Christmas Morning

The girls received the below gift from a local friend. He made it himself, and the red bag is filled with chocolates. Super creative and impressive.


Meg made me this card. I like it a lot.

Ready on Christmas Eve

Since all five of us were cleaned up, we had to take a family picture. It made us late going to a friend's place to celebrate Christmas Eve, but I think it was worth it.

And here's the setup the girls are planning to attack the following morning.

Christmas Eve Preparations

Lia and Meg volunteered to help Val get ready for tonight's special time with friends. I think she's ready. (!)

Our First Gingerbread House

On this Christmas Eve morning, we set off on a new family adventure - the making of a gingerbread house. We had little idea of what we were doing, but we're pleased with the end result. The girls contributed a bunch with helping hands and fun ideas. There was a minimum amount of bickering from the girls about decorating it so perhaps we'll make this an annual Christmas Eve tradition. :)

Christmas Eve Dusting of Snow

It's Christmas Eve, and we woke up to a very slight dusting of snow. But it was enough that Lia and Meg wanted to go outside with pajamas still on and play. I wasn't so anxious to go out into the cold so I snapped these from our window.

Sisters, a Kitchen Counter, and Cookies

Meg and Val sit atop our kitchen counter as they joyfully work on spreading icing onto Christmas cookies and immediately eat them. Isn't this what the Saturday morning before Christmas is really for? We think so, too.



Here's one of their finished products.

Radiator

This morning, Val and Meg huddle next to the radiator to keep warm. That's definitely the best spot in our apartment. It's getting really cold here!

Chilly Trip to the Zoo

Lori took the girls to one of our favorites places in the city. On this day, there were probably 10 other people in the whole zoo. In part of the zoo, some animals are wandering about the grounds and paths so that visitors can get up close and personal. The girls loved it. "So cute!" was very often said.




This guy is definitely looking for a hand-out.

A highlight was a bus ride through the big cat exhibit. Unlike last time we were here, the cats got really close to the bus. With a lot of space in the bus, the girls made there way around in it yelling, "There's another one over here! There's another one over here!"

Thanksgiving 2010

As the day began, we had the busy work of prepping two birds for a big crowd. In October, we had ordered them from our local import store. (We're so thankful for that store!) A few days prior to Thanksgiving they arrived, with just enough time to defrost them. The girls immediately named them Bob and Larry - after the kid's television show. Below, Lia takes mental notes as I prep Bob.

My friend, Mark, and I are ready to carve. With two birds, it was definitely a two-man job. And Lia is most certainly impressed with our pose.

Note my professional stance and technique in carving a bird - my body weight is clearly above the bird to assist in carving as well as keeping fingers well away from the knife. :) The night before, I watched three different videos on-line about how to carve a turkey. Very helpful.

Part of the spread. Tip - chopsticks are a great way to serve turkey without mangling the meat.

Lori and I post-meal.

Weekend in the Mountains

This place is about two and a half hours from our city, and we love it. We were there for two nights - the second night was a lot warmer than the first since I learned how to use our room's coal burning stove. Here are some pictures from our hike.

Ready for Winter

A couple weeks ago, Lori took the girls across the street to the market where there's a shop that will make puffy/down coats to order. The girls were super excited to pick out the colors and style.

On the day they were picked up, Meg couldn't wait to try it out along with her new hat, scarf, mittens and boots - as seen below. Meg really got into trying out her winter outdoor wear. What you can't see - under her corduroy pants - are three pairs of long underwear. Yes, three pairs. I believe she's ready for winter.

Subtle Message

Found this on my computer's keyboard.

Outdoor card making

The girls love to make cards and notes for friends - especially for birthdays. So they took their efforts outdoors on this nice day. A number of late summer days of rain has made the grass especially green - so nice. The blanket they're using was bought as a wedding gift for some friends ... but we decided to keep it for ourselves. I'm sure they don't mind. :)

Grandma & Grandpa!

Here are some pictures from their visit. It was really fun to have them and introduce them to our world.
Outside an aquarium, this guy takes his kite flying seriously.

Painters

The girls helped with the painting of their room, and they had a blast getting paint everywhere. The final color was a bright yellow.