The run is almost over...

Opening Night!

Today is the last show of the King and I. The girls have had an amazing time. The cast and crew were so wonderful. What a great experience it has been. They are both wondering what their next project should be. I'm dreading it already : )

I don't think I've ever seen the girls so committed to doing something that has required so much of them. They've done a wonderful job keeping up their school work and other obligations. For as young as they are, both girls have showed great professionalism. Last night Ayden had a major nose bleed on stage. She didn't freak out or cry. This was during a scene where she has a spot light moment (Ayden and Mrs. Anna do a dance during "Getting to Know You"). The whole situation was handled so well I don't think the audience even knew what was happening. The entire cast never stopped singing or miss a beat.

I'm so proud of the girls. Here are a few pictures from the run. Enjoy!

Hanging out backstage

Taylor as Little Eva in the Ballet

Presentment of the Children to Mrs. Anna - This is Ayden and her twin, Natalie Tran.

Backstage with Chyanne, Ayden's King and I Mom.

Vegetarian

I recently found out that I have gout. I had my first official attack in the foot (big toe to be specific) on Saturday. Flip flops are my new best friends. I still have a small amount of pain in my foot but it is much better than it was on Sunday. Looking back I think I might have had minor attacks in my hand and my heal but brushed them off to Kuk Sool injuries.

To manage my gout I've gone vegetarian. I've been meat free for five days. So far so good. Unfortuneately there are a lot of non meat foods such as spinich, cauliflower, oats, etc...that are high in purines so I'm really limited on what I can eat. I have a headache but I'm not sure what's the cause. So much going wrong with my body. I'm just falling apart : )

Lutsen

Okay, this is old by now but wanted to post some pictures from our trip to Lutsen. It was a nice experience to be able to hop out of our door and ski down to the lifts.

With such a warm spring a lot of the snow had melted. The slopes were well groomed but early morning skiing was rough. The snow was completely ice in the morning and slushy in the afternoon. I worried a lot on this trip. The slopes are much longer and more challenging. Runs often time changed difficulty levels half way down. You think you are going down a green but once you get to the bottom it's a blue. Being unfamiliar with the runs made me nervous which in turn made the girls scared.

One time Adyen was headed off the run and right into the woods. Even though she was going pretty slow it scared me to death. I raced up to her and grabbed her in the nick of time. We both fell awkwardly right where the run dropped off and just missed the trees. I'm not exactly sure if Ayden was hurt but I was in pain. Am I already too old for this? I hope not.

All-in-all it was still fun. The view was beautiful. We’ll go back next year but during the heart of winter when the snow is best. After that…Taos here we come.

As you can see, there's not much snow.

Breezeway from outside of our door to the run below.
The girls trying to catch up with their dad

Going Up! Much steeper in real ife.

Riding the gondola back to the lodge.

First run of the day. The view was beautiful.

Moose Run. It's a long, smooth run which connects you to some more difficult runs. We did not know that when we decided to take the girls down this route. Where we are headed is mostly blue and black runs. Not a good idea.

I like this picture because you can see Lake Superior in the background.

There is a nice stream that runs through the resort.

Holiday Season

Three holiday realizations.

1. Kong and I despise Christmas shopping. We like giving gifts to those we love, we just dislike the crowds, noise and commercialization of Christmas. It would help if we didn't wait until the week before Christmas to begin our shopping.

2. We love the snow. We have been sledding fools this year...just can't get enough of it. (Pictures and videos on their way)

3. Putting up the Christmas tree is so much more enjoyable now that the girls are bigger. It was such a source of stress for me to ensure the girls were given the opportunity to help put up the tree and Christmas decorations. Looking back, I should have done it myself when they were small. My stress over shadowed the fun.

Live and learn!

I like this photo because the little hand made ornament has a picture of Taylor when she was 4yrs old in the center and she is standing behind it. It was not staged, just happened to be. Ayden looking for something specific to put up on the tree. Not sure what but I'm sure it's pretty and shiny.
The final product. I love the way the Christmas tree and the garland around the house makes me feel. As if somehow we too are preparing for something amazing to happen. Hope you had a wonderful Holiday!

