Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas morning
Here's the money shot... both girls opening the hot gift from Santa - iPod touch!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Why packing at 4am is NOT a good idea
So it's Christmas Eve, and we've safely arrived at our destination, had a good night's sleep, and now it's time to get ready for the day. I check my suitcase, and find that, to my horror...
I have no pants.
I packed shirts, underwear, socks, shoes, xc ski gear, and the outfit for the family portrait. But no pants. All I have are the jeans I wore on the drive, and the dress slacks for the party this afternoon. I now need to go shopping on Christmas Eve. Those who know how much I hate to clothes shop on ANY given day of the year can imagine my horror and dismay.
Sarah overheard my plight, and said "Mom, you need to ask Santa to bring you pants (tonight)!"
Oh, if only. So, I'm off to shower, put on yesterday's jeans, and head out in search of yoga pants. And toothpaste. And deodorant, because I forgot them, too. I suspect that this will be the 2010 Christmas party running joke, once my Dad hears about it. It's just too rich to pass up.
I have no pants.
I packed shirts, underwear, socks, shoes, xc ski gear, and the outfit for the family portrait. But no pants. All I have are the jeans I wore on the drive, and the dress slacks for the party this afternoon. I now need to go shopping on Christmas Eve. Those who know how much I hate to clothes shop on ANY given day of the year can imagine my horror and dismay.
Sarah overheard my plight, and said "Mom, you need to ask Santa to bring you pants (tonight)!"
Oh, if only. So, I'm off to shower, put on yesterday's jeans, and head out in search of yoga pants. And toothpaste. And deodorant, because I forgot them, too. I suspect that this will be the 2010 Christmas party running joke, once my Dad hears about it. It's just too rich to pass up.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Christmas Letter 2010
Merry Christmas from the Poulsens!
We’ve had a good year in 2010 – here’s an update on what we’ve been doing.
Trips: 4-day kayak/bike adventure (Laura only), Utah for the 4th of July, Wisconsin Dells with Kotziers & Grimes in August, Utah for the fall deer hunt (Gary only), Michigan for Christmas
Gary still works for 3M, and spends quite a bit of time on the road travelling to Ohio and New York state. He’s on a first name basis with most of the hotel staff in those cities, and loves the perks he gets as a frequent flier. He really got into shape this summer – he lost 25 pounds by logging 768 miles on various fitness activities – mostly cycling during the summer. He and Laura completed the 30 mile St. Paul Classic bike tour in September.
Laura is staying busy as president of the young women’s organization at church. When she’s not driving kids around, or teaching church lessons, she’s either on her new Macbook (love!!), writing the occasional blog post, riding her bike, cross country skiing, or… big accomplishment for the year… learning how to swim. (Yes, in her 40’s she finally took swim lessons – it wasn’t pretty!) There are no Olympics in her future, but at least now she’ll be safe when she starts kayaking next summer. She’s logged 860 fitness miles, not including the endless laps in the pool, and still doesn’t look like someone who exercises.
Sarah is in 7th grade and settling into middle school. She’s enrolled primarily in special-ed classes, but is mainstreamed for choir, which she loves. She’s a good “mommy” to her two goldfish, Goldie and Nemo, and continues to collect Care Bear, panda, and Rudolph items – even though there’s not much extra space left in her room! She’s pretty open to trying new things (for someone with autism) and so she spent a great week this past summer in a day camp for kids with autism. She wasn’t as crazy about the sports camp that Mom enrolled her in, but she was a trooper and found out that T-ball is kinda fun.
Madi is in 3rd grade, and excels at reading. Math is a little harder, but she doesn’t mind practicing using math games on Mom’s iPhone. She loves her rabbit, Marbles (aka “Bun Bun”), but still pines for a dog. She’s fierce at Pokemon on her Nintendo DSi, and is excited about learning to cross country ski on her brand new skis. She loves to collect just about anything, which tends to drive her mom crazy. She just had her first sleepover, and is really starting to dive into the “tween” lifestyle. She scares her mother with her computer proficiency; she’s gotten way too good at Googling, and would be addicted to YouTube if Mom didn’t get in the way. Her hero is Speed Racer (from the 1960’s animated series) and whenever she’s in the car, she insists on listening to the Elvis XM radio station.
As 2010 draws to a close, we are grateful for family, friends, and our many blessings. Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas and a joyous new year!
We’ve had a good year in 2010 – here’s an update on what we’ve been doing.
