Preschool Christmas Pageant

The boys had their wonderful Christmas Pageant at the preschool.  It was Jack's first one, and my fourth!  Jack did a great job, and even sang most of the songs.  He took it very seriously!  Colin was a little more nervous this year, (there was a much bigger crowd than the last few years) and looked like he might have a meltdown until he saw us in the audience.  Later he said, "Mom, people I didn't even know were taking pictures of me! That freaked me out."  After he saw us he perked up, and he sang quite a bit more than last year.  The boys favorite song from the show was definitely the classic "Happy Birthday Jesus!"  It was a great pageant, and the highlight of our Christmas so far.

Colin was a sheep, and this year his teacher thought it would be cute for him to wear his tie outside the costume.  Hilarious!

Jack was an angel.  Tinsel is very irritating!

Nutcracker 2011

This year Amelia danced in the Nutcracker as a Polichinelle!  She got to run out from Mother Ginger's giant pink skirt, wave to the audience, dance with her classmates, and then wave again and run back under the skirt.  It was a really fun part to play, and we loved the green dresses.  G.G. came out from AZ to see the performance, so it was extra special!  These photos were from the rehearsal, so that's why her hat is wonky.

Christmas Photos

Against their will, the kids were dragged into the side yard in their Christmas outfits for a quick photo shoot.  Here are their results, the official 2011 Christmas photos.   Merry Christmas!  

Amelia is a VIC

At school this week Amelia was chosen to be the VIC.  The "Very Important Child" brings in a poster and a treat, and the class spends time asking questions and saying nice things about the person.  Then the teacher hangs the poster of the child in the hall.  It was fun to make a poster with photos of Amelia, and I think she had a wonderful day at school!

Amelia's 3rd Recital

Amelia had her 3rd piano recital last Saturday. She played "Temple Breezes" which has an Asian sound, so we got her a dress in Chinatown for the occasion. :) She was pretty nervous this time, so there were a few flubs, but I think that she really played with feeling. We are, as always, very proud of her!

Outer Banks

Here are a few more photos from the trip.

Colin practicing karate on the beach!

All the kids in a crab walking race.

11 kids in all!

Jumping in the Outer Banks

At the end of August we planned a week long vacation to the Outer Banks in NC with two other families .  Hurricane Irene messed up the beginning of our trip, but as soon as it was all clear we headed down to the beach house.  As I was scrolling through my photos of the trip I could not believe how many of them contain a kid with both feet off the ground!  Here for your viewing pleasure are are the best (but not all!) of the jumping kids!  By the way, Jack's stubby legs don't get much air yet, so he isn't in any of them.

 

Groundbreaking Lunch

Back in September, on Constitution Day, the church broke ground on the Philadelphia LDS Temple, which was really exciting!  President Eyring and a lot of other General Authorities came out for the event, and I lucked out and got to be part of a small committee of 7 women to host a lunch for them after the ceremony.  My friend Tiffany and I were in charge of the centerpieces and the desserts.  It was lots of work, and one of the best experiences I've ever had!  We got to meet all the General Authorities and Pres. Eyring and his wife and daughter, and then eat with them.  They were all so enthusiastic and kind.  I'll never forget it!

It was decided that the whole lunch should be decorated patriotically, so Tiffany and I rounded up some reproductions of the Constitution and used them under the flower arrangements.

I made lemon tarts and dark chocolate cupcakes.  Tiffany whipped up some killer apple crisp.  We had an incredible lunch of grilled salmon, salad, veggies, and rice.  

A hideous photo of me, but the only one we got with Pres. Eyring!

Fall Field Trips

 The boys took a couple of field trips with their preschool during the fall, and here are the highlights:

Squirting the hose at the firehouse. 

Our wonderful trip to the farm.  I figured out that this was my 6th trip!

 I think this was Jack's first time on the horse.

Holding a chicken- Colin was into it, Jack wasn't.

 I took the boys to NJ to pick some Pink Lady apples.  They were fabulous!

Halloween, again

I had to post this hilarious photo of Amelia at her school's Halloween parade.  I sent Amelia to school with an extra stick on mustache because I knew that the one we put on before school would bother her and she'd want to take it off.  Consequently, she had to put the second mustache on without a mirror, and it ended up being crooked and upside down.  It was awesome.

The Meal

Sarah drove out from Indiana with her family for Thanksgiving, and we had a wonderful, and very busy week!  We cooked for two days straight and ended up with an heirloom turkey, 7 pies, quince cranberry sauce, and all the necessary side dishes.  It was really fun, and the food turned out great.

Looking Cool for Thanksgiving

Fall at Valley Forge

We had a lovely little trip to Valley Forge recently to see the last of the fall colors. 

 No visit there is complete without a race!

2nd Grade Play

Amelia's 2nd grade class put on a little Thanksgiving production for their parents.  Amelia was lucky enough to be the narrator, and she had the most lines of all the kids in her class!  Needless to say, she did a wonderful job, and we were very proud of her.

We had a blast raking leaves recently, and the kids had a blast spreading them out over the yard again!