Camp

Taylor's Hawaiian Luau 10th birthday sleep over party

Taylor spent her first long overnight away from Kong and I last week. Her school took her to a camp four hours north. She was gone for five days and four nights. As we packed and got things ready for her trip I didn't have any emotions about her leaving nor did I cry. In fact, I didn't think about it until I spoke with other moms who talked about how sad they were or how they wanted to cry. I wondered why I did not have the same emotions.

I am generally very emotional about my children, the idea of them growing up and about letting them go. Why wasn't I sad about my baby leaving for nearly a week? What kind of mother does not cry when her first born goes on her first, long, extended overnight?

All I know is that drop off was at 9:00am that Monday morning which was perfect because I had a 10:00am call. I anticipated a quick drop off but things didn't turn out as I had planned. I helped Taylor haul her things into the school atrium. Then I found myself waiting around until the children loaded into the bus. I was one of the handful of straggling parents who stayed around to help load their child's things into the coach bus. Next I found myself standing outside in the frigged temperature for 45 minutes until the buses pulled away. Before I knew it, it was 10:15 and I was late for my call. As the buses pulled awy I waived to my child even though I had no idea if she was even looking at me (the bus windows were tinted).

With no tears or sadness I got into my car and went on with my day. I am still reflecting and wondering what this experience and how I responded means. Not sure if I'll ever find the answer.

Princess Spaghettios

(Pooped out after a day of make over, luau and dancing)

Over the past few years I have slowly changed our family's eating habits. We have cut out red meats and do as much organic as possible. Aside from the cartoon "Arthur", there is not much partnering between organic brands and popular images like transformer, bratz, barbie, etc...What this means for the girls is that they miss out on the awesome power of branding on the most popular images and fads.

What's the significance of all of this? Well, Ayden's gymnastics has been collecting dried goods for a food drive. When I was at Cub Foods I picked up some canned spaghetti along with a few boxes of mac-n-cheese. The spahettios happened to be Disney Princess shapes. When I showed Ayden the items I had bought for her she asked me, "How come you buy Princess spahettios to donate to other children but you don't ever buy them for us?"

I went into an explanation of why. I know she understood but in her six year old mind it just didn't seem fair. You think as a parent your children will understand one day why you made the decisions you did for them. That or you hope they find a good therapist who will help them sort through how you denying them princes spaghettios at six is the underlying reason they need to validate their worth with brand name clothing and food. Ugh!

What is wrong with our society?

I was on a business trip this week and I was reminded of what an entitled society we live in. "Business trip?" you ask. Yes, I'm still working even though I quit my job. The only difference is I don't get paid anymore to work. Anyway, that's another post for another day.

When I landed at Midway in Chicago I took a cab to my hotel (which by the ways was beautiful Palace House Hilton, a historic hotel). When I told my cab driver that I would be using a credit card, he let out an audible sigh of discontent and reluctantly took me to the hotel. During the ride he was rude, almost got us into an accident because he gawking at another accident and he was talking loudly on his cell phone. When we reached the hotel I paid him using my Amex card (never leave home without it) and did not give him a tip. He boldly pointed out that I had not tipped him to which I replied, "No I did not." I'm not sure if he thought complaining would somehow change my mind about tipping but he made comments under his breath until he pulled a way.

The nerve of people. Is it just me or do people seem more entitled now? People expect extra money for performing the minimum requirement of their job. Am I the only person who thinks this is absurd? I am a generous tipper but I am not about to give the money that may family has worked hard for to someone who couldn't even pretent to appreciate my business for the 20 minutes he spent with me.

I'm sorry but if you work in a job that relies on tips then it is your responsibility to conduct yourself in a manner that is deserving of the tip. I was a waitress for many years and no matter how crappy the customer was, no matter how overworked (which I was because I worked for my father) or tired I was, I served my butt off for my tip. If you have an opinion on this I would love to hear about it.

Anyway, it's been a long time since I have blogged so here are a few recent pictures.

Working on the Schmidt Farm Butchering deer at the farmThe end of summer...monkeys playing