O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Picking up right where I left off...the day after Thanksgiving is always our Christmas Tree Getting Day! I love getting a fresh Christmas tree (or two!) each year & the tree may be my favorite Christmas decoration...I love the smell, the sparkle, the glitter & the green.

My mom came over to get in on the fun & help with the decorating & help wrangle the kids while we brought out bins & put up lights & so on!

The kids hamming it up on a bench at the garden center...

I was trying to contain them while we were waiting for Jeff...this was the only way to keep them from running through the trees playing peek-a-boo, splashing in the many decorative fountains, and just creating a general state of mayhem & foolishness!

Yaya & the girls!

Finally home, tree in the stand, lights on the tree (after Jeff had to go to the store to buy more lights since half of ours were burned out!)...and now finally, the long anticipated moment is here! 

We are ready to put ornaments on the tree! 

(You do notice that it is dark outside, right...it has been a long day!)

Sweet Lucy enjoys inspecting all of the ornaments (and only throwing a couple) & hanging some on the tree with her assistant, Daddy.

Picking out favorite ornaments (and of course Lucy in a chef's hat eating a wooden apple...you all do that when you decorate your Christmas trees, right?)

Last year we started putting a second tree in the den/playroom. We pick one that it perfectly kid-sized & decorate it with colorful lights & most of the kidsy ornaments. They pretty much are responsible for decorating this tree themselves & do a great job. Jack takes charge of putting the lights on it & then all the kids work together to decorate it. (Of course in complete & total harmony & peace, with nary a cross or unkind word...um, yeah right!)

It is a special tradition each year that Sophie & Darcy love to set out our Nativity scene. They do a very good job of opening all of the little boxes & carefully arranging each of the characters. We have this on a table in our main living area where we walk by it all the time. I have been enjoying that our Nativity is apparently animated this year...as each time I walk by all of the people & animals are arranged differently into little groups as if they have come to life & are moving going about their daily business. 

(Future post coming on this as I have been snapping pictures every few days of the changes to the scene.)

And after a few days of boxes & bins & tissue paper & bubble wrap taking over my dining room...the tree is done! And it has been enjoyed daily & nightly ever since!

We have a few Quality Control helpers...who like to make sure all the ornaments are hung properly & are all in the proper place for optimal viewing. 

Also, here's a little look at our mantle. I'll be posting more pics of the rest of our house decorated in a separate post. I love to use bright Christmas colors all over the house, but for the mantle lately I have gone more neutral with lots of gold & accents of green. Of course, it is always cozy & inviting with a nice fire in the fireplace...but we haven't had many fires this week with our temps reaching up to the 70s!

It's Not Fall Without It...

Any guesses as to THE thing that is the pinnacle of Autumn in our household?

If you know us & our traditions, you know that it isn't truly fall until we have made our annual trek up to the mountains to go apple picking! 

Technically, I don't even think it was even autumn yet when we made our apple picking trip this year. The apple crop has been running a few weeks ahead of schedule this season & we like to pick them early when there are plenty of apples dangling within easy reach of the kids. After consulting our quickly filling fall calendars, the weekend after Labor Day was settled upon. Earlier in the season also means warmer temps, which we will gladly take over the cold. {Little fingers sure turn numb quickly when trying to pick apples on blustery, cold, rainy/sleety days...been there-done that!} As in recent years, this year we planned to enjoy our apple picking adventure along with many other families from our life group at church. Alas, the weatherman was predicting rain & more rain on our scheduled day to go, so the class event was canceled. But we are not ones to be deterred by a little rain {and our calendar didn't hold a promising make-up date,} so we decided to brave the elements & pick anyway! As I mentioned earlier, we have picked apples in cold rainy/snowy weather before, so the chance of rain on a warm day was not too unpleasant. We loaded up our van to the gills with extra changes of clothes, rain coats & boots, umbrellas & anything imaginable that may help us weather a storm. {And we prayed that the day would be filled with fun memories & family time, and not a total bust!}

I mentioned our busy fall calendar & our chosen day was not only our apple picking day, but it was also our fall sports season opener. Darcy & Jack had their first soccer & football games, respectively. This was Darcy's first soccer game ever & she had so much fun! She is having a great season. Jack is playing flag-football again & still thoroughly enjoys it. {Their games happen to be at the same time almost every week & so I am often running between two fields or keeping up with little ones, so somehow I haven't managed to capture a good photo of Jack yet this season.}

After the games were over, we were excited to be on our way! The orchard we go to every year is about a two hour drive away, so we had a cooler full of a yummy lunch to eat in the car & a brand new movie to watch as we traveled. We surprised the kids with Cars 2 since it had just come out on DVD. Drew had not ever seen it before & to say he was enthralled would be an understatement...he watched intently giggling & smiling & commenting on Mater's crazy antics the entire time. 

