2013

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October

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December

Christmas Day

The kids get their stockings first thing.

 Millie embraced the holiday spirit and was eating her chocolate before anyone noticed.

 The rest of the day was spent eating, opening presents, and enjoying each other's company.

Christmas Eve

We kicked off the day with gingerbread pancakes, blueberries, and whipped cream. Anja and Liisa planned an elaborate scavenger hunt for the kids with a "Twelve Days of Christmas" theme.

After a simple lunch we met for coffee across the street. Monnica and Scarlett joined us.

We went to the Christmas Eve family service at the Lutheran Church again and came home for a make-your-own nachos bar. Which was new to us this year, but is now a firmly established tradition. It was easy and tasty and went swimmingly except for the one pan of nachos that I upended in the oven.
The kids opened their gift from Grandma.

Around here the presents don't show up under the tree until everyone is asleep, except for the ones the kids give each other.

Carefully staged to avoid the eyes of any curious people popping out of bed.

The Christmas Program

The big kids were in the church Christmas program this year. It was a perfect production. There were verses said by different kids punctuated by carols. They had four weeks of rehearsals during Sunday school.

My angel was being a bit of a stinker about having her picture taken.

 Nora had a speaking part and did well, no rushing or mumbling.

Everyone in the play did a great job and it was such fun to watch.We are thankful for the time and effort put in by the adults to make this happen.

Tamping down the leaves

We got a new garbage can for yard waste and the girls helped Mark fit more leaves in.

It was such a warm day. It's hard to believe that it's mid-December.

Making cinnamon rolls

Cinnamon rolls are a fun Advent Sunday breakfast. Henry is spreading the filling for the giant ones we will bake tomorrow.

Update: They were good, but the middle is hard to get cooked all the way. A cinnamon wreath might be better.

Joulutontut

We received a package with handmade Christmas elves from Finland. We love them!

Thanksgiving Feast

The Tacomans joined us at Mimmu and Iso's house for our traditional festive lunch.

Sandwiches and pie for dinner. Her Christmas tree was already up and decorated which gave the event a little extra sparkle.

Turkey Trot 2013

Cold and foggy and rather miserable this year.

Penny especially did not have any fun.

A cozy spot by the fire

 This is my favorite place to sit and read.

Helena loses her first tooth

And poses for a goofy photo to prove it.

Road trip to Idaho

We were there for Halloween so there was lots of dressing up in Grandma's costume collection. These were both made by Aunt Cindy for her cousins. 

One of our audiobooks this trip was Where the Red Fern Grows. "It wasn't impossible even though it was a long way from the Snake River Valley in Idaho," the narrator read as we drove through the Snake River Valley. There is a statue of Billy, Old Dan, and Little Ann in front of the Idaho Falls library because Wilson Rawls lived here for a time. We stopped by after the library trick-or-treat for a photo.

With cousin John and cousin Abby (and Billy and the dogs).

There was pumpkin carving at the house and a harvest festival at the church (Penny loved the bounce house) and lots of candy.

This little ladybug took some unassisted steps while we were there.

We got to press some cider with Mark's aunt and uncle and some of the cousins using his Grandma's cider press.

A fun-filled visit for sure!

Taking the Christmas card picture

I like to start this project as early as I can, because I  know that it is rarely a straightforward process. I tried one Sunday morning before church and was not successful.

The best expressions ended up in pictures that were much too dark or only had four out of five kids in the frame. Part of the problem is that group pictures happen so rarely that I forget all my tricks between sessions.

Ah, well. At least there's time to try again.
Our second session produced a winner, but there were about a hundred rejects.

These poor kids look miserable, but they recovered quickly.

Aunt Pat visits

It was so nice to have Pat come to visit us! She came with a car full of treasures (art, rock collections, books, dress-up dresses!) and stories and time to spend with us.

We went on several adventures to nearby nature areas that we hadn't visited yet. The weather is definitely colder now, a parka is not unwelcome in shady places or early in the morning.

One of our trips with her was to the McNary Wildlife Refuge. We spotted a coyote in addition to the birds.

 It was a beautiful morning for exploring.

 We are so glad that she could be here with us!

We see the Wienermobile once again

This time at a most convenient location close to our house.

New to us this time were the hot dog cutouts.

A fun little outing.

Field trip : Pumpkin Patch

We set our sights on early October for our pumpkin patch visit in order to try to avoid a cold, miserable experience. And it worked, we had lovely sunny, but cool weather. Liisa was in town and able to join us.
Farm Wife Julie's daughter was the one to give us our lesson this year.

There was a hayride out to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins.

Everyone loved the pumpkin doughnuts and playing on the swings.