Fun with Friends

Laura and David are in town AND Sadie, Ryan and Indigo! It's so fun having friends close to laugh with. We met up with them at the mall for lunch.

Here we all are. Ryan said it looked like we were really excited about being at the mall and had to take a group picture :)

John is so glad to have his friend back. He and Indigo ran and ran and laughed and laughed! Indigo got some good stuff to eat, so John instantly thought it was a good idea to share... what a guy

Riley was spreading Christmas cheer all through the mall. She wore her Christmas dress and smiled at everyone who passed. Most of the time she was just singing away and kicking her cute little feet. She made a lot of friends :)

Oh, Christmas Tree

Well it was about time we got our tree. It was only a week until Christmas! Ry and I loved the lights. This made her laugh and laugh. It made me laugh too.

I chose ornaments for the whole family this year. This one is mine. I wanted it at the very top of the tree. I'm showing Daddy exactly where that spot is

I got to put the star up! Yippee!! I was so high up! That's the most important job

Our house smells so Christmasy and wonderful now. We can't wait until the big day!

Timber!

We thought it would be fun to cut down our Christmas Tree this year. What an adventure! I had fun picking up sticks as we walked into the woods.

After we found our perfect tree, Daddy and I went out to find a tree lift. I had fun driving it.

Daddy and I cut our tree down!


I had a lot of fun

I love helping Daddy! It was heavy to push, but we did it!

Riley was all smiles on her first Christmas Tree outing

We'll have to do that again next year. This tree is so healthy and smells so good in the house! We found the perfect tree

For Grandma

Here's what I think about the message you wrote on my package!

It's so hard to wait until Christmas!!

Out of John's Mouth

There were a few things that John's said recently that cracked me up. His favorite song of the year is "I'm getting nothing for Christmas" AKA "The bad boy song" The other day he was singing it to himself and he got to the part that the boy tells about what he's done bad. Well, John doesn't know that part of the song, so he filled in his own "bad things"... "I didn't share with Sister, I was bad at the post office, I didn't listen....."

The other day we were playing together and he was really gassy. So after the 3rd "toot" I told him, "Wow John, you are the king of toots today!" He said, "No I'm just a shepherd" I didn't know there was a king of toots in his school play!

Keep Those Legs Warm!

I finally finished Riley's leg warmers! I powered through the first one and the second one took forever! Unfortunately, I finished it at Knitting Night and I was talking more than paying attention. It's a little looser than the first one, but they still look cute! :)

Fun Outdoors

We went for a family hike earlier in the month. I thought John looked cute in his car seat. He didn't want me to take his picture. I thought this looked like a paparazzi picture :)

We brought some binoculars for John to use. He loved looking around in them. We only saw some birds, but he didn't mind. he really liked looking at the signs down by the dam.

Our little hikers. John really enjoyed the trail this time. Ry loved the view from my back.

The last time we went hiking, John told us he couldn't make it. This time he just walked forever! He enjoyed counting the steps up to the top.

We stopped at a viewpoint for a snack.
Everyone enjoyed our little break

The next day we had a rain strom. We got all bundled up first thing in the morning to play in the rain. John loved using his umbrella. He doesn't get to use it too much here!

Riley got all bundled up and I put her in her carseat. She loved watching us play and this way she didn't get wet or get into trouble while I was out with John

Christmas at Uncle Eric and Auntie Laura's House

Since Uncle Eric and Auntie Laura are going to be out of town for Christmas, we went to their house to celebrate Christmas early. We had a yummy dinner and got to open presents! Yippee!! My favorite part!

Riley liked the ribbons

and she loved her clothes!
I had to help Uncle Eric open his present too!

Actually my favorite part of the night was playing Play-Doh with Auntie Laura. She's really good at it! By the end of the night, the dough turned into an army man green. The tools are fun to use, but it's extra fun squishing them all together!

What a great day! The rain made it extra Christmasy feeling. I want to come up again really soon!!

Christmas at Our House

We've had a visitor staying with us this month. Our elf friend Zart. Santa sent him to our house and he watches Riley and me for Santa. Then every night while we're asleep he goes back to the North Pole to tell Santa if we've been. Then in the morning, he's in a different place and we have to find him. So much fun! He's even brought back a few letters from Santa to me. We've been taking very good care of him for Santa. Last night he brought back some chocolate coins for me and Indigo to share. He knew we were going to play at the park that day!

While Mama and Daddy were working in the yard this morning, I was playing with the Nativity Scene we have. We celebrated Jesus' birthday at school on Thursday. We made a cake and everything!

Jungle Bells

The Christmas celebration is at the Zoo this year, so we went to check it out. There was snow at the entrance! Mama and Riley enjoyed watching it

Here I am by the North Pole lights. Little did I know that Santa was right there. Once I figured that out, I hung out behind the bushes and waited until Sister was done

The highlight of the evening for me was the train ride. They decorated the little train right outside of the zoo. The lights were awesome! There were so many and there were even some on the train!


OK, not the best picture, but I still thought it was cool to show how many lights there were on the ride. There was some big displays out to see as was passed by.

So much fun! Since it's at the Zoo instead of the WAP this year, we're going to try and go a few more times. I sure love Christmas this year!

Santa!!

I got to meet Santa! As you can see from the picture, I was less than impressed. I was fine looking at him, but I didn't like sitting on his lap. I didn't get it, I was crying and unhappy and Mama was taking my picture! What's up with that?! John had the right idea. When he saw that Santa was there, he hung out behind the bushes and watched from afar. Next time I'll hide out with him!

My Two Front Teeth

Here's a shot my two top teeth. I've been working on them for awhile now. The second one just popped in this week. I have 4 teeth now!

Gingerbread Houses

Our friends Landon, Lilah and Jordan came up to decorate gingerbread houses. Well, actually they were graham cracker houses. We had so much fun! There were lots of candies to choose from and fun to eat too.

Riley always poses for the camera

Here's Lilah


Big concentration

for both of us

Mama and me

More of Smiley Riley

All finished! I'm saying "Gingerbread!"

Here are both our houses. The red candy in front is a door. I also have a gingerbread man and reindeer candy in the house. They live in there.

Such a fun morning! What a great idea Jordan! Thanks for including us!