Christmas Tree

The Christmas season began with a little Bockman miracle - the day after Thanksgiving, we got our Christmas tree up! I know. Take a moment to catch your breath. And I almost lost my temper with it only 7 or 8 times.

We found a dazzling - to put it nicely - fake tree in a market in town. When we got it home, we found it in three pieces. Okay, a bottom, middle and top - no problem. As I jammed the pieces together, the tree was quite deranged, and it became very clear that we had two middles and a top. Hmph. If we didn't have metal bars on our windows, I might have tossed it out the window. After a large sigh, I manipulated the middle section into the stand, and there you have it - our little, two-sectioned tree.
Lori and I weren't thrilled with the tree at first. Then, the girls came in and said in unison, "I love it!!!" That's enough for me.

Then they said, "Hey, let's play Christmas!" They ran off, and we wondered what this would look like exactly. They came back with their pillows and blankets and proceeded to set up "beds" under the tree. Very sweet. But I hope this doesn't mean they think they'll sleep there on Christmas Eve.
Oh, and the vendor that we bought the tree from gave the girls these monkey masks. When they first put them on, they just pointed at each other and laughed hysterically. It was hilarious, and I wish I had gotten it on video. They really like 'em ... but they kind of freak me out.

Thanksgiving

Apparently, this is the only picture we took on Thanksgiving. My apologies to the grandparents. And it seems like Meg is always the first to come running to offer her services to pose in a picture. Thanks, Meg, you're a gem.

But we did have a fabulous day of giving thanks and enjoying quite the feast - with turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. And we have leftovers. Rockin'!

Clear Day

Most days here are surprisingly clear, but this one was especially so. These are the mountains we can see from our apartment complex. And it hasn't gotten cold here yet; highs are in the 50s. This has been a welcome gift and really pleasant.

Sweet Sisters Moment

This doesn't happen as often as we might like, but it sure is nice when it does.
And Lia's going great with her reading.
And of course, the book is about princesses.

Breakfast Creation

Meg came up with something new - peanut butter toast with Tasteeos cereal. Mmmm. So good I had to share it with y'all.

Girls Room and Guest Closet

The girls might have the nicest bedroom in our apartment. We like it and so do they.
Our guest room is so small that we call it our "guest closet." The bed barely fits in there. But we're pleased with the results. And again, pillows by Craig.

Hanging Outside Our Window

We realize it's football season, but pigskins hanging outside our window is a bit extreme! Yech-o. And they smell as bad as they look. The window remained closed during their dry time.
Others said they're pig stomachs. It's a toss up.
I report. You decide.

Amusement Park

While at a local park this afternoon, we came across a bunch of amusement park rides. So fun! This was a surprise, and the girls were crazy excited. There was even a short, steel roller coaster - with a loop and corkscrew - and another ride very similar to Cedar Point's maXair. [One of the things Lori and I truly enjoy doing together is riding roller coasters. Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster is a favorite of ours.] We had a really fun Sunday afternoon hanging out here, and there were hardly any other people at the park. We'll definitely be going back sometime.

We hit this ride first. I think that girl in the foreground is a ninja.
Other rides ...
Just a hunch, but I think the twins are interested in looking at something else.
Dad and his girls.
Nice water area in the park. All my lovely ladies. You can rent little paddleboats here too; we want to do that next time.