A Trip to the North Pole!

 There was a heated tent for us to wait in before boarding the Polar Express.

 We wore jammies like they recommended...it was super cold, so the robes went over our jackets.

Ready to Ride! 

 "Hot! Hot! Hot!"

 "Tickets, Please!"

The conductor was fun and had a lot of character like the one in the movie! There was a hobo, like in the movie, that hobbled through the cars, too.

 Grandma got a punch in her ticket, but not a whole string of punches like the children.

 They read the book.

 Then we made it to the North Pole! Elves were having a snowball fight while on their break. Santa waved, and then got on board!

 All the children received bells, and we could ALL could hear it ring. ;)

 Their dolls held on to them in case their robe pocket might have a hole.

 Their first train rides were to the North Pole, how memorable and magical!

The depot was in Middleton, jut down the road from my Aunt Carol & Uncle Mike, so we stopped by them for a little visit afterwards.

Family Photo Shoot

We had a friend from church meet us at Wind Point in Racine to take a few pictures to capture our family at this time in our lives.

 Here's all of them. I was happy that we could get an outdoor family picture with our fur baby!

School Music Concerts

It was a busy week of concerts, but I love when the girls can show me what fun and cute songs they've learned! Grandma Jan even came to see them both!

Christmastime Stuff

Trip to the mall included a treat!

Fun at the mall.

Saw Santa numerous times at Chriskringle Market!

Posing with the Nutcracker ;)

Pabst has a jail in the basement 

Sharing size pretzel!

Seeing Aunt Sarah on TV for the food drive

Sending out Christmas cards.

The girls were super patient with the gingerbread house.

Look how pretty it turned out when we worked together!

Our elf, Magic has returned,

 having fun around the house and sometimes making activity suggestions.

Making candy dishes at Home Depot. We put them out for our first Christmas Party for the church choir.

Lydia, Abigail, Audrey

Anna, Abigail, Lydia playing Twister

Selfie with my lovely oldest daughter at The Star Motel. Abigail was in childcare.

I think that brings us up to date on my pictures!  😁

Happy Thanksgiving

 A trip to Country Springs Waterpark was in order with the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off (and weekday pricing applied!)  We met some friends and it was a great way to spend the day!

 We spent Thanksgiving at Aunt Sue's house. A great meal, some games, old pictures, and family.

 Abigail & Daddy went out shopping together. Lydia and I went in our own car. Petco was one of our stops, and they had kittens out for play!

 The best part of Black Friday was meeting up at Wendy's! The kid's meals always have fun crafty toys!

 On Saturday we went to Grandma Linda's. 

This is what it looks like when we ask them smile all together!

Can't wait to toss Sarah's little boy onto the cousin couch soon! 

More good food and games. Everyone was involved in the game of charades!

This mom feels very blessed!

Tae Kwon Do

Lydia participated in the Martial Arts after-school program. There were 50 kids and there was homework on focus, respect, and discipline.

After just 4 classes, they got to go to the Sorce studio and have a graduation ceremony to show the parents what they learned. This is the position that you know you are doing right if it hurts! 

At the end, they got to break a board!

Way to Go! This is a moment to remember!

Fall in Love with Abby

 Abigail's 4K class invited parents to come in to the class for "Fall in Love with Books."

They sang their cute "I'm a Nut" and "5 Little Pumpkins" songs.

We did a craft together.

And then we had a little time to read our favorite books. It's always nice to spend time with Abigail in her classroom!

We've also been enjoying the beautiful fall weather and raking leaves.

Filled the barrel!

 On Nov. 17th, it was 68 degrees, so we declared it a beach day!