for a pet dragon!

Then, just before Christmas, the Tooth Fairy returned twice again for Payton's 2 front bottom teeth, and just in time too, Payton was delighted to sing "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" then show off his new gap.

Alyssa lost her 3rd tooth just before the new year started. I have a feeling the Tooth Fairy will be a regular visitor in 2011. (I had the honor of pulling 4 of those teeth!)

In the spring I finished working at the preschool and doubled my graphic design work as SJCK started a new paper in La Plata County. Payton enjoyed another round of soccer and has got the idea of making a goal down. He scored several! We enjoyed cheering him on.

During the summer I kept Payton and Alyssa busy with library storytime and other city sport (soccer and t-ball) instructional activities,

as well as play dates and babysitting exchanges with other moms.

We blended up fresh fruits and vegetables to make up our own popsicles in an attempt to avoid high fructose corn syrup and to teach the kids that eating healthy can be fun too.

We also grew another garden. This year Payton and Alyssa each had their own 3'x3' garden boxes and they got to choose what they wanted to grow.

Payton wanted to grow watermelon. I chose a quick maturing small sugar baby watermelon and Payton started it indoors. It thrived, but unfortunately, our growing season is just too short. The cold hit just as it began to turn a little pink inside.

After all that work and a summer of anticipation, Payton and Alyssa would not allow that watermelon to be thrown out without eating 1/2 of it first. Even with it as unripe as it was, I don't think they ever enjoyed a melon quite so much.

Payton also wanted to know how pickles were made so he grew pickling cucumbers (which didn't do very well) and dill (did excellent). I bought more pickling cucumbers at the farmers market and Payton and I (mostly) made pickles. They were ready for eating just in time for Halloween. Payton and Eli would eat a jar at a time together.

Alyssa enjoyed watering her garden and had great success too.

She grew a full-size, great tasting bok choy that we enjoyed in a stir-fry and parsley that she picked for scrambled eggs and chicken broth.

She grew little red radishes and an amazing sunflower plant that grew as tall as her and had about a dozen big flowers on it. It was a joy to look at.

We also welcomed honey bees into our garden this year. (The previous years we've only seen hornets doing the pollinating.)

I harvested garlic. I am still amazed by this. I planted them in the fall of 2009 and didn't have to do much at all after that. I put aside the largest cloves and planted those this last fall. We are still eating what we grew but only have 2 heads of garlic left.

I also had great success with cabbage this year (because I had too much nitrogen in the soil). I learned how to prepare some wonderful cabbage recipes. (This is one of my favorite salads. Yes, the guy is out there with some of his ideas, but about 1/2 way through his videos he shares a pretty good recipe.)

Eli grew grass! It was so nice having grass in the backyard for the kids to play on and Eli took such good care of it.

In the fall, Payton and Alyssa started kindergarten and share their teacher. I miss my children while they're gone for so long during the day (but I have yet to find another mom who sympathizes with me...). These two have grown so fast already and are learning so much so quick. Alyssa is excited to be reading now and Payton's desire to read has grown a lot.

They still love looking at storybooks and being read to. I do wish I spent more time reading to them. (It just seems that our evenings are so crazy.)

Payton and Alyssa started ice skating lessons. "Speed" is Payton's ultimate goal and creating "tricks" is his next priority on the ice. I am hoping he learns to put on his breaks soon! (It's got to be better than crashing into the wall!) Alyssa, does not like taking risks and is very caution so that she does not fall down. (She has had enough of that!) In December they got to perform in an ice show that Olympic ice skating medalists Anita and Frank also performed a couple numbers in.

Payton and Alyssa skated as cars.

Payton skated as Spider-man. A bunch of little super heroes chased Cat-Woman (their instructor) around the ice until they captured her at the end. Alyssa skated as one of many little princesses to "Bippity-Boppity Boo" with their fairy godmother.

I was given the opportunity to create posters, fliers, banners, tickets and programs for this event. The ice skating lessons take place at the family recreational center and Eli and I have taken turns on the treadmill and in the raquetball court during their practices. Eli has enjoyed many raquetball games and is preparing to be in a tournament.

Alyssa continued ballet in the fall, as well as the many afore mentioned activities, and this year performed in The Nutcracker as one of the mice. This event took a lot more unanticipated time and dedication then I has assumed it would. Although a lot was experienced and enjoyed between ice skating and ballet, it was a little much for Alyssa and me. Next year we will have to choose one or the other.

We ended the year with celebrating the holidays with many family and friends. I somehow arranged and pulled off doing a 12-days of Christmas for my youngest brother, Scott, and his companion, serving their missions in Iowa. It was awesome that my entire side of the family participated in this and we got great feed back on it. Eli's entire family pulled together to do Christmas for a family we found here in our home town which was also a great project to participate in. (These both happened while the ice skating show and The Nutcracker were going on, as well as Fuzzy dying, a newspaper deadline approaching and a hard drive about to crash at any moment --- and a bit of last minute shopping!) In the meantime, I couldn't get Eli to commit to doing Christmas at home or at his parents' home... so saying life was a little CRAZY at this time is an understatement. I endured a couple sleepless nights, but once we were on the road with Christmas on the top of our car --- I got to relax.

First stop, my sister's for a family gift exchange in anticipation of the big night.

Mom sewed up matching aprons and hot pads for her grand-daughters.

A Wocket for her pocket from Uncle Rob's family.

Opening more gifts.

My brother, Rob, and, my sister-in-law, Di.

I think they like it!

... still opening gifts ...

Payton would have been perfectly happy if this present from Grandpa was they only one he got.

Attending this Christmas party didn't turn out so well for the Grinch.

When we arrived at my in-law's home we discovered that only 1/2 the gifts got packed. (On the possitive side, Eli and I got to go Christmas shopping together this time around.) We enjoyed a fantastic Christmas dinner and holding Kim's new puppies.

Grandma K made homemade playdoe planets, with actual size comparison instructions, with Payton and Alyssa --- twice!

Grandma K prepared Outer Space activities to do with the kids.

Later, that evening, Eli and I watched "True Grit" with Eli's dad. Eli's mom made cookies with Payton and Alyssa in preparation of the next day.

The next day, Eli, the kids and I, headed to Albuquerque (with a plate of cookies) through a snowstorm, for a short reunion with Payton and Alyssa's birth mother. This is the first time to meet with her again since the twins were still newborns. We were surprised, but pleased, to see that Jesse (the oldest of the twins biological brothers), Danielle (his 10-year old daughter, so aunt), Philippe (other brother), Victoria (aunt) and her daughter (20-years, cousin) also came. It was an awesome and very uplifting experience and we hope to do this again soon. Because the big storm was directly over our normal route home we decided to head straight home from Albuquerque on I-25. This way we didn't see much of the storm until we were almost home. It wasn't snowing, it was just getting blown around and the visibility went down to zero. Our road got closed. We were only 2 hours from home! We got a room for the night, went swimming, watched TV and slept in the next day. We made it home the afternoon of New Year's Day to a shoveled sidewalk and a couple of happy, well-fed dogs. We unpacked, started laundry, and I headed out to the grocery store. Meanwhile, we received an invitation to bring in the New Year with good friends. So we did.

Happy New Years!