December 4 and 5

Is there anything better than the weekend? Not for teachers! Mr. S. and I had such a wonderful weekend. On Saturday night we went with my mentor teacher and her husband to the Luminarias at the Desert Botanical Gardens. Wasn't really our scene seeing as we don't LOVE Christmas music the way a lot of people seem to but it was a perfect night and the Gardens are always pleasant to walk around. And as a side note to all you Des Moines people who go see the lumos on Waterbury - they had plastic candleholders instead of bags!

Later that night we tried to watch The Informant, but unfortunately not all Netflix users are as conscientious as we are and the disc was scratched. The first 3 minutes were great though.

Sunday we grocery shopped and had a picnic in the park! It was just delightful.

Don't you love the bottom picture of us Phoenicians covered from head to toe to keep out the 65 degree chill?

December 1 - 3

Have you seen this man? He was sighted all over the Balsz campus with kindergarten right on his trail. Haha. It is Gingerbread Man season here and he has moved into the 21st century. Every other day he sends us an email that includes a picture of him somewhere on school grounds and an activity for us to do. I have to admit, I am super surprised at how much that want to believe that he is real. It is cute and very funny.

Yes that is a BMX biker jumping over one of our 5th grade teachers. And don't you love the look on Mr. Baron's face!? He truly is a kid at heart. Oh, and the bikers were there to celebrate the end of the fundraiser and to pump kids up about using their natural energy to do positive things! So cool!

This is povitica. Brought to Mr. S. and I by some Croatians at Costco. It is not often that I get to experience something from my motherland and let me just say, those Eastern Europeans know how to make some delicious bread. It is walnuty, brown sugary scrumptiousness! And we have a poppy seed one waiting for us in the fridge.

November 30, 2010

As I was eating this pear, I was really contemplating it. It is magazine quality fruit. Don't you agree? The color was so georgous - green and rosy pink. And it was no imposter of deliciousness. It tasted as good as it looked. I always worry with pears, especially down here where all soft fruit is risky. The second one I have waiting on the counter will probably be a disappointment.

November 29

I am not one of those organized internet readers the way Mr. S. is so when I come across something I LOVE it is usually completely by accident after falling down an internet black hole for 3 hours. I have tried using Google reader to keep track of blogs I like but I usually get tired of what's on there and it just gets really backed up with old posts. I do however subscribe to a few newsletters that keep interesting things coming my way and today one of them was a jackpot. I discovered this blog which perfectly combines little things with photography. It was so cool I had to try it out on my own and thus created the "watering hole" you see below.

And yes, we have tons of leftover mich ultra so if anyone's parents want to come over...give us a call!

November 25-28

We had a perfect Thanksgiving day. My parents came to town and my whole family celebrated together for the first time in 7 years. We had an easy meal of mac and cheese, tabbouleh salad, mashed potatoes and apple crisp. Everything was delicious and the leftovers were even better. One of my favorite things to do with Thanksgiving food is to eat it for breakfast. Does anyone else do this?

Friday night we went to my friend Alex's mom's house for another round of wonderful food and relaxing over a bonfire while sipping Bailey's and coffee. Alex's mom really took care of all of us transplants who came to Phoenix for college so it was really neat that she finally got to meet my own mom. And it is always great to see Alex. I really miss just being around him and how he always likes to stay up late.

Family picture in the windows of the antique mall where we were hunting for nothing in particular.

And we have put up our Christmas tree! All 4 inches of it.

Today we are in recovery mode. Especially Chrysanthemum who has not moved except to eat or go to the bathroom. All this company really wore her out! Back to school tomorrow for the three week stretch before Christmas break. My bones already have a chill just thinking about the Iowa winter we will be experiencing so soon. Good thing we will have so many warm hugs waiting for us!

November 24

Something about the Waka Waka really speaks to our kids. We had our Balsz Gives Thanks assembly on Wednesday and we played that song about 100 times and they danced for every single one of them.

For those of you who don't work with kids and can't remember all the way back to the World Cup...here is the original video so that you too can dance the Waka Waka. I really recommend actually doing the dance but if it seems like too much, you could try youtubing one of the many instructional videos that are also available:)

November 20-23

Wow, is it possible Thanksgiving has already come and gone? Last weekend we started our festivities with a friends Thanksgiving party. Mr. S and I saw a turkey fry for the first time and were quite impressed. Here are Ethan and Trevor taking Chrys for a walk.

On Sunday, we went to see Harry Potter with my sister. I love going to the movies but it takes a major blockbuster and an out of town visitor to convice Mr. S. to go. The movie was so great and I have been having Harry Potter dreams ever since!

We took Nat to our favorite Mexican place and took the obligatory picture by the Burro. Isn't N cute?

Chrysanthemum with her favorite aunt. The sunset was so pretty but someone couldn't get their shoes on fast enough and we missed it. It is still a cute picture with Chrys at attention. Someone has to guart this place..