Christmas Tree Hunting

Living in Idaho has allowed us to create some holiday traditions that we've wanted to do for quite some time. One of these traditions is heading up into the mountains to cut down our own Christmas tree. We did it last year and had a great time, so on Saturday November 28th we headed up in the nearby mountains looking for this years Christmas tree. This year we were able to spend an entire afternoon looking for a great tree. We drove a little farther than last year and found ourselves in the mountains on the way to Jackson Hole. I knew it had snowed a few days before Thanksgiving, but didn't expect us to go up high enough for snow to really be an issue. Luckily I packed hats and boots just in case, because we found ourselves, at times, walking around in about 6 inches of snow. Too bad I didn't pack gloves, the kids would have appreciated that. Oh well!

We tromped around in the snow looking for the perfect (or perfect enough) Christmas tree and just before the kids got too cold I took out the camera to take some pictures. I snapped about 5 pictures when the camera battery died. I was very disappointed that we couldn't take pictures, but we continued on regardless of the dead camera battery. Our first stop didn't produce any good trees so we continued up the road a ways. At our second stop we found a number of people out looking for trees which led us to believe we were in a good area. Kenny and I left the kids in the car for a few minutes while we searched nearby for a good tree. Surprisingly we found a few good trees and finally settled on one. We returned to the car where Kenny grabbed the saw and headed back to the tree with Ben and Sarah Kate. They cut the tree down and carried it to the car where Hannah was patiently waiting to see it. I'm pleased to say I think we found the perfect Christmas tree for this year. (Too bad I couldn't take any pictures of it.)

After finding our Christmas tree and loading it onto the top of our car, we decided to take a little drive. We were already at least half way to Jackson and we thought it would be a perfect time to see if Jackson had any Christmas lights. To our delight the main square in Jackson was all lit up with beautiful blue lights. The kids loved walking under all the lit up trees and they loved the elk antler arches that were also lit with beautiful blue lights. After about ten minutes we decided it was a little to cold outside so we wandered the shops a little and then headed back home. It was such a fun family outing that helped usher in the Christmas season.

A picture of the atler arches all lit up. (Obviously not taken from my camera.)

Sunday night Kenny set up our Christmas tree in the basement and strung lights all over it. We then decided to see what it would look like with purple ornaments. We were only going to put a few ornaments on to see what it looked like and then do the actual decorating of the tree the next day, but the kids were really enjoying themselves so we let them put all the ornaments on. The rest of the decorations came later so we actually got to decorate our tree twice.

Gracie putting on a purple ornament.

I couldn't get a good picture of Ben decorating the tree. Every time I'd try he'd just look at me and smile. So here's Ben's smile picture.

Sarah and Hannah decorating the tree.

I absolutely love the Christmas season and there's nothing better than having your own children to share it with. I'm so grateful for these memories. We are truly blessed.

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderfully peaceful Thanksgiving this year (well as peaceful as anything can be with a bunch of kids around.) Because of our resent almost job and then not job at all, Kenny and I were feeling kind of down and didn't want to go anywhere for Thanksgiving. We didn't want to spend the money and we just wanted to stay home with our family. My in-laws called up and asked if we would like company for Thanksgiving. They came Thanksgiving morning and brought Michael, Sarah, and their boys with them. The kids loved having cousins come to play and we enjoyed having company over and hosting Thanksgiving. I've discovered I enjoy hosting get together's and I hope I'll be able to do it a lot more.

It was a typical Thanksgiving with nothing special or out of the ordinary occurring. The best way to describe it is with pictures, so here we go:

Travis and Trent LOVE holding baby Daniel. Here's Hannah snuggling up to her best bud/cousin Trent while he was holding Daniel.

The boy cousins minus Zacky and Aunt Mindy's soon to be born Landon. I love this picture because they are all being boys.

When everyone arrived we broke out the cheese and crackers, candies, and other goodies. Thanks for showing us this part of the day Grandpa.

Everyone visited while Kenny and I finished cooking along with some help from Grandma and Aunt Sarah. I made rolls which are always a hit and Kenny made a pomegranate salad that was delicious.

Then it was time to eat. You know, that time you spend all day waiting for.

The big kids: Sarah Kate, Ben, Travis

Hannah and Trenton got their own little table. It was so much fun watching these two little 3 year olds enjoy eating with each other.

Gracie sat in the highchair by Mommy. It kept her from climbing out and getting in all the food. She did well and didn't seem to mind being in the highchair one bit.

