Sounds of the Season

It is our family tradition to start our Christmas holiday decorating the day after Thanksgiving. This year we put the tree up on Thanksgiving itself since we had some minor changes to our plans for our Turkey Day meal. Usually, we put off all signs of Christmas until after Thanksgiving - I am not one to ignore any holiday and I like to make sure that Thanksgiving gets its time center stage.

But there is one exception! The week leading up to Thanksgiving, I relent and let the Christmas music play. Wonder Boy and I usually start with a playlist or two in the car. After Thanksgiving, all bets are off though and you'll find holiday tunes in the car, at work (my trusty iPod is loaded with good tunes and if I need a change of pace, I'll fire up Pandora and let them deliver up some Christmas classics), and of course at home.

Here are a few of our family favorites ...

Each year Wonder Boy tends to have a different favorite. This one is the one he always wants on the drive to school in the morning:
the Brian Setzer Orchestra perform the Nut Cracker Suite:

Wonder Dad likes a bit more bounce in his tune:
John Mellencamp's "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"

Right now I'm feeling drawn to the classics like this one:
Nat King Cole's "the Christmas Song"

And Wonder Boy watches the Charlie Brown Christmas show almost daily. I think this is his favorite tune from the show: Hark! The Herald Angles Sing

Our list could really draw on and on, but I wanted to share a few of these here with you now.

What are your favorites?

Feeling Festive

Most years, the weekend after Thanksgiving is spent getting the Christmas tree up and decorating the house. But due to some slight changes to our schedule this year, we got the tree up on Thanksgiving day itself. And that left us looking for some special adventure for our long weekend.

After only a short pause, we all agreed it would be a great time to trek south to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Texas Renaissance Festival!

It was a beautiful day, though a bit cool to start off with. Thankfully we remembered our jackets and of course there were stands to buy hot chocolate all over the place.

It's been a couple of years since we were last able to make it to the Ren Fest. And I think this was probably the most fun we ever had there as a family. Wonder Boy was not as focused on the rides this year. Instead, he was much more interested in the comedy shows and the musicians. The first performance we caught was a real fun group called Clan Tynker. They kept us laughing as they performed various acts from sword swallowing to juggling to fire eating! Not a bad way to start the day!

Next we made our way to the Fire Whip Show. If you ever get a chance to catch this guy's performance, you do NOT want to miss it! He is even featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for his amazing skills with the whip!

We couldn't miss out on the Birds of Prey show either. I love the bird show - that is always one of the highlights for me. The hawks, falcons, and even the vultures are pretty cool, but it is the owls that bring me back year after year.

The final show that we were able to squeeze into our day was the Ded Bob show. This is the show that had Wonder Boy clutching his side and laughing his head off (which for me was just as entertaining as the performance)! Again, if you ever have the opportunity to catch Ded Bob and his act - DON'T MISS IT!

We enjoyed the whole day - the weather was great, the shows were fun, the store fronts and vendors gave us plenty to dream about. It was such a nice part of our Thanksgiving holiday. And the time spent walking hand in hand, laughing, and enjoying life together is something for which to be truly thankful!

Doing the Dash

It has long been our philosophy to be "Do as We Do as Well as What We Say" kind of parents to Wonder Boy. And one thing we have always stressed is the importance of staying physically active. We feel it is not only good for the body, but for the mind and the soul as well. I know that for me personally, the downward spiral that follows periods of inactivity is something I try to avoid at all costs.

Even before Wonder Boy came along, we worked to be counted among the 'active'. And now with Wonder Boy in the picture, we try even harder to set an example he can follow. We are regulars at the gym. We enjoy mountain biking and hiking. We dabble in the martial arts. And we keep an assortment of fitness equipment and activities at the ready even at home.

But with all that said, sometimes you need to find something NEW to put a spark back into your training program. One way to do that is to set some kind of fitness goal. As this fall started to approach, we were getting that all too familiar feeling in our workout routine ... the fact that it was just ... too routine. So we made some changes at the gym and we started to look for something novel and fresh on which to set our sights. And we found it in the Warrior Dash.

For those who don't know, the Warrior Dash is a 5K trail run that sprinkles in about a dozen obstacles along the course. Obstacles that include hurdles, wall climbs, short swims, balance beams, army crawls under barbed wire, an infamous mud pit, and even a fire jump!

One of our soccer friends, Mrs. D, encouraged us to sign up with her and another pal so we could run as a pack. And I am so very glad that we did. Having a new goal gave our training a new focus and purpose.

On the morning of November 10th, we caravaned with Mrs. D and family to the Warrior Dash site, just outside of Bastrop, TX. We got registered and secured our timing chips to our shoes and then began the wait for our start time.

Finally our wave came up and we got our chance to take off. Mrs. D and her bud were a bit better conditioned that Wonder Dad and myself and eventually we got separated. Wonder Dad could have left me behind to work on his time, but he decided to hang back and experience the whole course by my side. I am glad that he did as there were plenty of moments to stop and consider what we had gotten ourselves into with this little endeavor.

