Merry White Christmas!

Matt got a new game and lots of cool clothes.

Josh loved his Spongebob PJ's.

Matt got 3 new boxes of K'nex.

Shawna got some great books from Grammie.

Shawna loved her new clothes.

Josh was totally surprised and excited about his new CD player.

Steve got me some great new jewelry.

Alli and Steve modeled her new shirts.

Lego Star Wars for Playstation. YES!!!

And Lego Batman.

Last week was a busy one for our family. We started the week with Allison's band Christmas concert. Wednesday was scouts for both boys. Thursday saw us divided into three groups. (I REALLY need a clone of myself as I was supposed to be in three places at once.) Steve went to his school staff party. I dropped the kids off at the church to make crafts, and then I raced over to the school board meeting where my ASB officers and I were granted certificates of thanks for our can food drive efforts. Friday morning I was absolutely down for the count and very sick, but I made it through one more day of school before the break.

Alli saved us this year with our cookie making frenzy. She made peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies by herself. Then Sunday, I dragged myself out of bed long enough to make sugar cookie dough. Steve took the kids to church while I passed out. Then about 7 pm, we rolled out the dough and cut out 6 batches worth of cookies. Monday we frosted everything. Then we put them on plates and delivered them to friends for family night. It was fun, but it was a test in will power to get everything done.

On Tuesday, we traveled down to my parents to exchange presents and have a great pre-Christmas dinner. Robbie loved his new bowling set, and my kids favorite gift was a fantastic coin collecting book. They have been scavenging coins to add to the book ever since.

Merry Christmas! What a fantastic day we had. We had a nice leisurely morning (of course Josh was up at 6 am), but the rest of us slept in a little longer. We had to ask Shawna if she was interested in what Santa brought her. Her reply, "in a minute, mom." If you know Shawna, that is SO uncharacteristic, we had to smile. Of course, she was up moments later. Steve made us all breakfast while the kids perused the unwrapped items and their stockings. Then all the chaos began. We tried to keep it under control with only one present being opened at a time, so it was a fairly relaxing day.

After the "opening", we drove down to visit sick Linda. We brought a care package of soup, rolls, and cookies. It was nice seeing her because the kids were heartbroken this morning when they found out she was too sick to drive up. We spent a couple of hours with her, and then returned home for Christmas dinner and a family movie- WALL-E. Lots of fun. We are headed to Wenatchee tomorrow to visit with Greg and Michelle. My favorite present? Steve gave me a trip to Hawaii over spring break. Can you say, "Aloha!"

Missing you all this beautiful Christmas day. Love and Hugs, The Banda family

Ok, so I've missed a couple of weeks.

Girl Cousins at Turkey Day

Boy Cousins at Turkey Day

Deb, Stephanie, Leah, Michelle and Mom on Turkey Day.

We had soooo much fun over Thanksgiving, but we were all exhausted when it was over. We had all my brothers and sisters (except Randy's family- who were missed!). My brother in law Greg deep fried the turkey in the backyard while all of us inside were busy making pies and rolls and potatoes... and endless amounts of food. It was quite the adventure, but we loved every minute of it.

Of course when everyone left, Shawna got pneumonia and Matt had a terrible cough. So that made the school week very entertaining. Shawna went to first period on Monday, then the doctor, and then was home sleeping for the rest of the week. Matt missed a couple of days, but then was back at school just in time to audition for the school play "Annie". Matt ended up with the part of Rooster (who kidnaps Annie). So we have another play coming up- this time in early March. I'll get more details out as we get closer.

Allison is up to her eyeballs preparing for FOUR events in Science Olympiad this year. She is excited to do a building event. She is researching and building a bridge. That should be entertaining.

Of course now that December is upon us, we are in concert and party mode. My ASB kids and I just finished collecting 12, 179.6 cans for our can food drive. That shatters the previous school record of 6,500 cans. We have been running crazily, so it was time to relax a bit. I spent 3 1/2 hours yesterday with my ASB officers at a big gift exchange, dinner and general fun party. We played several games and I even got to try my hand at Wii tennis. (Very fun, by the way.) We have lots upcoming, but I'll have to share that with you next week.

We've decorated and now I'm in frantic card, cookie and present wrapping mode. There just never seems to be enough time for everything. Much love to you all. I'll try to get back to my weekly blogging. :) Deb

Recovery

So we have spent this week recovering from the frenzy of last week. By the time Monday started, we were all exhausted, so it was a really good thing that we had no school on Tuesday.

