2011

January

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Sweet girls

Mark's sister Cindy took pictures of some of the kids while we were visiting. She always does a lovely job. She even got Helena to cooperate. Nora and Emily have always been good friends.

They're growing up so fast!

Christmas trip highlights

We went to Idaho for Christmas this year. I can never remember to take pictures of everything, but I did take a few. We stopped to see Grandma Irene on the way and had dinner and the kids helped set up her nativity.Penny got acquainted with her Dad's old horse and became an enthusiastic rider while we were there.All but one of Mark's siblings were there and we had many big meals and there was lots of cousin play time for the kids. Penny and Luke got along pretty well.The kids rehearsed and performed a nativity play for us several times with different people taking turns with the lead roles. Nora was either Mary or Joseph (who also doubled as a wise man). Henry and Helena took turns being baby Jesus and the chicken.We opened our stockings and the presents we brought from home early on Christmas morning. The gifts from Grandma and Grandpa were opened after our celebratory lunch. Mark's mom made parachutes for each grandchild and they had a group "jump" from the balcony.

Merry Christmas!

We wish you great joy as you celebrate the birth of Christ.

More baking

We made sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies but I only have this picture from all the baking and decorating. We were too busy to stop for photos! And now most of the cookies are gone too.

The Nutcracker

This year we went to the local production of the Nutcracker for the first time. We all had lunch with our friends beforehand and then the big girls and I joined them for the ballet. We had a lovely time and Nora is ready to make this a permanent tradition.

Ice cream

The kids got free ice cream cone coupons at the Turkey Trot and wanted to use them despite the cold weather. So we picked a day when Mark was home from work and could come with us and had ice cream for our afternoon snack. Penny was not about to be left out. Yum!

Molasses cookies

December is a great month for baking cookies. These cookies are good all year, but they seem especially appropriate in the fall and during the holidays. The kids love rolling them in sugar. Helena helped me make the dough and everyone helped with the rolling.

Thanksgiving

Everyone had a good appetite for lunch after the Turkey Trot. After having turkey some of us went for a little walk around the neighborhood (leaving the others to nap). It rained just a bit, but it was fun. We had dessert (pumpkin pudding and pie, pear tart) with coffee in the afternoon and were ready for our first round of turkey sandwiches in the evening.

Turkey Trot

The Turkey Trot is a fundraiser for the Red Cross held on Thanksgiving morning. The kids ran the 1 mile course and some of the grown-ups ran the 5 K. Helena ran "really fast." There were so many people. I did not expect thousands to want to start the holiday this way. I waited at the finish line to meet the participants. Penny was there too, wearing my coat.

Thanksgiving Eve

We had a mini-Christmas celebration since we will be scattered at Christmas time this year. It was very exciting to open presents early.Salmon, potato leek casserole, green beans, coleslaw.

It snowed today!

Not much, all the snow is already gone. But it was fun to watch while it lasted. We had cookies and tea to celebrate the occasion.

Fall

Mark cleaned up the yard today and the kids had a chance to do some jumping in the leaves before they were bagged up. Fun!

Negotiating

There has been a lot of trading going on here with the loot. They are pretty good at transactions that leave everyone happy.

Trick or treating

The kids raided our costume bin and got dressed up. It's hard to get Penny to stay still for very long these days.This year we went to a "Trunk-or-Treat" put on by a local church with some friends. It was just our speed. We went while it was still light out, circled the U of cars in the parking lot and were done in about 20 minutes with a satisfying amount of candy.

Pumpkin Patch

This year we headed to a new and different farm west of town. Bill's Berry Farm is a lovely family-run farm. They grow apples, pumpkins, cherries, and blueberries.Our tour started with a talk on fruits and vegetables and some of the different varieties of pumpkins by Farm Wife Julie. Then Farmer Bill gave us a hayride out to the pumpkin patch to pick our own Wee Bee Little pumpkin. Penny was pleased to find a pumpkin she could carry around. There was a hay pile to climb over and through. (There were tunnels underneath.) We rode back to pet some of the animals and (after a thorough hand-washing) had fresh pumpkin doughnuts. It was a excellent morning with great friends and good weather. They run this little animal train on the weekends. The horse behind her is named Henry.