The Great Tree Adventure

We went on our great tree adventure yesterday with some of our favorite people; Aunt Debbie, Uncle Tom, Tori and Mia. I have been looking forward to this day all year. Dan says I have a tendency to build things up in my head which can be a recipe for disappointment, but there year there was no disappointment to be had. In my book, it was a perfect day.

There was no snow at home and it had poured rain on Thursday so I had resigned myself to not sledding, but we threw the sled in the truck just in case. When we arrived, we discovered that there was just enough snow on the ground for sledding, without so much that tromping was difficult. And, it was snowing big fat flakes... perfect!

That last picture of Tyler is my favorite pic of the day. I just got my new lens and this was my first chance to really play with it. Fun!

Here is the whole crew, all playing along hoping that the pictures won't take long so they can get to sledding!

I wasn't going to post this picture, but I love it so I hope they don't mind. Doesn't this make you want to take a run down the hill yourself?

Tyler did his fair share of pulling Ryan on the sled. Love it!

One of the nice things about this place is that there are rolling hills so you sled your way out to look for your tree and sled your way back rather than going down (and walking up) the same hill over and over.

While the falling snow made for a perfect experience, it wasn't so good for pictures. Many shots were ruined by a fat snowflake in front of an eye or nostril or somewhere else equally undesirable. Oh well, we had fun and that is what is important.

It was easy to forget that we were there to find a tree. The boys got caught up in running amongst the trees... chasing each other!

We thought we had picked our tree, a narrow one, and even took the obligatory picture in front of it, but then decided to go with the fat one behind it much to Dan's dismay.

The boys were not happy about having to pose in front of another tree. Can you tell? You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout... oops!

Cutting down the tree...

Timber!

I like this picture too. I know we have a few more years of this, but knowing they won't always follow along makes me sad.

After fulfilling the purpose of the day, it was on to more fun!

And, more sledding.

A quick rest.

An attempt at a snowball.

Warming up by the fire.

And, a final group shot before calling our adventure complete. 364 days until we can go again!

Dan brought the tree in last night and it truly is perfect. It fills the corner nicely and is the most fragrant tree we've ever had. The boys have been up since 6:30am begging to decorate. Today is going to be another perfect day!

Christmas Magic

You will have to forgive me... I started this post on December 18th and am getting around to finish on February 1st. Oops! We all need an electronic break now and again, right??

Our holidays were wonderful and we spent them surrounded by family. You can't ask for better than that.

I thought I had been doing a good job of balancing the real meaning of Christmas with the typical holiday fluff by sending the boys to a Christian learning center, attending the family program at church, reading stories from their childrens bibles... and then we attended Generations of Faith in early December. The topic was the history of common Christmas carols and at one point we were asked whose name is in the word Christmas. Tyler raised his hand and was called on. His answer was "Chris!" The facilitator was very kind and said "close, it is Christ." In true Tyler style, he didn't leave well enough alone. Loud enough for everyone to hear, he said "Christmas?? that doesn't make any sense!" I wanted to crawl under the table, but everyone else thought it was hilarious.

So we continued on with our holiday preparations which included making cookies, decorating the tree, caroling at a nursing home, and all that jazz. We really enjoyed the parade of 80 fire trucks all decorated that went right past our house except that now whenever Ryan hears a siren he thinks there is a parade!!

I tried for a family picture, but I was having focusing problems so didn't end up with a decent one. Instead I've got a picture of me with the boys...

And, Dan with the boys...

I've taken a lesson with my camera since then so I'll have to try for another full family picture.

Finally the big day was here and this year we stayed home!

The boys must have been very good this year because Santa took good care of them.

What was Santa thinking... drums?? At least it is a small electronic set!

We had a great Christmas day with local family and then we hit the road the following weekend to see the rest of the family.

It was wonderful to see everyone and we were able to take advantage of our crazy warm weather with a trip to the play ground. How often does that happen over New Years weekend?!

The kids all had a great time.

Cousin time is the best. The boys love spending time with Ava, Nora and Leah. Hopefully Owen will be big enough to keep up next year!

We did get a picture of 5 out of the 6 kids. They are not all smiling, but nobody is crying in this picture. I can't say that for the picture taken before and after this one!

I'm throwing this picture in here from mid-January just in case we don't get a chance to build a snowman for the rest of the season. I don't remember another year where we've seen as much 40-50 degree weather in January!

Ok, now I'm going back to my electronic break. My blanket is calling.

SEVEN!

Why does seven sound so much older than six? This boy who rocked my world is certainly growing up. Luckily, he still has simple pleasures like Cinnamon buns for breakfast. Yummy!



We've never intended on having birthday parties every year, but up until now, we've done it. This year Dan and I both had significant amounts of travel for work so parties were just too much. Instead, Tyler was told he would receive a larger gift. If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said that my children would not have something like an iPod Touch before they reached double digits, but of the two large gifts he requested, this seemed a better fit for Ty (after much research).

Here he is opening the touch. I have to say, it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. We've found games that he enjoys playing that force him to read and there is even an app to load his spelling words to prepare him for weekly tests. The app that identifies stars and constellations is very cool. Unfortunately Tyler has discovered that he can take video... he finds himself hilarious. And, yes, the whole family is currently addicted to angry birds... even Ryan.

Tyler was treated to his favorite diner at Moe's.

And then we headed downtown to see the tree lighting. Is this face what I'll have to endure with big boys?

After the tree lighting, we were treated to fire works. It was a nice start to the holiday season.

Finally it was time for cake. Much to my disappointment, Tyler wanted a store-bought cake. I suppose that from the perspective of a seven year old boy, a cake with a big Oreo cookie on it is pretty hard to resist.

Ryan was excited as well.

While we intended for the touch to be Tyler's only gift from us, there was one more thing that we couldn't resist... an old fashioned cap gun. Tyler loves shows like How It's Made and over the summer Wild West Toys was featured. They're right here in the U.S. and make these cap guns using vintage molds. This is the real deal... you can open it up, change the springs, the barrel rolls and has fake bullets. Even the holster is substantial. I have to say I was shocked when I saw it. I didn't expect it to be that big or look as real as it does. You can't even see the orange plug from the side! So, Tyler received two gifts for his birthday and neither is allowed to leave our house!

So far he's understanding the rules (I'm writing this 12/11). In addition to not taking it off our property, he's learned to open it a certain way and not to point it at people.

There are some parents who would cringe at what we allowed on this birthday. I know I would have a few years ago. But, I'm learning to back off a bit and trust my boy.

This birthday also brought a funny from Ryan. I was making something on the stove and wanted to distract Ryan who wanted to help so I asked him to go find out what Daddy was doing. He ran off and returned a minute later to exclaim "Mommy! Daddy is playing with Tyler's eyeball!!" Ha! I guess iPod is a weird word.

Explore & More

The boys and I headed to the Explore & More museum Sunday afternoon and I discovered something very important.

They can entertain themselves! I spent most of my time at the museum reading while they spent as much time at each exhibit as they wanted. It was wonderful!!

I don't know what it is about locks, but every time we come across something like this both boys love it.

Ryan figured out an easier way to fish...

Ta da!

I think this is going to be a picture post because I don't have much to say... I was reading!

We had a great time at the museum!