Season's Greetings!

Merry Christmas Everyone! Just wanted to share with you some of the stuff we have been doing this "holiday season". It was the perfect time of year to have my mom staying with us for a week! Not only were Dan and I able to get lots of stuff done while she was here, but we got to Christmas-y things together too! One of my favorite was Storybook Land. They decorate the Linn County fair grounds with hundreds of scenes from famous storybooks and as well as new Disney characters and movies. I have never seen anything like it. It is truly spectacular!

Three Little Pigs

Gabe watching "the mouse (run) up the clock"

They had this huge scene of teddy bears doing various activities. Some were animated, and others were just still. There must have been a million teddy bears!

The train tables were a HUGE hit! We stood at them for hours! They had bridges and tunnels and hundreds of scenes in between the tracks. Gabe just kept going from one side to the other and back again. Mom and I joked that we were in every one's pictures for about 2 hours!

The next day, Dan "found" a tree on his way back from fishing. Apparently, all it needed was to be chiseled down with his pocket knife and drug home! So much for going and buying a perfectly shaped tree from a lot. (I gave him a hard time, but it is beautiful and truly unique)

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with

Family and Friends!

LiL' Kickers

We are doing the Lil' Kickers soccer program again this year and so far, it has been alot of fun. Last year the kids were pretty young for following directions and paying attention, but this year they are all doing much better. I try to stand back and only intervene if Gabe is off in La La land (which happens quite frequently at this age). Although the soccer facility is indoor, it is still pretty chilly so we always layer to stay warm. It is a great winter activity to combat the boredom of being cooped up inside all winter.

"I'm goin all the way!"