Anya's Adventure in Medicaland

So, many of you know that Anya hurt her leg earlier today. We had the pleasure of waiting for a long time to see a few doctors and get many x rays. The final verdict is. NO BROKEN LEG

So we are happy to know she sprained her ankle. Well, that is, we are happy to know that she didn't do anything more than sprain her ankle. Thanks for your calls and prayers.

David and Heather

First Snow of 2007

Anya hasn't seen snow before and was quite... moved by it. Enjoy...

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See the kids enjoy the great outdoors together!

password: zippy


First Snow 2007 from David Sycamore on Vimeo.

Sycamores build a house!

We did! We built a house! A little one. A sweet and tasty one too! We have now done this for 3 years I think. Our tradition is to make a gingerbread house at the beginning of December, usually to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional.

This year in addition to the fun of confectionery building, we also made wassail and Heather made Gingerbread men. Wassail, we discovered, is actually apple cider. Who knew? I always thought it must be this weird old English drink. Here come to find out it's just the same old tasty, sweet, tangy... This is making me kind of thirsty. Well it would be a let down if it wasn't so good.

Gingerbread cookies are pretty tasty too. Funny how kids tend to give those little cookies life. Of course it helps when they just watched the Shrek Holiday Special. Santa as a gingerbread eating monster it an interesting thought. Well we had a great time. Enjoy some photos of us enjoying. Oh, by the way, Heather did NOT make the gingerbread house. It was a kit. She'll feel bad if you think she's that domestic.

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A Wicked Weekend Getaway

Heather and I were able to take advantage of Shir... That is we were able to take an overnight trip to Chicago while Aunt Shirley graciously watched our beautiful and sometimes very noisy children. We had a quiet and romantic trip to Chicago.

As a side note, we discovered that much stress was averted thanks to our new toy, the Nuvi 200 GPS direction giving thingy. We found that not being overly afraid of getting lost made the trip much nicer. Printed directions are great until you miss a turn. This thing just reroutes you on the fly!

We stayed at a nice hotel and went to see the Musical Wicked. The music was very good and we enjoyed the twist that the show put on the tale of Oz that we all know from the Wizard of Oz. Thanks Aunt Shirley. The kids loved being with you and Grammi, and we loved having you visit.

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Troy and Amy who lived in Chicago for several years while they were going to law school and developed a taste for Chicago style pizza. They recommended that we stop in at Giordano's while we were in town. We did, and found it to be really a pizza pie. The following video and pictures are really mostly for them. Sorry you couldn't be with us!

Password: zippy


Eating at Gordito's in Chicago from David Sycamore on Vimeo.

Building Bears and other Such Stuff

While Aunt Shirley and Grammi were with us this last week, we got to do quite a lot. The kids had fun building bears with her and the older kids had fun getting away on a romantic getaway and seeing a show. Can you guess who had more fun? More on the trip next post....

We went together to the mall and built bears and saw Santa Claus and then we left. It was an interesting experience to build the bears and pick out their clothes. Of course we didn't build only bears, we built a reindeer, a stegosaurus, a dog, and a bear.

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Bear building sounds quite complicated until you do it. Then you learn that it's not so hard after all. Bethany is our resident bear making expert. You may learn all about how this interesting and useful activity is accomplished by watching the following informative and very interesting interview with Bethany. She also discusses some stimulating events that occurred during our time with Aunt Shirley and Grammi.

Password: zippy


Bethany Talks about Building Bears and other Stuff from David Sycamore on Vimeo.

Thanksgiving!

This year we had the Dastrup family over as well as Aunt Shirley and Grammi (my grandmother on my dad's side). We had a great Dinner together and enjoyed talking while our kids enjoyed playing with Anna and Michael. After dinner, we put up our Christmas tree and decorated it. Turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. And I do... Say so myself that is.... Anyway enjoy the pictures.

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We talked to the kids about Thanksgiving a little, but it ended up being more about waiting to eat. I guess you take what you can get. Oh, and be sure you make it all the way to the end for the best moment! Password: zippy


Thanksgiving 2007 Kids from David Sycamore on Vimeo.

Parks come to Visit

This weekend we had an unexpected treat. Heather's Uncle Lindon and Aunt Debbie came to visit. They stayed with us from Thursday night until Saturday. We had a fun time having them around and hearing about what all the Parks families have been up to. Our kids took to them quickly, and were sad to see them go.

