We finally got enough snow to try out the new sleds Santa left on the back deck!
. . . and the new shovels dad bought at Lowe's. So far the kids love shoveling almost as much as they love sledding. That will probably wear off by the end of the winter, but for now it's great!
Ida in her "ear-mugs" a few days before Christmas. These earmuffs inspired many smiles and numerous songs about reindeer.
Christmas Eve. The kids were able (and willing) to wear the knitwear again this year that Suzanne knit for them for last Christmas.
On our way to the family Christmas Eve service.
Christmas morning is here! Santa left some of the cookies behind (he had a lot to eat around the world), which the kids quickly gobbled up before opening any presents. They were supposed to be eating muffins, but snatched the cookies when we weren't looking.
"MOM!! DAD!! SANTA BROUGHT ME MY LOLLIPOP! IT'S RED AND PINK AND A HEART!" Yes, Ida really was that excited about her lollipop.
Santa also brought some headlamps for the kids, which unfortunately will come in handy when we lose our power yet-again (for awhile we were losing it on a weekly basis).
Yumm . . . cookies!
Santa has entered the building . . .
and the kids are in awe.
Ida wanted nothing more than a pink and red lollipop shaped like a heart. Santa didn't bring it, but since she told him that's what she wanted we assured her that he would remember for Christmas.
All of the kids pose for a picture with Santa.
Henrik was not afraid of Santa this year and was willing to sit with him, even after receiving his gift and telling Santa what he wanted for Christmas.
We had some help from the kids this year. It almost became a contest to see who could put the most ornaments on and of course, both wanted to put the Bumble on the tree after watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Henrik was admiring their handiwork, while Ida perfected ornament placement and Hagen took a "snoozer".
I'm not sure if this picture shows it very well, but the tree is rather bottom heavy. Chad and Suzanne had to move a number of ornaments after the kids went to bed so that all the ornaments weren't on the bottom 1/3 of the tree. At least bottom-heavy means the tree won't fall over from too much weight at the top!
Henrik sure could use some sleep . . .
"I want to play with the big kids!"
His class got to join in the water fun when it was hot this summer, much to Henrik's delight.
The firemen made a visit to the school and taught the kids what to do if there was a fire. Unfortunately this information arrived the week after Suzanne started a fire in the oven (which thankfully resulted in no damage).
Ida was so cute at ballet. Chad was at deer camp so he didn't get to go, but Henrik and Suzanne could tell how hard she was trying to do the right moves and how much fun she was having.
Ida had an extended birthday celebration this year--starting with a party on Saturday with a few friends and grandparents. The party started with a little Halloween candy hunt to get the kids outside for a bit. It was a big hit!
Then on to some pizza and cake and ice cream. Marilyn made the cake and it was not only beautiful but delicious!
Ida, Henrik and Marilyn wasted no time in checking out the princess castle from Baka Curry and Sandy.
The next day was another nice day (for this time of year, at least) and the kids enjoyed riding down the hill into the leaves. They had so much fun--I suspect there will be a lot of sledding this winter.
It's been a long time since Hagen made an appearance in the blog so I thought I'd show off the nice picture I got of him hanging out in the driveway.
After dinner we got the jack-o-lanterns ready for Halloween while watching the Lions kick some butt!
It was nice again on Ida's actual birthday. Chad was out of town for work, so Suzanne picked the kids up from preschool, Ida picked Union Grill for dinner and then we headed off to the park to play for awhile.
On the way home we picked up a very large cupcake from Huron Mountain Bakery. After Ida blew out one more candle, she, Henrik and I split it three ways. Yummy! It's had to believe Ida's 4 already.
Henrik wanted to make sure that he was warm enough.
Fun trip to the Hayes Corn Maze.
Ida's first tractor ride.
Entering the corn maze . . . we found most of the markers and didn't even get lost.
The kids loved (more than anything else there) the hay mountain (and slide)!
Yes . . . that really is as high as it looks. It was time to call it quits when the bigger kids started playing "king of the mountain".
Henrik didn't quite get the idea of the rope maze, but found great amusement in it regardless.