Shawna spent the day sleeping, still trying to get over the nasty cough she has had for two weeks. The boys spent the day cleaning thier rooms; can we just say gross? Alli also cleaned her room and practiced piano. Steve and I played rearrange the furniture. We knew we were getting Larry's desk, so we cleaned out Steve's den. We ended up moving his corner desk up to my scrapbook room. Of course, if you have ever been in there, you know that it was already packed. So we pulled out the computer desk and moved it into Matt's room. Then we rearranged everything else in the scrapbook room so that both my sewing desk and Steve's corner desk were both together- so it looks like an acre of desk. I would never have believed it would all fit, but it does and looks pretty good.

Of course that was all day Tuesday. Wednesday was Scouts and the Young Women in Excellence program. Thursday was piano lessons. Friday right after school, we loaded up the suburban and the trailer and went down to Linda's to pick up the desk. We went to dinner at OCB, and then helped Linda with a few things at her house. We loaded up the desk and her old entertainment center (to take up to Sue's later this week) and got home about 12:15 am. So Saturday, we moved the new desk into Steve's den and spent the day trying to clean up. That seems to be the theme in our lives now. Clean up the last mess, so we can make a new one.

Tonight we take Matthew to the church for his priesthood preview. That seems so wrong to me. Matt is growing up way too quickly. They all are. The kids are all thinking about their Christmas lists. Time just seems to race along.

We miss you lots, and wish you all the best. Much love, Deb and fam

"Oliver!" was a big hit!

This has been a seemingly endless week, but we all made it through!

"Oliver!" production nights were Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with a matinee on Saturday as well. It was a big hit. Linda came up and we took the family on Thursday night. My parents and Robbie came up on Friday, and Alli and I went with them on Friday. It was a grueling week full of long practices, but the performances were great. We are all glad to have this chapter in our lives closed.

I stayed home with Josh on Wednesday because he was coughing. On Thursday, both Shawna and Josh were home sick. It turned out that Josh had a double ear infection. On Friday, Shawna was home sick again. Saturday night during the performance, Matt made it through his scenes, but then basically collapsed on the floor. He said he felt nauseous and didn't even go on for the final curtain call. He seemed fine today though, so I think it was just exhaustion.

On Saturday, Steve and I cleaned out the garage and started loading up our 10 x 20 foot shed we bought last week. Our goal is to actually be able to park in our 4 car garage. What a concept! Anyway, we are close. Luckily we have no school on Tuesday for Veterans Day, so we should be able to get finished.

And today was the primary program... both Josh and Matt did well. Oh yeah, and tonight was Standards Night at the church for the girls. Could we pack anything else into this weekend?

More soon! Much love to you all. :) Deb

We survived Halloween!

Well, it has been another busy week here in Moses Lake. I forgot to report that Shawna went on a field trip to the Maryhill museum Oct. 24th. She went with her Art class and took a ton of pictures.

This week has involved getting ready for the end of quarter. I spent the last week grading about 70 essays for my English class. I had to stay late at school anyway because the boys had play practice until 5:30 each night. Friday was a report card prep day, but because my grades were done, I didn't have to go to school. Yeah.

Tuesday was pack meeting. Luckily the topic was "Adventures in Books", so let's just say that was a great one for me. I brought in about 20 of my favorite kid books. The best part was that lots of my cub scouts came in and told me they had read and loved some of the books. I love to pass along book choices and see the enthusiasm that follows!

Thursday night was our Stake Halloween carnival. Wow. There was no parking anyway near the church, so Steve and I dropped off the kids near the door. Then we went to park and came back. We had to stay for over an hour because it was nearly impossible to find the kids. It was crazy, but the kids had a great time.

Friday night, my high school ASB officers put on a school wide trick or treat night. They decorated doorways and kids in the community came around to trick or treat. I took Matt and Josh through (with my camera). I took attendance of my students with my camera. We bought 92 bags of candy because usually about 2000 kids come to trick or treat. It was fun, but I'm glad it is over.

Saturday we took the family on a trek to the TriCities. We helped Linda, shopped, and visited family. We got home about 1 am. Thank goodness for daylight savings.

This is the big week for Matt and Josh's play. We have dress rehearsals through Wednesday and four performances from Thursday to Saturday. It is going to be a busy week.

Much love to you all. It is hard to believe that there is only 7 weeks until Christmas. The kids are already counting down.

Have a great week! :) Deb

Almost Halloween!

