Tis the Season

Saturday afternoon we headed down to Sunriver for some Holiday fun. They have the resort all decorated for Christmas. They also had a gingerbread decorating activity for the kids and even had Gingie there to take pictures. Sunriver also hosts a gingerbread house competition and it was fun to see all the different houses. It is amazing what people can create. Afterwards we went outside for the "Nothern Lights" display. They had elves give out free hot chocolate and carolers sing then started a countdown til the light display is turned on. Santa and Mrs. Clause then arrived on a golf cart to greet all the kids.

Thanksgiving

We had a nice, quiet Thanksgiving. I'm not a huge fan of turkey or the holiday but it was nice to be together as a family and just hang out. Some people think I am crazy for not liking Thanksgiving but I have my reasons. I like Ryan's explanation the best: Thanksgiving is just an obstacle between my two favorite holidays, Halloween and Christmas.
We had our friends over so it wasn't a stressful dinner because Clara made the turkey and salad. I just had to make the sides and dessert. It all turned out well and was very yummy. Even though I don't love Thankgiving I am VERY thankful for all my many blessings.

Our new friend

The kids were out jumping on the trampoline and a bunny came hopping through our yard. The kids came in to get some carrots and lettuce for it. Our new friend stayed a while and ate our weeds and nibbled at our plants. I couldn't figure out if he was a wild bunny or someone's lost pet.
 
 

The lights are up

Two saturdays ago I convinced Ryan to put the lights up on the house. (I promised we wouldn't turn them on yet). It was warm and he didn't really have any other weekend to do it before Thanksgiving. I also wanted to get out my Christmas Krinkles and Village. Ellie found the tree skirt and put it on like a cape to keep her warm. Then she went outside to "help" Ryan with the lights. We also put up the tree and will decorate it this Sunday. It finally started cooling down and is feeling a bit more like winter. Now we just need some snow!
 
 

New Tie

 

Caden got his first tie and was excited to wear it to church. Ellie felt left out so Ryan put his purple tie on her. She even wore it to church too. They both got lots of comments and looked great!

Maxwells latest

 

This little boy is a handful. He is into everything and goes everywhere. He quickly learned how to pull a chair up to what he wants to reach. His new favorite drawer is the utensil drawer. He has to do everything Caden and Ellie do. He even refuses to sit in his high chair and has to be at the little table with them. It cute but a lot of work because he still get very frustrated with things. His speech is coming along. He now says book, shoes, up and down. Oh and he likes to "woof" at things. Very funny.

Fall Festival

Ellie's school had its fall festival a couple of weeks ago. Ryan was out of town but I took the kids and went. It was kind of crazy keeping track of all three with a bunch of other kids around. Maxwell is the biggest challenge and runs away every chance he gets. They made these cute turkey hats. They also had a cupcake walk, the book fair, and other crafts and games in the classrooms.


 

Halloween Festivities

Halloween is a busy time at our house. Thursday Caden had his preschool Halloween party. I got to help out and was in charge of the cookie decoating station. We made pumpkins, ghosts and bats the night before then took them to school and let the kids decorate them. The kids had lots of fun and even learned the Trick or Treating rules then went out trick or treating to his teacher's neighbors. Friday I spent the morning at Ellie's school volunteering. I hosted a bean bag toss. The kids loved it. It was fun to see all the different costumes. Ellie dressed up in her costume from last year, the pirate princess. Ellie's class combined with another kindergarten class and had 8 differnt stations where they either played a game or did a craft. She had a great time. Then we came home and had to get ready for our big Halloween Party. Ryan made a spooky entry complete with a masked man and creep cobwebs. The kids went trick-or-treating on our street then people started showing up for the party. We had a good turn out and had lots of fun. We had a cake for Ryan to celebrate his birthday. Happy Birthday Ryan! Happy Halloween!

I added lots more photos to our Halloween album. Click below to view!