Snow Man!

Super wet snow last Sunday provided the perfect medium for Emery to build her first snow man 100% all by herself. Just to get an idea of scale, keep in mind that Emery is about 3 1/2 feet tall. After these pictures were taken, she went on to build 3 more snow-midgets before her mittens were too wet to effectively keep out the cold. Mom gave her radishes for eyes and carrots for noses. She found her own sticks for the arms. So proud!

Tyler Mizzou?

Tyler swinging cousin Anna (18 mos) around at family night last Tuesday, sporting his new MU t-shirt. Anna LOVES Tyler!

From the "Oh my God, could it be that time already?!" camp, applications for college admission in 2009 will be due in just about 6-8 more months! Tyler is undecided about what he wants to study, but we are pretty sure it will fall somewhere in the science/math category. He is currently more focused on finding a fun, away-from-home college experience. "Fun" means it needs to have a strong sports culture and cool living accommodations. "Away from home" means far enough that Mom & Dad aren't tempted to pop in. David and I are mindful of Tyler's wishes, but we added "cost" as an equally important decision-making crieria. With all of this in mind, our collegiate search has officially begun.

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Our first college visit took us to University of Missouri (Columbia.) Tyler was particularly impressed with the new Life Sciences building and the fitness facility. Everyone we met was super nice and super helpful. One current student even let us check out her dorm room--definitely above and beyond her outlined responsibilities for the day. The aquatics center was hosting Olympic qualifying races; while we were there Michael Phelps broke a world record. Exciting stuff! We ended our day in the bookstore to buy a shirt. Seems we can dream about the future much more vividly while decked out in campus garb.

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Cost to attend Mizzou is around $15,000/year (which could be less, depending on scholarships and articulated credit from high school AP courses.) Dorm rooms are really small and not especially neat-o, but that may have been off-set by the coolness of the fitness facility and the opportunity to study in the Life Sciences facility. The fun sports culture gets two thumbs way up...not sure it gets more exciting than this place!

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We have visits scheduled at Missouri S&T (Rolla) in March, and Missouri State University (Springfield) in April. Stay tuned!

Birthday Pictures!

Emery's 5th birthday party at Chuck E Cheese's Pizza Place was a resounding success. For months, she has been saying things like, "Five year olds are big enough to make their own breakfast, huh, mom? When I'm 5, I'll be big enough to do that." In spite of many parental protests and gental encouragement that she could cook toast and pour milk when she was 4, Emery refused solo breakfast attempts until last Sunday. The party at Chuck's place signified something very official in Em's mind...she is 5. As if by magic, clouds parted and Emery's weekend mornings are totally more independent now, which leaves mom & dad free to relax just a little longer on Saturday morning. Lesson learned? Emery will turn 6 next month, party details to follow ;-)

Just one disclaimer about this party, lest the photos fail to remind us in the future... this venue is extremely crowded and disorganized--in spite of all the happy grins depicted in the photos, this is not something I would recommend to future party planners.

Election thoughts...

