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Yesterday morning we piled into a van along with Papa, Sierra and
It was a nice drive up the valley floor, we didn’t go our “normal” route- over and down the Sierra Nevada’s what with all the ice and snow, we took the much simpler route up through
Once we entered the National Park we were delighted to find a winter wonderland awaiting us. As we were enjoying the drive deeper in the valley we were delighted to see not one but two coyotes. One of them crossed the street directly in front of our car to meet up with its mate. It was a treat to see them up-close!
We continued into the valley making our way to
We took some time to play in the snow, some time to drive around the valley floor taking in the sights and sounds of winter. It was a fun day of snow play. We spotted a few good places for some sledding fun, some open meadows for snowman building and know how easy it is to go in for some snow fun! So don’t let winter stop ya, come on over and lets hit
Thanks Dad, for a fun day!
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Today we had all the cousins over for an arvo of FuN!
We had pizza & popcorn, watched a Christmas movie,
decorated Christmas cookies,
enjoyed hot cocoa
and the fruits of their labor!
It was a great afternoon with all of them.
The kids all did such a nice job
and worked so hard on their cookies.
It’s fun to see how creative they get.
I had made up four batches of sugar cookie dough and had the cookies already baked and cooled before they arrived.
We made up white, red and green frosting and grabbed a bunch of those store bought tubes and sprinkles for them to decorate with.
After everyone left my kids got serious with the decorating and knocked out the remaining cookies.
We are working on our cookie trays that we will drop off at the police station and fire departments with a note that says, “Thank you for serving when you’d rather be home with your families.” It’s a tradition we enjoy.
In the evening we worked on some things for Christmas dinner, the kids made name cards and are working out which songs we will sing carols to and who will play them. (be it piano, clarinet or violin. Ü) |
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Okay. So, maybe they have a point in asking me that question. With Christmas only a few days away… perhaps most people would not choose this as a prime time to, literally, pull everything out of each and every cabinet, drawer and closet in their house and garage. But I think it is the perfect time for a project. I may be trying to keep busy so I don’t have to think about missing To seamlessly move a family of five half way around the world, with little interruption to their comfort, believe it or not... takes a fair bit of planning and a heap of organization! With January only a week and half away, our target pack out date the first of March, a road trip to Mexico, a road trip to Washington state in Feb and a need-to-plan trip to Alaska ahead of us…. Now is the time to get busy! Good grief- I only have about 9 weeks and that is before you take away all of the trip time! My mom is not thrilled that I have started sorting and packing, but it is a big job that I am working hard on so I can have it finished and done with in a few short days. As I go through everything I have to think in a number of categories: Donate- things that we don’t need anymore. To Long Term Storage- things that I am going to want again in 10 years (making sure I don’t say, “why’d we keep that?”) Air Shipment- the smaller shipment that they airlift to Suitcases- the clothes and all the things we will need from the time our pack out is finished until all of our household goods arrive in That’s a lot of sorting wouldn’t you agree?! See why I’ve got to get on it now?! I have even started our food suitcase! I always try to take a few things with us that are familiar and make those first few jetlagged days easier. So far I have a bag of cereal, peanut butter, yeast, baking soda, baking powder, popcorn, tea, spices and chocolate chips. It really helps us settle in when I have a lot of the “normal stuff” we need to go along with the unfamiliar packaging and names as we sus out the local grocery upon arrival. Okay, I need to stop procrastinating and get busy. I have a lot of work to do! And for Nicks sake... Christmas is only 3 days away! |
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So…
Twin 2 & 1 With Great Grandma. They are performing the show at the Fresno Memorial Auditorium, it is a 500 seat theater. They have had some shows that have been sold out, and some shows with as few as 100 people in attendance. But they have been giving their all to each performance! These last few shows are already sold out or nearly so.
Devon as Twin 2, Dylan as Twin 1 Both Dev and Dyl have been enjoying the chance to get to know the cast and crew members. They learned a lot about building sets, setting things up behind the stage, moving sets around and applying makeup! (giggle) It was a good experience for them both and I am thankful that it was rewarding for them.
With Ian The sets are amazing, the dances are fun, the songs sound awesome, the acting is energetic, it is really a very fun play! (ya, don’t worry.. we’ll have a dvd to torture you with…er, I mean share with you.)
Addison listening at the stage door last night when we arrived to pick the boys up. ~I'll post more pictures of the rest of the cast after the closing show ...tomorrow night. |
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Last night at,
Papa, Grandmama,
It was a lovely evening listening to all those voices lifted in praise!
As a funny aside: When Devon saw these pictures he informed me that Addison should not be allowed to dress like that for at least 2-3 more years. Ü He is always so funny about girls and modesty! Since Addi was going to be on stage with those bright lights, I did put makeup on her- So no worries Dev, she won't be going around like that for a few years yet. |
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This morning we stayed home from church. The boys have been so late with the play each night for the last week – they needed the sleep in this morning. So, we clamed Sunday morning as a “time of rest”, novel idea, I know! (giggle)
The kids all slept in well past nine (and that is a huge sleep in here at our place) They needed the extra hours to rest. Today the boys have two more performances. They are enjoying them so much- and are having more fun with each show. Today they had a 12:00 call for a 2:00 performance, and will be heading home to grab a bite and take a few minutes rest, for a whole hour. They have to be back for evening call at 5pm for the 7:30 show. There is a whole lot of before and after show stuff they go over and do. They are still getting home well after 10pm each night.
I am not a huge fan of the pot roast- seems to be very similar to stew to me, so why not cut the meat into smaller sizes and be done with it. LOL. (I do enjoy stew.) But I do adore a good roast meal! Today I made a 5.5 lbs beef roast, seasoned to “drool” and cooked till knife tender. (When making this type of roast it only takes about 20 minutes per pound at 350 or so) The beef was so tender, nice and pink all through the center with a fabby taste. YUM! (
I cut up a ton of veggies and piled them onto 5 cookie sheets. We had: red potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, green beans, sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkin and broccoli.
I cut all the veggies into large rustic chunks, tossed them with a good extra virgin olive oil, seasoned them with sea salt, rosemary & parsley (fresh herbs really make the difference) then everything was roasted till “ready to devour”.
I made up a batch of cheddar bacon biscuits to round it off and a scrumptiously decadent chocolate heath bar cake for dessert.
Hope your Sunday was one of rest and that you were able to enjoy a little down time!
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The rehearsals for the play have been closed. So, I have not been able to go and watch or see how things are looking.
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She had fun remaking the words to White Christmas and singing this song just for them and... I have entirely too much time on my hands! We are all missing our Summertime Christmas this year... the snags, the roos, the blokes, the busking, the flies... well, maybe not the flies! giggle giggle. Hugs! |
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Every year we rotate through one of these three books, this year happens to be a “
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Don’t you just love looking at Christmas lights?
We used to go out every evening, with mugs of hot cocoa and drive around neighborhoods “oohing” and “ahhing” over all the lights.
In
It was a walking night. No cars were allowed, they do this twice. What a delightful evening we had strolling along the two mile route (4 miles round trip) looking at all the houses, all the lights, all those decorations, all those people out enjoying the same! It was a grand start to the Christmas season! The cousins all enjoyed hot cocoa or caramel apple cider as they strolled along choosing their favorites.
We will be going back on a drive night later this month, after
Here are a few tidbits about
I forgot to clear the memory on |
