Elf Dance

So, first my sister sent an elf dance out of her family and now my cousin Sarah has posted her elf dance on her blog. Being a dancer myself, I couldn't allow my family to go without an elf dance, too. So, enjoy!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Holiday Recital

Every year, the kids' piano teacher puts on a holiday recital. This recital is different from the other two during the year because the kids get to pick their own song rather than picking from the Suzuki books.



Annie picked "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and was ecstatic because she got to play a duet with Miss Cindy.



Michael's song, "Carol of the Bells," was especially challenging for him. It's the first piece he's played using the pedal. I thought he did wonderfully!



Ever the J.S. Bach fan, Jay picked "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring," one of the few pieces I've always played for the kids. His rendition is much better than mine, though.



If you look closely, you can see a tiny heart locket around Annie's neck. She wears this whenever she's doing anything special. Her Grandma Gardner gave it to her on her first birthday. I believe this locket was given to Grandma Gardner by her grandmother on the occasion of her baptism.

The recital was followed by a cookies and punch reception, reminding me of the piano recitals we had when I was a kid.

I think the whole family is in the Holiday Spirit now. We listened to Christmas songs and read Christmas books for the rest of the day!

Getting Started Just a Little Bit Early

So everyone in the Gardner-Hajek family has come down with a cold. First Annie, then Michael, then me, then Jay, and finally, Tim. It's not a bad cold -- only really miserable for one day -- but we're trying to not spread it around. That means we're basically not leaving the house.

We've read books, watched movies, listened to books on tape, and tried to keep ourselves busy. But cabin fever has set in anyway. We usually set up the Christmas tree after dinner on Thanksgiving, but in the interest of keeping family harmony, I asked the kids to set the tree up yesterday, all by themselves.

Annie and Michael diligently checked every string of lights to make sure it worked.

Jay put the strings on the tree.

Then they all put the decorations on.

I really think it's the most beautiful tree we've ever had. It was all done with very little arguing, too. I'm not sure what I'll have them do on Thursday afternoon, but all is quiet for now.

Annie rides

Without training wheels!



Michael can't keep up.

A Week in the Life of the Gardner-Hajeks

Last week started out on a high note because I managed to get Annie's costume finished well before Halloween. She is, of course, Athena. Note the Medusa head on the front of the shield. Michael and Annie drew and cut that picture out a couple of weeks ago.


Tuesday was kind of stressful, though, because Tim had surgery on his shoulder. Luckily, our neighbor, Pat, was kind enough to watch the kids in the morning (he showed up at 6:30 a.m.!) so I could take Tim to the hospital. My friend Amey managed to get them to park day, too, so they didn't have too much time to worry about their dad. It was outpatient surgery and Tim fared quite well.



Wednesday was my 29th birthday (again), so I made myself a wheat-free, soy-free, vegan pumpkin pie. It was really very good! My friends helped me celebrate, too, as I shuttled the kids to a couple of activities.


I decided Thursday was going to be a field trip day. We hadn't been to the Desert Botanical Gardens in quite some time and it was the last day for the monarch butterfly display, so we headed out in the morning.


I had never seen these "rock" type succulents bloom before. I thought they looked pretty cool.


Friday was, of course, Halloween -- the official start of the holiday season. Annie was invited to a party with a few of her girlfriends. It was a screechy good time.


After making a quick trip around our own neighborhood for Trick-or-Treating, we headed over to our friends' house to continue the candy grubbing. Jay is the hippie in this picture and Michael is the scary guy with the gold mask.


We had a blast at our friends' house. After the Trick-or-Treating, the kids made a very funny "nature" video with the older kids as the explorers/narrators, and the younger kids were the "elusive ghost monkeys." We didn't get home until midnight.

The next morning, the boys greeted me with, "We have 43 different kinds of candy!" I think this is the biggest haul they've ever had.


Jay had a great hockey game on Saturday, too. Then, on Sunday, two of my friends took me out to a movie ("Happy-go-lucky" -- it was really good), and to my favorite vegan restaurant afterward.

Although I was very apprehensive about last week because of Tim's surgery, it turned out to be fun and very busy week.

Piano Recital

Three times every year, the kids get to participate in a piano recital. Each recital is a very big event with us, with the kids practicing diligently, trying to perfect their songs. Today's recital was especially fun because there was a party after the performances, complete with a barbecue and swimming.



"Mary Had a Little Lamb" is Annie's first piece where each hand plays something different. I am also always glad that she wears shorts under her dresses.



I am very proud of Michael's performance. This is his first Suzuki Book 2 piece. He showed great composure here, too.



Jay played one of my favorite all-time songs. I think I played this Bach Minuet when I was a kid, too (although probably not as well as Jay)



No recital is complete without a family picture with Miss Cindy. Annie said to me the other day, "Miss Cindy is so pretty. And she doesn't even try." I couldn't agree more!

Autumn Haircuts

I know, I know -- two posts in one week! But I think you'll like this one.
Annie has been begging me for a while to get her hair cut again. She last got it cut only about 6 weeks ago, but she wanted it to be a little more curly. The desert air tends to take the curl out!


Here's what her hair looked like yesterday.


And here's what it looks like now. She's just like the girl with the naturally curly hair in the Peanuts comic strip.

