sledding fun!!!

today after school the boys decided to get out the big sled and do some dare devil sledding down the big trail in the woods by our house!!! i had a blast watching them --as did the neighbors!! they were a little rusty to begin with...taking several crashes into small twigs and bushes....but in no time they were pros!! they only crashed into me once....it was partly my fault....i was trying to "capture the moment"!! ah! the joys of snow!!

crash and burn...hey where is grady?!!

back to the top...where is mom when ya need her??

a snowy, crafty, christmasy sort of weekend!

a snowy, crafty, christmasy, sort of weekend!

this weekend we were delighted to have a quiet, snowy, very christmasy feeling weekend! on saturday, we made our own christmas ornaments and baked a ton of sweet stuff!!! we had gone in search of our annual christmas ornaments, and were very disappointed in our options....so i decided we were going to attempt to make our own ornaments. the boys had a blast, we ended up with a snowman, 7 stars, 3 candy canes, a jingle bell, a king cobra, a tiny dolphin, and some other items that master grady made, that i'm a little unsure of exactly what they are!! the boys were very proud of their creations, and i was a little impressed with their patience and attention to the project!! that evening we had our annual christmas baking evening! shawn manned the chocolate station, i was in charge of peanut brittle, fudge, and christmas cookies, and the boys were the masters of the peanut butter, and of course the official taste-testers!! everything turned out very scrumptious, and is sure to add at least 10 extra holiday pounds!!!! on sunday morning we woke up to 3 inches of freshly fallen snow....on saturday, it had flurried off and on, but saturday evening and night, the snow really fell! we had to get a bright and early start on sunday morning because shawn and i were teaching children's church, so there was no time to disrupt that beautiful snow fall before church, so as soon as we got home, i took a picture, and then the boys played in the freezing cold snow for at least an hour! last year, grady would not have lasted 3 minutes in the snow, without tears, but this year he was happy to be rolling around in the fluffy, white stuff! the boys tested out the new sled that nana and joe sent a few weeks ago, they rode bikes in the snow, and even tried to scrape all the snow off of the mazda! shawn and i watched our little snowmen frolic in the snow, from inside the warm and cozy house!! today, gabe had a late start due to the super icy roads, so we decided to paint our ornaments!! they did a great job!! this was our first painting project done inside the house, and i am pleased to report, there is only paint on the ornaments!!! these are by far and away, my favorite ornaments yet!!! they are so much better than any of the ones i found at the mall!!! yea! memories!!!

our christmas tree!

the lights are hung, the garland strung, our crazy ornaments in sections according to the hangee's height...ah! yes, our tree is a cuffudled christmas mess!! it won't be mistaken for macy's or martha stewart's tree, but it's our memory maker! each ornament has a story, and every year more stories are added.....shawn and i have collected an ornament from everywhere we have visited...a tradition we started on our honeymoon, gabe loves to look at all of his baby ornaments-- they are all so "old"!, grady loves to hear the stories of mommy's most favorite ornaments, the most wonderfully handcrafted ornaments by gabe and grady are displayed proudly, and a year would not be complete without shawn poking fun at my most beloved "spaceman snowman" (rest assured it looks nothing like a spaceman---it is antique and very old fashioned looking-it is just an endearing name my husband has given him!). while our tree is not what i have always dreamed---i've always imagined the "macy's tree"--all the same colored balls, ribbon....fancy smancy!--it's our tree...perfect in it's own way....perfectly decorated by a 3 and 7 year old---never know... martha could catch on!

santa shawn puts the star on top of the tree--can you believe he let me take a picture of him in this hat!!!!

what next, mom??

mission complete....the perfect tree!

mission complete....the perfect christmas tree!

today was the day....the outing for the perfect christmas tree! at "home" in kansas we have the ready made perfect christmas tree every year....just pull it out of the box, and voila! the perfect tree! but when we were making the move up here, we had a lot of decisions to make, and the storage at this house is nothing like the one in kansas, so we opted to leave our perfectly ready-made tree there and go for the real deal up here! last year we went out and chopped down our own tree at st. nick's tree farm in monroe, so this afternoon we headed north for another tree search! after trekking the top part of the farm....finding one that looked pretty good, we caught the tractor down to the rest of the farm....just in case there was a better one! well, i've figured out christmas tree shopping is a lot like when i went wedding dress shopping....when i find the one i like, i should just get it because there will not be another that will even compare. so, we trekked back up the hill and went to chopping down our tree!! after our tree went on the shaker and got all wrapped up to the top of the army it went....for the long ride home! i am happy to report, that little burger held on the whole way, it is currently sitting in the garage, airing out....tomorrow the decorating begins!

getting in the spirit in leavenworth!

in the spirit in leavenworth!

on sunday, we took a mountain drive to the bavarian village of leavenworth. shawn, the boys, and i have all visited leavenworth before, but we hadn't seen it at christmas....and it would be greta's first visit! the sun actually broke out on the way to leavenworth...it was a welcome sight from the previous day! by the time we arrived in leavenworth, the fog and clouds were back, but the town was decked out in christmas....so that made up for the clouds! we had a scrumptious lunch at "the soup room", browsed through the shops, made a chocolate shop stop, coffee stop, and cheese shop stop! we took tons of pictures, and enjoyed getting in the spirit! we were even able to talk shawn into listening to christmas music.....yep, it's official, christmas is here!!!!

a rainy day outing!

greta and i at horsetail falls

hiking at the columbia river gorge!

the title says it all....on saturday morning we started out bright and early for the washington/oregon border. the forecast said the rain would be clearing out early in the morning, so we thought it would be a good day to check out the columbia river gorge! well, forecasters are frequently wrong, and they didn't disappoint in this case....it rained/mist all day. ugh! while i will repeatedly confess, i love the rain, i have come to realize i do not however, enjoy being in the rain ALL DAY....needless to say, i was a tad cranky! through the rain and mist we were able to see numerous waterfalls, have a picnic, and see some beautiful scenery. shawn and the boys went to the top of beacon rock - an 848 foot rock, and we hiked through different trails! one of my favorite things was going to the waterfalls - the best one was the ponytail falls where you could walk behind the falls! while i was in a less than fantastic mood....i'm glad we went, and i hope that we are able to make another trip there this summer--perhaps the weather will be a little more to my liking!

a shot from behind the ponytail falls!

thanksgiving at the fox house!

we had a wonderful thanksgiving! i never thought thanksgiving would taste good if i had to cook it, but even with the hard work, it was fabulous! greta and i made (from scratch) a pumpkin pie and an apple pie---i'm becoming quite the pro! shawn made is famous noodles---yummy! everything else was a compilation of the 3 of us....with occasional assistance from gabe and grady! we feasted around noon and then settled in for the traditional thanksgiving siestas! it was a good thing greta and i enjoyed our naps because we didn't get much sleep that night!! yep, we headed out at 2:30 for black friday shopping---and did we rake in the deals! i guess they reward the nutjobs that are willing to give up sleep with really awesome deals! by 11:00 that morning, we were completely finished with our shopping....on to the wrapping!