our snowman

I love our snowman "yard art". I've taken the girls' picture in front of it every year... here's a sneak peek of what you may see in your Christmas card (if I get them out!).

slide on ice

Life is a slide on ice....until someone gets hurt

how did we get from this...

to this...

to this...???

(Maybe I should have helped her up instead of continuing to take pictures. Bad mommy!)

busy, busy

Like everyone else this time of year, we seem to spend too much time in the car running around. Last week we went on a field trip to a local whole foods store where the kids got to make their own whole wheat bread and pretzels. The presentation was very well done and while things were baking the teacher read "The Little Red Hen".

I went to dinner on Thursday with some friends for a Christmas dinner and gift exchange. We tried a new restaurant which was just - ok. Whenever we asked our waitress or the owner about what a dish was like they always told us how beautiful the presentation was, or how cute it looked. We couldn't help but laugh... we just wanted to know how it tasted! Then we decided not to order dessert because nothing sounded really decadent and worth wasting calories on, so the chef ended up coming out and kind of badgering us into trying something. It was weird, but just for the record the chocolate-fudge bread pudding was actually pretty good.

Brett took the girls to the $1 store on Saturday so they could pick out gifts for each other. Last year we took them to Target, but it was hard to give them a $$ limit and have them understand it, so we went with the $1 store option and they did really well picking out for each other. They were so excited to have gifts for each other, and so far haven't told what they got each other.

The other day the girls were out playing on the ice and pushing each other around on a little plastic chair (I really need to find some cheap, used ice skates). So Brett thought he'd take it up a notch and took the hobby horse (??) (the kind that is attached to a base by 4 springs) out on the ice to fling them around. It was quite the sight. As soon as they would start slowing down, they would bounce really hard and to try to keep it going. Of course I didn't have a camera to take pictures with...

The girls and I are also finishing our last week of music class, so we are all geared up for the Christmas parties that will ensue. I just bought a new camera. I haven't really had the chance to play with it, but hopefully by the end of the week I will have some lovely pics to post.

halloween

Excuse me while I go back in time...

We had a fun Halloween this year. A friend of mine had a big Halloween party at her house and just did a fantastic job (top picture). Everyone showed up in costume and brought something to eat. The kids had a ball playing hide-and-go-seek in the dark and keeping warm by the bonfire. She also had a storyteller, a fortune teller, and a "spook alley". This was also the first year we took the kids trick-or-treating door to door. It took them a couple of houses to get warmed up, but then they were off and running on their own. Shane, Lisa, and Paige came for a visit a few weeks later and rescued us from the mountains of candy we acquired!

Thanksgiving

We always have Thanksgiving dinner at my in-law's and have struggled to find our "own" tradition. For the last 3 years we have taken a walk into "Fox Forest" the morning of Thanksgiving. We found "Fox Forest" the year we were living in a rental while building our current home. Ava of course was not born yet, so it was Megan and Savannah that named our little hiking area (Dora, Boots, and Swiper the Fox were big at the time).
Also note... Megan covering her face...

My "baby jaguar" climbing the rocky mountain side.

I made Brett stop and take this picture so the kids would know they did actually have a mom, and I wasn't just some random person behind the camera all the time.

It was a fun morning that allowed us to enjoy and reflect on the holiday that sometimes gets pushed aside for the rush of the Christmas season; and reminded us that autumn, is just as wonderful as summer, at the lake.

random

Still no camera. I almost feel lost without it. Well, we went from 1.5 feet of snow to nothing in the last 24 hours. We have had lots of rain and warm winds so our yard is completely bare. We all had a ball while the snow was here though.

I woke up yesterday with a migraine. I'm pretty sure they are brought on by stress and lack of sleep. I have never been able to find a food connection. Anyway, I have been unusually busy with school, music classes and especially YW for the last month. Wish I had a camera to show you all the fun cards, tags, and "stuff" I have been making for said activities. For anyone out there who gets less than 8 hours of sleep a night... how do you do it?? I lucked out and the winds were on my side. Brett can't work in 45 mph winds, so he stayed home most of the morning while I tried sleeping my migraine off.

We have implemented a new (and hopefully here to stay) tradition for Christmas. On November 3oth, Brett and I wrapped 25 Christmas books to put under the Christmas tree. The library books are wrapped in special paper so we could remember to get those opened first :) Anyway, every night in December, before the kids go to bed, we open a "present" and read the story. We also have a Christmas symbol and scripture to go with the book. We thought the kids would get a kick out of seeing lots of presents under the tree. It has been fun... for the last 3 days ;)

We have no "TV". We do have a physical TV, but we only get ABC on a good day. I have however, figured out how to watch "The Office" and "Project Runway" on my computer. It is grand. It's my indulgence after the kids go to bed.

Yes, the tooth fairy brought Savannah $3.00. There was a lot of trauma involved in losing that tooth and she happened to have a friend over the day it came out. He informed her that he got $3.00. I know, I shouldn't "keep up with the Jones' " but it was her first one bundled with trauma and anxiety. The tooth fairy did not want to disappoint. It is also understood that subsequent teeth will not be given such priority.

Off to be mommy...

bad timing

We got our first snow, Savannah lost her first tooth... and my camera...dead. Hope Meg's kid camera can save the day. A new camera was definitely not in the holiday budget. Ugh...