On the 14th day of advent, the activity for the day was “build a fort and eat dinner in it”.  FUN!  It was very intimate and we got to really sit closely together, share a meal and talk.  We will surely be doing this again.

 This is the first time in many years that we have had a real sized Christmas tree.  Dee and I were excited to take the boys out to the tree farm, search for the tree, have some cider and cut one down.  It was a pretty fast adventure, the boys actually found the perfect tree right away.
Came home, struggled with the lights (1/2 the strand kept going dark) and finally got to the point to decorate.  Always fun pulling out the old ornaments and having the boys put them on the tree.  They did a great job and it looks and smells so good!

All Trey wants for Christmas….

Those 1st graders are a funny crew!

 I was so lucky to be able to go on a field trip with both Carlos and Trey’s classes to the Seattle Art Museum.  The exhibit “Luminous” was amazing, so much history and glad to be able to spend some special time with my boys.  Here are some pics from the day.

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!
We are so blessed.  To have our wonderful family and friends and all that is truly important.

 So my friend, Jessica, put up a great advent calendar idea on her blog last year.  I stole it and have re-vamped it (bigger cups) for my crew and we are doing it this year.  I really can’t wait.   It only took a short time to create the cups and type up and cut out the fun things to do, some are simple (play a board game) and some a little more challenging (build a fort and have dinner in it) but I know all will be a hit.  Had to coordinate with our calendar but it made it a bit easier since we already had some holiday parties planned.

Looking forward to starting a great new tradition with our crew.

Check out Jessica’s link click here for a more detailed how-to.

Here are the things we are filling our cups with!

1 – Family game night
2 – Trip to the $1 store to shop for eachother
3 – Christmas party @ church
4 – Make wish lists
5 – Make pinecone bird feeder
6 – Write letter to santa
7 – Christmas party
8 – Have breakfast for dinner
9 – Find a Christmas tree
10 – Christmas party
11 – Decorate tree
12 – Make and decorate cookies
13 – Family Christmas movie night
14 – Make a fort and have dinner in it
15 – Make paper snowflakes and decorate the house
16 – Drive around to see the lights
17 – Kids make dinner for Mamas
18 – Walk the labyrinth
19 – Drink cocoa and read Christmas books
20 – Play a board game
21 – Make a Christmas craft w mama
22 –
23 –
24 -Go to Nana and Papa’s for special dinner and open a present!

I’m a proud mama, my boy got up in front of the whole school and spoke clearly and confidently then he and his buddy, Ryan, did an aikido demonstration. Nicely done, Levi!