Twas the night before Xmas....

Real world education

We've been very impressed with the Montessori education but you have to love the snack that the students served us during our observation and parent/teacher conference. Glad to know they are teaching the finer skills of making good coffee.

Milestone

Finally after 10 years...

Merry Christmas '14

Tips

I've never seen 22% before.

Buckled up

The books had a tendency to go flying off the car seat so the kids now strap them in. I think the seats were a little too slick. :)

Poop or pine cone?

Cole picked this up and we were convinced it was some poop but luckily it was a pine cone that was wet.

Tennis fun

Took Lauren and Cole to play some tennis. Lauren's 2nd time and Cole's first.




This might be Cole's last time if he keeps this up. This was his pose when I asked to take a picture of him.

Phoenix central library

After 17 years in Phoenix, we finally visited the Phoenix Central Library.


Lauren wanted to start reading here. Reminds me of undergrad and looking for a place to study.

Advice for the New Year

One piece of advice for the New Year. If you ever see these little poops anywhere in your house, you have a mouse. I had seen some of these a few weeks or even months earlier and thought they were from a cricket but there were other signs that I missed that should have led me to investigate more. It wasn't until I was searching for a bag in our garage cabinets that I found him or should I say her.


Here she is. I luckily was able to trap her in a box.


She had made a nest in our cabinets. She tore this orange ribbon off of our luggage and used it as part of her nest.


Oh and this is how I could tell he was a she. In case you were wondering we carried them far away from the house and let them go into the preserve.

Elves hard at work

Visited Walmart last night to scout out Xmas gifts and was a little disappointed with their standard bike display. That's when I discovered 3 elves working feverishly in the garden center.

Great Customer Service

I recently noticed a tear in my hydration pack. Since I didn't want to return it to Costco, I submitted a warranty claim with geigerrig.com. They emailed me back saying that they'd be sending me the latest pack version because they didn't have mine in stock anymore.


I was expecting just the pack and not the water bladder as well but they actually just sent me the entire backpack and system. I didn't need to show them any receipts or mail anything back. In addition to the great customer service, the water bladder is a great design. The bladder itself can be inverted and placed in the dishwasher. All the other camelbacks or hydration systems usually develop some kind of mold or require way too much care to keep clean and free of any buildup. I highly recommend the geigerrig system. I also recently emailed the customer service about my bike pump and how one of the pieces broke off. They also just sent me an entire new pump since the existing pump was no longer in production. Again, no receipts or returning the old one. So the moral of the story is remember to try customer service or a warranty claim for an item that you probably would have just purchased a new one of.

Home Depot Project

Stopped into the Home Depot this weekend to look for an item and instead Cole got to build his own tic tac toe board. Kids get their own smock and a pin after they complete a project. We might have to stop in for future projects.

School fund raiser

A first this year was the mini Ferris wheel. Cole enjoyed taking a ride.

Classroom Observations and teacher conferences

For our classroom observations and teacher conferences, the kids usually offer us a drink and a snack. Lauren's new classroom this year offered french press coffee and a biscotti. I'm glad to know they are learning good taste. :)

Guess the game

Feed the animals. Cole tossed the whale right into the shark's mouth.

Date night at the Biltmore

Classic Tonka

They don't make Tonkas like this anymore. Cole will be pretty excited.

Legos anyone?

Lauren and Cole's school has a fundraiser every year where the classrooms put together a gift basket and then sell raffle tickets to win them. We usually never win but this year we hit the jackpot. The "Lego" basket is coveted by many of the elementary kids and much to our surprise we won. Cole put in just 3 tickets.

Peeping Tom?

If you look closely at our neighbor's tree, you'll see something peeking at us.




Our friend from before but this time hiding in the tree.