Daniel's obviously to little to eat Thanksgiving dinner so he just bounced in his bouncer and watched all of us eat. He was a very good baby.

After serving all the kids, the adults finally got a chance to sit down and eat. I'm very grateful to Helen (my Mother-in-law) for cooking the turkey. It was delicious and never having made one, I'm sure I would have screwed it up somehow.

After dinner we hung out and enjoyed each others company. Grandma and Gracie sang and danced to Gracie's favorite song.

"How do you know, he loves you!"

Later that evening it was time to eat Aunt Sarah's delicious pies. This time Hannah was joined at her little table by Grandma. What a special treat that was!

We played games! Here's Aunt Sarah teaching the big kids to play Rummikub after the adults were done playing it.

And of course we just had fun hanging out together. It was a great Thanksgiving. We missed everyone we didn't see, but we were very grateful for Grandma and Grandpa's call and that everyone was willing to come see us.

5 Haircuts/ 1 Afternoon

Ben after his haircut.

We decided it was time Ben got a haircut. His hair was getting really long and so we once again took the scissors to those wonderful curls of his, hoping this wasn't the time they would not return. Luckily he still seems to have some curl left, but sadly his blond hair is turning more and more brown the older he gets, winter doesn't help this. Oh well! He'll be cute no matter what color his hair is, right!

All the hair we cut off of Ben's head. Yeah, it was getting kind of long.

When Kenny got done cutting Ben's hair and we decided the other kids needed their hair cut as well. We started off with the ones who have never had haircuts before, Dan and Gracie. Neither one of them needed much cut off, but they definitely needed the long scraggly's cut off. Dan was first. He had some funny looking hair, especially in the back. It was long in some areas and very uneven. Even though we didn't take much off, he looks a lot better.

All the hair we cut of Dan's head. There's not as much as the other kids, but it made a big difference.

Gracie was next and like Daniel it was also her first time getting a haircut. She sat very good while Daddy took some off in the back and on the sides to even it out. Both Sarah and Hannah's hair grew pretty even, but Gracie's definitely did not. It's still not completely even, but it's better than it was. It's also short now. She had a long spot in the back that would curl up into one ringlet. It started out cute, but the longer it got the dorkier it looked, so Kenny cut it off, even with the rest of her hair. It's short, but she looks very cute.

Gracie sitting still while Daddy cut her hair. We let her have a 'Daniel' (binky) so she'd sit like a good girl, besides it goes well with the messy face.

The finished look from the back. Short but much better and still a little curly.

Hannah was up next. She didn't need a haircut, but she was determined not to be left out. Finally after telling us over and over, "yes, I do need haircut," we gave in and cut it for her. It is now just above her shoulders and I think it's very cute. She loves it, but is disappointed she can no longer have a ponytail like Sarah Kate. Oh well! It'll grow back and it's cute now.

I just really liked this picture of Hannah. She has such a pretty face.

Cutting off the hair.

Hannah's finished, short hair. Sorry no picture of it dried and styled. I'll get one later.

The final kid was Sarah Kate and it was my turn to cut, Kenny doesn't want to cut short hair which works well because I'd rather cut long hair. Sarah likes long hair, but wanted it quite a bit shorter than normal. I didn't go quite as short as she asked me too. I knew if I went as short as she said she wanted, she'd be sad when I was done. Considering how perfect she thought the length was when we were finished, I think going shorter would not have been good.

Cutting Sarah's hair.

How much I cut off. Don't worry I evened it out. :)

So we ended up with 5 haircuts for 5 children. We had a lot of hair on the ground and in the garbage can, but we had 5 better looking kids as well. Everyone was happy and it didn't cost us a thing. Way to go us.

Family Pictures (It's About Time)

My in-laws came up to Idaho Falls on the 8th of November and were generous enough to take some family pictures for us. We wanted a picture with a 'west' background and we'd found the perfect spot a few weeks earlier. We'd taken the kids there trying to get a good shot of them only to find out something is wrong with our camera and it doesn't take clear shots anymore. So, we were very thrilled when my father-in-law said he'd take some pictures for us.

It was a fairly clear day, but being November in Idaho, it was kind of chilly. The kids, Grandma, and I hung out in the warm car while Kenny and Grandpa walked around a little looking for a good place for the picture. Instead of doing a picture of just the kids, we decided to take advantage of having Gary there and take an actual family picture. The last family picture we took was when Hannah was only 4 months old so with the addition of 2 other children, we were definitely overdue. It was a quick photo session, due to the cold, but we got a some good shots and that's all that really matters. With some head swapping magic performed by Kenny, we got some really great photos to hand on our wall. We're so thankful Gary and Helen were willing to come up and take pictures of us. It was a lot of fun and it's something we'll enjoy for years to come.

