Christmas Morning

Christmas morning... so much excitement!

We always start with stockings, then have cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and then we open the gifts under the tree.

This year I actually had time to wrap the stocking gifts - doesn't always happen!

So giddy with joy!

This picture of Laine makes me realize that she is going to be a beautiful young women - give her 5 or 10 more years, and watch out!

One of the big hits for Cole: a new Nerf gun.

And the girls finally got a Frozen t-shirt, along with a new Lego Friends set, which was completed the morning after Christmas.

Pre-Christmas pics

Here's a glimpse of the days running up until Christmas...

Matching red velvet dresses.  The girls looked so cute together at church!

And instead of Christmas cookies this year I took the easy way out and made a boxed chocolate cake, put on some green icing, and let the kids dump sprinkles on top.  I think we all enjoyed eating the cake better than the cookies, so maybe this shortcut will be repeated in future years!

Our most recent family picture - not too bad considering it was Christmas Eve and the kids weren't in the mood to sit still.

Laine's piano recital

Laine started taking piano lessons this fall, and she had her first recital just before Christmas.

She played two songs, and she did beautifully!

It's been so fun to hear her practice and learn.  I hope she enjoys playing for years to come!

As a special treat, Laine's classmate also takes piano lessons from the same teacher, so they got to be at the recital together.

Christmas Chapel

The night before Christmas break the girls both sang in the Christmas chapel at school.  They did a beautiful job, and the night was really well done.

So fun to see the girls learning meaningful Christmas songs and singing their hearts out!

Gingerbread house

It's the first day of Christmas break, so we had to do something Christmas-y: put together our gingerbread house!  This year Laine did the icing all by herself, and Mead and Cole put on the candy.

The finished product turned out pretty good!

Christmas classics

It's that time of year - lots of activities, lots of decorations, and lots of forced photos!

Here's a cute one of the kids under the tree - at the end of pajama day, so everyone is comfy cozy.  Hopefully I'll pull out my camera more before the holidays fly by uncaptured!

Thanksgiving Chapel

Every year the kindergarten and first grade classes put on a play about an abbreviated version of the thanksgiving story.  Laine was in the play the last two years, and this year was Mead's turn.

She makes a cute little pilgrim, don't you think?!

She had a speaking part, and they sang several songs.

The pilgrims and the indians had a fun time singing back and forth to each other about their stories.

So neat to see Mead growing up and participating in the activities with the school.

How to have fun in the cold

We got snow twice before Thanksgiving - quite early for us this year.  So we've had to come up with new things to do in the cold weather!

First, Cole (and Penny) set up target practice on the furniture - Cole has been either shooting the toys down with his bow and arrow, or he's been hurling a ball at them.  Either way, he loves the challenge, and it keeps him entertained for quite a while!

Laine and Mead have ventured outside several times to play in the snow.  Laine came in one afternoon with this giant snowball - good packing snow!

And, finally, Cole has rediscovered some toys that no one has played with in quite some time.  He built some "cars" with his tinker toys, and lately he's been playing with the stuffed animal bowling set in various ways (typical and otherwise) around the house.

Apparently we're supposed to have an extremely cold winter this year, so I'm glad to see the kids' creativity in how to spend their time!

Snow and writing

We had our first "big" snow the other day - almost 2 weeks before Thanksgiving!  Even though it wasn't more than a few inches, the kids enjoyed getting out and playing in it.

Sledding down our tiny hill, jumping on the trampoline, and throwing snowballs at one another.  They had a great time!  And then came inside and relaxed on the couch with daddy :-)

In other news, Cole wrote his name all by himself for the first time.  He's been tracing it at school regularly, but here it is without any highlighter to trace.  Yes, the letters are backwards and not in the right order, but they're all there and they're legible (for the most part)!  So cool to see each of my kids learn to write (and later read).

First missing tooth

Big news around the house lately - Mead lost her first tooth!  She was eating and apple and realized it was really loose, then she asked me to pull it for her.  She did great, and she was so excited afterwards!

Cole continues to love school, especially playing with his friends, old and new.

Mead loves school too, is doing well, and is having fun.

Big Cedar Getaway

Just last week we were gifted with a couple nights away at Big Cedar Lodge in Branson, MO.  After lining up some sitters, Penny and I were able to go this week, and we had a nice time.

The view from our room was beautiful!

One afternoon we rented some golf carts at Top of the Rock and drove around the mountain.

Lots of pretty waterfalls to see!

The path took us inside Lost Canyon Cave.

Very cool to be inside the cave and see all the rock formations and waterfalls.

Back outside were more waterfalls and a pretty covered bridge.

We are so thankful to be blessed with such a nice gift.  It was a relaxing time for both of us, and perhaps we'll come back with the kids some day and let them enjoy it too!