S'mores!

One of the fun things about graduate school is getting to interact with people from so many different places in the world and introduce them to American traditions and treats. Last week I walked past a display of s'mores ingredients at the grocery store and snatched up a bag of marshmallows, a pack of Hershey's bars, and a box of graham crackers. Our complex has "hot grill night" every Friday, the perfect opportunity to introduce my friends to the delicacy that is the s'more.

My mom and I collected sticks from around the playground in the afternoon, so we were ready when it came time for dessert!

The children went first:

Chile, the US, and Iceland toasting marshmallows together!

The moms had their share!

These are my good friends Gyda and Macarena.

The men got into it too!

Friday was E's birthday;

she ate a s'more in lieu of cake.

We were all happy Grandma was there too.

She guarded the chocolate so everyone got s'more!

(ha ha ha!!!)

Look at this tastiness on a plate!

You know you want some. I picked up more ingredients tonight, show up on Friday if you'd like to join in the yummy fun!

Westgate Farewell BBQ!

Last Saturday was the Westgate Spring BBQ, a final celebration for those who are graduating - a category that describes us this year! The weather didn't fully cooperate, but the celebration was only briefly interrupted for a strong downpour. The Westgate Executive Committee put together an amazing event including the usual visit from Tim the Beaver (MIT's mascot), delicious food, and good music. This year they improved on an already fabulous tradition by adding face painting and a balloon artist. Those artists were really talented folk!

"What would you like to be?"

She chose a butterfly

They also did glitter tattoos - so cool!

The hand model is my friend Poojah.

Ballons!

Check out her sweet balloon pouch.

Westgate is a wonderful community. A special thanks to WEC for all of the hard work they do (voluntarily!) to serve the couples and families who live here. This showcases one of many activities they plan throughout the year.

Bjarney's Back!

Our friends from Iceland have been away for a month of visiting with family and friends. Last night they returned and we got together this afternoon. What a fun reunion!

Now we await Martina's return from Chile at the end of the month. Is Elizabeth not growing up with the coolest group of friends and neighbors?! Westgate, how we will miss you when we go. (sniff)

December!

We re-numbered the calendar last week. It's December!

Elizabeth did the second row of numbers and drew the tree on Christmas day.
I think the star is really fun!

In December, most playdates are indoors.

In December, there are lots of parties and lots of eating!

Westgate holiday party

In December, we often see the first of the season's snow.

In December, we create new and repeat old holiday traditions with family and friends.

snowflake cutting

cookie decorating

In December, we observe advent, four weeks of anticipation and waiting for the celebration of Jesus' birth. This is the real reason for the season, as they say; and we're looking forward to it!

Growing Up

Over the summer, several 4 and 5 year olds here have learned to ride bikes without training wheels. It took Elizabeth a while to be interested as much as her friends, but she's mastered it after a couple of weeks of practice on a very small (12" wheel) bike that a former resident left behind. She got the balance after several days of practice, then quickly learned to start on her own and brake using the pedals.

Tonight, in celebration, we went to Target and got her her first kick stand. When we got home, Colin lowered the seat on her bike a little more, by removing a reflector. Thus, she was able to reach the ground enough with her feet to take of riding on her own within a couple of tries! She seemed much more comfortable on a bike her size; but we are grateful that we had that little to teach the basic skills.

The little bike she learned on.

Here she is in action!

In other news, last night she had her first scary-enough-to-need-to-sleep-with-mommy dream, about a witch on the playground. She ended up sleeping in pretty late as a result of being up a while in the night. Tonight she asked us to pray with her that she would not have another scary dream. These are difficult parenting moments, not the praying part, but the not-knowing-now-to-fix-it part. Hm, I guess that's why we pray.

Craft Time!

My friend, Azilah, (mother of Leilani and Alana of the previous post), organized 4 craft times for the girls over the last month. It was a great idea and Oriental Trading lets you do such things on the cheap. Here's the list of activities:

• beaded necklaces and bracelets
• memory books - with photos of and notes from each other
  

• decorating slap bracelets and visors
• decorating small denim purses

They had so much fun working together. I think my favorite was the memory books! It was delightful to look through old pictures of the kids' many adventures together.