Festive Happenings

Tis the season of decorations, cozy clothes and all around fun. The kids got a hold of this pretty purple scarf and loved wrapping it around their heads to be little
Eskimo's. Yes ladies and gentleman, this includes my son who adores the color puple :)


We spent most of the day on Tuesday decorating our very large Christmas Tree. The kids loved getting out all of the ornaments and seeing how to hang them up. It was hilarious to see Bennett continually place all of the ornaments on one single branch or two consecutive ones. I eventually disbursed them around the tree, but it was fun to watch.




On Thursday, my mom and I held up tradition by bringing the kids to see Santa and "A Day in the Life of an Elf" at Macy's 8th floor in downtown Minneapolis. The kids really loved the little scenes and especially liked "Reindeer Training School" where it showed tiny reindeer attached to hot air ballons floating up and down in the sky. Afterwards, we ate lunch at the Oak Grill where you get a festive holiday mug and a cookie for visiting that day.

We are looking forward to more activities and festivities that the season has to offer.

December is here

There is nothing that gets me into the Holiday spirit more than the smell of a freshly cut Christmas tree. I also love the smell of my white christmas candles burning the scent of cinnamon and sugar into the air. The beautiful spray of red berries in our decorative evergreen potted plants are a wondeful sight each day. I cannot help but feel all warm and fuzzy during the month of December.

This weekend we bought our Christmas tree. We normally get a Frasier Fir but Home Depot offered a new tree this year, the Noble Fir. This tree looks much like a Frasier only much thicker and quite honestly...perfect! It was packed very tightly and the trunk is as large as a salad plate, so we were not quite sure how it would turn out. We set it up in the living room and then left for the day. When we got home, there stood the most beautiful tree I have ever had the opportunity to own. The house was FILLED with the scent of the tree and instantly I was excited. The kids and Chadd were shocked at how large it was. We got a 7 foot tree but the width of it is what commands attention. I cannot wait to decorate it, even though it may take until Christmas for us to finish it :)

We are looking forward to all of the things that this Holiday season has to offer. Friends and Family celebrating one another and the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord. Gingerbread houses and Cookie decorating. Macy's 8th floor with Grandma Fish. Snow falling. The Holidazzle Parade. Gift wrapping. And most of all seeing the delighted faces of my children as they experience this magical time of year.

Turkey Day

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving this year. The kids love any opportunity to spend at Grandma and Grandpa Fish's house. Almost everyone was able to be there this year with the exception of my sister and one of my aunt & uncles. The kids really enjoy my cousins Bailey, Jessica and Halley so they spent a lot of time hanging with them. Halley was blowing raspberries on Bria's belly and it was cracking everyone up....including Bria!

I got to do some camera experimenting with my uncle John who is a Canon aficionado. We usually try to dress up on Thanksgiving so that we can get a good family picture for our Holiday card. This year, I spent a lot of time working on lighting. I have deduced that I have a long way to go in order to "know" which settings I should use based upon the background lighting, direction of the sun, lenses and simply where to stand and at which shooting distance to be. My ammature ability aside, I was able to get a few decent shots of the kids in their outfits. I am so glad to have three kids who enjoy holding still and smiling long enough for me to quick snap a shot....who am I kidding right? My camera is so darn fast that it really is the one taking the great shot in spite of my poor ability and my kids who are constantly in motion.

I am looking forward to decorating for the holidays. We normally do this the day after Thanksgiving, but since Chadd's job has taken him over seas again, we must wait until this weekend. I actually was out there today going through bins trying to figure out if I can do anything alone. It really comes down to a whole lot of planning which I am not terribly good at and which Chadd is THE master of. So, I get a pang of saddness and longing each time we drive by Chaska Farm Mart and see the fresh cut tree's lying propped up against the fence just waiting to come home with me. Soon enough, one of those Frasier Furs will be mine.