1. Playing basketball -- Jack's school has a wonderful basketball program at his school, so this year he decided to give it a try. He is learning alot, improving all the time, and really enjoys the comradery. His coaches are volunteers and are really great with the kids. He is one of three 4th grade boys, so they play as part of the 5th grade team. They have played a scrimmage and three tournaments so far and haven't lost a single game. There is one more tournament left right after the new year, so we plan to spend alot of time shooting hoops over the holiday to improve his game.
2. Showing sheep. Okay, if you saw the previous post, you probably already knew this. We've only been to one show, but we're getting ready for the county show in January, followed by major shows later on. We have alot of work to do over the holidays, since Jack and the lambs are out of practice, but we are excited and getting geared up for the stock show season! Here is our photo from the Tri State Fair.
3. Painting pumpkins. Again this year at halloween, the kids painted pumpkins of their favorite book characters. Jack painted the main character from Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rachael painted the unicorn from Goldilicious, and Avery painted the cat from If You Give a Cat Cupcake.
4. Trick-or-Treating. On Halloween we all went to Dennis's parents house for a meal, then went trick-or-treating. The adults wore costumes, too! We had alot of fun and laughs.
5. Riding parade floats. Our store staff did a wonderful job designing and building a float for Hereford's lighted Christmas parade. Our theme: The Island of Misfit Toys. Turns out, most young people know what the Island of Misfit Toys is (you know, from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?), but our parents' generation does not. We had so much fun on the float -- it was not near as cold this year as last year -- and our float tied for "Most Original."
6. Getting into the Christmas spirit. In addition to the lighted parade, we've had lots of other holiday activities, including a couple of open houses at our store (lots of baking!), going to The Nutcracker (our annual girls' day out), Christmas recitals and programs, and parties and decorating. I have almost all of the gift shopping done, and will even get the Christmas cards in the mail this year! Notice I didn't mention anything about wrapping gifts; I have many to wrap and will begin tonight!
7. Baking, baking, and more baking. This fall I have done alot of baking for many events. It all started with the idea of adding a Cupcake Boutique for our school's carnival. Several other mothers and I made cupcakes and sold them as a fundraiser. We learned alot, raised alot of money, and look forward to an improved booth next year. I made 12 dozen cupcakes for the event, plus a few more dozen special order, including some minis for a cute mini food themed baby shower. I've also done alot of baking for family gatherings and store events, including our holiday open house -- a major undertaking since our usual caterer was unavailable. Rachael was such a big help -- stirring 5 batches of fudge on the stove and rolling cookie dough into balls, which freed me up to keep up with the dishes we were generating. She really enjoys helping in the kitchen, and I love this time with her.
8. Lots of family time. During the week we have been super busy -- between our regular schedule of work, school, ballet or piano lessons, basketball, errands, chores and all of the additional activities and events -- by the end of the week, we are in need of some serious downtime. We have been trying to make sure we do something fun as a family at least once a week. Lately, it has been a movie night, complete with popcorn.
9. Painting and redecorating. We replaced the flooring in the kids' bathroom, and I decided the walls could use a fresh coat of paint. Our store carries Lenox, and one of their newer popular designs is called Chirp. I decided to use the Chirp bathroom accessories as inspiration, and we painted the bathroom turquoise blue. I love the results and will share a blog post soon!
10. Counting our blessings. No explanation needed.....we are very blessed!
Based on my recent history, it is unlikely I will post again before the new year, so Merry Christmas! See you in 2011!
