Festival of Trees, '09

For the fourth year in a row, kids of ours have played piano at Easton's Festival of Trees. Well, for Kenzie and Connor it's the fourth. This is Taylor's second year.

Here's our annual poinsetta tree picture.

And here's the music:

Every year they pick their favorite tree to pose in front of. Connor chose "It's a Wonderful Life". Taylor picked one with reindeer on it. Kenzie liked one with the Nativity theme.

This coming Saturday, they'll be playing at the Country Petaller, a local arts and crafts shop that's loaded with Christmas stuff this time of year. They usually get paid a couple bucks for entertaining the shoppers with their Christmas tunes.

2009 Calendar

Our annual Christmas present to Vicki's and my parents and siblings, a calendar recounting the previous year's monthly milestones, is complete. I usually don't publish it, but this year I figured out an easy way to do it. So, here it is: http://andyandvickisplace.com/spiegelcalendar.html Or you can link to it from our web page at Andy and Vicki's Place.

Fall Recital

Our three piano players performed at the Annapolis Mall yesterday. Please forgive the background noise; it was in a mall, and I was using inexperienced audio/video personnel (their mother). Here's how they did.

First, Taylor:

And Kenzie:

And Connor:

Recess

Here's how we spent Friday, when we decided the weather was too nice for school...

Do They Have Travel Softball In Canada?

According to Canadian Immigration, a minimum score of 67 is required on the Canadian immigration test to emigrate North. Vicki would score a 71, and that doesn't include having a job lined up, so if our friends in Canada could start the job search for Vicki, this would help.

Also, having that 100 acres lined up would be a big bonus for my peace of mind. I don't think we could drag Kenzie away from softball too easily, but I know, in the World Series last july, we played teams from Canada so that shouldn't be too big  a problem.

Other than that, I'm ready to pack my bags. Oh, wait a minute. I need to check on Canada's Homeschooling laws, first. I wouldn't want to give that responsibilty to any government school, regardless of which government we're talking about.

Mental Health Day

Today's Forecast:

FRIDAY: Partly cloudy, unseasonably mild...Highs 70-75...Winds: Northwest 5 mph.

If I can get the kids to stop arguing, we're taking today off school. A benefit of Homeschooling; nice day in November? Take advantage of it.

I love South Dakota, but right now, they have four feet of snow. I imagine Canada gets a lot of snow, too. Hmm, these things must be considered before heading North.

We're Saved!

Yeah, right. Velda, let me know if you come across a nice 100+ acre spread, for sale, in Canada. I've been looking in this country, but yours is looking better all the time. I never thought Canada would look more Conservative than the U.S.A.

This Year's Look

Alright, here's the whole crew ready for trick-or-treating. We have Keary, as a baby bat; Kenzie, as a slaughtered (and zombie-arisen) Tampa Bay Ray; Adam, as a baby cow; Taylor, a ninja; Bekah, a penguin, Alex, a hoodlum (not much of a stretch there); Connor, well some say he's a sun, maybe even an egg yolk, but I think he's a banana; Tyler, a zombie-football player. With our Halloween budget of $0, if they don't recycle old costumes, they have to come up their own. I can't wait to see what shows up next year.