Caroline wrote us a sweet note to read Christmas morning, so we tackled her with kisses, making her into a Caroline sandwich. She loved it!
Christmas Day
Amazingly enough, we managed to get a family picture before heading out to visit family Christmas day. This is the first year we haven't felt so rushed (and stressed) during the Christmas holidays. Must have something to do with the kids ages... they're becoming so independent. All our hard work is beginning to pay off. Happy day!
Gingerbread Village
Here's the miniature gingerbread houses we made this year... created our own village: from a Gingerbread Cottage to a Cozy Chalet. Everyone liked having their own house to build and decorate. A fun family tradition!
Look what the reindeer left behind
So, the kids left a note for Rudolph to leave his footprint for them when they set out carrots this year. Imagine their surprise when they found his harness beside their note. We think he took his harness off to make the footprint and will likely come back for it next year. Caroline wanted a bell from Santa's sleigh for Christmas this year, so Santa really outdid himself. Wishes come true!
The cutest reindeer
Mackenzie was thrilled about making these reindeer cookies for a neighbor friend.
She also made her reindeer hat at preschool. Her excitement and smile is so uplifting.
Santa Train
Mackenzie LOVES train rides, so we took the kids on the Santa Train at the Museum of Life & Science in Durham. The kids had fun doing holiday crafts and drinking hot chocolate while waiting for the train ride. Fun times!
Holiday Face Painting
While the kids waited for the Santra Train Ride, they had their faces painted: a snowman for Scott, holly for Caroline and an ornament for Mackenzie. We got home so late i didn't think to clean faces before bed and had to wash pillow cases the next morning as the face paint rubbed off in their sleep. Oops!
Rudolph Cookies
Caroline's Family Fun magazine featured these cute reindeer cookies, so we made them for a family night treat. It was quick, easy, fun and tasty!
Our little Angel
Mackenzie was the most precious angel as she sang on the Primary children's float in the Garner Christmas Parade. She enjoys singing SO much. She's always asking me to sing a song for her or turn on some Christmas music for her to listen to. She's becoming a good little singer. So sweet!
Go-Carting
PaPa outdid himself when he got this shiny yellow toy for the grandkids (or himself?). Regardless, the kids LOVE this new form of fun! Here, Aunt Camillia drives Mackenzie and her 4-year old cousin, Kalea.
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving weekend: Caroline (age 7) and Mackenzie (age 4 1/2). Check out Mackenzie's artwork: she LOVES to color, just like her older siblings. They taught he how to stay inside the lines and everything. Cherre enjoys coloring too, hence the chalkboard art. We have much to be thankful for.
Campfire
We're putting the firepit Eric created to use: Sunday evening post-dinner hot chocolate & marshmallow roast. Caroline had 11 marshmallows... she LOVES roasted marshmallows! We talked about things we're grateful for and practiced singing our Thanksgiving Day song ("Thanksgiving day is coming and Mr. Turkey said, "How very careful I must be or I will lose my head." The pumkin heard the turkey and whispered, "Me Oh My! They'll mix me up with sugar & spice and I'll be pumpkin pie."": courtesy of PaPa Truelove). We like to make sweet potato bread for a neighbor or elderly couple and deliver it during the month of November and sing our cute song. It's fun having our own family traditions... the kids are really getting into it!
Jack-o-lantern
So... I told the kids to surprise me with their jack-o-lantern carving this year (supervised by dad). When they called me down, I really was surprised, as I had no clue what I was looking at. "Are you finished?" was all I could think to say. Scott was SO excited, as it was his idea... "A Cyclops!" So, we had a one-eyed jack-o-lantern this year. He's noseless too, which made it even harder for me to figure out their creation. At least they had fun, right? I got a real bargain on my pumpkin, so I'll pass along the find: we were running late this year so I didn't get the pumpkin until 2 days before. Sam's had all their large pumpkins marked down to $0.81
Lucky last-minute shopper. Unfortunately I had already picked one up at Logan's as it was marked 50% off and i thought that was a deal. But, now i know where/when to shop for a pumpkin. Happy carving!
