Christmas Tree Cutting

This year I let the little boys pick out the Christmas tree all by themselves. Usually I try to steer them in the direction of the type of tree that I like, but this was their year. Momma said, "Okay boys pick out your favorite tree." And that was the tree that we bought and are going to decorate on Monday. It is a lot smaller of a tree than I would have picked and a little brownish in the middle, but I love it because my big boys picked it out!

After all the hard work of picking and cutting a tree, splashing and stomping through the mud. We were all a little frozen on the inside. So we all went in to pay and enjoy some cider, cookies, and candy canes of course. What a great weekend of tradition! The Christmas season is off to a great start. --emily

Santa Day

The Christmas season has begun in our home. Black Friday isn't for shopping in our family. It is Santa picture day. It is a great way for us to get into the season. We were lucky and didn't have to wait in line. Santa was so great, he talked with Jacob about the things he wanted and what was write in his letter. Santa read the letter below like it was typed. He didn't stumble over any of the words. He is amazing! As you can see some of the words are split between two lines, but Santa knew just what Jacob was saying. Andrew was super apprehensive and barley made it onto Santa's lap. There were a few small tears, but after lots of convincing he sat nicely with his stuffed puppy in hand.

Dear Santa, I have been a good boy! [What I would like for Christmas:] Transformer, regular pencils, (boy) Zhu Zhu pets, Soccer ball, Stuffed puppies, Balloons and Marble race. Love, Jake

Dear Santa, [What I would like for Christmas:] Zhu Zhu pets (boy), Space ship and Transformer. Love, Andrew

I am feeling ready for this Christmas season. Let the celebrating begin! --emily

Thanksgiving Dinner

My mom is a wonderful cook. She always does a great job hosting Thanksgiving dinner, but this year she decided to take a break from long hours of cooking and cleaning. She took the entire family to a Chinese restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner.

It was fun to get the whole family together. The food was good, but I missed the good old-fashioned turkey and mashed potatoes.

Jacob, Andrew and Simon entertained them self on Auntie Rachel's iPhone after they were all done eating. Jacob has been telling me about this awesome game. Where you slice the thought the fruit like a ninja.

Andrew entertained Joshua and Adrianne the whole time. He was eating with his hands. He had rice all over his whole body. Andrew loved the attention!

--emily

Playing in the snow day 2

Today was an amazing day for sledding. The sun was shining; the snow had a perfect crunch from the cold evening prior. We all went up to the fields behind our house after lunch and spent about an hour sledding down the big hills. Kelly had to get back to work and Andrew was tired but Mr. Jacob wanted more so Jacob and I walked over to the smaller hills. We had an impromptu play date with some friends. The boys took turns riding the jump and also raced each other down the hill. Jacob spent the next hour and a half playing before he was tired enough to go home. What a great day to be a kid! --emily

Let it Snow . . .

Today was our first snowfall of the season. It has been an amazing day. The snow has been falling, swirling and dancing all afternoon.

(Andrew and Jacob)

This morning after breakfast we put all of our snow clothes on and headed out into the blistery cold weather.

(Andrew)

Today is the Monday before Thanksgiving and this winter has come so early. Yeah! We love the snow.

(Jacob, Andrew and Kelly)

We headed up to our perfect sledding hills. We had the place to ourselves because the neighborhood kids were all in school. We heard that it was an hour late and parent teacher conference week, so the elementary kids went to school for a whopping hour and a half today.

(Jacob right after a face plant)

Jacob wanted to go zooming down the hill by himself so badly. But he wasn't quite heavy enough to make the sled go fast. The snow was also so sticky. It is a Northwest thing! We will have to go out again tomorrow to see what the snow has to offer.

(Jacob)

The bright fall leaves in the other wise black and white picture. Those poor trees are hanging onto their leaves so tightly.

Here we are right before we headed home for some hot chocolate and cookies. We were all so frozen. We had a great morning playing in the snow. --emily

(Jacob, Mom and Andrew)