Decorating the Tree

We have spent our entire day in our pjs, listening to Christmas music, eating, and putting up our Christmas tree. It has been a good rainy day to stay indoors!

MG waiting for Daddy to put up the tree

JC admiring the tree

Enjoying our traditional "snack feast" of pigs in a blanket and other finger foods

Both boys chose Noah's Ark ornaments for this year

MG picked out a Tinkerbell ornament

I've Been Tagged

I was tagged & told to go to my 4th file and pull the 4th picture...this is what was there...my sweet KK at 15 months! Isn't he a cutie!?

Bass Pro Shop

Today we took the kids to our newly opened Bass Pro Shop. The kids enjoyed seeing deer, wolves, boar, moose, and other stuffed wildlife. They also have an aquarium with fish and a Christmas area where the kids can see Santa and Mrs. Claus. The boys also took turns playing a fishing video game that uses a rod and reel to simulate catching and reeling in a 7-pound bass.

KK was very serious reeling in his big bass! (The man beside him was excited too :)

Daddy helps JC reel in his fish

MG enjoyed watching the train

The boys petting the boar

MG was not excited about sitting beside a wild boar!

Messy Party

Our friends had a "Messy Birthday Party" for their 3-year old. It was a really cute idea! They had tables set up with play dough and stamps for the kids. They also covered two walls with paper for the kids to paint. It was indeed a mess! But, everyone had a lot of fun! I feel bad that I didn't get a lot of pictures of JC. He chose the less messy route of playing with toys by himself.

MG using 2 utensils to eat her cake and ice cream!

Thanksgiving Feast

Hide the Turkey

Pass the Pumpkin

Most of the group--2 of mine wouldn't pose for pics

Today we had a Thanksgiving Feast with our church's homeschool group. The kids dressed up in their Indian and Pilgrim attire and we all sat down to a yummy Thanksgiving meal! The kids also had fun playing the games "Hide the Turkey" and "Pass the Pumpkin." The children also enjoyed doing some arts and crafts.

Wild Hog and Quiet Kids

My Dad has been in Texas for the past week on a big hunting trip. We've enjoyed seeing pictures of the wild game and we're also looking forward to eating venison this winter! I thought it was cute that KK got himself dressed this morning as a "camo man," and had wild animals adorning his body. :)

Pappy with his wild hog

KK with his bobcat, opossum, and bear

On another note, I was doing some housework this morning and noticed it was very quiet. I went back to MG's room to check on the kids and they had taken all the pillows and blankets off the couch and piled them on the floor. Big brother JC was reading books to his little sister.

R is for Rock and Reading

We finished up our unit on Rock today with a clay volcano. The kids had fun pouring red-dyed vinegar into the volcano to see it "erupt"! KK also is participating in the Book-It Reading Program with Pizza Hut. He met his goal of reading all the BOB books, so he got a free personal pan pizza today. He was so excited!

Our clay volcano

Erupting!

Can you tell he's excited!?

On our way out the door to Pizza Hut, little JC took it upon himself to help his little sis get her shoes on. :)

It's so nice to see that they CAN be kind to each other sometimes!

Turkeys

We had a Thanksgiving co-op today with our 6 little turkeys. Ms. Missy read a Thanksgiving story and had fun crafts...the kids made a placemat and Indian headdresses. We finished off the fun with turkey cookies!

Jumping!

After we finished school this morning, we headed outside for some fun. The kids got this blow-up jumper for Christmas a few years ago from Nana and Pappy...it has been a gift that keeps giving. This was the first time MG really got to enjoy playing in it with the boys. They had a lot of fun and I kept cracking up at the static in their hair! It's obvious that JC needs a haircut!

Tagged

I was tagged by my friend Missy...you go to the 6th file and select the 6th picture. This is what was in mine...a pic of our family 5 Christmases ago, when it was just the KK.

Chores

I've recently been craving a more organized chore system in our house...something that is kid-directed instead of Mommy-directed. I feel like I'm constantly nagging and reminding the boys of each step of their normal daily routines! All the chore systems out there are expensive and I knew I didn't want to spend a lot of money on something. I also didn't know what I really wanted or how I wanted to set things up. Talking it out with friends and my husband, I finally figured out something that will work for our family. The boys have a "First Fives" chart in their rooms with pictures of the first five things they need to do each morning...the things that are obvious to me, but things I felt like I had to remind them of every day. Then, they have the chore chart where they pick their color-coded chores each morning. I just used a magnetic dry-erase board and printed out clipart of the chores. I laminated the pictures and put magnets on the backs so the boys can easily slide the chores over to the "Done" side once they've completed their task. In the evenings, they can do their "Last Fives"...the last things of the day. The "Fives" charts are something that another Mom put on the MFW Families yahoo group (under the 'household' section of the files) if anyone is interested. I'm hoping these little reminders will help our house be a little more organized and orderly!

Fives charts

Chore chart