Now the real impetus for going to Fantastic Sam's was not Annie's wish. Here's the story. Last June, I insisted that Michael get his hair cut before going to see his grandparents in Illinois. My belief is that grandparents should get to see their grandchildren's eyes. He grudgingly agreed to the cut on the condition that he wouldn't have to get his hair cut for the rest of the summer. True to my word, this is what his hair looked like yesterday, the first day of Autumn.


Well, at least I think that's him under all of that hair.

Here's what he looks like today. Isn't he a handsome young man! And what beautiful eyes! He actually told me he likes this haircut so much, he might not grow it out much longer. Now, if only he could convince his big brother of the same thing!

Annie's new hobby

Annie loves to hear stories about the Greek Gods and one of her favorite goddesses is Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. She is always seen with a bow and a quiver of arrows slung on her back. Annie and Tim have now decided that she is old enough to start trying archery. She absolutely loves it.


Notice the attractive, feminine attire she chose to wear for her practice.


She's a "dead eye," she is.

Tim says that she's a natural, with great form, a steady arm, and a good eye. She manages to get about half of her shots to actually stick to the target. Some of her best shots bounce off!


I don't know about you, but I'm thinking Olympics 2024!

And just so the boys don't feel left out, this is what they've been doing with their time: building their Warhammer 40K armies. Now they have a choice between 40K and Fantasy. There apparently can never be too much Warhammer.

Pool Party and Big Storm

For the past couple of years, Jay has had a pool party to celebrate his birthday. As most of you are aware, Jay celebrated his 12th birthday in Flagstaff, so he couldn't have his normal party on his actual birthday. We decided that the annual pool party had to go on, though. Yesterday was the day!

We sometimes find dead rodents, lizards, rabbits, etc., in our pool, so I sent Annie and Jay to do a "dead critter" search before the party. No casualties were discovered.


The party was a smashing success. I think the kids ended up swimming for over 4 hours.

The kids really enjoyed the diving board . . .

And the slide.

For the first time, there was an "overnight" component to the party (I guess it's only a "slumber party" if it's for girls). The boys (and Annie) watched "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" and ate popcorn. During the movie, a massive storm blew in. There was constant lightning and thunder for a couple of hours along with hail and pelting rain:



And then, the electricity went out. I was unsuccessful in getting the boys to bed by 10:00, but by midnight, with the electricity still out, they were all fast asleep.


Of course, they were all up by 6:00, except for Sam (pictured above).


Bagels and orange juice were consumed by all. Everyone will go home soon (I hope), tired but happy.

Last Hike

Well, the weather didn't cooperate with us last night, so we went out for Indian food (which was quite good) after a big day of cleaning (for me) and playing outside (for everyone else). This morning everyone woke up early because I had promised them breakfast at Denny's which became everyone's favorite breakfast place when we were in Honolulu last December.

Then, we decided to go for our last hike of this adventure.


And we weren't disappointed!

Sometime during the last couple of days, someone ruined one of the artworks we so enjoyed. Most of the glass shards were in the bottom of a hole in the tree stump. The kids decided to start the work up again and placed what glass pieces they could find.


Michael was adamant that we should visit the teepee again. They made quite a discovery. There was a hidden compartment in the white plastic table. Apparently this teepee is called Camp Six String. There was a sign in sheet inside the table so the kids signed in and dated their visit.


Our final discovery of the hike was these interesting red mushrooms/toadstools which popped up overnight.


We're now back in Phoenix where we're planning a nice swim and a light supper. The kids seem extremely happy to be home. I am too, although the amount of work I have to do to get this house back together seems daunting! I'm sure I'll spend the next few hot weeks/months dreaming of a cool hike at 7000 ft!

Places We'll Miss

We finally made it to Lowell Observatory last night for their evening program. We saw a couple of movies and we went on a tour of the Pluto telescope, but it was still too cloudy to look through the telescope. Tonight is our last night in Flagstaff, so if it clears up, we'll be at the Observatory again this evening. Wish us luck!

There are a lot of things and places we'll miss when we leave tomorrow. We've named a lot of our favorite places we see every day on our hikes (these are not their official names). These are the Sand Cliffs. The kids thoroughly explored this area many times.


The kids named this "Grasshopper Marsh" which doesn't make much sense unless you look a little closer . . .


And see a lot of these little guys all over the place.


We've talked about this place before: Cairn Garden (my favorite name, for obvious reasons).


I think we'll be able to take one more hike tomorrow to take a last look at all of our favorite places. We're hoping to bring friends for hikes at Pumphouse Wash Trail soon, too.

Return of the Monsoons

After a short warm and clear spell, the monsoons returned yesterday -- with a vengeance. The day started out cloudy and it started to rain soon after our morning hike. I don't know if I've ever seen it rain as hard as it did yesterday! The water streamed down the yard and pooled at the bottom of the hill where the kids had been playing just a couple of hours earlier.


We reaped the rewards of the rains today, though. The wash is running again.

And it seems as though more wildflowers grew overnight.


I've seen a lot of these mushrooms (or toadstools?) pop up just like this.


After a fairly sunny morning, some clouds are gathering again, so I'm thinking we'll get another storm this afternoon -- ooh, I just heard some thunder. We've been waiting and waiting for a clear night to go to the night program at the Lowell Observatory so we can look through the telescope. We may have to wait and come up on a clear winter day.

Wildflowers

I started taking these wildflower pictures along the Pumphouse Wash Trail with the intention of looking them up and labeling them. That's just not going to happen. I still wanted to show them to you, though. See if you can pick out the one "wildflower" that's a little different from the others. Enjoy!