We departed under beautiful blue skies & mild temps, so we were hopeful the nice weather would continue. Further & further we drove, higher & higher in elevation & the blue skies followed us. Then, all of a sudden it got dark, very dark, and the sky.opened.up! We went through a huge rainstorm {slow down on the interstate & turn on your hazard lights kind of storm} about 30 minutes outside of our destination, but we could see that the sky was clear on the other side, so we were still hopeful! And sure enough, when we emerged from the rainstorm, the sky was once again blue with puffy white clouds...and we didn't see another drop of rain the rest of the day! Praise God! 

All of the rain gear remained in the car, there were no mud-puddles to fall in to {probably Drew would have rather enjoyed that!} Just a beautiful day on the mountaintop, perfect for picking apples...and as an added bonus, the rainy forecast kept the crowds away...we could walk right up to the counter to buy the {Oh-SO-delicious!} apple cider donuts which often warrant an hour-plus wait in line! And the warm temps made cooling off with an apple cider slushy on the ride home, all the more perfect!

Here's a look at our apple picking adventure...It's just not fall with out our trip to Sky Top!

How Tall This Fall? 

It's been eight years {& three more kids!} since we first took pics in front of this sign!
Click here to see last year's apple blog & here for a retrospective on the previous 8 years of apple picking outings!

Making funny faces!

Here we go...off to pick the biggest & best apples!

Everyone hunts for their perfect pick!

Lucy gets a little help from Daddy picking the perfect apple!

Then she had lots of fun "sorting" them!

Funny thing happened..all the big kids turned into monkeys & took to the trees! All the best apples are at the top!

One of my favorite things about our apple picking trip is that the kids all have so much fun just being together, cutting up & acting silly! I pray that we will all enjoy this tradition together for many years to come...perhaps one day with a whole bunch of grandchildren!

Taking a little break from all the "hard work" to enjoy the fruit of our labors!

Balance!

Our fun didn't end once we had filled our baskets with apples...nope, there was the bamboo forest to explore...

And "wild: animals to observe & feed...i.e. the petting zoo/farm animals!

And lots of swinging, sliding & playing to be done on the awesome playground! The day was full of smiles a-plenty! We are already looking forward to our trip back again next fall...and now I'm headed into the kitchen to cut up a nice, juicy apple!

A Special Weekend Guest...

Last weekend Darcy had the esteemed privilege & honor to bring home a special friend from school...Bosley the class {teddy} bear! Each week Bosley makes his way to another friend's home to have fun adventures & then returns to school Monday morning to rest up for the next big weekend. It is always such a treat when your name is called on Friday afternoon to get Bosley's bag, Darcy walked out of the classroom on cloud nine!

When she got home, no time was wasted introducing Bos around to all of her stuff animal friends. An added treat, Yaya was here & got to share in the excitement of meeting Bosley. Darcy spent the afternoon playing with Bosley & keeping him entertained with all sorts of games & friends. she fell asleep Friday evening with Bosley snuggled in one arm & her trusty Bobby in the other. 

On Saturday morning, Bosley got to accompany Darcy to her soccer game & cheered her on with enthusiasm. After the game on Saturday, Darcy & Bosley both helped me get prepared for the Bridal Shower I was hosting & then they were off to a birthday party for one of Darcy's classmates. 

On Sunday morning, we were all up bright & early for church, & of course Bosley wanted to come along. He loves learning about Jesus, coloring & singing songs! Sunday afternoon held even more fun as we returned to church for the annual Family Day. It was a bit chilly out, but the cool temps didn't stop the kids from finding some friends & having a great time! (Bosley rather liked the cool weather, since he has his nice fur coat.) Lucy ended up bear-sitting Bosley for a bit while Darcy was off climbing & sliding & bouncing!

As an added bonus, we got to keep Bosley with us for an extra day since Monday was a school holiday. It worked out pretty well for me because Bosley mentioned to Darcy that he thought it would be a good idea for her to make Mommy breakfast in bed...so they served up some yummy waffles loaded with syrup (I'm sure that was Bosley's influence!) and a tall glass of milk! The rest of Monday was pretty busy with lots of playing & snuggling & taking Sophie to riding lessons & taking a meal to some friends with a new baby...but Bosley is one energetic bear & was able to keep up with our rigorous schedule! 