I am very proud to announce that while we didn't have the most stellar times recorded, we finished each and every obstacle (I was worried about the Warrior Wall as I am not a great fan of heights). We crossed the finish line muddy and tired, but together. And Wonder Boy was there with Mrs. D's family waiting for us - that made it even more special for us.

We stay fit for our own personal reasons, but actually showing Wonder Boy that we value the things we profess to value is a huge bonus. And I hope that over time regular fitness will become an integral part of his way of life as well.

Transforming Rose Box, a tutorial

Welcome to this inaugural origami video tutorial by Wonder Boy. Here he will instruct you on his latest origami project, a transforming Rose Box. Enjoy!

Origami Rose Box

Creating Wonder

Creative people are curious, flexible, persistent, and independent with a tremendous spirit of adventure and a love of play.
~Henri Matisse~

I'm sure it's true of all parents, but there are so many days when I just sit and marvel at Wonder Boy and I revel in the Wonder that is our Boy. To see his mind at work, to try to see the world through his lens ... it sends shivers down my spine.

Wonder Boy is a creative force! And it is something that I greatly admire about him. It started from an early age. He sees the world in a different light than I do. And rather than frustrate me, it inspires me (mostly). When he was tiny, we could see it in his play. Watching him put together a puzzle one day, I realized he wasn't matching up the pieces by color (like I naturally do) but rather by the physical shape of each individual piece. As he grew, you could hear it in the rhythm of his speech. Even after years of speech therapy, he has his own way of getting his point across. And today, as he is firmly stepping into his adolescence, you can see it in the way he learns, the manner in which he simply absorbs new skills.

Wonder Boy goes through phases of creative explosions. Usually we will see these explosions when he is picking up something new. This summer, you might recall, he got all fired up when he learned how to make paracord bracelets. He made them for all of his friends and Wonder Dad and I both sport several each as well! A few years back he studied up on balloon twisting and for months each visitor to the house left with a souvenir.

Right now though, he seems to be taking it to a new level! There is music in the house thanks to his viola. He looks forward to his practice time. In fact, he enjoys it so much, we have to make sure he has all of his other homework done before we let him begin or he loses track of time and can get behind in his academics before he realizes it. He's also revisiting his love of Origami. Like a lot of kids, he loves making paper air planes, but simple planes were not enough. So he found books, websites, and on-line videos to help him kick it up a level. Now we're finding everything from animals to ornaments to more planes than you can shake a stick at around the house.

And if this were not enough, as we edge closer to all of the fall holidays, there are more opportunities for a creative kid to make his mark.

This week we have been working on our Day of the Dead sugar skulls. The whole family has joined in the fun molding and decorating our confectionery creations. We also worked on getting our Halloween decorations up. And after a trip to the hobby supply store, we are dreaming of all the creative fun that Thanksgiving and Christmas will bring as well!

Almost Perfect Day for Soccer

Today was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day and there is no better way to spend it than at the soccer fields, if you ask me!

We had another cool front blow in this weekend. Temps at game time were in the low 60s, which is chilly by Texas standards. I think it was more noticeable to those of us on the sidelines than the players, but still, picture perfect weather for fall soccer!

This game was to be a highly anticipated rematch with their opening weekend opponent. That game ended in a hard fought tie and the teams matched up really well in skill, size, and enthusiasm. I know Wonder Boy at least stepped onto the pitch this week ready for another tough, exciting game.

And in fact, the action of the game turned out to be all we had anticipated and more! Both teams came out hot and put everything they had into their efforts. Wonder Boy's team jumped out to an early lead, but despite their valiant efforts, they just couldn't hold on for the win.

With the way these kids match up, I know they'll all be looking forward to the chance to meet up again in the tournament in a few weeks.

As for us, the spectators of the game, it was just plain ELECTRIC to sit there on the side lines and cheer for our guys! I know they lost, but it was STILL a lot of fun to watch. Both teams worked so hard and they both had ample opportunity to clinch the win. You can't be disappointed to see that kind of effort, no matter which side comes out on top.

Mid-Season in the Midfield

Soccer season is in full swing now and Wonder Boy is busy soaking up every sweaty moment of it! He seems to be finding his niche with his coach and team. It's no surprise to us, but he again seems most comfortable in the midfield.

His passing skills are continuing to improve and he always seems to have a good feel for where his teammates are at and where they are going. I believe this is what makes his passing so effective.

He's also getting a bit more time in the back field, adding a bit more depth on defense. And while this may not be his favorite spot to play, he certain is helping his team and is very good at disrupting the opposing offense's attacks.

This game ended up in another loss, but Wonder Boy and his team had a lot of chances to pull even or perhaps even take the lead. They are working hard in practice and we see improvement every week. It's only a matter of time until they put it all together on game day as well.