Our Little Reindeers

 Looks like Emily is making a reindeer face!  

Can you spot the blond-haired boy looking straight at the camera? That's Michael singing with his 

Kindergarten class. For one song, they got to wear shades. That was definitely a highlight of the performance.

 Emily's more difficult to spot in this photo, although I can see her also looking with a smile at the camera.

 

Another highlight of the evening--Emily  had a speaking part as one of Santa's reindeer.  This was the first of many back-to-back school Christmas programs.

Thankgiving Jam

What a rock star!

These photos are from Thanksgiving. I didn't have a voice (woke up just able to whisper), but I was singing inside while we jammed with family. I think we need to have a hoedown one of these days!

Thanksgiving at the Anderson's

We had a wonderful feast at our house for Thanksgiving dinner. We borrowed some extra tables and chairs from friends to have a spot for the nine adults and ten children eating with us. Adam and I were glad to have the space for all our guests. The kids quickly ate and wandered off to play, but Tess stayed at the kids' table and moved from plate to plate sampling a bit of each.

Dusting of Snow

Winter is settling in the valley! We had our first snow earlier this week. It's the perfect snow for snowmen and snow forts, and mini mountains. Yup, Michael and Robbie made a small pile snow that they told me was Mt. Rainier, or Mountain Reindeer as Robbie called it.

Tessa saw snow last year, but no doubt this year is like a whole new experience for her. I just wonder what she is thinking when she steps out into snow, discovering again snow with her mismatched gloves.

Apples Crisp

Michael, Emily, and I sliced a few apples and made some apple crisp tonight. Two weeks ago, we picked two boxes worth of apples at the Smith's orchard with my friend, Kresta, and her 3 kids.

As we weighed and loaded our boxes into our vans, the kids planted tumbleweed apple trees in the dirt. It was a crisp morning, but I am so glad my friend invited us to join them for this outing for the fun memory and tasty apple crisp.

Leaving Fall

I am ready to put the pumpkins away and get out the Christmas decorations. We've had our first dusting of snow, and that makes things feel very Christmas like. Before we move on to the next season, we cannot leave behind fall's highlights.

Carving Pumpkins: Michael's had a traditional jack-o-lantern look, Robbie's wore a superhero mask around its eyes, and Emily came up with peace sign eyes and an I "Heart" U mouth with flowers in its hair.


Fieldtrip: I joined Michael's class on a trip to the pumpkin patch. I had the most fun riding on the bus with Michael. His teacher invited any parents to ride on the bus, and while one opted not to, I was more than happy to ride the bus once again. We had a good time at the patch, too. The kids flew off the steep slide pictured below, and Michael walked among the pumpkins until finally he found the perfect one.


Halloween: We had a cupcake, Narnia character (I think Peter), a "fighter fighter", and a fairy-like witch.

Getting ready . . . Can't hardly wait!

Halloween is just around the corner. My kids are so excited. They keep asking me all sorts of questions. "Has Dad made me a sword yet?" "Can we go right now and buy me a fireman axe and whistle from the dollar store?" "Can we make a pencil wand for me to take to school?" We've bought a little here and there for our costumes, but I like to be creative with what we already have. We'll see how their costumes come together for the Halloween party and trick-or-treating. Can't wait!