The temps were still pretty chilly, so on Monday evening we were able to enjoy our first wood fire of the season. Of course, in front of the warm, cozy fire was the best place to be, we could hardly drag Bosley away...so the kids decided, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em...and they all got their bears & squeezed around the fireplace for some warmth & snuggles before bedtime. Bosley cozied up next to Darcy for one more night & then headed back into the classroom on Tuesday morning to await another journey next weekend. The house already feels a little more empty and a few snuggles short without him, but we are thankful for all the fun memories from our Weekend With Bosley!

Finally Feeling Like Fall

Finally feeling like fall....

First night a fire to light!

Comfy, cozy, warm & rosy...

Lots of snuggles, teddys for all, 

Praising the Lord, thank goodness for FALL!

It's Now or Never...

I've had the refrain from that Elvis song floating through my head all weekend in regards to my blog...It's now or never...It's really not now or never, certainly the fate of nothing hangs in the balance over whether or not I get to churn out a few blog posts. But I do have this feeling of really missing writing, really missing recording our life, really missing having this little creative outlet. I am also a bit crazy though & like things to be all chronological & I realize at this point a good 9-12 months of life has gone by unrecorded & that bugs me. I'm not sure I'm able to just pick up now & leave that time unaccounted for. So I waver, I waffle, I wonder where to begin. I've had several false-starts, as the half-finished drafts saved in the queue will bear witness to. A whole lot of life & living & fun times & everyday times has happened. And this has been the constant greeting/reminder/thorn in my day planner for the last few weeks months...

This time last year I jumped on the 31 Days challenge that so many bloggers do & I actually posted a blog every day for the month of October! Whew, it was hard work, but it was great & I felt such a sense of accomplishment (which is a nice wonderful feeling for a mom who always has so many things "in progress.") I don't know if I can post 31 blogs in October this year, actually, in my mind I haven't even solidified if I am really going to try. Some things have been a little nicer without blogging...like the laundry stays done better, the house stays a bit neater, I've been going to bed a little earlier, we have actually finished a couple of little home improvement/organization projects, & I hope I've been a little more devoted to my kids. But I think there is a balance in there waiting to be reached, that ever elusive balance, and that's where I find the now or never feeling coming into play. The life stuff will only keep happening, I will only get further behind, the need to "catch-up" will only grow stronger, so for me it's now or never...once again I'm going to give it a try...hoping to find that balance.

And I still don't know where I'm going to start...with today or make up for lost time? Your guess right now is as good as mine! But hopefully I will find some balance there, between memories old & new, as well.

For now, here are a few random pics from the last few weeks...

 Digging in the dirt!

Playing with chalk 

(We have done this more in the last 2 weeks than all summer, 

thank you cooler fall temps!)

 End of summer lake fun

 The many faces of Lucy

Back to the fields

 Just the girls!

 Me & the kids on my birthday last week!

 And I'll close with this one, a rare sweet moment of sibling love!

Party All the Time!!!

**Disclaimer**
Yes, this post is a good 2 months late. No, I have not totally given up on blogging. Yes, life has been busy & hectic & fun & not fun & everything in between. So, no excuses or apologies for way late posts or out of sequence events. That used to bother me, but these days I've decided to be content with what I can do & not sweat the rest!

Last week A couple of months ago we had Birthday Week in our household, full of fun celebrations almost every day! Nearly half of our family celebrates a birthday in the first part of March. Jeff kicks-off our month of birthday celebrations, closely followed by Lucy & then Drew...3 birthdays within 8 days! We We did what we could to make each birthday special & we ate lots & lots of cake had a whole bunch of fun in the process!

This year was extra special because we celebrated Lucy's FIRST birthday (I cannot believe a year has flown by already!) Poor Drew was a little cheated out of big birthday celebrations for his first two years...we moved into our house the week before he turned 1 & we had a baby a few days before he turned 2! We, of course, still had a family birthday celebration for him each year. This year we finally were in a position to have a friend party, so we decided to have a little combined party for the two of them.

Drew's favorite thing for quite some time has been tools, he is always carrying around a hammer, screwdriver & blocks of wood to "fix." So I knew tools would have to be the theme for him. And then I'm a sucker for alliteration, which led me to Tutus...so a Tools & Tutus party was born! I actually tried searching on Pinterest just to see if anyone had ever done a similar party, but I think that combo is a new one! What fun to put together a party that was girly-girly AND rough&tumble boyish, all at the same time! And what 2 special little kids we got to celebrate!

***2nd Disclaimer***

Yes, this is a birthday party for 2 of my kids...and, yes, I take lots of photos...so, YES, please expect a crazy amount of photos ahead!

