Xmas Prep

For FHE one night we reenacted the night of Jesus' birth using Little People. Isabelle was Mary, Miriam was Joseph and David was the innkeeper. So Jonathan would say something and then the girls would repeat it. For example, "Then Mary said 'oh, my tummy hurts, I think I'm going to have a baby' and then Isabelle would repeat it." David's favorite part was yelling, "No Go Way." They pretended to be sheep and angels and there was a wise man for each of them.

Time to decorate the tree!

Most ornaments ended up exactly 1 foot off the floor.

Emily got to watch us.

The final result.

We visited Santa's Workshop. Isabelle was describing to him exactly how big of a truck she wants. Miriam asked for an apple. When he asked what else she wanted, she asked for a banana. David refused to go near Santa.

Emily wasn't sure what to think.

Santa's elves hard at work. We all enjoyed the hot cocoa and cookies.

Can we go for a sleigh ride?

Miri's hair

After Thanksgiving, I was feeling inspired by Jen's amazing ability to do kids hair, so come Sunday I decided to try something new. I braided Miriam's hair in a spiral. Sounds weird, but it turned out pretty cool looking so I had to share the pics.

While we are on the subject of Miriam - although she has been potty trained for 1 1/2 years now, she still has an issue with occasional nighttime bedwetting. As a result, every night when we go to bed, we wake her up to have her go to the bathroom.

This particular night, she must have decided that her room was too far away because she fell asleep on the hallway floor. Sometimes, she just cracks me up.

Thanksgiving

Better late than never, right?

So Thanksgiving was fabulous. We had Jonathan's cousin, Chris English, and his family over for the holiday. It was so great to have them visit for a couple of days and to get to know them better. All of the kids got along wonderfully. There was no fighting or anything. I had a few fears going into it since my kids have a tendency to get into things they know they shouldn't when friends are visiting and Jen's kids are known to be creative, but nothing untoward happened. The food was also scrumptious. Yum, yum.

Thanksgiving morning Isabelle and Madeline made cards for everyone.

Here Chris is doing baby duty. Emily fell completely in love with Chris, who obliged her by holding her most of the time.

The girls loved their "crown" braids. Jen is so good at doing their hair!

Madeline was showing Isabelle how to play the violin. We enjoyed ;P the screeches for a good half hour after.

I must say that I think part of the success was due to my switching out toys only a couple of hours before they arrived. The train set and legos that had been in the garage for months kept them all entertained.

The sandbox lid was left open the last time it rained, enveloping he toys in solid ice. The kids had fun smashing the ice to free the toys and then jumping on the pieces (and eating them).

After the English's left, we boiled and then stripped the Turkey carcass down for Turkey & Rice soup. Isabelle was fascinated by the vertebrae. She even saved it in a ziploc to show her teacher. (Luckily, by Monday she had forgotten about it and I was able to quietly slip it into the trash).

Jonathan and the kids tried to see how high they could build a lego tower without it falling.

Car Conversation

I just had to share with you a conversation we had in the car on the way home from the grocery store.

Miriam - "I'm hungry. I want a snack. I want crackers.?" (said with a whine)

Isabelle - "You can't eat crackers in the car. They make a really big mess. Didn't Daddy already tell you that? Yes, he did!" (said authortatively)

Miriam - "Stop it!"

Isabelle - "Stop what? I didn't do anything!"

Miriam - "Stop controlling me!"

Jonathan - "Who can count to ten?"

Isabelle - "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10" (said quickly)

Jonathan - "Who can say the alphabet backwards?"

Isabelle - "Z...Y..."

Miriam - "F"

Isabelle - "No" (said in an annoyed tone) "Z, Y... X... W"

Miriam - "Hee, hee. I'm going to mess you up. F... X... F..."

Sugar galore!

The Tuesday before Halloween was the Ward Trunk or Treat. David, Emily, and I were sick so we didn't go, but Jonathan took Isabelle (as a witch) and Miriam (as Cinderella). For some reason Miriam decided she was shy that night and wouldn't let go of Jonathan. So instead of handing out candy while Isabelle and Miriam went around, Jonathan had to walk with Miriam. As a result, our large stash of candy was untouched when Jonathan came home. On Halloween night, only one person came to our house (it is a long and dark walk up our half hidden driveway) and so we got to keep all 3 bags of candy we had bought. Luckily, we had learned our lesson the year before, and only bought the yummy stuff this year, so we really didn't mind. Here is David the Cowboy, Isabelle the witch, and Miriam Sleeping Beauty. Emily wore an orange outfit that has a pumpkin on the butt. The kids think she is so cute in it that she has now earned the nickname "Pumpkin Butt."

