The Wearing O' the Green!

A little while back we got to have the Hardy kids overnight and we had SO much fun! Fortunately it had started feeling springy, so we spent a couple hours at the park. The funny thing was - all of them were wearing green, except for Charley! She was not too happy when she realized it!

It feels like spring came and went a few times this year - but I think it might be here to stay (if we can handle a little rain first)! We love you Hardy kids - thanks for playing!

Christmas RE-CAP!

So many fun things happened over Christmas . . .
here are just a few fun memories:

A visit from Grandma Great - love that lady!

Setting up our favorite snow scene - that I set up with my family growing up.
EVERY kid that came to our house at Christmas time would stand in front of this table
and the kids would explain all the little pieces of the scene - priceless.

Charley - our baby - turned 5! She is getting to be
such a big girl and can't WAIT for Kindergarten!

She had a "monkey" party and
we did banana splits for dessert!

Krissy and Ray hosted our "quiet Christmas Eve" this year!
So many were missing - but it was SO FUN
to have Mom and Dad here with us!

Lots of fun games - including a white elephant game -
kid version and adult version!
(Krissy's creepy goodwill doll was a popular item)

Always fun to be had when Papa's around!

Christmas Eve right after opening their X-mas PJ's!

Christmas morning stockings

More games!

I always regret the amount of pictures I take during Christmas and when Mom and Dad come to town - never enough. We sure did love that they climbed in the car and made the snowy drive over! It made Christmas so special this year!

Somethin' Fishy

Somethin' fishy has been goin' on around here - and it goes by the name of Guppie. Fortunately for Guppie, Porter has all the time in the world to feed him, talk to him, wash his tank, and just plain love him. Unfortunately for my fellow bloggers out there - I haven't had that kind of time for you! My blog has gone completely underwater and its high time to bubble up to the surface again! Here's hoping for some more updates to come soon! (Lots to catch up on - like Christmas with Mom and Dad to name one!)

Santa Sighting!

Yes - there was a Santa sighting here in Sisters! The day after Thanksgiving - Santa paraded through town on this very wagon. Do you think he might be checking up on us to be sure he has us on the right list?! Better be good for goodness sakes!

Thanksgiving Recap

Having a whole week off at Thanksgiving time is the best thing ever! We had lots of snow - so that made it so much fun for the kids. We had a snow play date at our house with cousins to start off the fun week!

We made these yummy, festive Pilgrim Hat cookies and guzzled the hot chocolate of course!

On Thanksgiving Day we enjoyed our normal traditions: Mom cooking up the favorite family recipes, Dad playing in the Turkey bowl with our branch, having a soak in the hot tub . . .

And Makenna busy making crafts! She is our little crafter and got to spend much of her break from school creating and crafting (mostly Christmas gifts) - she's just so talented!

It was fun to get a little inspiration from the "Button Girl" book
since her new passion is buttons!

Unfortunately I took "O" pictures of our beautiful Thanksgiving spread - but believe me it was big and it was delicious! After dinner I entertained the kids with some fun music and dancing games and then they wanted to perform! I think our favorite was Turkey in the Straw - with our two turkeys (Porter and Josh) in the middle!

The end of the week we hunted for a Christmas tree, went to the Christmas Parade, and just enjoyed playing games and spending time together!
I am SOOOO Thankful for so many things - but I'm definitely the most thankful for my crazy amazing family! I LOVE YOU!

Thankful Li'l Turkeys!

This year we made Thankful Turkeys - and the kids were so creative with them! They each wrote what they were most thankful for on each feather and then we did some Turkey bowling baby! We lined them up at one end of the table, made a barricade with leggos and blocks - then we bowled with marbles. What a fun FHE night!

Makenna's

Charley's

Porter's

Christmas Tree Hunt

Trish and Eric's family along with ours hit the forest (just up the road from our house) to hunt for the perfect Christmas tree. It wasn't long until we found the perfect spot to park and hike around. The snow was deep and it was still coming down - good thing we brought along our sleds!

Of course the boys were all about the snowball fight!

Trish and I found some beautiful boughs, branches and manzanita to Christmas-fy our homes - it's beauteeful stuff!

The perfect sledding spot for the kids while we looked for a tree

It's a keeper! We love this tradition!