Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Family at Christmas

We had another wonderfully chaotic Christmas with family for 2015. As usual, I have almost no pictures. 

 
There was the typical mayhem of present-opening. Above is a little of the aftermath. We did it in waves, and even then it was pretty messy. Oh well.

There was some snuggling on the couch.


There was music!

Sweet music!

And more cousins-on-the-couch!

Oh, and we even had homemade cotton candy! That was a special treat.

Comms with Santa

It's a little past time to post this, but let's capture the moment anyway.

Aleaha made a special plate of several goodies for Santa. She wanted some feedback about his favorites.

Transcription...w/o copy edits...

Dear Santa, I think I have been pretty good this year. But thats not the point, anyway I was wondering witch of these goodies you like the most? For futcure purposes. Go to back for checklist. Feel free to write on back. Sencerely, Aleaha


His Reply:

FAVORITE  Dipsticks (candied orange peel with chocolate)
SWEET TREAT  Chocolate covered pretzel
NICE AND DIFFERENT  Haystacks
OK, BUT I GET A LOT OF THESE EVERYWHERE ELSE I GO   Sugar Cookies
YUMMY   Hot tea
STICKS IN MY TEETH BUT YUMMY   Chocolate Toffee Cracker
SPECIAL   Cranberry Curd
NICE TOO  Angle (sic) food cake


Holiday Playdate

Over the Christmas school break, we took a day to play. The girls each invited a friend over for some fun.

Kaden and Miri collected the eggs.

So cute!

And they sorted coins.

And they got creative with the props and did some role playing.

Then we went bowling!

Good thing they put up the gutter guards....and not just for Miri's sake, but the adults too!

Zelda shows how it's done.

Monday, December 21, 2015

Merry Christmas

Our fifth Christmas picture with our beloved Shorty-boy. He looks like he is not having the time of his life, but he's really just listening to the girls.

And someday you can ask Miri about how she stayed on during the accidental bucking that took place before this photo was taken. She would have won a buckle. But all is well, and she got right back on!

Holiday Busy-ness


We baked a few goodies at Thanksgiving time, as a warm-up for Christmas. 

Aleaha is working on a special gift project for family (shhhhhh, don't tell!)

She's very busy!

Miri works on her knife skills. (nice claw grip on that spud!)

Sign on Aleaha's bedroom door.

There was the requisite gingerbread project (Mommy learned a while back to get the kits...sooooo much more fun, because you can get right to the decorating!)

Aleaha is making a tree.

Miri carefully places one of a jillion candies.

Structurally sound.

"It just needs a touch more."

They called it Whoville.

And then there were cut-out cookies to be made.

Aleaha used the Nativity Scene cutters, which are a little more challenging,



She cracked a smile only because her mother used potty language to make her laugh. Otherwise, she's in "that stage" of not wanting to smile or look at the camera.


Nice!

Miri's theory: "There is not such thing as 'too much frosting,'" We tried to discourage the flooding technique (ask Martha) using that nasty gel stuff, but she would have none of this moderation business. Notice the blue and red stocking? She said it's plaid, and the required the use of lots of gel. 

And as if that wasn't enough, they even got to participate in a cookie-decorating event at HP (which was awesome....a dozen cookies for each child, with frosting and sprinkles and no mess made at home!).

Life on the Funny Farm

We put a light in the chicken house to help with the girls' egg production. But it's left them a little confused. They sometimes come back out of the house after dark. And one night, I found them with their butts out the door.


And then one day this big, white bird showed up.

Is that a swan? Or just a wayward goose?

We have a new barn kitty. Her name is HoneyComb. She is not the feral she was thought to be - she's a lovey! 

She has made a little nest in the hay. Such a sweetie.

We've been keeping up with the muck in the barnyard. The boys have to be moved out while we use the tractor. So this is not what they typically stand or eat in. 

It's like that movie title....A River Runs Through It. 

Arby was very helpful when it was time to muck by hand. He literally used the pitchfork....

...and then he helped dump the wheelbarrow.

"My work here is finished."

Out and About

We took a walk and the silly girls posed as flamigos.

They weren't exactly the biggest helpers when it was time to rake leaves, but if it involved riding in the trailer, they were all over it.

We trekked through Storybook Land, and they quickly spied the Raggedy Ann and Andy display.