A visit from Grandpa

My father, Ken, came to visit this weekend. He arrived on Thursday and left on Monday. The visit wasn't nearly long enough, but we managed to pack as much as we could into his visit.

The main reason he came was to watch the girls dance in The Nutcracker (see previous post) on Friday and Saturday night. They were thrilled to have him in the audience. But, because fun and activity follows my dad wherever he goes, we also went candlepin bowling (A New England Classic), saw a movie, did a quick drive to our Lake House (which is 4 hours away), ate fries at "Al's Famous Fries" in Burlington, VT, and managed to stop for dessert at Ben and Jerry's as well. Yummy. We loved having him here and look forward to spending more time together soon. These visits may never be long enough but we are so grateful that they happen.

Oh, Christmas Tree...

This is the "Formal Christmas Tree"....or "Mom's Tree" as the kids refer to it. This is also the real tree we went and cut down this year (see previous posts). I have been wanting to do a "willow tree" ornament tree for a while now. I love the "natural" feel to them and I wanted to have a tree that celebrated the Savior a little more. The angels seemed to do that.

Here is a close up of several of our favorite ones. These are The Angel of Learning, The Angel of Friendship (with puppy), The Angel of Hope (lantern), and this years 2011 Angel. My Mom and Dad gave these lovelies (and more not seen in the close up) for Christmas.

Thank you! They will decorate our tree for years and years to come.

The Nutcracker 2011

This year Cassidy and Kayla danced in The St. Paul's School annual production of "The Nutcracker". They were angels. And THIS was a dream come true:

Dreams are now getting bigger though. Cassidy enjoyed herself SO much that she had elected to start taking ballet now (a very big deal as she has chosen this over horse back riding AND gymnastics). The goal: Clara. (or the sugar plumb fairy based on the costume alone.)

Cassidy was a BIG angel and danced with 3 other friends on stage until the Little angels (lead by Kayla) marched on stage and stole the hearts of many....

Both girls had a wonderful and memorable time. They were SO very cute! We are just so proud of them and the commitment they made to practice every Saturday since October.

The girls are already talking about what they will do NEXT year. If Cassidy has her way, she will dance with SPS again...and another ballet company too. We just don't know which one yet. (video will come soon...we hope. There have been some technical difficulties...)

Christmas Tree

We don't usually have a real tree for Christmas. Mostly because in all the years we've been married we have NEVER had Christmas Morning in our own home. We love visiting with family though, so we aren't complaining....just explaining that it is a first for us. This year we WILL be waking up on Christmas Morning in our own home and to honor this fact, we decided to get a real tree this year. We went to a tree lot just down the road. Most of the trees were already tagged, so pickings were slim. Even considering THAT though, we ended up with a tree the kids were proud of....

Kayla was off running through the trees and helping our friends, The Franklin's, move their tree. Last year we were able to have a real tree as well...and we were even able to go cut it down (Washington has LOTS of options in the tree department). We so enjoyed having a real tree last year that having one this year was a reminder of that experience.

We put the tree up yesterday. The kids have an artificial tree in the play room, and now we have the family tree in the living room. The kids got to cover the play room tree with all the fun ornaments and colorful lights we have accumulated over the years from school and as just random collections. The family tree is the "mom" tree. Not quite as colorful, but it did get the twinkle lights this year. It looks like little fireflies or fairies (as the girls like to think of them) are living in our tree. I don't have a picture of it yet, but I'm sure one will surface before the year is over (how crazy is it to think that 2011 is almost over? I still struggle to write it any time I fill out the date).

Children's Choir and a Santa visit

Our family was asked to help with the Ward Christmas party this year....We were SO excited.

The girls were part of a small children's choir....

Brian made the scenery (a cobbler shop) and Shannon helped provide props and play the piano.

The girls did a GREAT job! Listening to their sweet voices sing about Jesus was a very special moment. They sounded like little angels.

Of course, a visit from St. Nick was enjoyed by all. Brogan climbed right on up.

KK gave a great smile and asked for an art easel and musical instruments (Drums? Really?!?)

Cassidy struggled to explain to Santa what a "Cat Bus" was. She has had to explain this to MANY people, but fans of "Totoro" know what she is talking about. This Santa couldn't promise her the gift she described (it sounds disturbing) but did tell her she will be getting something wonderful. We are all looking forward to the surprises we will find on Christmas morning.

Stockings 2011

This post is for my mom. When she was out here visiting the week of Halloween we found material and a pattern to make stockings. But, we had so many other projects that we weren't able to get to the stockings. Which meant I was left on my own with my very questionable sewing skills. I called in the excellent help of a friend and together the two of us made these:

Hung by the fireplace with care.....

This is the "BOY" stocking

This is the "GIRL" stocking

The kids are a bit concerned because I didn't personalize them beyond BOY and GIRL. They are worried that Santa won't know who's stocking is who's. I told them that this actually simplifies things for Santa and all he will need to do is choose a stocking and fill it with gifts for each child instead of trying to sort them according to name. They don't see how this is easier. I may need to find some way to personalize them. But for now, I love their simplicity. Thanks Mom, and Jill (my special guest helper) for making these stockings happen. You're both wonderful.

Thanksgiving

We were in New York this year for Thanksgiving. We spent time at our lake house, AND enjoyed the hospitality of family at Five Pines. It was a wonderful day. We were grateful to be with Grandpa Schroyer, LaLa, Uncle Brad and Lala's mom. The turkey was delicious. The cranberry salad SOOO yummy. And, the rolls weren't too shabby either, if I do say so myself.

The kids played in the Lake room, probably their favorite space at Campus:

We were asked to bring over some of the toys we didn't play with so much anymore. Funny how old toys in a new space suddenly make the toys feel new again.
Of course, Brogan played for hours in the lego bin. He also discovered wii resorts and had an exceptional time sword fighting. He played for 2 hours at one point...jumping and swinging his arms. He was a tired and sweaty boy by the end. If he can walk away from playing a video game as sweaty as if he had been outside running around, we feel okay about that. Besides, the alternative is that he is running around the house and, in typical 4 year old fashion, causing a ruckus.

All in all Thanksgiving Day was wonderful. Thank you Glenn and Lori for hosting such a lovely gathering. Looking forward to getting together again very soon.