I don't know what it is about this school year, but I seem to be working harder than ever at this teaching gig. It seems that I never have the time to sit down and write anything on the blog anymore! So here are some pictures - it's all I can muster... :)
I didn't take a single picture with my Canon camera in November...
But, here we are on the annual Christmas tree hunt. It was pretty foggy, but not as cold as it had been the few weeks before this!
The boys chose their favorite tree. See it there? Up to Eli's knees?
Here's the real one. We didn't bring a measuring tape or anything, and this one looked pretty good. Luckily, our new house has a spot with a vaulted ceiling, so the height wasn't an issue. Turns out it was a 9-10 foot tree! The tallest we have ever cut before!
The boys trying to lift it!
And then directing daddy where to carry it. Andy had to take 5 breaks on the way to the car, it was so huge.
At Conrad Christmas.
Synchronized caramel brownie eating.
The little red chair tradition continues...
The note and cookies for Santa. This was our first year that we stayed home for Christmas. A whole different feeling - more relaxed without the crazy travel stress - but we really missed seeing Brent, Patti and Nick...
Mad libs!
Setting up the new train set from Santa.
Tackle boxes from Papa Doug and Grandma Jeanne
Grandma and Grandpa came out from Minnesota for a visit right after Christmas. We made a trip to OMSI. Here we are shooting off soda bottle rockets.
Ben trying not to touch the metal maze.
Playing with gears.
New Years Eve we had Andy's family over - what a fun night - No pictures except this one! Eli and Cousin Grant really get along well. They snuck up to the boys room and were busy for quite some time before we finally checked on them. Eli was 'reading' a book to Grant.
Ben started Tiger Cub basketball camp on Saturdays - teaching the fundamentals. He is having a blast!
Nice form, huh?
For my birthday weekend, we headed to Newport to see the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It was my first time ever! Our timing worked out pretty well - we got to see the sea otters, sea lions, and sea birds being fed within the first hour or so.
The boys really enjoyed playing in the kid zone - catching fish with a magnet pole, loading them into a bucket with a conveyor belt, weighing them and ringing up our purchase at the cash register.
A pretty sweet birthday weekend!
