The Polar Express

 We kicked off Christmas a little early with a trip on The Polar Express out of Bristow.

 The last time we were here it was rainy and the caboose wasn't open, so this was something new and fun while we waited!

 Ready for the ride to begin!  We did the Diamond Class ride, and it's pricey, but the view was great and I think it was worth it for what will likely be a one time event.

 All the kids got golden tickets.

 Family shot!

 After we got going they served cookies.

 We also got hot chocolate in Polar Express mugs!

 They also read the book while we were riding.

 We rode all the way to the North Pole!

 Hobo!

 On the way back, Santa visited the kids and gave them silver bells!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Today we had dinner at Jay's sister's house.

 I spent much of the afternoon trapped under this cat.  It was really quite nice.

 

 We had our Charlie Brown Thanksgiving dinner the other night.

 Not quite as much space in the living room as last year...

 My kitchen is looking a little different than it did, too.  (Please note that even though it's usually quite cluttered, this picture captures an exceptionally bad moment when we were home just long enough to drop the groceries and heat a pizza before leaving again for evening activities.  It's really not *always* this bad.)

 Yeah, I miss this.

 But new things are coming and in the mean time, there is much to be thankful for...

 First grade Bible presentation

 Winning the limbo contest at skating!

 Books to Treasure with Derek Anderson

 Alice lost her second tooth!

 She left a note for the tooth fairy and got a drawing in return!

 Making ornaments at 4H

 Visiting our old neighbors (and the animals, too!)

Bubbles!!!!!

"The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but the thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings."  ~ Henry Ward Beecher 

Recitation Day

Saturday we had our first Recitation Day for our little co-op.  Kids brought displays, recited poems, played instruments, and did skits.  It was a lot of fun and the kids all did a great job!  Jack and Alice both brought something to display (Legos for Jack and one of the stuffies from sewing camp for Alice) and they also memorized poems.

 

This is Jack's explanation of his Lego display.  His poem ("Matilda, Who Told Lies and Was Burned to Death" by Hilaire Belloc) was too long for me to upload here!

 

This is Alice's recitation of "Mice" but Rose Fyleman.

Big Band

(Image from here.)

Benny Goodman: "Sing, Sing, Sing"

Glenn Miller: "In the Mood"

Count Basie: "One O'Clock Jump"

Duke Ellington: "It Don't Mean a Thing"

Tommy Dorsey Orchestra with Frank Sinatra: "Blue Skies"

 Count Basie with Billie Holiday: "Swing Brother, Swing"

 Chick Webb with Ella Fitzgerald: "I'm Just a Jitterbug"

 The Brian Setzer Orchestra: "Jump Jive An' Wail"

Eight Years Later: Still Jumping In

 Eight years ago I made my first blog post.  That whole jump in where you are thing?  I'm still doing it every day.  After having evening activities four of the last five nights, my house (further) imploded.  This is what my kitchen sink looked like when I got out of bed.

 I'd like to pretend that that's the only scary spot, but this is what my living room typically looks like.  We obviously still haven't mastered the whole small house thing.

 And just for fun, here's where the clothes go when they're clean.  I will never take dressers for granted again.

I think the whole idea that you'll ever arrive at a point where your house is always clean or your to-do list is always caught up is a myth, especially when you're raising children. So every day you have to jump in again.

On the bright side, eight years ago we were preparing for deployment and now we're preparing for the new house.  They broke ground yesterday and the ball is rolling!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Today we had our traditional Thanksgiving dinner at home!  I wasn't sure how it was going to go since this is the smallest kitchen I've had since we started doing this 10 years ago, but I did about half of the cooking yesterday and it was super easy!

 Alice decided she would do some cooking in her kitchen, too.

 Alice made Thanksgiving pictures for our walls.

 Alice's feast!

 After dinner we worked some of it off.  The weather was perfect!

 Then we went to Target to attempt some Christmas shopping.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 ~~~

"Over and over I marvel at the blessings of my life: Each year has grown better than the last." ~ Lawrence Welk