Dogs, Dogs, and More Dogs

While my brother and sister-in-law were out of state waiting for their baby to be born, we became the proud temporary owners of 2 extra dogs.  It was quite a houseful with 2 adults, 2 kids, 3 dogs, 2 cats, and 2 snakes!

Bleu is a super cuddly dachshund.  I think he thinks he's a cat (except for the fact that he barked at my cats).  He was constantly in my lap or on the couch.  

I took this picture through a very dirty door, but it illustrates their personalities so well:

Ellie (Eleanor Rigby) is a border collie, who loves to play fetch.  She has a great talent for catching a frisbee.


It was fun, but I would not ever want to own that many dogs.  They are a lot more work than cats.

Christmas preparations

Christmas is almost here.  My German-themed village always gets me in the spirit:

Baking sugar cookies has always been an important part of Christmas for me.  When I was teaching, I used to make dozens of them and hand them out to my students while they were taking their final exams.  With children of my own, it's a lot harder to make mass quantities like that, but at the same time, more fun and meaningful.  Kathy and kids came over a couple of days ago, and we all made cookies together.

Becca and Helene at the KitchenAid mixer:
Helene did not want her picture taken; she whipped her head back around when she saw me with the camera.  And if you were wondering, yes, her shirt is on backwards.  She wanted a solid green shirt to go with her red skirt.  (I guess if she can't see anything but green from the front, it must be solid green.)
Campbell and Aaron cracking eggs and following the recipe to tell us what step is next:

On Christmas Eve-Eve, it snowed and snowed and snowed.  Helene went out to play in it early in the morning (while I was still straightening up the house and could not join her).  I love that she can get all of her snow gear on by herself!  She took some toys out with her and played a game where she threw them into the snow and then tried to recover them.
Here are her toys (lined up from smallest to largest) after their adventure in the snow.  They also accompanied us on our sledding trip later in the day.  Helene said they had a great time, and "they did not get cold because they do not have a nervous system."  Must be nice.
I think Helene's hair looks beautiful all wavy like this (which is how it is naturally, especially after being out in the moist, snowy air), but she prefers it straightened.  The grass is always greener. . . 
Now it's the morning of Christmas Eve.  We are having friends over this evening and family coming in later.  It's gonna be a great day!

Fox Creek Fitness

I've been going to kickboxing class at my friend Chris's place (Fox Creek Fitness) for a few months now.  Last weekend, he had his first kids' class and asked me to take pictures.  It was fun, and the kids were adorable!