Good grief, things have been bonkers around here.
The holiday season is always brutal, and we’re in the thick of it. Throw in a few extra crazy things and then I can’t even remember the last time I picked up the camera for anything other than work.
But I managed to locate it just in time to snap these grainy photos of our local rock star, jamming in the kitchen.
Ellery never lets me do anything with her hair. But today? She found the stash of barrettes and demanded I put every single one in her hair, all at the same time.
After a weird stretch of weather this morning, the kids started screaming for me. I ran to see what was going on, and came to see a rainbow, hugely vibrant in the sky. The thing about living in the country is that not much obscures your view, and we could easily see the full arch, stretching from one field to another.
In the time it took me to run get the camera, it had already begun fading, and then it was gone.
Our friend Nancy H. invited us over to make gingerbread houses, to which we happily agreed. Tom’s aunt had kindly given the kids a gingerbread house kit, which was wrapped and in a corner of our bedroom, waiting to be opend in December. Somehow the dogs smelled it all the way through the box, and managed to eat a good amount of it before we discovered them.
Needless to say, we were excited for a second chance.
Little did we know, Nancy had made all of the gingerbread parts by hand, and had pre-assembled all the houses for ease of decorating for little people. We walked in the door, and there sat the gorgeous houses, ready for decorating.
After some playtime, the kids settled in to work on their houses. They had such a ball. Big thanks to Nancy and crew for such a fabulous afternoon.
Tom attempts professional dough throwing. Neko insists on doing every bit of it herself. Ellery uses half a bag of cheese on her pizza alone.
And Shep? He crams as many black olives in his mouth as he possibly can before we cut him off.
I’m vowing to get the kids outside for at least ten minutes a day this winter. We all need the sunshine, vitamin D, and fresh air. I think I’m going to be the biggest obstacle in all this, as I’m a complete wimp about the cold.
But today? We made it out for quite a dance party on the hay wagon.
When my uncle Keith blew into town for Farm Day, he brought with him some really wonderful gifts for the kids. Handmade capes for each of the children, crafted by my aunt Becky.
I should point out that my aunt Becky is a professional seamstress who sews costumes for a theatre company, so these weren’t just any capes. These have their initial sewed on the back with carefully detailed necks, even nicer than these ones I’ve admired online.
So Susie and I are finally getting around to saying a huge THANK YOU to Becky for all her hard work. They are gorgeous, and our superheroes are putting them to good use!
I met up with Marlo and her beautiful family (and her mom as a special bonus!) at the conservatory for holiday photos. It was the first day of the holiday display, and we got some great photos before we were approached by the staff and told we needed to pay the $125 photo fee for taking professional holiday photos. We explained we were friends for ages, so we weren’t really “professional”, but that didn’t seem to fly.
We moved our shoot outside, and laughed each time we saw families headed inside with huge camera bags and tripods and the like. I think my favorite moment was the family with infant twins, carrying in two Bumbo seats to prop them up amidst the holiday decor. I wish the conservatory luck on enforcing that policy this year!
We got some great shots, nonetheless. But could you not? This family is just beautiful.
It mostly went off without a hitch. There was the requisite arguing over ornaments. Ellery wanting “the one with the button!” Then when I finally con Neko into giving it to her, she threw herself to the floor wailing because it wasn’t a real button.
And why, oh, why can’t we ever find all three of the ornaments that are personalized?
But other than the few hiccups, it really felt very Christmas-y.