Our last family photo. July 2006! Notice anyone missing?

Our current family picture. This is much better.

The Boys!

The Girls!

A Creative Way To Get Rid Of Halloween Candy

The kids had Friday the 13th off of school this year because of Parent Teacher Conference. Mrs. Melander had sent home a card stock turkey with instructions to get the family together and decorate it in anyway we wanted. Knowing it was due Monday the 16th, but not realizing the month was already half over and we only had the weekend to decorate the turkey instead of the entire next week, we didn't get to the turkey until Sunday night. Sarah insisted it was due the next day so I finally went and read the paper again. Sure enough it was due on the 16th and that was the very next day. Luckily we realized it fairly early on and Daddy came to the rescue with a great idea for decorating it, using as much of the left over Halloween candy that we could (and some other candy/snacks as well)

The biggest 3 kids decorating the turkey with marshmallows and chocolate chips.

Adding some butterscotch chips.

This is what Gracie did while the other three glued stuff on the turkey. She ate as much candy as she could get away with eating.

It was a great little project for the kids. They all had so much fun decorating that silly little turkey. They even gave him a name 'Mr. Candy Turkey.' Creative I know! The next day I drove it to school for Sarah so it didn't get squished in her backpack. I got there just as the kids were going into class for the day, so I snuck in the back door and surprised Sarah Kate with the turkey. I almost didn't make it in the doorway because the class was so amazed by the turkey. Everyone wanted to look at it and wanted to eat it. It made Sarah Kate very happy. I'm just glad we got to decorate him. I think we'll try it again next year, it was so much fun.

Mr. Candy Turkey

School Pictures and PTC

The kids got their school pictures back last week and I thought they both turned out very well. I wanted to share them with everyone. Our scanner still isn't working (I don't think it ever will work again, we'll have to get a new one someday) so these are photo's of pictures and not the best quality, but you get the idea. We also just had Parent Teacher Conference and I thought I'd share a little of what they're teachers said about them.

My beautiful Sarah Kate. I can't believe how big she's getting. 2nd grade already and growing up so quickly. What a cutie!

Sarah Kate's teacher, Mrs. Melander, said she's doing great in school. She excels in everything she does. She got her first round of testing back and she's at or above grade level in every area. Mrs. Melander said for reading they expect scores to drop significantly over the summer, due to changing from decoding in 1st grade to reading sentences in 2nd. Sarah apparently jump up in scores as much as the average kid goes down. She's definitely our bookworm and I love it. It's so much fun to see her really get into a book. Currently her books of choice are the American Girl books and she's really enjoying the way life was back in the 1800's and early 1900's. Mrs. Melander also said Sarah Kate is very sweet and a great helper. She can always count on Sarah to do things without being asked. She gets along well with others and is very pleasant in class. She's kind of a brown noser, like her mom, but I don't mind. She loves school, excels with a challenge, and is learning more and more everyday. She's one of those kids you don't need to go to parent teacher conference for, but it's good to go anyway. :)

Benjamin James! Lately Ben's been having trouble taking good pictures. He stares blankly at the camera with a half smile. I worked with him on the way to school the morning of pictures, and I think he nailed it. What a handsome devil and a great kindergarten picture!

Ben's PTC was a success as well. He's an awesome boy whose doing very well. His IRI (reading test) scores were very good as well. Being in Kindergarten he wasn't test on much more than letters and their sounds, but he did very good with all those. Ms. England said she wishes she had more to challenge Ben. He's very advanced in his class and he gets bored easily. They're looking into getting some new computers in the classroom to challenge him more. For now Ms. England's just doing what she can. Ben's still going to his Discovery class every Monday, he's allowed to go to the library by himself every morning to get a new book because he reads his book every night, and when he finishes his work first he's allowed to read a book or do a puzzle while waiting for the rest of the class instead of putting his head on his desk. He's enjoyed the special attention and the feeling of being cool because he gets to do things the other kids don't get to do. He's working on the other aspect of kindergarten. He's the leader at his table and is very strong willed. In true Ben fashion he thinks he knows what to do with his work and often doesn't listen to the directions. They're working on a number of things like that. He's a good boy, he's just still learning how to work in a team and follow directions, things most kindergarteners need to learn. I'm very proud of him and I love that he loves to learn. I'm so excited to see what he becomes.

Halloween Fun