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.