Grace's Christmas Program

Last Monday, Grace had her Christmas program at school. It was nice that the school put on a show that was just for the first graders and their guests. The place was packed and I can't imagine what it would look like if all grades were there! Grace is the angel in the middle. The other two cuties are friends from her class. She practiced so much, even Ella knows the songs : ) This was out first program and, of course, got every second on tape - she didn't have a program last year. It was refreshing to see a program filled with songs that reflect the reason for the season - Grace goes to Catholic school, so all the songs except one were Christ-oriented and there was also a Nativity skit. It was beautiful!

It's finally decorating time!

This weekend, we decided to decorate for Christmas. We get our tree from Grace's school-sponsored Boy Scout troop. This year we decided on a huge tree (nearly 10 feet!) since we have a vaulted ceiling. I decided to decorate the tree with my soft Boyd's Bears ornaments, the kids' handmade school ornaments, and old-fashioned ornaments that I bought to make it safer for Colt and to give it that "old-timey" feel.

We found a Little People nativity set that's adorable and put that out since Colt is still very handsy : )

I also put up the kids' advent calendar and I finally found some mistletoe!

For our door, I found some Christmas craft paper and wrapped it around the front door. I also bought a real balsam wreath and placed some of my wooden and metal old-fashioned ornaments around it. I also had some jingle sleigh bells and placed them on the door knob.

We don't have a fireplace, so I had to put our stockings on a bookshelf. Hopefully the next house we have will have a fireplace - wishful thinking : )

Lastly, I put my Santa Mickey in the front yard with some plastic candy canes. He's always the last thing I put out.

First Time Rollerskaters

Last Saturday, Chris and I took the kids to Bell's Skating Rink for the day. This was their first time ever skating and I haven't skated since 8th grade. They did great for their first time, but unfortunately they were just getting the hang of it when we had to leave. It was great fun!

Trick or Treat!

Instead of going to any neighborhoods this year, we decided to take the kids trick or treating at the zoo here in town. It was Colt's first real time going and he had a blast!! You can probably tell by the red candy all over his face : ) It was fun, safe, and we got a few great pictures too!

Playing in the Leaves

I haven't posted much lately, Chris and I have been SO busy with school obligations (we're teachers) that we've barely had time do sleep! We finally had a day that no one had us doing anything, today we took the kids to Ligonier's Fashion Farm Pumpkin Fantasy Land. It was fun and the kids had a really good time! I hadn't been there since I was a kid and it seemed to be MUCH more then than it is now : ) I thought the kids would enjoy the fact that I had gone there every year until I was 13 or so. They had mazes, a pumpkin jumpy thing, a pumpkin display that had pumpkins dressed as famous people and cartoon characters, and of course we bought some pumpkins to carve.
Afterwards we raked up some leaves and let the kids run through them. Colt had a blast! This was his first time for this and they were a MESS, but they had a ton of fun!!

American Girl Store/Chicago Girls Only Trip

Last Saturday, the girls and I went with my sister in law, Jennifer, my niece, Anna, and my mother in law, Ruthie to the American Girl Store in Chicago. It was so much fun!! We rode the train out of Waterloo which was a new experience for the three of us. Grace slept almost the whole way there and the whole way back. It was really nice since I didn't have to drive : ) While we were there, we shopped, looked at the sights - Grace was really impressed by the huge skyscrapers! - and looked at all the cool American Girl accessories. Luckily all three girls have a doll, so no one was left out. We also ate lunch there, which was really neat! We had a four course meal - which included cinnamon buns BEFORE the actual meal, much to Ella's delight! - and the food was thankfully VERY kid and mom friendly since we are all pretty picky : ) It was an experience that none of the girls will forget. Hopefully the girls and I will get to go to the store again around Christmas time with my mom if all plans come together. More pictures will come as I get them through email : )

Science Central Day

This weekend we took the kids to Science Central for the first time in five years. We had a great time and Colt really enjoyed the toddler area with the slide and water table. I enjoyed the perpetual motion device - let me tell you that I am WAY too old to be that dizzy! : )