Winter Fun

Will got a whole toy store of gifts for Christmas!  I decided to put most of them away for now and open them one at a time over the next few months so he can actually enjoy each one.  They fill one of the storage closets in our basement!!


The tallest marble maze ever!!

If you have kids and don't have a marble maze set you NEED to get one!  I'm not sure who has more fun with it, me or Will!

A few days ago, the temperature dropped to -2 with a wind chill of -35!!  Of course school was closed (and of course we woke to no water thanks to a frozen well head) but we decided to try and enjoy the cold.  Mom suggested frozen bubbles!  We gave it a try but it was too windy.  Most of the bubbles popped in the wind before they froze, but we did manage to see a few freeze and shatter.  : )

New Year's Eve

We ended up having a VERY last-minute, small get together for New Year's Eve at our house.  We had such a nice time visiting and still ended up having a very early night.  Ours may take the record for the earliest New Year's party ever - we were cleaning up by 8:30 p.m. because everyone had a long drive back home.  It was totally NOT because we're getting old!!  ; )

 

We had fun playing with Will's new Air Swimmer.  It's a remote controlled
helium filled fish you can "swim" around the room!  I love it!

A Visit with the Honn Family

Lindsay, Jesse, and the kids came to visit the day after Christmas on their way to see family in Tennessee.  We all had such a wonderful visit and the kids played so well!  On Friday we were blessed with a sunny warm day so we packed a picnic lunch and hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail to Sawtooth Ridge.  It was great terrain for the kids - even Amie walked a good part of the time.  Unfortunately, I forgot to charge my camera battery after Christmas so I didn't get many pictures.  Fortunately, Lindsay got some REALLY great ones, so many of these I borrowed from her blog at http://www.lindsayandjesse.blogspot.com.  : )  Thanks, Lindsay, both for the pictures and for a great visit!

Brady was glad when we finally found a "lunch rock."  He was obviously hungry - he asked
when we were going to eat and I told him we would have lunch at the first big
rock we found to sit on.  After that he diligently pointed out any rock, asking if
that was a good lunch rock!  : )

Once again, similar to our last hike on the AT, we chose the difficult path
on the way up!  I was thankful we didn't have to descend by this route!
Jesse commented that it would be a workout for the "buns" and I
think he was right!  I could envision more sliding than
walking if we headed down that hill!

I love this picture Lindsay took for us!!  Will actually smiled!!!

Brady discovered an "orange smiley"

Christmas Magnet Gifts

Last year Will made salt dough magnets as gifts.  This year he made clothes pin magnets in several different styles.  I let him choose which one he wanted to make for each person.  : )

I couldn't post the picture until now since it would ruin the surprise!

Christmas!

It was so nice that we didn't have to travel for Christmas this year!  No worries about traffic on I-81 or concerns about getting all Will's toys home without renting a U-Haul!  : )

We enjoyed Christmas Eve at Aunt Carol's, followed by a candle light service (which Will loved since he got to hold a candle!).  We had Christmas morning at home for the first time in four years, then visited everyone in Covington. 

 

Will was really excited about the gold coin Grandad gave him for Christmas.  : )

Four generations - what a blessing!  : )

I just loved this picture of Napoleon!  He's so cute!

I was excited to put bows on my presents this year.  In the past I gave up the
effort because they always got crushed or fell off when we had
to pack the car to travel home.

I loved decorating the house this year - especially my live tree!

Visiting in Covington

We went to Covington on Saturday to visit mom, granddad, and Jenny. 

It was so nice outside that we decided to stop by Humpback Bridge
and let Will throw some rocks in the river.



Then we went to visit Granddad.  He set the train up on the table instead of under
the tree this year so Will could play with it easier!  : )  Will had also asked him
for feathers to write with so Granddad found him some nice long turkey feathers.

While we were there Jerry and Granddad took Will outside for his first
target practice.  He felt so big!

 

Checking out our success!

I took a turn too and did as well and Jerry did, even though the only time
I've ever shot a gun was with dad when I was very young.  That time
we shot a hole through one of mom's towels hanging on the clothes line!

Granddad showed us all up with a bulls eye on his second shot and almost
every shot after that! 

Jenny sent me this picture of Will enjoying the icing at her cookie party!
I came back for him after the sugar shock wore off!!  : )

Decorating Will's Christmas Tree

Mom came over after school today to visit.  She asked Will if he had a tree in his room this year.  We never decorated one up there since Will never asked about it.  He and mom decided to decorate one while she was here.  I was glad they did because we ended up finding all the ornaments we made last year and Will remembered what most all of them represented.  :)

Will found a sprig of what Mom said was mistletoe so Will held it up over his
head and ran to get kisses!  I loved it!!  I hope he'll always kiss his mama!

Will's Kindergarten Christmas Party

As room mother I was able to participate in planning the Christmas party for Will's class.  It's been the only time this year that I've gotten to help out in his classroom so I was so excited and had a great time!  Oh yeah, and the kids did too!  : ) 

I played Christmas Simon Says with the kids as they finished playing musical chairs.
Here, Simon said "Make a snowball and throw it at me!"

Beautiful Weather

We've had a very warm spell this week so Will and I enjoyed a bike ride/walk on Cherry Blossom trail on Thursday.

 

And sunrise on Friday was gorgeous!

Will and Daddy's Gingerbread House

Jerry bought a kit for he and Will to build a gingerbread house this year.

They had a fun time building it together!

But Will had a hard time resisting the urge to eat it!

They built it about a week ago, and after dinner today Will decided he wanted to eat the gingerbread man from the front of the house.  We had warned him beforehand that these are more for looks and don't really taste good but he wanted to try it.  Jerry asked him while he was eating it if it tasted good.  Will said, "Not really, but I want to eat it anyway!"