Tuesday, December 22, 2009

The Pringle Family Year in Review 2009

Just what you've been waiting for- all the latest at the Pringle house coming to you and yours! We hope all is well and wish you a very Merry Christmas. We've had a good year, and look forward to the adventures we'll find in 2010. Meanwhile...

Ryan is loving 7th grade this year. He played football for Vista Middle School in the fall, is playing basketball now, and is looking forward to wrestling and track still to come. He's still studying piano and seems to appreciate the more intricate songs he's learning now as well as playing for the jazz band at school. He also plays the cello in the school orchestra. He's got music coming out of his ears, which is fine, because it seems to come naturally to him. He's working hard at earning his scout ranks (with a nudge or two from dad) and had a great time at Camp Parsons last summer.

Katie is having a great year in 6th grade. She played Veruca Salt in the school production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last spring, and the acting bug bit her hard! She was fabulously obnoxious in her role (yes, sweet, mild-mannered Katie) and is looking forward to the spring play this year as well as being in the chorus of "Oliver" at the high school. The highlight of Katie's year was going to see "Wicked" in Seattle for her birthday. She continues to dance and is really enjoying the piano (She plays spontaneously! All the nagging may be worth it in the end!) as well as her musical theater class. She is also learning to play the clarinet.

Nathan, 4th grade, has declared his life's goal is to be "a nerd," and works very hard to achieve that goal. He has continued to play soccer and has developed into a good little goalie as well as scoring lots of goals. He recently played the role of an Italian puppeteer in "Pinocchio", complete with accent and twirly mustache. He loves Cub Scouts and is working to finish up his Bear rank. He's trucking along at the piano and finding satisfaction in his improved sight reading skills. Nathan hasn't yet decided if he will break away from soccer and try baseball this spring.

Sarah, in 2nd grade, is the little princess of the house. She really enjoys some solitude in this noisy house and loves to hide away in her room and play with her Littlest Pet Shop and Polly Pocket dolls and read on her bed. She loves to dance, dance, dance! She started at a new "serious" ballet studio this fall and seems to love to stretch further and higher and watches carefully to make things just right. She has a special musicality and loves to put on shows.

Collin, almost 2, has changed so much from his first birthday in February. He's very active and clever and is turning into a little chatterbox. Unfortunately, he has developed a love for "Blues Clues" and frequently drags one of us over to the TV for "a show! a show!" He is irresistibly cute with his dimples and big blue eyes. He loves to run and jump and climb and get into things he shouldn't, but he also likes color and to hide under blankets and snuggle and have stories read to him.

Mom and Dad are busy keeping up with everyone! There's a whole lotta music practicing and lessons, sports practices and games, church and scouting, dance lessons, school and homework going on around here! We're healthy and happy, though not always energetic, and enjoying our crazy family. We feel very blessed and look forward to a little down time...someday.

With love to you from the Pringles

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Collin and the Train

This evening Rachel took the older kids to a church Christmas musical program while I stayed home with Sarah and Collin. To pass the time, I took out my old train set and we played with it. Sarah thought the set was "really cool." Collin also enjoyed himself. I shot a little video of his subtle train enthusiasm. Enjoy!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Fall Update!

This fall has been busy but a lot of fun. The kids are growing up and it has been fun to watch them start to come into their own. I have tried to capture a brief snapshot of what has been going on in our lives since we last updated our blog.

Birthdays
Fall brings multiple birthday celebrations to our home. In September Ryan turned 13 (Uh, oh...) and Katie 11. Katie's favorite thing about her birthday this year was, "getting my own tub of CoolWhip and getting to see Wicked." Rachel took both Katie and Sarah to see the musical Wicked at the historic Paramount Theater in downtown Seattle.

Halloween
Always a festive affair, Halloween took on a special light this year as we had a little person who was enjoying everything as if it was for the first time. Collin enjoyed the slimy pumpkin guts, the costumes but, most of all, he LOVED the candy. Here are some photos from our Halloween.













Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving feasting this year featured three (Yes, three...) turkey dinners. Though we were a little tired of turkey before the end of the weekend, we did enjoy spending time with family. Collin's highlight was getting rides on grandpa's tractor.

Collin, The Beast
Collin continues to grow and develop. He is a very sweet little boy and a lot of fun to have in our home. He seems to be picking up new words daily. Our next big Collin adventure will be "The Disappearance of the Binky" to be shortly followed by "Hello Mr. Potty." More to come...

Babysitting
Now that Ryan is 13 and "incredibly" mature, mom and dad will occasionally slip away to run an errand or have a short date. "How did things go?" we typically ask when return from one of these little outings. "Everything was wonderful," the children typically reply in unison with angelic faces. Upon going through our video files I uncovered the following video which shed some light on what goes on when mom and dad are away. It also answered the question, what happened to the juice pitcher and why does the zoom lens on the camera not work anymore?



Fall Activities

Once school starts, the Pringle family seems to get into gear. Katie and Sarah both took dance classes at Karen's Dance Studio in Ferndale. Additionally, Sarah took ballet training at the Blaine Conservatory in Blaine, WA while Katie enjoyed a "Best of Broadway" class at the Bellingham Academy of the Arts in Bellingham. Nathan ran his little heart out playing soccer and was "Lorenzo the Magnifico" in his elementary school's production of Pinocchio. Ryan played on both sides of the ball for his middle school's football team but really enjoyed being a middle linebacker. "You get to hit the heck out of people," says Ryan. Ryan continues with Scouting and has earned his Star rank. His biggest achievement was completing the Bicycling merit badge which required him (and Dad!) to do a 50-mile bike trip. He road a circuitous path from Ferndale north through Birch Bay State Park to Peace Arch State Park on the Canadian Border and back to Ferndale. "My legs still hurt," says Ryan.