Christmas Night 2011

Christmas night we had a huge bonfire at our house. All of our family had come over in the afternoon and we ate, played  games, and then had the bonfire.

We shot fireworks,

played with sparklers

and just sat around and talked. It was SO much fun!

One of the other things we did was this.

I told Cara I wanted to try to take pics of her doing Lincoln's name with the sparklers. I think it turned out pretty cool, don't you?

Breakfast Room Tree

I went to the Rescue Mission a few days before Christmas and found this tree for my breakfast room.

It was a pre-lit tree and they were asking $20 for it. We tested to see if the lights worked and since they did not, they marked it down to $5. I snatched it up knowing I could just add my own lights. My sweet husband cut off all the strands for me! We re-strung the tree and added red and green ornaments. Pretty awesome for only $5, don't you think!

Foyer Tree

Can you believe I got this 9  ft pre-lit tree off the side of the road? It was in perfect condition except  for a strand of lights that had some blown bulbs. We replaced those without any problem.

It is perfect for the foyer, don't you think?

Night view from the front door.

Christmas Parade

Yesterday was a busy day for us. It was Scot's birthday and the wedding of one of my cousin's. We did however, manage to squeeze in our small town's Christmas Parade. It is something the kids look forward to every year!

Josh and Marah's Wedding

Yesterday was such a fun day! We first celebrated Scot's birthday and then later that night, we celebrated my cousin, Josh, getting married!

It was a beautiful wedding and we are so happy that Marah is now officially a part of our family!

Cherokee, NC

On our way through the mountains, we stopped in Cherokee to do a little Geo-caching. 

It had been raining earlier, but thankfully had stopped while we were driving down the mountain. It would have been a scary experience if the rain had not stopped! 

Cherokee was a neat little place. I only wish we had more time to see more of it.

Quick Stop in the Mountains

On our way home from OH, we spent the night in Gatlinburg. The next morning we stopped at a few places and even did a little geo-caching. There is so much to do there, but we didn't have a lot of time to explore the area like we all wanted to! We promised the kids we would come back again soon...maybe late summer??!!!?!

Here are a few pics to remember our quick trip.

Highlights from our OH Trip

Camp out at Aunt Tammy's house

Games Galore

Making Memories with Mammaw (They were making necklaces in this picture!)

OSU Stadium

On our way up to see Scot's family, Scot had planned a little stop along the way.

We went to see the Horseshoe. Of  course, many of you who are reading this, probably do not know where that is, but you know Scot and know how much of a Buckeye fan he really is. The horseshoe is the Buckeyes stadium. S and B are both buckeye fans too so you can imagine their delight that we were going to go see where their favorite team plays.

 They were able to get out on the field and play ball!

Scot scoring a touchdown :)

It was a lot of fun to see them so excited to be there and watch them playing on the field. Lots of memories made...isn't that what it is all about?

Our Ohio family

We  had a wonderful time going to Ohio to visit Scot's family. We don't get to see them often enough, but always have great time and make lots of memories when we finally are able to be together.

This is Scot's parents affectionately known as Mammaw and Pappaw.

This is e with Scot's sister, Tammy and Mammaw.

B with his cousin, Caleb.

S with Scot's brother, Brian.

B and his Pappaw

M with Aunt Tammy

Enjoying the Fire

Our first fire of the season and in the new house :)

Puppy Love

Turkey Day Projects

We did a few projects this year both at a Thanksgiving Party we had and as part of our school day. Here are a few of the things we did.

M's Turkey hand print. I love displaying these little sentimental art pieces year after year!

S's turkey hand print (in brown) and then she added details to it.

B painted this pumpkin at our Thanksgiving Party. M painted a pumpkin on her tile too. When M wanted to add to her pumpkin, I accidently grabbed B's tile! Sooooo this is a collaboration of B and M's art work!

So what do you think?  Did you do any Turkey Day Projects with your kids this year? If so, let me know...I need some  good ideas to save for next year!

E got Braces!

Co-op Performances and the Art Gallery

The last day of Co-op for this semester, several classes were able to demonstrate things they made or learned during the semester. S took a Cheer and Gymnastics class and they demonstrated a cheer they had learned. It was really  good to see how well they did!

E took a painting class and they displayed their art pieces in an Art Gallery for everyone to come by and take a look.

She did some great pieces, learned a lot, and really enjoyed her teacher! She is looking forward to taking another art class next semester!

E with her teacher