This past weekend we went with Grandpa, Uncle Jason and the Odglens to help them pick out Christmas trees. It had just snowed the night before, so the girls had fun frolicking in the snow. Grandpa helped them make good snowballs, and taught Maggie what to look for in a good tree (after which Maggie walked to every tree, brushed off the snow, said "hmm", and then "I think this is the perfect tree!").
Daddy and Evie
Tree inspector
A girl in the wild
Snowball man
Santa was there too, so we had a little visit with him. Maggie told him she wants a balance beam (which my crafty man is handling), and Evie sat there avoiding all eye contact (as expected).
Getting ready for Christmas
We had a really great time walking around the tree farm... but I'm still a believer in my good old fake tree! No mess, no work, and all the Christmas spirit!
Maggie's buddy had a birthday party at a bounce house this weekend. Both girls had a great time running around, and the staff was so helpful - they played with the kids, and helped them climb the tougher stuff.
PIZZA
Busy bee
The girls didn't know I was taking this video, but I was proud to see Maggie happily sharing her ice cream with Evie instead of whining - little moments.
Last night we had our first huge snow of the year. The girls had a great time playing around while Daddy did most of the snow-blowing.
As Maggie will tell you without prompting, she is now a big
5-year old! Her birthday was this past
Sunday, and she had a pretty special day!
She woke up ready to party!
Maggie is really into horses, and so we were able to find an
equestrian facility that had an indoor arena and was willing to take 10 young
kids! Most of the kids were into the
horses, and seemed to have a good time.
I was worried because the major rules of the barn included no running
and no yelling (so that the horses didn’t get spooked) – 10 kids, mostly under
5… well, they did a pretty good job, and everything went great!
All the kiddos
Riding on Pixie
The kids learned how to groom a horse, and also how to be
safe around them. They all got a chance
for a couple rides around the arena. Maggie
was in her glory… but somewhat surprisingly, so was Evie! I thought she would be nervous/scared, but
she proudly mounted and rode around the arena like she owned the place!
Piece of cake
Free labor!
Getting the saddle and reins ready
It takes 3 giggling girls to carry a saddle
We had Jamie’s former student make a cake again; this girl
is moving up in the pastry world! She
made a beautiful horse cake, perhaps a bit large for our little gathering, but
just incredible workmanship. I felt bad
cutting into it!
If I ever find this in my bed, I will take it as a gift, not a threat
Here's several other pictures from the day:
That face
My nephew could be a model
Hanging with Grammer
Tiny, no fear
Maggie's best buds from school
So curious
Make a wish!
Luke did a great job, helped lead the kids
Giggles with Grandma
Birthday love
Here's Maggie's recap of her time as a four-year-old:
