Post-Thanksgiving Fun

On Friday morning we went for a hike at a local park (after I ran out to do some early morning shopping, of course). The kids had a great time walking through the leaves.

Took this one with the camera myself. I was pleased that we were both in the frame, even if I do have a goofy grin.

After our hike we peeked in the windows of an old barn.

Then the kids plopped themselves down in the grass for a snack.

But after a few minutes, they walked back over to the barn, one...

by one...

by one.

Then they moved snack over to a little bench.

There were some races across the field

Zoey and Lucas grabbed the camera to take a few shots.

That evening, we went to the downtown pedestrian mall for the holiday tree lighting. Per usual, we drew a lot of attention with our triple wagon. As Miss Virginia and her entourage were walking by, they asked if she could take a picture with them. The kids didn't quite know what to make of all the fuss.

Is this pic blurry in an artsy kind of way, or in a "I was trying to walk and take a picture at the same time" kind of way?

Since we were hungry, we went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant near our old house. The place always struck us as being very family-friendly, and before we had kids we ate their a lot and dreamed about the day we could take our own kids there (big dreams, I know). The kids did great, and the staff was definitely very kid-friendly. Jason and I even got to finish our margaritas and our food!

Thanksgiving 2012

We were grateful to have Thanksgiving this year without any traveling. We went to my parents' house mid-morning, played and ate for a few hours, then came home for nap. Pretty super!

Digging in.

The kids especially liked the jello

My mouth is empty!

Zoey reading with Uncle Peter

Duets

Playing on the stairs

Riding the moose. Compare this pic with the first year she rode it.

 

 

 

 

9 months old - Christmas 2010

And here are some links to Thanksgiving 2010 and 2011. Holidays just keep getting more fun with these kids! (except for being overtired, refusing naps, and having weird eating schedules...)

Turkey Crafts

I've been on a craft kick lately, and fall seems to lend itself nicely to craft ideas. So over the past couple of weeks I've experimented with different craft activities. First, my felt board. I decided I wanted to do turkeys and trees/leaves, so I found some templates online, printed them, cut them out, and traced a million shapes on a million different colors of felt. Then I made my carpal tunnel flare up by cutting them all out over the course of one long weekend.

I cut out even more leaves and feathers after I took this picture - mostly different shades of brown.

The kids enjoy putting turkeys together, but per usual, they also enjoy ripping all the pieces off the board and scattering them around. And Lucas took the turkeys completely apart (I had glued on their faces and feet in hopes of minimizing lost parts). Oh well.

Next, I tried turkey hand pictures. The kids didn't like for their hands to be traced at first because it tickled, but once they saw the cute turkeys they let me trace more. Here's a pic of all of them together. Zoey's is the top left. She wouldn't let me write her name on the front - had to be on the back. Mine is on the top right - I had to make a prototype for the kids.

While I was at the craft store getting felt in fall colors, I grabbed a package of pipe cleaners. So the other day I made them into turkey headbands for the kids. They got to choose the colors for the bands (two of them twisted together) and the feathers (3 on each band). You have to bend the feathers a bit so they'll stand up when the headband is on. Then they wouldn't wear them because I couldn't get the wires tucked in well enough and they kept poking their heads. Oops.

Zoey - Lucas - Abby

I couldn't even get all 3 of them to wear them at the same time.

At least Jason was compliant

Finally, today I decided to conquer my fear of letting the kids learn about the existence of glue sticks. I attempted to have them make turkeys out of toilet paper rolls and construction paper, but they mostly just liked rubbing the glue all over everything. Once we finally got some feathers on their turkeys, they ripped them all off again. sigh.

Abby is frustrated here and asking for help to glue on the feathers.

I'm running out of turkey ideas, but the kids seem to like to have different craft activities to do besides the usual coloring, so I guess I'll keep searching online for fast and easy projects. Maybe someday I'll even let them use paint. eek.

Pumpkins

We went to our local pumpkin patch the weekend before Thanksgiving. It was cool and rainy, and there weren't many pumpkins left since we were getting there so late, but we still had a great time. I love living only 10 minutes from an orchard/farm!

Abby contemplating whether this is the best pumpkin.

Not many left in the field

My hands are dirty!

Mine too!

This one is just the right size for Zoey

"It's too heavy!"

After picking out our pumpkins, the kids watched the cows in the neighboring field. They practiced moo-ing and said "bye cows!" when we left.

Last year we managed to get all 3 and the pumpkin in one wagon. Not this year!

The best part was when we ate apple cider doughnuts in the shop afterwards.

Later on in the weekend, we let the kids paint their little pumpkins. I really had to manage my dislike of mess during this process. The kids had a great time!

The weekend AFTER Halloween, we finally got around to carving the big pumpkin. The kids named him Jack.

Happy Fall, everyone!