Oh, the many things….

It snowed.  I mean it really snowed.  Like it snowed almost a foot of snow.  It was also cold.  Like really cold.  So cold we called off school – multiple days.  The snow was beautiful and deep and I loved it.  Strangely, for the first year in awhile, I did not get out to go sledding.  However, I did shovel lots of snow.  In January, we had school for only 11 days.  11 days!  Crazy. 

The girls put on a fun, just-for-themselves fashion show.  Here are a few fun pics.

    

And the snow….

         

Of course, that much snow would be wasted if you didn’t make snow ice cream… multiple days in a row.

And the cutest scruffy dog in the house  While he enjoys the snow, this was difficult.  He was very frustrated while trying to find a place to go poop – can’t go in the deep snow, doesn’t want to go on the sidewalk or the street – oh, the dilemma!  The driveway/sidewalk was good enough occasionally, and thankfully, some people had shoveled snow in the yard for their dogs and Pepper could go there!

         

For your enjoyment, me on Wacky Wednesday at school.

Involvement in Stuff

The girls do a few things, but not so many things that we are overwhelmed.  Usually no more than one out of school/out of church commitment.  Ellie had done Stirrup Courage with horses and Madison had done volleyball.  Both of those are done (for now).  The other thing that happens over the course of the year has been 4-H.  This year, we got a letter to attend a 4-H banquet for Madison.  We had no idea what it was about.  After talking to Steph (our inside scoop on all things 4-H), it sounded like a “old-time” sports banquet – you eat at tables and kids walk up to get awards.  We thought, let’s try it out.  So, we went.  They asked Ellie if they could display her dog poster as part of a display to encourage some of the still projects.  So, Ellie had some recognition there.

We hung out in an anti-social way at our own table - eating all the popcorn and treats on the table - while we waited for the food to be served. 

The food was catered by Village Catering; it was delicious.  Then, they organized adult volunteers and kids and a numerical order based on a number they picked up as they entered.  It was all very coordinated which helped things go quickly.  Madison walked up third to last (or close to it) to received her four-year pin. 

Madison volunteered to read at the Veterans’ Day assembly with her friends, Gretta and Ellie.  While I have mixed feelings about this day and my participation in it, I feel like it is important to let my kids make their own choices.  I have also tried to rethink how I view this day.  At any rate, the girls read without a mic and projected really well. 

Ellie is still involved in church Kingdom Choir.  (Madison probably would be, but it conflicts with Jr. High Youth Group.)  The choir had a chance to go sing at a local business, P. Graham Dunn, during their open house.  Madison joined in to add more sound. 

   

Both girls had their choir concerts last week.  It was packed house in the auditorium, so my pictures are from pretty far away.  Also, I neglected to take a picture beforehand which is something I usually do.  It is always fun to hear what songs they sing and how they get more complex as they get older.  Ellie is in the top photo – top row, 2nd from the right.  Madison is in the right photo – middle row, black dress.

    

Jeremy even got to go to school!  Sandy invited him to come speak to high schoolers during their week of career exploration.  He worked hard to put together a slide show (digital) of what he does.  There was apparently one interested kid – which I say is a win for high school!

    

Happy Week 1 of Advent

With the start of December comes the start of our Advent calendar.  We don’t do Elf on a Shelf; that is labor intensive, but fun.  The Advent calendar also involves some preplanning and work, but many of the activities are things we do leading up to Christmas anyway.  Every day they open the calendar to find a story to read and an activity we will do.

Here is what has been happening so far…

Decorate doors – Last year, I told them how we were going to decorate their bedroom doors.  This year, I gathered some ideas.  Ellie used an idea; Madison did her own thing.  It took longer than I thought, but it was a lot of fun designing doors with them.

         

Check out library books – One of my favorites and easiest.  We go to the library and specifically check out Christmas/winter books, but of course you always get some other ones. (We walked away with 50 books that day!)  One thing I miss that I did more when they were little is read these books to them.  Now, they just read the picture books to themselves.  (To my credit, we are reading a chapter book right now and don’t have time for the picture books!)

Shop for Christmas gifts – We piggybacked this one with the flu shots since we were in Canton already.  They love looking for gifts for their cousins and each other.  So, Jeremy and I each took one of them and helped them sneak the other a gift.  They are really good about not looking or wanting to know what they are getting, so that’s a bonus.  We ate at Culver’s for dinner.  I always enjoy a good burger from there.

Color winter pictures – This one just didn’t happen.  It may happen later, but Saturday wasn’t the day for it, and that is okay.  We cleaned house (which we had skipped last week) for part of the day.  Then, Madison and Ellie were busy creating (sewing!) gifts for people much of the rest of the day.  Also, we headed to the Dalton Holiday Parade (just out our back door practically).  There were some fun floats/groups, and we did a few “touch a truck” things.  The girls got to climb in a semi truck to see the sleeper cab, and they thought that was pretty cool too.

                                 

Make cookie dough – This actually got pushed off til Monday, but it happened.

Cut out and bake cookies – Madison said her favorite part of this cutting out the cookies.  I usually use my aunt Darlene’s Cut out cookie recipe, but I found another one that is almost identical in ingredients and taste, but doesn't require the chilling.  So, I have been using that lately.  (Here it is if you want to test it out)

    

Decorate cookies – Last year they each invited a friend.  That wasn’t the plan this year, but then I added it.  It worked out really well.  It is fun to hear them talking and laughing with their friends.  Madison and Mallory made it almost to the end; Ellie and Kinslee gave up about halfway through.  We only had two small dishes of frosting leftover, so that was a win!

        

One other thing we learned this month is the art of wearing clothes again… like wearing the same pair of pants more than one time before washing them.  Yep, it was a revolutionary idea.  I washed clothes – at least 2 weeks worth, maybe 3? – ALL DAY on Saturday.  I showed the girls the difference in the adults’ pile and the kids’ pile.  And we talked strategy…  Always something to learn.

    

And life continues to zip along.  Only 10 school days until Christmas break!