***3rd Disclaimer***
I have no idea why the photos loaded in this somewhat mixed-up order, but I'm going with it. Consider yourself getting the full feel of a party for 2 kids, with a whole bunch of kids of all ages running around, in & out, crafts & food & cupcakes & more...it was a little chaotic, a little noisy, a little mixed-up, but a whole lot of fun! 

 Tools & Tutus Cupcakes...oh, I had totally forgotten about the cupcake story...I had ordered 4 dozen cupcakes from the local supercenter bakery...2 dozen vanilla & 2 dozen chocolate. The cupcakes were picked up Friday evening on Jeff's way home from work & they looked great! However, said supercenter packaged them in these huge round trays with enormous domed lids that did not want to stay on. There was some shifting & sliding of said containers in the truck on the way home, but they arrived home just fine. Fine, that is, until Jeff was getting them out of the car & one tray started to slip & in trying to grab it Jeff lost the other tray & ALL the cupcakes ended up on the driveway! Trust me when I say, it was one of those things that you look back on & laugh at...much later! It all worked out in the end, another nearby supercenter was able to do the order Saturday morning & they used rectangular, stackable packaging, so all was well!

 I made the little "tutu" pom-pom toppers for half the cupcakes & "tool" toppers for the other half. 

 My cute birthday boy wearing his special "3" shirt that I made for the party!

 Cupcakes, appetizers & punch!

 Sweet, excited big sister modeling one of the tutus we made for all the little girls. (Huge shout-out to my mom here, I had about a million different projects to finish up for the party & she took over the tutu-making for me, so that they all got made!)

 NO tutus for the boys! For them, we had levels & measuring tapes!

 Artistic tutu display...sure!

 Activity for the girls...tutu canvases...more on this later...

 Tools & Tutus decor (one of the jars is full of nails!)

 Darcy & sweet friend, Kate

 Lucy's BFF, Hailey, modeling her tutu

 The birthday girl with Miss Aja

 Lucy & Hailey, dressed in tutus, playing with tools!

 Sweet Annalyse pretty in pink!

 Birthday Girl & Boy!

 Newborn photos

 For the boys craft activity, we had blocks of wood, nails & hammers...

 The boys (or their dads!) got to hammer their name into the wood using the nails!

 A whole lot of hammerin' going on!

 Finished product for the girls...

 They made hand print "tutus" on the pink leotards

 We used 2 shades of pink paint for depth, & sprinkled the wet paint with superfine 

glitter to give them some added sparkle.

 Sophie & her hand print tutu canvas. They turned out really cute!

 Little girls playing!

 Drew, with a handful of tools

 Seriously, 3 already?!!

 Grady's finished project

 Jeff helping one of the boys with his name

 Even the moms got in on the hammering action!

 Basketball & soccer, at the same time?

 Sweet Annalyse taking a little ride!

 Could she be any cuter?!! My girl Lucy is blessed to have such cute & sweet friends!

 More name art!

 Kids doing what kids do best, PLAYING!

 What a bunch of TUTU cute girls!

 Playing pat-a-cake

 Sweet friends!

Mommy & her girls!

 Now it's time to corral some kids & have some cake....Happy Birthday to you...

Happy Birthday Dear Lucy!

 Happy Birthday Dear Drew!

 A little help blowing out the candles

 The boy loves chocolate!

 The girl prefers vanilla!

 I'm playing with this orange cup, I'm not sure I really want that cupcake...

 Oh well, I'll take a look

 Maybe one little taste

 Hmmmm, that's not bad!

 Better have another bite to make sure...

 Hey, this stuff is pretty yummy!

 It's also very squishy

 I like to crumble it all up...

 ...and smear it all over my hands & high chair...

 But most of all, I like to eat it!

 A whole lotta kids enjoying cupcakes!

 Drew being a little neater with his cupcake than Lucy, he is a big 3 year old after all!

 MMmmmmmmm!

 Lucy's still working on her cupcake

 And despite getting it everywhere, she actually ate most of it!

 I think she loved it right down to her cute little toes!

 Drew & JJ savoring their cupcakes...they will not be rushed!

Lucy would like another one.... 

 Please!!!

 We wanted to have the kids open presents at the party, but the kids were all having so much fun playing that we ran out of time. So after the party & once everyone was cleaned up, Drew & Lucy opened their presents...with a little help from big brother & sisters. 

 Drew all ready for outdoor exploration with his handy new explorer belt. 

 Checking out the wildlife

Whistling a tune...and on that note, we will end!

We were so thankful to be able to celebrate such a special occasion with a few dear friends.