Elves at Work

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!  This has been a really fun week because the kids have been very involved in decorating and getting into the spirit of things.  I set up the tree while they were at school and from the minute Ben got home, he and Alex were busy hanging ornaments.

This is a sweet new addition that Ben made in Sunday school.

I think using the step stool was a big plus in the ornament hanging.

The boys looked through every ornament and really enjoyed finding the ones that related to them.  This had a picture of Ben as a baby and he wanted a picture with it.  (And a mommy confession - I have no similar ornaments of Alex as a baby...maybe I can slip a few in before next year?)

Ben's friend Presley came over and jumped right in as well.  Between the three of them, they got every single ornament on the tree in an hour!  Granted, most of them are clustered together and 4 feet or below, but I think the tree looks beautiful.  I did help out by getting a few closer to the top but these little elves were quick!

 I think the final result is perfect...I'm not going to change a thing.

After one of Ben's handmade ornaments ended up in pieces on the floor, it seemed like a good time to pull out a box of ornaments for the kids to paint themselves.

They were busy!  The next day after school, Ben and Alex painted a different set of ornaments, and the following day we made cookies from scratch at Ben's request.

This little elf, Bart, has been busy, too.   He's been a bit naughtier this year and the kids have been loving it!

 

I wrapped up a few last things on my to-do list at the Galleria with Alex and we made a stop at the waterwall in Houston.  He loved it!

 

 

 

The Christmas tree on the ice rink was pretty impressive, too.  My little shopping buddy was great and we had a good time at the mall.

 

One last major thing on our to-do list this week - visit the big guy in red.  I really enjoyed seeing their excitement at talking to Santa because I have the feeling this may be our last year of true magic.   Ben asks a lot of tough questions and I know he's going to overhear something sooner or later to burst the bubble.  We're going to enjoy it as long as it lasts, though!

After our visit, we had a quick train ride around the mall and visited the "dancing lights", the house with thousands of lights set to Christmas music.

I love getting ready for Christmas!  Now we're visiting a couple of church programs to prepare our hearts, as well.  I'm enjoying this year because the kids are old enough to understand and appreciate that Christmas is more than just presents.  We are celebrating the birth of our Savior!

The Rest of November

We've had several busy weeks and I got behind on blogging!  Here's a catchup from November.

We celebrated Grumpy's 70th birthday with him and the boys were happy to help him blow out his candles and dig into the chocolate lady finger cake.  It's funny how 70 doesn't sound quite so old as it used to!

 

We spent some time decorating a tree with things we were thankful for this year.  Alex wrote many of the things himself!  Several made me laugh - like the fact that Presley (our neighbor) got higher billing than I did, and Mariokart got 9 leaves front and center. (click on the picture to enlarge it)

 

On the last day of school before the break, I was in Ben's class to for his Thankful party.  Finally got a picture of his sweet teacher, Mrs. Cooper.

 

The kids had a lot of fun with snacks and crafts and I was so happy to see that nearly every kid had parents or grandparents to join in the fun!  It certainly made my job easier because I was a little nervous about running the whole deal myself.

Ben loved making his turkey cup.

Next up was fall bingo with candy corn markers.  The kids also had capri-suns, gummi treats, icing, and lots of other candy at 9am!  I felt sorry for the teacher for the rest of the day :)  But we checked Ben out and hit the road right then for Thanksgiving in Alabama with Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Amanda.

The boys always have a great time in Alabama because there is plenty of stuff to play on and lots of dirt to roll around in.

Ben made his first trip squirrel hunting.

I enjoyed some of the beautiful fall colors in the woods.

 Ben also learned how to shoot the 22-gauge and actually did very well.

He was very proud of his shots on the target!  All of those shots were his and a few were almost dead on the bullseye.

 

Meanwhile, Alex was behind us goofing around on the parked 4-wheeler.

 

In the house, we did a lot of good old fashioned Thanksgiving eating.

 
The kids decorated a few huge cookies....

...and had no trouble polishing them off.

Back home, Alex has been obsessed with writing and workbooks.  He actually finished a big Pre-K one on his own and asked me to buy him a new one, so now he's working through the Kindergarten book.  He is completely the opposite of Ben at this age, when he wanted nothing to do with letters or writing!  I guess the second kid has a lot more incentive to learn these things to catch up with older brother.