I'm not way into politics all the time. I'm pretty busy raising my kids and working and trying to squeeze in bits of time with my husband, and so I really don't have a lot of extra time to play in the political arena. That's my first excuse. My second excuse is that I really don't feel like there is a political party out there for me. I'm neither Republican nor Democrat. Many people tell me I'm Libertarian...but that's never been a truly viable option (yes, I was one of the suckers that voted for Ross Perot several years ago...I liked his flat tax idea.)I'm not a religious person. But I respect and admire those who are. I abhor those who look down on other people of faith. And I abhor those who look down on people who don't share their faith. I look for candidates who are not at odds with my values on this topic.I don't like abortion. I will counsel anyone, individually, not to abort a pregnancy. That's who I am. But at the end of the day, I do not feel it is the government's responsibility to dictate a decision between doctor and patient. I am very turned-off by the violence and rhetoric surrounding the issue of abortion from both sides of the political aisle. I tend to side more closely with the democrats; however this is not usually a voting issue for me. I don't have a problem with stem cell research, and I think it’s okay to use federal money to help pay for such research. I would support legislation to enable taxpayers to get some say (at an individual level) in how their research tax dollars are spent.Marriage is an issue that I think is ridiculous to have determining elections. I don't believe it is the government's place to decide the gender of the people to whom we make long term commitments. To me, from a government perspective is a legal contract between people who want to promise to take care of each other, look out for one another, etc. The legal marriage provides the foundation that enables us to fulfill that commitment (i.e. hospitals take instruction from a spouse, but not a boyfriend etc.) I think there are reasonable solutions to this issue that separate the religious meaning of marriage from the legal contract that enables marriages to be recognized by the government. I tend to side more closely with the democrats on this issue; however it is not usually a voting issue for me.I have not yet heard a candidate completely align with my thoughts on healthcare. I know that the standard democratic position to create massive healthcare programs paid for by the government is WAY off the mark. I will never support a candidate who takes us in the direction of socialized medicine. Maybe it’s because as a member of GenX, I'm feeling pretty screwed about having to pay social security all my life, all the while reading that little warning on the SS Administration's web site. I just don't believe giant government funded welfare programs work in the long term. This is a voting issue for me.Taxes in our country are very unfair. I don't think taxes should be collected for the purpose of re-distributing wealth. I'm sure all that crap is done with the best of intentions, but is just bad policy. Candidates who bring new ideas for tax reform always perk my ears. Creating new work opportunities is a great idea. The current democrats have no vision at all for how to make this better. The republicans keep doing tax-cuts, which only have marginal lift on our economy--it never lasts long. And I would really like to see what my tax dollars are getting spent on, so that when election time comes around, I can make more informed decisions about where I stand on the issues.Education seems to be getting better. I don't think we are "there" yet, but I do support the idea of holding schools and teachers accountable for their results by testing student progress. The best teachers and most competent, results-oriented administrators need to be rewarded more than they are today. The problem with administering this on a federal level is that our government tries to use money as a method of holding schools accountable. I think that is a fundamentally flawed idea that no political party has addressed appropriately.I think we did the right thing, invading Iraq several years ago. I buy in to the idea that there are religious fundamentalists out there in the world who intend on doing us harm, and who have the ability to inflict tremendous damage. And I believe in the strategy to create long term stability in the Middle East as the best hope for ensuring our safety. That said, I am very concerned about the cost of that war, but I have yet to see a reasonable plan for reducing the cost. Bottom line...in this election, I hope that Mike Huckabee wins the Republican nomination, and I will vote for him in November. Here are my reasons...
· Right now, he's the only non-senator running for office (I don't feel, in general, that senators have the type of leadership experience needed to be a great president, and I hope we have a non-senator option in November.)
· I like his idea that we can stimulate the economy by re-building inner states and other infrastructure.
· He comes across as a very honest and disciplined person who has thought very deeply about the issues and taken a stand.
· I agree that our healthcare reform efforts need to focus on wellness rather than ensuring that every man, woman, and child has health insurance. As my husband often says, there is a reason why doctors and patients from Canada and Europe come here to work or receive the best healthcare in the world. Socialization of medicine would come at a very high cost in the quality of the healthcare available for everyone in this country, and that is not a cost I am willing to pay.
· I agree that we need to enforce existing immigration laws.
· I disagree with his opinion that we should overturn Roe v Wade, however that is not something the president of the united states can do, so I'm not too worried about it.
· I disagree on the same sex marriage issue, but it’s not a voting issue for me.
· And I like the way he talks to people. I like the stories he tells, and I think he has the ability to capture the imagination of the country.
· I don't believe John McCain can beat Hillary or Obama.

My sincere hope... November will be an Obama, Huckabee contest, and Huckabee will win.

Emery turns 5

Emery' will be turning 5 in February! Her Birthday Wishes include:

• Birthday party at Chuck E Cheese's pizza restaurant with Julia, Evie, Grandpa David, family, friends, and cousins
• Real "Barbie" birthday cake like mommy made for Julia, but with a pink dress instead of a yellow one
• Treat bags with chocolate pudding and pop rocks (Emery said this won't be what the kids are expecting in their treat bags, but that is okay because it's her birthday and she gets to pick what goes in the treat bags.)
• Barbie "Mariposa" doll
• "Don't Break the Ice" game
• New softer mattress for my bed
• Fish (a real one)

We have scheduled a birthday party for Emery on the 17th, and invitations will be out shortly. This is a child who has one of everything and two of some things. Gifts are absolutely unnecessary. However if you are looking for ideas to help make Emery's birthday special, here are a few ideas...

• Consider what "experiences" you might be able to share with Emery. She likes going with you to the park, going to the movies, and visiting new places she has not seen before.
• She is currently VERY interested in learning to read. First reader books or Phonics tools would make great gifts.
• You can never go wrong with dress-up items. This is a kid who LOVES to dress up. The fancier, the better. Emery wears size 5 pants, 6 shirts, 6 dresses, and 12 shoes.
• Emery has a CD player in her room that she just got for Christmas. Music CD's, or children's books with an accompaniment CD would be a fantastic compliment!
• Emery loves to play with her Leapster. New game cartridges would be a neat idea. Specifically, she has asked me for the new Leapster Disney Princess game that is out.
• Emery does not yet have a bicycle. If you choose this route, think pink or purple...that's what she will be excited about. It will need to have training wheels.
• Emery is challenged (as am I) with keeping her things organized. Organization solutions (book shelves, tubs, drawers, etc.) would be a good idea.
• Emery is learning about money. She loves taking a few dollars to the store to spend on the things she wants from the Barbie aisle at Walmart!

Half-a-Smile

We sent Abbey to the Endodontist for some minor dental work. She came home with just half-a-smile... her dad felt sorry for her and didn't make her go to school that afternoon. So instead, she found another way to entertain herself...

Glinda Visit's Julia's Birthday Party!

Emery's good friend, Julia, recently turned 6 years old. To celebrate, Emery attended Birthday Tea Party at Julia's house with 10 girls between the ages of 4-6. The girls all wore pretty dresses, learned about good manners, enjoyed tea & cake, decorated their own parasols, and....a special surprise! "Glinda" made an appearance at Julia's party! All the girls got to have their pictures taken with Glinda, they danced with their parasols, and they even had the opportunity to sing karaoke princess songs with Glinda! What a day!