Snow Fun

We got a white Christmas, just a few days late.

The learning curve is steep for my kiddies...



but they got it eventually!

Just a few of my favorite things...

My favorite Christmas moments:

1. Chad intensely engrossed in a snowball fight, forgetting that he had no coat or gloves on (we found snow on the way to the beach).

2. When we came to the part in the nativity scene where Aubrey was asked to wrap the babe in swaddling clothes, she refused, claiming she could never swallow a baby.

3. Hearing the sound of a chair sliding across the kitchen floor, and finding Sam using it to get to the gingerbread house on the counter.

Overrated Christmas Traditions

1. Building a snowman. Not that we could if we wanted to, but I am not a big fan of all those wardrobe changes. We went outside and raced popsicle sticks in the gutter instead.

2. Making candy. Homemade taffy sounds fun right? Wrong. Very sticky. I picked up Sam and could hear the sound of stickiness. This is what I found:


I really don't know how it got there.

3. Paying a visit to the mall Santa. We had good intentions until we saw the line. We quickly moved to plan B: get as close as we can to Santa and politely tell him our most desired gifts. We went up and down the escalators twice, just to make sure he got the message.

4. Holiday shopping. Need I say more?

Despite all of this, I love it. Love it all.

Advent Calendar

I know it's a little late in the game, but I found a LDS advent calendar with scriptures and activities for each day. It has quick little activities like writing a secret note for a family member and leaving it somewhere they can find it. Here's the link: http://lds.about.com/od/crafts/a/advent_calendar.htm Enjoy!

Weekend Wrapup

And what a weekend it was. Chad finished up the soccer season, with his last game on Saturday. All that running and kicking paid off handsomely with treats and a shiny trophy.

Later on, we ventured to the local strip mall for some trick or treating, and stood in line at each store for about 10 pieces of hard candy - total (not to mention the opportunity to see all of the revealing halloween outfits that look worse in the daylight, for some reason). I think we can safely cross that off our list for next year.

The kiddies made up for it that evening - lots of candy and all around cuteness.

Aubrey as Strawberry Shortcake

Sam the Zebra

Chad as Superman with superhuman strength

Not to mention superhuman speed

And early this morning (too early, thanks to daylight savings), I found Chad with a pair of kid scissors and candy wrappers everywhere. Lack of sleep and too much sugar made for some interesting church moments. Now I don't feel so guilty raiding his Holloween bucket. It's really for the best. A few trying moments, but we had lots of fun.

Work Before Play

There is nothing better to teach this principle than raking and jumping in leaves. It was all fun and games until the giant slug hanging precariously on the wall next to our pile, suddenly came up missing. Kinda took the joy out of it.

Lakeview Farms 2009

We actually considered other farms this year (we'll make it to the Little People Farm some day Dad), but why mess with tradition?

Toothless Tuesday

Two teeth in one day! We must learn the "All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth" song. Video soon to follow...

Birthday #4

Aubrey celebrated the big 4 this week. Instead of exposing her mother to all sorts of birthday party stress, Aubrey opted to take one friend to Build a Bear. After stuffing, washing, and agonizing over a wardrobe choice - I think we all came out of this quite well. With a few cupcakes in the courtyard and some much needed baby wipes, I decided this was the cleanest and easiest birthday party ever. And I got to spend the morning with two perfectly delighted little girls.





Ah yes, sorry Jen. As requested, a picture of the bear:

Back to School

Ah, and back to a cleaning routine. My house desperately needs it. I'm finding that sending a 1st grader off to school is not nearly as emotional as sending off a kindergartner. I didn't cry once, but Aubrey cried for me. She will dearly miss her buddy/debate opponent.

As for those rushed pics I usually take right before school starts on the first day, they never turn out. So, I did them a few days early this year.

Confessions of a Mom

I hate the zoo. Perhaps hate is a strong word, but I really dislike it. Why you ask? It could be the act of pulling a wagon over miles of hilly terrain (sounds kind of pioneerish, except my children don't walk). Or maybe it's the countless times my kiddies run off to be raised by the monkeys? It could be my fear of E. coli.

We have a beautiful zoo and the yearly membership is a good deal, 2 or 3 trips and that baby would be paid for. And I love a good deal, I would probably be there every week. Just the thought if it makes me sweat. I fully understand the educational factor of a zoo, so we go once a year. That is all I can take.

Aubrey sacrificing her baby brother to the goat

Yet another sacrifice I made for my children - truck day. The park and rec puts on quite a show, gathering a wide variety of vehicles and letting the kids climb in them. They even get to honk the horn. Just in case you are curious about which horn is the loudest, oddly enough, it's the utility truck. Chad tried it out several times. We will go again next year, I'll just take Tylenol before we go, as a preventive measure.

Good times

I love the obsessions of 3 year olds, and I find myself indulging them (just a little). At 3, Chad loved Thomas the train. Watched the movies, had the toys, wore the clothes. And when Thomas came to Mt. Hood, of course we went. And now it's Aubrey's turn with a fancy for princesses. I had a hard time deciding where to take her. We are still avoiding Disneyland, and I have an unusual fear of public transportation that deters me from any Disney on Ice production. At last I found the place - The Enchanted Forest! The park takes you through all of the fairy tales - with Alice in Wonderland rabbit holes; princess castles; Snow White's cottage (although Snow White was kind of creepy, creepy like the puppets on Mr. Rogers). She loved it, my work is done.





As for the rest of our vacation, our days were spent biking, spelunking in lava caves, hiking volcanoes, and shopping at Walmart (the closest Walmart is 40 minutes from our house, we take every chance we can get). Good times.