Keeping with my long-standing tradition of honoring each of Felicia’s birthdays with books that tell the story of the year, I’ve got four selections to share.

By any measure, it has been a momentous year for our youngest.

2009-2010 was the year Felicia ascended into the world of her older sister, joining Jocelyn in many important endeavors like school (Kindergarten!) and sports. And church choir. And later this summer, she’ll be part of the Center Stage Dance “Big Show.”

Felicia loves Kindergarten. Until this year, her entire life had been centered around bringing her sister to school. Or to sports practices. Or Choir. And even dance class. … but now it’s all about her too. And she loves it.

So the books attempt to capture that, and more.

My Kindergarten (by Rosemary Wells) is an incredibly fun collection of activities, poems, and lessons from the standard Kindergarten curriculum.

Nearly coincident with her birthday is the traditional “100th Day of Kindergarten,” which her class will celebrate on Tuesday. School children across the country will undoubtedly mark the occasion by reading Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100th Day, as will we.

And 2009 was a big year for our Family’s love of soccer, too. Of course, this was Felicia’s first year of organized soccer after a few of watching her sister’s practices and cheering from the sidelines. Her Green Ninjas had a ton of fun, and she even scored her first goal. And yes, I was the coach for her as I was for most of Jocelyn’s teams. This was also the inaugural year of the new Womens Professional Soccer league, and we enjoyed many of the FC Gold Pride games played in Santa Clara.

So, What Is Soccer? (by Larry Tabash) is a fun book about two sisters who play soccer, and their father who teaches them about the game. And on a more elementary level, My Soccer Book (by Gail Gibbons) is an introduction to the sport for totally new players. Not that Felicia was ever a new player, but the book will help codify the rules in her mind.

What material do plants grow best in?

Jocelyn’s 2010 5th grade Science Fair was held today at school. For those of you wondering about various growing materials you might choose for radish seeds, we proudly share the entire project:

Purpose Statement

I want to know what materials plants grow best in so I can grow successful plants on my own.

Hypothesis

I think the plants will grow best in the soil and sand because they are what people usually grow plants in. Read the rest of this entry »

While not yet confirmed by official sources, MK.com has learned that the next stage of World Cup Qualifying in Muggle Quidditch will likely take place in February, with the team from California hosting the reigning champion team from Tennessee.

This grainy video taken in the hills above Saratoga shows the Californian Martins conducting an inter-squad practice ahead of the highly anticipated match.

Introduced to the new sport only a few weeks – following receipt of a mysterious Christmas gift from the Nashville Martins – the California team has yet to decide on the venue for the first leg of the home-at-home-at-Milwaukee series. Rumored pitch options include the practice field in Saratoga, the world famous Houge Park oval, and the snow-covered ice of Lake Serena.

We’ll release more details as they become available.

It took us a few years of looking, but we finally found our cabin in Tahoe (along the Serene Lakes in Soda Springs)! So we’re celebrating Christmas and the New Year up on Donner Summit!

In addition to lots of snowplay, both Jocelyn and Felicia finished 2009 attending elementary school together, enjoying ballet and dance at the same studio, playing soccer with coach David, and hiking the wilderness with Karen. For variety, Felicia says she’s going to ski, while Jocelyn has become an accomplished snowboarder!

Wishing You Peace & Happiness in the New Year … and beyond!

Felicia came up with her own creation in the kitchen today-Brown Sugar Goodies.  She got the necessary dishes, found the ingredients she wanted to include, and announced they would need to bake for 60 minutes,  I made a small sugestions to add a bit of bisquick and milk.  She worked out all the measurements.  The result was spectacular (seriously, it tased and looked really good).  Below is the recipe:

1/2 cup brown sugar

25 or more chocolate chips

2 – 1/2 cups Bisquick (that is 2 times a 1/2 cup, i.e. 1 cup)

1/2 cup milk

Mix all together with a spatula, scoop using cookie scooper.

Bake at 400 degrees for 60 minutes (check frequently-they may be done in about 10 minutes)

Merry Christmas to everyone! As a special holiday treat, Jocelyn taught herself to play the “Carol of the Bells” on the organ at our Cabin in Tahoe.

And she recorded it on her new Creativ Vado HD pocket video recorder. We hope you enjoy it!

The tradition continues … with a twist! … This year’s “Christmas Carol” gift to Mommy was the time-honored ‘Frosty the Snowman.”

While no long, drawn-out explanation is required this year, we added an enhancement to the standard tradition for 2009. Our “Frosty the Snowman” gift included the usual hand-made ornament and a handy kit for actually making Frosty: a magic top hat, an actual corncob pipe, a button nose, and two eyes made out of coal … just add snow!

Speaking of snow, we’ve got it! We are spending the Holidays in our new Serene Lakes Cabin, and so far this year, we’ve got four feet of snow sitting right outside the cabin window. So a snowman-making kit makes perfect sense!

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Past Christmas Carol gifts:

2008: The Race That Long in Darkness Pined
2007: Away in a Manger
2006: Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!
2005: What Child is This?
2004: I Saw three Ships
2003: One-Horse Open Sleigh (Jingle Bells)
2002: A Sweetie Goose in a Pear tree (12 Days of Christmas)

A welcome surprise, of course …

The dust has yet to settle on Jocelyn’s robotics season – The season which was supposed to end today with the regional qualifying tournament at NASA Ames Research Center. But it didn’t end.

The Apparators Robotics team was one of the top-nine teams at today’s tournament, and moves one to the regional tournament later in December. The team was also second overall in Project Presentation for their “SkyLanes” transportation alternative for getting students to school.

Since it’s Thanksgiving, let’s say we are all thankful that the team gets to keep practicing. Thankful … and surprised! Let’s just say no one was expecting the season to stretch beyond this weekend — least of all the team members and their coach! Although their robot didn’t accomplish much, the team parlayed strong presentation scores and planning into a strong finish. No one saw that coming.

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You can also re-live portions of the tournament, as Twittered.

We’ve already discussed the Booksin Walkathon (at length) this year, including the great day that Felicia had in her first official event as a kindergartner.

Her celebration continued today with the all-school Awards Ceremony, where she received a certificate for collecting the most individual pledges of any Kindergarten student. She’s pictured here with other students, most wearing medals for walking the furthest or raising the most money.

I love this picture because I think it captures her pride in winning the certificate. … and the best part is that she secured all but one* of those 21 donations by asking on her own (in fact, she was responsible for a few additional donations that only went to her sister).

As many people know, I have specific personal rules about youth fundraising activities. I am, in fact, a total push-over for the sale … but only if the student asks me themselves. I don’t buy from parents, and I don’t sell for my kids.*

So, Felicia not only collected more individual donations than any other Kindergartner, but she also got them all herself. She spoke to neighbors, called relatives, and worked two weekly Rotary Meetings. I am quite proud of her, and I think she also feels really good about her accomplishment. Yay!

* Technically, I have to admit that each girl got one pledge via my Twitter activity. But it came late in the game, or I would have made them contact the donor directly.