In Virginia

We made a LOT of spritz cookies.  The kids hung in there decorating.....

Claire and Brody were playing fabric doll dress up.

Claire & Brody had their own cameras and took a LOT of pics.  A lot of selfies!  Cute one!

More new photographer shots!  This one of the adults.

It snowed in Virginia!  The kids had so much fun playing in it together!  Wet & sloppy!

Puzzles seem to be a new fascination for all the kids.

Cool shot of Brody by the Big Roanoke Star!

Cool shot of Claire by the Big Roanoke Star!

Maverick gets in on the action, let's get comfy!

Omi reads Christmas books to the kids before bedtime.

Tray after tray after tray of spritz!

Great thinkers...

Great readers...

 Papa measured the kids.  I don't think we noted the results, though!

Trip to Virginia to Visit the Park Family

Papa, Omi and Claire headed to Virginia on November 25.  We drove all day and got there at bedtime.
Claire was a real trooper on the drive, talked our ears off, snacked and did projects.  Not much napping!

The boys were SO happy to see her.  They had a wonderful vacation together.

Bethanie and Maverick search for the perfect real Christmas tree.

This is "the one".  We hauled it home on the top of the car.

Maverick helped Papa put together the tree stand.

We got to watch Brody practice and play hockey. 

 

 Unbelievable strength and stamina.  He loves it.  Daddy is a coach, so gets to be on the ice with him.

 

 Omi & Papa with hockey Brody.  We will repost when he's famous.  Claire & her hockey buddy.

Papa helped with the gingerbread house.

Omi helped too.  It turned out to be a real beauty!

 The Park Family Christmas card, 2014.  Maverick 2 1/2, Broden 4 3/4.

In December

Mara loves projects.  Especially tiny stickers.  And taking the paper backing to the garbage.

Let's be honest.  Max and Mara fall a lot and get hurt.  We have three ice packs on constant alert in our freezers.  Thought I'd post one of Max's recent spills off the chair.  Two teeth broke the skin on his lip.  I actually think taking the photo to send his parents made him feel better!

Mara, future rock star.

Mara talked Papa into helping with the large ornament project.  I'm kind of obsessed lately with making things from paper plates.

Our Advent (getting ready for Christmas)

Max and Mara are all dressed up in their aprons, ready to bake!

Cutting out gingerbread men.  Max loves eating gingerbread men!

Decorating gingerbread men.  Mara enjoys eating their eyes and buttons off.

All dressed up in holiday colors.

Expert spritz decorators!

Claire got in on the Almond Caramel Delight before school one morning.

A Proud Moment

Been wanting to learn to paint for a long time.  Just never took the time to begin.  I took advantage of a Community Ed class to create my first painting.  Here it is!!!  Fall Forest by the Stream.  Those are green trees as well as trees with colored leaves, a bush with tiny pink flowers, a pile of rocks.  I learned some valuable techniques.  This is in acrylic.  I'll probably take a couple more classes over the winter.  I enjoyed it and bought a few supplies to do my own thing at home as well.  First step at home is to set up a place to paint when I have a free moment.

Max and Claire at the Farm

Claire doesn't nap anymore, so on non-school days when she is with me, I have to keep her busy.  This day she picked up all the sticks in the yard, put away my flowers for winter, picked the raspberries (and ate them all), and picked beautiful leaves.  Some were for GG (they pressed them in a book), some were for Omi's kitchen, some were for Omi & Papa's bedroom (her choice), and some were for a basket of fall goodies for their new front porch.  Have you ever picked leaves?  You just can't stop yourself.  One is more beautiful than the next.  Claire found this out.  She just couldn't stop.  She especially loved the red ones and the rare pink ones.

Here's the basket for their porch.  Indian corn, broom corn, an empty bird's nest and the gorgeous leaves with some raffia bows.

Painting with real paint.  Ninja turtles - what could be better!  Shirtless, cuz I wasn't sure if he'd miss!

Decided to try an apron instead of no shirt.  He does really well.  Mara has to be sleeping, I'm not brave enough yet to have her paint!

The Park Family too

Barry and Maverick enjoying some sunshine and some lovin'.

I'm missing this family somethin' awful.  Thankfully they send photos as well as almost daily FaceTime events.  Some days the FaceTime is more like CrazyTime.

Bethanie allowed a photo of herself (and baby boy Park) during their pumpkin search.

Family Selfie - and everyone is smiling!  We have a standing joke about Maverick this spring, summer and fall - he never has a shirt on when we see him on FaceTime (or photo!)

Bethanie took photos of the boys over the summer and I framed them and have them on the kitchen table so we can see them every day!  (bet they don't know that dish of candy is sitting so close to them!)  Miss them so!

Fall Fun

Nothing like a bowl of red apples in the fall.  Cute little card from the Park boys.

Claire & Max were busy helping me harvest the seed pods from my hyacinth plants.  We also made  crowns that day! 

We went to the orchard on a beautiful day in October (66 degrees).  Donuts, caramel apple...

...apples and pumpkins!  Claire, Mara and Max were glamming it up!

Dug out Heather & Bethanie's old dollhouse.  Papa built it in the 80's and I wallpapered, carpeted and decorated it.  Furnishings were a mix of purchased items and homemade items.  It is in need of a makeover, so Claire and I are going to get to work on that!  They were loving it!

Mara & Max went with Papa & Omi to buy pumpkins & gourds for decorating church for fall harvest season.  The day was nippy but they enjoyed looking around and making the choices.

Here's our trunk-full. 

They had a lot of choices, but they were sure of their final picks.

Max and I went for lunch and a donut at a bakery close to his school one fall day.  The purple flowers were still so gorgeous!