Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Gingerbread Houses

Amber and her friend Susanna's winning creation, complete with beautiful peppermint stick fence posts and royal icing sidewalk.

Tyler's gingerbread house in progress.

Sadie and mom's gingerbread house (notice that the very few shingles once in place have already been eaten). All of the little gummy bear couples out front are "getting married."

Aaron's log-cabin style gingerbread house.

Applying the finishing touches.

Tyler laying down some Wheat Chex shingles.

The hair-drying technique proved very effective in solidifying those fragile walls.

All the builders hard at work.

Gotta love this little crazy-pants! She wanted nothing to do with building and decorating the houses. She first smashed her house and then spent the rest of the evening wandering from place to place with 2 fistfuls of candy. What a glorious sugar high!

Note the (backwards) "S" for Sadie. :) And now, the big payoff!

Later that night when I checked on Sadie, she had snuck her house into her room and had eaten every last gummy bear and gum drop from it!

Tyler BEGGED to take his house to school the next day. I obliged.

O Christmas Tree

Tyler wanted his own Christmas tree for his room this year. I told him he would have to prove that he was ready for such a big responsibility. We decided that he had to keep his room clean for 2 weeks, without being nagged about it, and then he could get his tree. I have never seen him so focused, or his room so clean. I gave him a sticker to put on his calendar for every night that he passed his room check. Of course, he did great. When we went on our tree hunt, he picked this one, chopped it down, dragged it back to the car, and let Sadie help him decorate. It is pretty fun and he loves it. We all love to hang out on his bed in the evenings and bask in the holiday glow. He has since added a few homemade paper ornaments--a snowman, gingerbread man, Christmas tree, and a star on top.

Halloween

Scraping out the guts is always the best part of carving pumpkins!

Somehow, I didn't get a picture of the finished product and honestly, I don't even remember what it looked like. But I'm sure it was amazing.

We went to the trunk-or-treat at the church building dressed as fur-clad vikings, in an attempt to keep warm in the frigid winter air.

Cold, but enjoying the spoils of the hunt.

The best picture we could mange the entire night. Halloween is always fun, cold or not!

Pieper turns Two

There are no words to describe the delight that it is to have Pieper in our family. She is kind, sensitive, silly, happy, and everything wonderful that a little girl can be. She gives the best, most squishy hugs. Her kisses are soft, sweet, and more often than not, taste of maple syrup. She loves to sing at the top of her lungs. She loves to wrap her dolls lovingly in blankies and carry them everywhere. Tyler and Sadie love to have her sit on their laps when they watch movies. When she sees someone sad or crying, she will comfort, hug, and pat them on the back. She is gaining independence and finding her screaming voice and asserting her opinions. I have always loved 2-year-olds. They are so funny and adorable. Pieper, I am so happy you are two and that you are mine.

Here are some scenes from her birthday party.

End of Fall

We love hiking the Butte. I am so glad the kids love going with me, especially since I don't have to carry either of them now. This was probably the last nice day we had of the year, before the winds started, the snows came, the negative degree temps put us into a deep freeze, the Chinooks melted everything, and then the snows came back again. The weather has been loco.

Notice their paint-streaked faces from helping paint the barn earlier in the day.

So many fun treasures to find along the way.
The last rose of summer.......er, the last yarrow of fall.
Funny little farmers!

When we go visit Auntie Amanda, Pieper loves to feed grass to all their chickens. And she loves to say the word chicken and "bawk" like a chicken.

Just a little lunch date with our friend Supergirl.

Sweet cheeks!

Alaska State Fair 2011

Another fair has come and gone. This was our fifth year there. I love the fair. I love the people, the smells, the rides, the weather, the games, the atmosphere, and most of all, I love the food. I love being down there, part of the excitement every day. I love taking an evening to bring the kids on a few, overpriced rides, play some kiddie games, and buy some cheap, crappy toys that make them inexplicably excited. I love getting a sitter and walking around the grounds, holding Aaron's hand, and stopping to watch the fireworks, just like we did nine years ago before we were married. The fair is exhausting, expensive, and crowded, but it is also MAGIC. I can't wait for next year!

Don't you love the slow-mo blow of a kiss at the very end?