A visit from Grandma!

The kids got such a great surprise last week - a visit from their Grandma Kerry! She was waiting under the Christmas tree for them when they got back from a trip to the grocery store with James!

 First on the agenda was a birthday party for Grandpa Fred. My Aunt Kay had everyone in the family come up with a question to ask Grandpa about his life, so here are my three kids and their moment asking questions with Grandpa.

 We also opened some Christmas presents a few days later. The gifts were a big hit!

 Yesterday we hung out at our house and the kids painted ornaments. I realized I had hardly taken any pictures so I got busy with my camera!

We love you, Grandma! We're so happy you could come visit us for a whole week!

Christmas Fun

A few weeks ago the kids dressed up in matching red and black, and they looked so festive, I just had to take some pictures of them before we were out the door to church!

We also went to a fun event they had downtown with crafts, a police truck, and a fire truck!

 And the kids made some darling candy nativities at their friends' house! Though one of them told me that "I think Baby Jesus has a green head because He's about to puke." Such reverence.

Back on the ice!

Ever since winter started, my kids have been absolutely dying to go ice skating. Finally, we had our chance! Even Claire got into the action and couldn't have been happier out on the ice! What a difference a year makes - last year she would just cry and cry from the cold, but this year she was out doing her best with all the big kids!

Decorating for Christmas

I am so behind on my blog! Oh well, it's for good reason - life happens. Right after Thanksgiving we decorated for Christmas. The kids had so much fun setting up the decorations and the tree, and they've been surprisingly good about keeping their paws off everything ever since. We went really minimal this year on decorations, and I have to say I love it. Easy set up, easy clean up, and not too much holiday overload.