Merry Christmas to all of you. Here is a peek at how we have spent our fall. Yes, I know winter is upon us but life gets so busy that I have had very little time to blog many of the fun things we have been enjoying, I praise the Lord for his abundant blessing of an active and happy family.
Christmas started in October at our house, with music and decorations abounding. E and K were so excited when they finally got to wear their beloved Christmas dresses. It is so fun to have little ladies that love to wear pretty thing, have their hair curled and pose for pictures.
Squaw Creek Resort offered free ice skating on the first 3 Wednesdays in December, we made it for 2 of the 3 nights and the children had a wonderful time on the ice, climbing in the snow, eating Christmas cookies and drinking cup after cup of cocoa.
Our little town was hit early with heavy snow, making it a white Thanksgiving. Our home is very close to the neighborhood pond which has a great dam for winter sledding. After one trip we realized each child needed their own sled for there to be a little more fun a little less complaining.
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| K age 4 |
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| B age 2 |
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| Our "littles" |
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| E age 8 |
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| A age 6 |
K turned four in October. We celebrated with a wind chilling trip to Reno's Animal Ark, lunch out, presents galore and a pink birthday cake.
Bishop's Pumpkin Farm is a yearly fall tradition. Our homeschool group gathered to pick pumpkins, pet animals and play the day away. So much fun and it is often our last opportunity to enjoy warm sunshine until spring.
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| Hayride to the pumpkin patch. |
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| The "littles" |
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E got a wonderful opportunity to ride in a airplane. Our local Chapter of Young Eagles offered a free pancake breakfast and airplane rides to children over the age of 8 to introduce them to the world of flight. I was so impressed by E's excitement and courage to go flying all by her lonesome.
We also made a fall trip to Apple Hill . Apple Hill is a low mountain area dotted with apple and pear orchards. Our homeschool group participated in a morning visit and tour to the orchard at Grandpa's Cellar. The orchard owner gave an educational talk on how apples grow and what it takes to care for an orchard. It was another fun fall activity that also include apple picking. It took less than 5 minutes for the children to pick 10 pounds of apples, not the wonderfully romantic apple picking scene I had envisioned, but they loved it.
Our thumb sucker (K) has stopped sucking---her thumb anyway. We recently discovered that the thumb guards worked but she took to sucking her index finger as an alternative; so now we are wrapping her index and middle fingers together to lick that habit. Never the less, her attitude is great and she reminds us if we forget to wrap her before nap or bed. Yes, this may be a strange thing to include but I know many friends who have suckers at their houses and may enjoy seeing what the thumb guards look like. K wore them 24/7 for a month.
And finally, B turned 2 in September. We celebrated with cake, of course, and a beautiful family day at the beach.
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| B on his birthday at Speedboat Beach |
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We pray you are all doing well and enjoying this wonderful life given to us by our creator. God Bless you all!
