It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

On Friday morning, we went out to Hart's Tree Farm in Rockford to cut down our Christmas tree. We actually left Alex with Grandma and Grandpa since he was still a bit under the weather. It was cold but there wasn't any wind so it wasn't too bad. We started out looking at Frasier Firs but they were all very small. So we moved over to the Blue Spruces and found a perfectly shaped tree. Phil was able to cut it down without any difficulty and then we took the tractor hayride back to the check out. We ran into some friends while we were there (we've actually run into them the past 3 years...) and then drove into downtown Rockford. We beat the rush at the Corner Bar and had our traditional hot dogs. Then we went back to pick up Alex and headed for home. We waited until late afternoon and then the boys helped us decorate the tree. William was a big help although he didn't want to put any ornaments on the back of the tree and also liked to group similar ornaments next to each other (i.e. all the cupcake ornaments). Alex tried to help but didn't quite understand hooking them onto the branches.

Will loved the littlest tree

The one we picked

On the hayride

The Corner Bar

The best we could get of the two boys

Woe is me!  More pictures!

Note: We found our peanut ornament from when William was born. Alex refused to put it on the tree, threw it down, and stepped on it. Funny... especially since he has no idea he's allergic!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Hanukkah!

Happy Hanukkah! The boys and I spent the day in the kitchen making: Babka, Challah, pumpkin pie, jelly doughnuts, and snow globes. They are great little helpers! We had a very nice family dinner and then had a movie night (we watched Cars... again!). Then Phil and William decided to camp out in the basement. Tomorrow we head to GR for Thanksgiving.

Checking out the Charlie Brown snow globes we made

Waiting patiently for dinner

Trains!

On Friday, Grandma and Grandpa came over so Grandpa could set up the trains with the boys.  They were so excited.  Since they were put up, we have spent most of our time playing/watching the trains.  They have been run in the dark, with the lights on, forwards, backwards, with various loads and have gone back and forth to the "North Pole" numerous times.  Alex is pretty content to just sit and watch the trains but I'm sure next year they will be fighting for the controls. 

Circus and Arb

This weekend, Phil took the boys to Detroit for the weekend. My book club came down from Grand Rapids on Saturday afternoon and it was so nice to be able to cook and clean w/o little ones underfoot. The boys had a great time. On Saturday morning, they went along for Aunt Maran and Uncle Josh's home inspection and got to see where they were going to be living. Then they went to Java Gym to play for a bit. In the afternoon they got to go to... THE CIRCUS! William loved it and will tell you about his favorite parts: the motorcycles and the horse that pooped. Alex enjoyed it as well, although, he did nap for a portion of it. On Sunday, they went to Ann Arbor and explored the arb with Cousin Allie.

Let it snow!

We had our first "snowfall" the other day. It was only a dusting but the boys wanted to go out and play. We built a couple mini snowmen, made snow angels, had a snowball fight, and ran around the house a few times.

Holiday Parade

On Saturday, we went to the Kalamazoo holiday parade with some friends. The boys seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. Will was able to collect some more candy (just what we need after Halloween) and we even got juice boxes and extra large cans of Coke Zero.    There were a lot of local high school bands and the WMU band was there as well.  They had large balloons, floats, and even Santa made an appearance.  After the parade, we grabbed lunch before heading home.

Watching the WMU band

"Mom, how dare you hand me off to dad?"

Santa!

Soocer!

William had his first soccer practice today. He was so excited to try on his new soccer shorts and shin guards. He did WAY better than we expected (based on previous t-ball practice). He had a smile on his face the whole time they ran drills in the beginning and was consistently in the middle of the pack. And he really got into the game they played at the end. He was so excited when his team scored a goal and was more aggressive than we thought he would be - he went after the ball!

Dallas

My best friend Beth asked me to be the Godmother of her youngest daughter, Madison. The baptism was this past weekend in Dallas so I went down for a long weekend. I left Kalamazoo early Friday morning so I had most of the day to visit. We played with Madison and her big sister, Olivia. Beth's family was in town and they watched the girls so we could go out for dinner Friday night. On Saturday, we ran a few errands and then watched the Michigan/Michigan State game. They are a "house divided" since Mike went to MSU. His family was also in town (also MSU fans) so we had a good group to watch the game. On Sunday, we walked up to the playground before the church service. It was a very nice ceremony and we had a nice party back at their house afterwards. It was a fun weekend but it was nice to get back to two boys (who were all smiles when I got in the car).

While I was gone, the boys had a lot of fun with dad. They went for a nature walk, played at Barnes and Noble, rode escalators at the mall, went to the library, and went shopping for Will's soccer gear (he starts on Tuesday).

Happy Halloween!

The boys had a great time trick or treating. We thought Alex would have enough after a few houses, but he made it the whole time. There were tons of people out in the neighborhood despite the rain and a lot of houses were decorated.