Trips: 4-day kayak/bike adventure (Laura only), Utah for the 4th of July, Wisconsin Dells with Kotziers & Grimes in August, Utah for the fall deer hunt (Gary only), Michigan for Christmas
Gary still works for 3M, and spends quite a bit of time on the road travelling to Ohio and New York state. He’s on a first name basis with most of the hotel staff in those cities, and loves the perks he gets as a frequent flier. He really got into shape this summer – he lost 25 pounds by logging 768 miles on various fitness activities – mostly cycling during the summer. He and Laura completed the 30 mile St. Paul Classic bike tour in September.
Laura is staying busy as president of the young women’s organization at church. When she’s not driving kids around, or teaching church lessons, she’s either on her new Macbook (love!!), writing the occasional blog post, riding her bike, cross country skiing, or… big accomplishment for the year… learning how to swim. (Yes, in her 40’s she finally took swim lessons – it wasn’t pretty!) There are no Olympics in her future, but at least now she’ll be safe when she starts kayaking next summer. She’s logged 860 fitness miles, not including the endless laps in the pool, and still doesn’t look like someone who exercises.
Sarah is in 7th grade and settling into middle school. She’s enrolled primarily in special-ed classes, but is mainstreamed for choir, which she loves. She’s a good “mommy” to her two goldfish, Goldie and Nemo, and continues to collect Care Bear, panda, and Rudolph items – even though there’s not much extra space left in her room! She’s pretty open to trying new things (for someone with autism) and so she spent a great week this past summer in a day camp for kids with autism. She wasn’t as crazy about the sports camp that Mom enrolled her in, but she was a trooper and found out that T-ball is kinda fun.
Madi is in 3rd grade, and excels at reading. Math is a little harder, but she doesn’t mind practicing using math games on Mom’s iPhone. She loves her rabbit, Marbles (aka “Bun Bun”), but still pines for a dog. She’s fierce at Pokemon on her Nintendo DSi, and is excited about learning to cross country ski on her brand new skis. She loves to collect just about anything, which tends to drive her mom crazy. She just had her first sleepover, and is really starting to dive into the “tween” lifestyle. She scares her mother with her computer proficiency; she’s gotten way too good at Googling, and would be addicted to YouTube if Mom didn’t get in the way. Her hero is Speed Racer (from the 1960’s animated series) and whenever she’s in the car, she insists on listening to the Elvis XM radio station.
As 2010 draws to a close, we are grateful for family, friends, and our many blessings. Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas and a joyous new year!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
This year's Christmas song
Last year I was enamored with Barenaked Ladies' version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". This year I have a new fave: O Holy Night by Weezer
Some may remember that O Holy Night is far and away my all-time favorite Christmas song. (I want it played at my funeral.) This is just a cool take on the song, and, as with all versions of the song... if I really listen and think about the words, I cry.
Some may remember that O Holy Night is far and away my all-time favorite Christmas song. (I want it played at my funeral.) This is just a cool take on the song, and, as with all versions of the song... if I really listen and think about the words, I cry.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Messing with time... and catching up!
For those who don't dig through my past archives to see if anything new is there (ie - everybody, 'cause who would DO that??), I've listed some new posts that I've buried in the archive, because I have this thing about everything being in order. Anyway, I've backdated the following posts so that they appear chronologically, based on when I first started the post, or when the event happened.
What, me, a hoarder?
Crying over pudding
Apple picking
Trick or Treating
Released... and normal??
This still doesn't catch me up, and the one post that I can't get to work is the one that most readers will really want to see - Madilyn's video comments on the first day of school. For some reason, the video won't upload and process correctly, even though I've been trying all day.
Arrrgh. Technology - wonderful and maddening all in one swoop.
What, me, a hoarder?
Crying over pudding
Apple picking
Trick or Treating
Released... and normal??
This still doesn't catch me up, and the one post that I can't get to work is the one that most readers will really want to see - Madilyn's video comments on the first day of school. For some reason, the video won't upload and process correctly, even though I've been trying all day.
Arrrgh. Technology - wonderful and maddening all in one swoop.
59 is back!
Sarah is very particular about her bus number. In the morning, she rides bus 59. Lately, that bus has been having mechanical trouble, so they've been using other buses on her route. Yesterday, it was 47.
Because of the layout of our street, you can hear the buses before you can see them. This morning, we heard the familiar bus roar, and Sarah exclaimed "59 is back!". Glancing down the street, I could make out the bus, but not the number. Puzzled, I turned to Sarah and asked "Can you tell it's 59 from how it sounds?"
"Yes," she replied, with a tone that suggested it was a stupid question.
As bus 59 reached the end of our driveway, I just shook my head and wondered yet again what it must be like to live inside her head.
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