While they were here, we showed off some of the sights of Indianapolis including the famous Children's Museum and the Grounds of the Museum of Art. The parks also visited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, which we have not been to, but they said was interesting. Here are some pictures of the activities.

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Also, I had to post the video of Anya at the Children's Museum Dinosphere. She really wanted those eggs! Password: zippy


Get the Egg! from David Sycamore on Vimeo.

Anya's Boat

The other day, Heather came upstairs to find Bethany and Anya playing a new game. They were having lots of fun and Heather tells me that they did this for almost a half an hour. I'm not sure if that means that they have a great attenition span or that they are easily amused. Watch and decide for yourself.

Password: zippy


Anya Boat from David Sycamore on Vimeo.

Anya's Alphabet Dance

We were watching Anya dance and sing to her alphabet song tonight and thought it was so dang cute that we had to catch it on video. Not only does she dance and sing, she also demonstrates her vast knowledge of the English language! And if you act now we'll throw in this amazing Elmo style pajama outfit absolutely free! Pick up your mouse and click now! Operators are standing by!

(said in a fast voice)This offer does not include baby Anya in actual person, but only a video image of her. This video makes no guarantee of achieving absolute happiness, but only of giving you a pretty good shot at it. Baby Anya is a Very Sycamore Place trademark. All rights reserved. The password is "zippy" as always.


Anya's Alphabet Dance from David Sycamore on Vimeo.

Sycamores see a Concert

On Tuesday of this week, we took the girls to their first real concert. They were absolutely thrilled to go and had a great time. We saw the show Celtic Woman, which is a touring group of women singing songs that have some unclear connection to Ireland. Or to women, or just pretty songs. I don't think they stuck too closely to their original theme.

We did have a good time for the most part despite driving downtown in the dark trauma. Have no fear though, we made it out in one piece. I think we are all stronger, and softer for having gone through it. Thanks to Heather's parents for turning us on to the music. It was the highlight of the week for the girls.

Heather grows even more beautiful!

As you all I'm sure are aware, the lovely Heather Lynne Steed Sycamore has again celebrated the anniversary of the day that she graced us all with her beauty and presence. This event occurred on the 5th of November. In remembrance of that great day we shared with her the love in our hearts and were glad for her continued increase in loveliness and grace. We are grateful to all who called to commemorate this momentous day.

Enjoy this video please! The password is "zippy"


Heather's Birthday 2007 from David Sycamore on Vimeo.

David gets OLD!

As you may or may not know, it was recently my birthday. This sad day happened on November 3rd. Although everyone did their best to not let on, as I am now 33, it is clear that I am now very OLD. No offense to those of you who are OLDER than me of course. Maybe I can stave off inevitable decay of my body by eating lots of birthday cake. Any hope? Here is a video of the sad, sad day. Thanks to all of you well wishers who called to make sure I wasn't gone yet.

The video password is "zippy"


David's Birthday 2007 from David Sycamore on Vimeo.

Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year with lots of candy and fun. The Kids and Heather had a great time at the ward Trunk or Treat and we even won first prize for our chilli. Heather says that it was mine because I told her what to put in the pot, but she's the one who made it!

Halloween night we went with a group from our end of the Neighborhood and hit a ton of houses for a TON of candy. I think we'll still be eating it around next Halloween. Anya was very cute and most people just about melted when she came to the door and said "Ti a Teat!"and "Tank oo."

Daylin was the White Witch from the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Bethany was Barbie. Hyrum was Aladin (reuse of his 4 year old picture costume). And Anya was a princess.

Hope you had a successful Halloween too.

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Our Indiana Vacation

We recently went on a trip all over Indiana for my vacation in October. We had a great time and saw quite a few places in Indiana. We went to a choclate factory, a japanese garden, Notre Dame University, Marengo Cave in southern Indiana, and finally to an old hotel that is being restored called West Badden Springs Hotel. Here are some pictures. Hope that you enjoy!

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A video we took just before we went into Marengo Cave. (The password is zippy)


Anya Gets Eaten! from David Sycamore on Vimeo.

Daylin Gets Baptized

Daylin turned 8 on September 23, and was very excited for her Baptism. Grandpa Sycamore and Grandma and Grandpa Steed and Autumn all came out to see her on her big day. She was baptized by Me on September 29th. We were all thrilled with the day. She was baptized in a warm water font and many friends also came to see her.

We also got some nice pictures, which you can see below...

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