On a side note, Alex has a July birthday but there is no doubt he'll be ready for Kinder in August.  I was just filling out some school dates in my new 2013 calendar and I skipped right past the date for Kindergarten registration, then a few minutes later my heart skipped a beat when I realized I'd have to go sign my baby up for real school that day!  Where has the time gone?

The kids were happy to see some Christmas toys coming out and made a stuffed animal train through the living room.

Alex's obsession with MarioKart hasn't lessened at all.  He still wants a picture every time he wins a race or a battle.

I love a sweet sleeping picture every now and then.  I often find Alex with his arms over his head.

 It always reminds me of this picture when he was two weeks old.

 

There is never any guess as to where Ben will be in his bed. 

 I'm slowly decorating for Christmas and Alex was pretty excited to see this guy in the yard.

I can't believe it's already December and Christmas is nearly here, but this is my favorite time of the year!  I've already done most of my Christmas shopping and the tree is going up today, so hopefully we'll have a lot of time to celebrate and enjoy the season this year.

Thanksgiving Party

Alex's class had a very sweet party for their last day of class before Thanksgiving.

I loved the sweet prayer before their meal.

And then the fun began!  Notice the kids are sitting boy-girl all the way around the table because 4 of these 5 boys (one just started this week) get into Trouble with a capital T.  My dear son included.  Their patient teacher, Miss Heather, is in the blue shirt.

Miss Sherrie, the school director, came to get a few pictures, too.

Each kid had answered the question, "How does your mom cook a turkey?"  Alex's answer - She would put bones off and put it in the oven for 6-7 minutes.  Hilarious!  Says the kid who's barely eaten turkey in his life.

After lunch, the kids did a little turkey craft with icing and sweets.  Someone was ready to eat it!

At home, these boys have been so sweet.  Fall finally arrived and Alex woke up cold one morning so Ben invited him to sleep in Ben's "big warm bed" the next night.  I couldn't believe they actually did it and spent the whole night together.  When I went to look (and sneak a few pictures) there were arms flying all over the bed and lots of rolling around, but they both said they loved it.

The next morning, they came to my bed for a little cuddle and a few scary pictures.

We're resisting the heater as long as possible because the afternoons warm up nicely, but it has been cold enough to turn on the fire on a few chilly mornings.

The only pets we have at the moment are the fish, Cutie and Crazy Zig Zag.  They each hang out on the bar in front of the kids' place mats and provide lots of entertainment at breakfast.

 

The boys each wanted a video introduction of their special friends.  Enjoy!

 

 

First Grade Field Trip

I was pretty excited to help out with Ben's field trip to the Oil Ranch yesterday because it was my favorite field trip as a kid!  (nevermind the fact that I had the WORST luck about waking up sick the morning of every other field trip so it was the only one I attended in elementary)  Plus, it's so much fun to introduce the kids to things I used to love and see that they're still a lot of fun.

 

I was in charge of these three cute boys - Ben, Bently, and Cooper.  We all had a great time together and they were so cooperative that it made it easy to see all the sights.  It didn't hurt that it was an absolutely gorgeous day and great to be outside.  First stop - the train ride.

 

Next, we hopped on the hay ride and waved to the train as it passed.  That's Ben's wonderful teacher, Mrs. Cooper, and I just realized I never got one of the two of them together.

The farmer gave each kid some food and stopped in the pasture so we could feed the animals.

The cows came running and wasted no time sticking their heads straight in the trailer.

Feed me!!

Next, we hit the barn for some fun in the hay.  My phone camera didn't do well in this lighting but I like the action shot of Ben leaping off the tallest bales.

After lunch, we headed over to the big swings.

All the boys loved climbing these poles to ring the bell at the top.

 We checked out the teepee.

 

We stopped in another barn to feed some sweet little goats.

The boys all took turns carefully brushing the goats, too.  One boy even apologized for brushing one goat the wrong way...so sweet!

Ben loved this little guy - a teenaged pygmy goat that liked to stand on the hay bale.

Every time we passed this tractor all the boys had to climb on and "drive" it.  One did the steering wheel, one shifted, and one manned the brakes.  Teamwork!

After a busy (and very warm - 82 in November?!) day, all the kids got to pick out a pumpkin to take home.  I love where Sariah and several other kids decided to hold theirs!

Class picture before they all got on the bus to head back to school.  It was a great day!