So it has been another busy week. It seems that I have passed along my cold to Allison and Steve. They had been coughing and miserable all week and finally went to the doctor on Thursday. There they discovered that they both had walking pneumonia. Yikes. They both stayed home from school on Friday and tried to recover.

Allison had her final volleyball game on Tuesday this week. (She was coughing the whole way through.) She and I are both looking forward to the Twilight movie that opens Nov. 21st. Alli's aunt Amber sent Alli a Twilight shirt this week. I think the neighbors heard how loud she shrieked in excitement when she opened it. She was very excited!

Matthew and Joshua both had play practice again this week. Only two more weeks until the show. November 6, 7, and 8th are the performances. Matthew is even a named character- he is Charlie (Dodger's friend) and has a few lines. Of course, then Josh was jealous, so he ended up with a line too. This week begins all week practice as they run through the whole show.

I drove my ASB executive board down to Kennewick HS on Wednesday where we met with all the exec. boards from all the Mid Columbia high schools. There we assembled gift boxes for the troops and had lunch. As we were getting ready to leave, we were asked to stay a little longer and take part in the Kamiakin to Southridge human chain in support of breast cancer awareness. We were in the middle of a 3.5 mile chain of people. My students loved the idea, and I think we are planning such an event for Moses Lake next year. It was a very fun day. Check the Tri City Herald newspaper for a quote from my Business Manager.

All our kids are excited about the upcoming Halloween. The kids are very serious when it comes to their costumes. I'm just hoping to live through the events.

Miss you all much. Many hugs. :) Deb

It seems we are always running....

Shawna decided that it was time to decorate the house for Halloween. So she has spent the last week decorating every surface in our home (including the windows) with Halloween decorations. I admire her energy because I certainly don't have it. She takes her holidays VERY seriously.

Allison played her final volleyball game of the season on Thursday. She has come a long way with her skills this year. Of course, she has picked up my cold, so she has been hacking all weekend. I hope it is over quickly.

Matthew and Josh contines to have play practice twice a week. Although since we are close to the performance (only 3 more weeks) they have increased practice time until 5:00 both days. Luckily, it is down the hall from my classroom so I can work. But I am still finding myself at school way too long.

I forgot to tell you last week that Steve got me some really cool Converse shoes for my birthday. They are Maroon and Gold (MLHS school colors) and have Banda on the heel. They are the talk of the school- the students love them!

I can't believe the weekend is almost over. We miss you and love you all much.

More soon,

Deb

I'm tired of being sick!

So, as a result of my crazy week (last week), I've been sick all of this week. Yuck. Just the normal sinus mess that means I can't breathe and am pretty miserable. I actually took half a day off on Monday, but I went back to school on Tuesday- for my birthday, no less. Even though I was sick, there were some very positive events. Steve sent me some gorgeous birthday flowers, and my ASB Leadership class threw me a surprise birthday party complete with ice cream cake.

Actually, other than the normal scouts, young women activies, volleyball, play practice and piano, it has been a fairly quiet week. (There is something wrong, when all of that means a quiet week.)

Matthew had his first Boy Scout camp out on Friday. He had a great time, ate hotdogs and smores, and slept in a tent down by the lake. Brrr.... to cold for me!

Miss ya and love you much! :) Deb

Banda Family Chaos

Welcome to my attempt to stay current with all my friends and family- as well as my attempt to overcome my computer clumsiness to share our busy lives. This has been a crazy week for our family. On Monday, we had our opening Homecoming Kickoff assembly. On Tuesday, Joshua earned his Bobcat patch at his very first Cub Scouts Pack Meeting. On Wednesday, Shawna and I attended the MLHS Class Olympics where we took part in some goofy games. Matthew attended Boy Scouts and Allison attended Young Womens. On Thursday, Alli and Matt attended piano lessons, and then later Alli and I attended the high school volleyball game. On Friday, I was in charge of a 45 minute Homecoming royalty assembly. And then later on, Steve sold t-shirts at the football game, and I was in charge of a very public high school halftime coronation of the Homecoming King and Queen.

I am very glad to have just suvived the crazy week. It has been a lot of fun, but a very exhausting week for all of us.

Allison has been playing volleyball on her school team this fall. Matthew and Joshua are in the high school fall musical Oliver! They have been practicing hard, and it is so cute to find them singing the songs around the house. Mark your calendars. They will be performing November 7th and 8th. It is going to be a great show!

We love you all, and miss you. Have a great week! Love, Deb