Trick-OR-Treat
Trueloves in costume: Not that the girls are always angels, but Scott does LOVE to tease his sisters, so he had fun being a little devil on Halloween night. Other unforgetable events of Halloween 2008 include hanging purple bat lights on our front porch, watching Mackenzie tap dance to "Ghostbusters" song at dance class and having Aunt Crystal/Uncle Brad/baby Spencer over for dinner Halloween night: the kids decorated the table with plastic spiders, a snake trying to eat a rat and a centipede on Uncle Brad's seat! They also put things in everyone's dinner cup: a set of rotten teeth, a witch's finger, a spider, etc. We had so much fun. Uncle Brad and Aunt Crystal brought the kids a Halloween treat: store brand raisins! The kids didn't seem too disappointed, but were more excited when they found out the off-brand raisins were a joke: they actually made them treat bags with lots of good candy. Trick OR Treat!
Haunted House
We decorated a haunted house for an elderly neighbor last night and delivered it to her. The kids LOVE having an excuse to be crafty. Scott mixed the icings and everyone helped adorn the haunted house with candy. We enjoy all the fun family activities each holiday brings. I created a pumpkin shaped crossword puzzle in the shape of a pumpkin for Scott and Caroline using Halloween words. When I made them orange pancakes with chocolate chips for the jack-o-lantern face this morning , Mackenzie said, "You're the best mom ever!". So... that's what motivates and inspires me. I've got the best job in the world, though the hours are demanding, but us moms are well aware of that. Seize the day!
Fall leaves
Check out my work crew! Yes, they did all the raking by themselves happily... because they were excited to jump in the pile they made. Fun times!
Uncle Eric
Eric's ONLY sister/sibling had her FIRST baby this week... it's hard to tell who's more excited: Eric or Mackenzie. Little Grayson is a keeper! Congratulations Jenn & Barry.
Marshmallow Roast
One of my favorite treats is roasted marshmallows, as my dad always had a fire going on the weekends during the fall. So, Eric indulged me by making a fire so we could roast marshmallows for a FHE treat this week. Yummy!
NC Mountains
Scott enjoyed our trip to the mountains this fall. Here, he's holding a snail he found. We saw chipmunks, deer and a skunk too. Scott was able to go fly-fishing for trout with daddy one afternoon after the family went hiking and picnicing. We love the great outdoors... the leaves were in full color: a beautiful sight!
Gem Mining
Mackenzie enjoyed our trip to a gem mine in the NC mountains. She can't wait for the amethyst she found to be polished and shipped to her. What a lucky find!
Going for the Gold!
Caroline has always LOVED rocks, so panning for gold and precious gems was a lot of fun. She found lots of special rocks and gemstones.
Apple Orchard
Scott enjoyed our trip to the Apple Orchard. He picked a peck of apples and had fun climbing trees to get the apples that caught his eye.
Hayride
We enjoyed a hayride through the apple orchard where we saw the Eastern Continental Divide and learned a history lesson involving this area during the Revolutionary War. It was a fun, educational ride.
Twilight
I had to take a picture of Caroline when she was playing dress-up today because she reminded me of Bella from the Twilight books I just finished reading. I LOVE seeing what the kids come up with on their own. If you need a gift idea for a child, I'd suggest a black cape. It is our favorite dress-up item of all time: Scott uses it as Darth Vader, a magician, an evil sorcerer; the girls use it to be a witch, a wizard, a vampire, etc. Their imaginations run wild with a black cape.
Who ate all the caramels?
So... we bought a bag of caramels but they got eaten before we ever made caramel apples... hmmmm?! So, to avoid the temptation of eating another bag of caramels, we bought the sheets of caramel that you wrap around the apple and it was quick, easy and tasty too! Are we the only ones who celebrate Halloween all month long?
The not-so itsy bitsy spider!
We found a perfect spot to hang our over-sized spider. We like to sit under the spider and SCREAM! Mackenzie is VERY scared of bugs, but this one doesn't seem to bother her, so she's having fun with it too.
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