Onto the Next Holiday...

In 1997, the first Christmas that we were married, we bought a 6' artificial Christmas tree for $18.  For the past several years, I've talked about replacing it but couldn't bring myself to do it.  Well, this year I finally did.  Our new tree is 7' and so much prettier than the old one.  Can't you tell?

 We have not bought into the pre-lit idea but maybe one of these years he will tire of stringing all those hundreds of lights on by hand.

Chief got the honor of placing the star on top this year.

And just like that, the tree is up and beautiful (except that dark spot right at the top that's bugged me all month).  It only took one trip (or was it two?) to the store to get more lights.

And the stockings are already hung by the chimney with care.

Now that we've been thankful for all that we have, we can start thinking about what else we want.  ;)

Thanksgiving Break

Our Thanksgiving was a bit different this year.  So that Daddyy could be home on Christmas, he had to work on Thanksgiving day.  It's very easy to make a dinner on a different day.  Getting Santa to come on a different day when your kids can read a calendar is not so easy.  Anyway, we still had fun!  My parents are so great and made the very long drive again to come spend the holiday with us.

The day before Thanksgiving Grandpa helped Smalz pass off several Cub Scout items.  They built a windlass extraordinaire and used it to boil water.

 Then they lashed some sticks together to build a table, which could be a useful item in a campsite.  Turns out, it's been useful in Smalz's bedroom.  :)

 On Thanksgiving day, we made turkeys out of Oreos, mini-Reese cups, and candy corn, with a little frosting for glue.  Yummmm.

The boys also made drums with Grandma and Grandpa.

The day after Thanksgiving, we had a turkey for lunch.

And Daddy finally made it home for our very late Thanksgiving dinner.  It was late but still pretty yummy.

Saturday, Grandma and Grandpa had to start the long drive home again.  We love having them come but, the boys are always so sad to say goodbye.  Maybe some day, we'll be able to see them more frequently.

I try to be thankful for my many blessings each and every day but Thanksgiving does make me reflect on all that I have a little deeper.  Truly, my cup runneth over.

Trainfest

Our new area is kind of famous for all of the festivals hosted all year round (but especially during the summer).  Every year there is a HUGE model train festival called Trainfest in November.  Our boys love trains.  One of our favorite places in Colorado is Tiny Town were you can ride a miniature train around as if you are riding through a garden landscape.  We no longer can visit Tiny Town but Trainfest definitely provided a big dose of little trains.  We didn't get to ride on any but there were SO many to look at.  Peanut saw parts from atop his daddy's shoulders.

Nothing but trains and layouts as far as the eye could see.

The attention to detail in many of the layouts was amazing.  There were circuses, county fairs, drive-in movies, farms, ponds, seasons, animals, neighborhoods, and even several burning houses.  I can not imagine the hours and dollars that have gone into building some of these layouts.

Hands down, the boys' favorite display was the Lego train table.  We traveled to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower,

through the Ewok forest,

and even around Disneyland, where behind the train station there was a parade going on.

The operator at the Lego table said he and his brother had been building their set for 26 years.  Their mother must be some sort of saint!

This table was one of our favorites too.  There were many famous characters all around the layout.  Do you know who these guys are?

I don't know if we will return to Trainfest next year (kind of expensive), but I'm glad we made it this year.

Chief Baker

This sweet boy had the treats assignment for Family Home Evening one night.  He chose brownies at the last minute.  Without a brownie mix in the house, I searched for a quick recipe.  After I found him one, he went to work.  I provided very little assistance and the brownies turned out super yummy.  The best part was that I could tell he was enjoying himself.  :)

He said he needed a chef hat but we don't have one.  The Jelly Belly Factory tour hat was an acceptable substitute.

Roller Skating

The boys' school hosted an all-school skate at a nearby skating rink.  We had never been and the boys really wanted to go try it out.  Of course I couldn't pass up an opportunity for them to experience something new.

Smalz headed straight out to the center while Chief and Peanut clung to the wall.  You can see Chief on the floor there.  He spent a fair amount of time like that throughout the evening.

We were glad some of our church friends were also there.  Aren't those girls cute?

More wall clinging by the not so fearless ones.

You can kind of see Smalz in the grey shirt there in the back.  It was so hard to get pictures with the movement, darkness, and strobe lights.

Calling it quits after a good effort.  However, we have been skating 2 more times since this day and they have all improved so much.  Chief here has left the wall behind and is doing very well.

Peanut's Birthday

 I can not even believe this little guy turned 5 already!  His birthday was on a school day so we did presents early with his brothers.

He loved his big black bear.

The boys love for me to "trap" them in their rooms for their birthdays.  Peanut had to crawl under all the crepe paper to escape.

At school, he got to wear his very own birthday crown.

After his daddy got home from work, we headed to Chuck-E-Cheese to celebrate (his choice).  We played games, had pizza and cake, and he got to have Chuck-E sing to him.  Yeah, I totally left my camera at home for all of that.  Bummer.  At least I got pictures of him during the rest of the day.

Happy birthday my little ray of sunshine!  I'm so happy to have you in my life.