The Fourth

We  had a big family get together on the 4th at Donna's.

We arrived early, and Jim took the kids for a ride.

We helped Mark celebrate his 21st birthday!

Grandpa and Mary

Mamaw and Stan

Donna leading everyone in God Bless the USA.

Ashlyn's first time using sparklers.

Waiting for the fireworks with Leah.

Christopher got comfy with Mary, too.

Sporting patriotic clothing.

White Christmas

It was more fun to have Uncle Mark pull her around the yard than me push down the little hill.

Our sad snowman

Playing with PawPaw

Fun with Harris Cousins

Since I didn't update while we were home for Christmas, I had in mind that I would do a quick Christmas recap and move on. Then I realized that I had way too many photos to share for just one quick post. The day after we arrived, Christal came over to my parent's house for part of the day. The kids made their own pizza. We didn't think they would eat it with the mounds of veggies they put on it. Apparently, the way to get your kids to eat veggies is to have them make it themselves. The frozen cheese pizza we put in the oven was a waste.

Later, we decorated a gingerbread house.

The kids posing with their creation.

And, just about the cutest baby on the planet.

That weekend we were with all 8 of the Harris cousins, which called for more baking, apparently.

A mess was definitely made.

Definite messes.

Thanksgiving is out...

Christmas is in!

On Friday after Thanksgiving, we got a Christmas tree, both for Ashlyn's room and the living room.

This tinsel tree is about the tackiest thing I've seen, but it's sparkly and Ashlyn loves it. Yes, she put all of the ornaments at the bottom, but that's how she wanted it.

Both of the kids LOVED decorating the tree. I put on the ornament hangers, the kids put the ornaments around the bottom of the tree, and Allen moved them around to the top while they were running to get more.

Christopher keeps taking ornaments off the tree now, and then pretending to be all concerned that the ornament is no longer on the tree. One ornament was thrown across the room as well. Fortunately, it was one of the plastic ornaments.

We don't have our Christmas decorations with us, so I ended up making a new tree skirt, stockings, and a garland. I was planning on making ornaments for the tree as well, but decided that I was doing too much.

That night we all went to see A Christmas Carol. We were a bit concerned that the kids would be scared, but they were fine. Ashlyn was excited about everything. Christopher didn't sit still quite as easily, but he did better than we thought. It was really good, and the 3D was worth the extra cost.

On Sunday we went to the Dickens Christmas Fair. Ashlyn was able to participate in a children's show. Here they were  taught how to faint "like a lady." It was pretty funny. Ashlyn liked getting to be on stage, too.

Many characters from Dickens' books were walking around, too. Ashlyn was able to see Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas present, along with Marley. The highlight for Ashlyn, though, was seeing Father Christmas. Ashlyn was so excited to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas. Christopher...not so much.

Happy Halloween!

Ashlyn was so excited about Halloween! She has been talking about it to EVERYONE. "I'm going to be a beagle doggie, like my doggie, Ranger."

Ashlyn painted our pumpkins. She started crying after she painted the mouth, because it was "scary." (The eyes are black, the mouth blue.) She then got over it, as she continued to paint the entire pumpkin. And, the little ones, too.

Christopher looks a bit goth with his first painting experience.

Christopher's tail kept dragging, so he would carry it.

Rather than go from house to house at night, we opted to trick or treat downtown Martinez. This was Ashlyn's third trick or treating this week. We'd already been to the parade at Todos Santos last Sunday, and her preschool class went to the city offices on Friday, where she got a huge stash of candy! (Allen has now organized Ashlyn's candy into "candy that he wants to eat" and "candy he doesn't want to eat.)

The kids also sang some Halloween songs in English and Spanish that they've been learning this month. (Notice Ashlyn is the only little girl not wearing a dress.)

Christopher probably should have dressed as a hockey player this year. Week before last was a bit rough for him. First he chipped his two front teeth. Before the week was out, he had also swallowed what we believed to be a magnet (turned out to be a penny,) and had a black eye from falling off of the bathroom counter. I'll be accepting my mother of the year award next week.

The left eye is more swollen in this picture than black.

Allen celebrated his 34th birthday last week. Ashlyn decided that he should have an eye cake. Usually he has a birthday pie, but we went with the eye cake this year.

4th Parade

The parade route ran just by our apartment, so we just had to go outside. The kids seemed to like getting to sit on the street, instead of avoiding it. This street is pretty busy, usually.

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Hope you had a great 4th!