the wagon train is safe

The pioneers are being led by Indiana Jones, two brave jawas, and some mighty ewoks. All is safe on the trail.

life is good

The boys are hoping for snow for Christmas (not likely to happen!) At least we can read lots of snow books instead, and the boys can play with the fake snow we bought at Pottery Barn. We tried to make our gingerbread house today, but nothing would stick together. It's too cold in the house, I think. We even tried to cheat and use the glue gun, but the glue dried before we could get the pieces on!

the lists are in

After two hours in line yesterday, the boys were finally able to see Santa and give him their lists. None of them asked for much this year--they all requested surprises. Even after so much time spent waiting, there was a buzz of excitement among all the kids when Santa returned from his lunch break. And everyone thought Santa was definitely worth the wait. He even kept their lists so he would be sure to know what to bring. It's officially time for Christmas now!

I Love a Parade

We nearly froze our fannies off at the parade Sunday, but now we all feel like Christmas is officially on its way. The boys especially loved that they scavenged a bag full of candy--always the highlight of the day. They all liked the covered wagon since we have been studying pioneers, and the Santa hat VW won our award for the most unique float.

Kid's Ornament Swap

Our jolly snowmen are finally on their way to places far and wide. The postman had a chuckle over our little "coolers" when we presented them for mailing. The kids were excited to send them off and are looking forward to seeing what they will receive in return. Now, if I can just clean up all that glitter!

Thinking about our troops

The kids are getting ready to pack and mail our soldier package. We are hoping it will bring a smile and a sense of the appreciation we feel for the troops. It is so hard to believe that the war is still going on and yet another Christmas and New Year will pass with our troops still so far from home. We found http://anysoldier.com/WhereToSend/ to get a list of names to choose from to send a care package, as well as the "Dos" and "Don'ts" for what to send. The kids are including several Beanie Babies they decided to part with (Anysoldier says that these can easily be packed in rucksacks and soldiers will give them to kids they encounter) and some handmade cards, as well as lots of snacks, toiletries and other goodies.

Still Fall

It still looks like Fall, but we are gearing up for Christmas. Today we worked on ornaments for the Kid's Ornament Swap. We are making "vintage" snowmen completely out of materials we have been gathering from the thrift stores. We are taking several days to make them because we are having to let the glue dry in stages. The kids are wishing for snow, so we are reading lots of snow themed books to get in the spirit: Snowballs by Lois Ehlert is a favorite, and of course Ezra Jack Keats's The Snowy Day. I showed the kids how to make paper snowflakes, and we ended up with several really nice ones.