January–Sunshine, Snow, and Music

Catching up on posting photos to my blog. These are from early January. Early morning at the bus stop is chilly on snowy days.

I love how the sun shines on the snow, and we get tons of animals walking through the yard.

The snow melting off of my truck decided to get artistic one morning.

Honor has been sledding so much that she wore a hole in her sled. Fortunately, I know how to use duct tape. Ninja made sure that I did it right.

Brian demonstrates how to play piano with a Pixie. She likes to sing along.

Art and Socializing

Honor’s school held a social event tonight that involved learning to paint and hanging out with other members of her Middle School. We had to brave freezing temps to get out there, but it was worth it. We had a fun time and both painted a nice picture of a crab. I chose to do a background with newspapers showing Maryland and DC scenery, Honor chose animals, nature and culture.

In the beginning, we had a blank canvas…

Next we created our backgrounds… (mine then Honor’s)

It took several hours… with breaks and pizza… and finally, we were done. For a couple of wannabe artists whose main experience with crabs is in crab cake or crab rangoon form, I think we did alright!

Honor’s crab…

and mine.

What a fun evening!

Happy Halloween, and Pumpkin Seeds

Hope everyone has had a Happy Halloween! Here are some photos of the kids in their costumes this year.  Both dressed up for school. We were too disorganized to arrange a party or find a trick or treat location, so we decided to celebrate at home this year.  I’ve roasted piles and piles of pumpkin seeds (see below for recipe) and we have a pumpkin pie for dessert later too.

Halloween morning…

 

For the pumpkin seeds, I decided to try something a little different this time. I tend to always overcook them, so last night, I washed the seeds and set them out to soak in plain water over night. I rinsed them this afternoon, and then boiled them in salty water for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400F

I divided our seeds into 3 bowls. I added about 2-3 tbs of olive oil to each bowl and stirred it in. Into the first bowl, I added about 1-2 tbs of salt and stirred it in.

The second batch had ‘sweet’ spices: sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, anise

The 3rd batch was to be ‘spicy bbq’. I added 2-3 tsp of honey bbq sauce, some carne asada spice mix, chili pepper and paprika.

I cooked each for about 10 minutes, stirred them, and then put them back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Remember, I soaked these all night and they were coated in oil, so they had a lot of moisture. If I hadn’t soaked them, 20 minutes at 400F probably would have burned them! The shells came out soft but ‘done’. They don’t crack well… but I just eat them shell and all anyway, so I’m happy with the result. 

Here are the salty ones. They came out perfectly.

The sweet ones were a bit of a sticky mess, but very tasty.

The BBQ burnt just slightly, otherwise they are great too. Mmmm!

Happy Halloween!!

Goodbye Middle School!

Last week was his little sister’s turn to Move Up to Middle School, and tonight, Brian moves up to High School. We have a successful 8th grade graduate!!
Honor couldn’t attend the ceremony due to limited seating, but it’s not like she’d have wanted to go anyway. She managed to pick up a nasty strep throat cootie over the weekend and has been laying on the couch for the last couple of days. Antibiotics are making her feel better, but she’s had a rough couple of days.
Before we took off for the school, I took a few photos of Brian. It was hot out. Right at 117F when we stepped out into the shining brightness. It’s amazing he could peel his eyes open.

Showing off his pearly whites (fresh dental cleaning yesterday – *SHINE!*)

Looking sharp in his new outfit (and hot… lots of degrees hot and swelter-y)

The graduating class enters the auditorium. Brian tries not to giggle at his mom stepping into the aisle to snap a photo.

Waiting his turn…

Finally, the moment that Brian’s been waiting for! Getting his certificates from the Principal and the CEO of the school.

We are rather proud of this kid!

Like his sister, Brian won an academic award. A Gold Certificate in the President’s Education Awards Program! Maintaining a high GPA, cumulative through all of Middle School!! All that hard work, chasing ‘A’s and ‘High Honor Rolls’ has paid off.

And this is it! He’s now a high school kid. Whoa!

Goodbye Elementary School!

Honor has graduated 5th grade and is now an official Middle Schooler!

When a girl goes to a Moving Up Ceremony in Tardis socks, she goes in style… because Tardis socks are cool.

Honor receiving her Silver Presidential Education Award!

For OUTSTANDING Academic Achievement – the Silver Award from the President’s Education Awards Program! This is based on achievements in total GPA and standardized tests. We are so proud!

And here she is, receiving her 5th grade graduation certificate.

See. Official. She’s on to 6th grade!