Tree Trimming, Santa and Mountain Biking!

What a wonderful holiday weekend!  We had Daddy home with us for a four day weekend.  It was relaxing yet fun and productive =).  Together we enjoyed decorating the tree, visiting Santa and taking Crew on his first ever mountain bike ride.  He was awesome! Oh yes, and a much needed date night to listen to Andrew Landers live.  You can check out his website and music here…. http://www.andrewlandersproject.com

Christmas music and lots of decorations…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lucy wearing Mommy and Daddy stockings! She is a nut =)

Off to see Santa…..

Best Santa ever!

Crew giving Santa a high five

Let the celebration begin…..Happy Birthday to our Savior!

Enjoying the beautiful weather

and fresh crisp air!

We have been enjoying beautiful November weather here.  The temps were in the 50’s so we headed out for a mountain bike ride.  We took Crew on his first ever mountain bike ride.  The trail was approx. 5 miles of single track.  He was awesome!

Getting ready to head out on the trail!

Beautiful views and scenery….simply amazing!!!

Feeling super blessed!  So much to be thankful for….what a great life!

Where did you get your tree this year?

Since we moved away from So Cal, we have begun a family tradition of cutting down our own Christmas tree.  Well, today was the day!  We were blessed with awesome weather (first time we were not drudging through snow ). It was a beautiful sunny day.  I could have hiked forever today enjoying the fresh crisp air!

Where do you get your tree each year?  We purchase a permit each year from our local National Forest for $10.  What a deal!  For $10 we get a beautiful, fresh cut tree.  But, most importantly an awesome family day with memories that will last forever.  Check with your National Forest Service to purchase a permit and get cutting dates and times. 
Here is a link to some information on tree options in your area as well…..
http://www.pickyourownchristmastree.org/

Here are some snapshots of our day!

Starting Our Day…. VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We started our day by stopping off to visit Smokey and then headed out for our hike.  The kiddos loved climbing boulders and searching for our perfect tree.







The perfect one….this year!



I can’t believe how big Crew is getting. Here he is dragging the tree back to the car.



The kiddos relaxing while Dad ties the tree down. 

Our adventure continued.  We headed to the local volunteer firehouse were we enjoyed chili and pie!  Couldn’t have asked for anything more =)

What is your family holiday tradition?  Please do share!

Best Pumpkin Pie, Turkey Place Markers, and More!

Home sweet home….just one of the many things we are thankful for!  Our morning started off with coffee, cinnamon rolls and Christmas music in our jammies =)

Coloring with Grandma and Daddy

 

My sweet Crew loves to cook and bake with me!  We were trying out a new pumpkin pie recipe….turned out delicious. Yes, we did get dressed today =)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the recipe…… http://www.food.com/recipe/best-ever-pumpkin-pie-28758

Next, we got a little messy making turkey place markers.  Finger painting is always a hit here!

And of course lots of cooking! 

I am thankful for so many things.  I thank God for my supporting and loving husband, my two kiddos that remind me each day of how blessed we are, my family and wonderful friends. I am excited for what God has planned for us tomorrow and each day to follow.  We know we are here to be a blessing to others and are excited to see that play out in our lives. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

I don’t know if I will ever be in a picture!

Indian Corn Lanterns

So fun to learn about the holidays with little ones!  We have continued to read about the history of Thanksgiving.  We have enjoyed The Pilgrims First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern along with fun Turkey books like Gracias The Thanksgiving Turkey by Joy Cowley.

We made Indian Corn lanterns….another easy and frugal craft =)!

Materials:

• One yellow & one green piece of tissue paper
• Orange paint
• Small piece of bubble wrap
• Empty 2 Liter bottle
• Paper plate
• Battery tea light

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kiddos loved painting (more like stamping) with the bubble wrap and then of course lighting them up with the tea lights.

Happy Crafting!

We’re Back! Thankful Turkey Craft

I feel as though it has been so long since my last post.  We have been super busy but most importantly I have downloaded Windows Live Writer so I am back in the blogging world.  I am slowly learning more and more about this blogging thing =).  I am hoping this is going to help make quicker/easier posts.

Paper-bag Turkeys VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We have been reading many Thanksgiving books, from silly to historical.  I found a great craft on Family Fun.  http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/paper-bag-turkeys-665199/  We put our own twist on it with our thankful feathers.  The kiddos loved stuffing paper, gluing, tracing and cutting.  I loved learning what they are thankful for!

We followed most of the directions on the above link with a few exceptions.  We used felt for the wattle and added the colorful feathers.

A fun, frugal and easy project! 

Happy Thanksgiving!