The tree - 2011

Last year we got our Christmas tree in a blizzard.

This year we got our Christmas tree in a downpour.

So there are no pictures of the tree getting.

But there are some of the decorated tree.

About 30 of them in fact.

Of which there are two with both kids looking at me and smiling.

Catching up

We did a lot of little projects in December. Some teacher gift jewelry made from beads from Bead for Life. A knitting/felting project from a Waldorf Mama pattern. Some ribbon bracelets from Family Fun magazine. A bleach pen shirt design ala pinterest......

Saturday hike

We had to walk off all that turkey! We decided to stick close to the Boardman River Nature Center because of deer hunting. Even living so close we still haven't walked their entire trail system there so we managed to hit a few stretches we hadn't hiked before. We got misted on a little but made it back to the car before the real rain started.

A Thanksgiving surprise!

On Tuesday we found out we had an opportunity to go to the Packer/Lions game on Thanksgiving day! My mom and dad were already planning on coming for Thanksgiving but graciously offered to come the night before so we could go down to the game early in the morning on Thanksgiving and we postponed our family dinner to Friday.

Neither one of us had ever been to an NFL game in a dome before and we had never been to an away Packer game. It was so weird to watch the Packers indoors and not at Lambeau Field. For the most part the Lions fan were very good natured about all the Packer fans there. Most of the people sitting near us were great even when the game didn't go their way. We had an awesome time!

Grass River Natural Area

Yesterday was deemed an "adventure day". We packed up snacks and sandwiches, the dog and his leash and headed out mid morning. We stopped at an art/craft fair and then at a fundraiser that was selling beads made in Uganda from recycled paper (very cool) and then headed out of town to check out the Grass River Natural Area.

It's less than an hour from our house but we'd just never been there for some reason. It was beautiful and we only explored a small portion of the hiking trails. We took Charlie for a hike on one of the dog friendly trails then let him rest in his crate while we went out towards the river.

It's amazing all the terrain and land features we have so near our house that are so drastically different.

I can't wait to see what some of these trails look like in different seasons.

Alex was excited to see that they offer ski and snowshoe trails in the winter too. And both kids loved the albino California King snake named Ruby that lives in the nature center building.

We will definitely be back!

Trick or Treat!

Monday Alex had off school and Maya doesn't normally go to school on Mondays. We had a lazy morning and did some things around the house. In the afternoon we went to Maya's school for her class Halloween party. It was a little overwhelming for her I think to have all those kids and adults packed in her little classroom.

After supper it was finally time to go trick or treating. We went quite a long ways this year. I brought a stroller for Maya because I figured she'd be done before Alex and she did ride in it for a little while at the end. She decided that she had "more than enough candy for one person!" and just rode for the last 6 houses or so. (smart girl about the candy!)

They settled down pretty well considering all the excitement and sugar and still got to bed at a decent time.

Pumpkins!

Friday afternoon we went downtown for the Halloween walk. Maya wore her fairy costume from last year. Alex stayed in his Zeus costume from school that morning. I left my camera in the car because when we arrived downtown it was sleeting! It cleared up decently and we had a great time, saw lots of friends and the kids scored a ton of candy.

Saturday we spent most of the day in the yard raking leaves and playing. It wasn't a really great day to be outside but mostly dry and comfortable with hats/gloves.

Sunday afternoon we finally got around to carving our pumpkins. Maya designed hers by herself and Ben cut it (it's the smiling one). Alex designed and carved his all by himself. It has 5 eyes, 2 noses and 2 mouths. The last one was made with a template design.