After Trick or Treating up and down our short street they came back and we celebrated Miram's Birthday. Miriam chose a spice cake that she helped me make earlier in the day and "Birthday Cake Ice Cream". Unfortunately, nobody really liked the cake. But Miriam loved her birthday presents and they majorly pigged out on Halloween (all week) so they were happy.

The next week was Jonathan's birthday. The girls made him birthday cards and wrapped up one Halloween candy each for Jonathan. It was so sweet. They even made sure they gave him chocolate candy since they know its his favorite.

I sometimes tease Jonathan that he doesn't get excited very often. So here he is, trying to show me how excited he is about his new MP3 Player.

An hour later we invited some friends over to help us eat the "Better Than Sex" Chocolate cake. We had enough sugar that week to last many months as it was.

By the way, Emily just started sitting by herself. In this picture, I set her down for a minute while I checked the grocery ads for good sales (I was super excited by Walmart's $.60 for Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup... we bought 3 cases).

Fall Foliage in Vermont

Jonathan and I decided to do two major trips this year as a family. The first was the Storyland trip to New Hampshire in August with Jonathan's parents. The second was our trip to Vermont with mine.

Day 1 - Since the kids did so well on the drive to New Hampshire, I was anticipating a pretty easy 3-hour drive to Vermont. The kids were definately on board with that. Miriam and David even got in their carseats a 1/2 hour early because they were so excited to go.

The drive was beautiful and we arrived at the little farmhouse I rented for the weekend in good spirits.

The view from the front of the farmhouse.

The kids had tons of fun playing outside.

After a quick trip to the grocery store, the kids and I played games while Jonathan cooked dinner (Mushroom chicken with my Mom's mashed potatoes).

The advantage of renting a house... home cooked meals, rooom for kids to play both outside and inside, multiple bedrooms, beautiful views out the windows and all for the same price as renting two hotel rooms.

The house was really cool too. It was built in 1825 and still had the hand-hewn original plank wood floors (very uneven to walk across). There was also a staircase in the front of the house and one in the back so the kids had great fun running in circles up and down and around the house.

It was my Mom's birthday so we celebrated with a brownie cake. After the kids went to bed, we had a rousing game of Taboo, girls against boys. I think we were laughing so hard at times that my Dad had tears. :)

Day Two -

Getting ready. The girls and I had matching braids. As you can tell from later pictures, Isabelle's didn't last long.

First stop, Ben & Jerry's factory.

The tour was pretty cool, the free sample was better.

Jonathan's chosen souvenir was a frisbee.

While my Mom and I were buying some more ice cream for everyone, Jonathan and my Dad took the kids over to the playground.

Next stop - the Cabot cheese annex. Good cheddar cheese samples, but that was about it.

Third stop - The Cold Hollow Cider Mill. Now this place was pretty cool. We learned how they make cider from apples. Fresh cider is just so much better than apple juice from the store.

An antique version of a cider press.

A modern cider press in action as it squeezes layers and layers of apples.

After a quick nap in the car for all but the nursing Mom, we head out for a hike to a waterfall.

It ended up being the coolest trail. Only 20 minutes long, but through all different scenery.

Small and winding through brush...

Then through a bog where you had to walk on sticks people had thrown into the water...

Along the river...

Up a steep, forested mountain...

But the view was worth the climb. This picture doesn't do it justice. What you can't tell from the picture is that the waterfall continues to fall another few hundred feet into a gorge. Absolutely stunning.

Resting up as we watch the water fall before heading back down the mountain.

Day three - Billing's Farm (an 1800's working farm)

The husking bee. It was followed by a really cute barn dance, but we only have that on video. Watching Jonathan with Miriam and Grandad with Isabelle attempting to do a do-see-do was a riot.

Dad made a new friend.

The girls were trying to feed the calf leaves. Somehow, I don't think he was interested.

Jonathan's view on eating leaves.

Are you sure about this Grandad?

Happy girl!

Walking along the pastures.

Yep. They're sheep.

Can Isabelle get the apple off with only her teeth?

Miriam tries it too. David just grabbed it with both hands so he could get a good bite.

Jonathan's attempt at getting the apple.


Time to head out. Goodbye beautiful pastures.

Goodbye beautiful fall colors. See you back in Connecticut!