Romantic Candle Light

Yesterday evening we lost power for a little while and were actually getting ready to get out and run a couple places when it happened. We decided to change our plans for the evening since we didn't know how long the power would be out and stay home and get a fire going to keep the house warm.
Bronze and the kids played a round of hide and seek in the dark while I rounded up some candles to give us a little light.
Once we got the fire going everyone was starting to get hungry so we roasted hot dogs and chicken for dinner.
I am so glad to have a fireplace in our house now. I remember always having a fireplace growing up so it gives me a sense of security for situations like last night.
The electric company did a great job getting out to fix the power problem right away so we were only without power for an hour or so but it made for a nice,  out of the ordinary evening!

Take 279

 Take 1

(snapshot voice command waited until I got behind the phone again to kick in)

Take 2

 Um, ok, it happened again.

Take 7

 Oh Eliad!

 (there were several of these)

 Take 11

 (maybe we should try just the kids... or not!)

 Take 17

(up here please...)

Take 22

Well, we tried, 

 

Take 25

 and tried,

 Take 27

to get a Christmas picture this year.

Take 29

 But due to a less than cooperative child

Take 279 (at least that's what it seemed like)

and an uncooperative camera on my phone I guess we'll just wish you and yours a Merry CHRISTmas as we celebrate Him into the new year!

Mimi's (dead) Tree

I don't know what the fascination with this tree comes from, maybe because it's small and close to their size, but the kids like to go hang on it when we go by my parents house. The other day the big kids were by it striking poses and asked for me to take a picture and once Eliad (please excuse his state of no pants) saw he ran to join them.

Old and New

In science we have recently talked about how sound travels and the invention of the telephone.  Today for our science activity we made our own phone using the age old method of plastic cups and string. After some trial runs with his siblings he decided, by a suggestion from daddy, that the radio would be a better option for testing out our experiment.

Friday Fun

It was a busy morning at our house today. We started school early so we could finish and get out to run some errands before all the crazy Christmas shoppers got going for the weekend.
We were just finishing up as it was starting to get really busy and got home to unwind a bit. Elee wanted to play with my hair and the boys decided to jump in and join her. At some point the makeup came as well so I will spare you any after puctures! ;-)

Fancy or Frizzy

Well, the cold weather has definitely hit. We have been trying to keep ourselves busy with things to do inside, like arts and crafts and pretend play but when we are in between those, sometimes we fix up our hair or do the complete opposite by crawling around on all fours and dragging our heads on the ground! Oh how we look forward to nicer weather!

Beautiful Weather

Yesterday it was so nice out, there was no wind and we were up in the 60's. I decided to delay quiet time for a while and send the kids out for some much needed outdoor activity. They played and played and would have stayed out there for the rest of the day if I would have let them. By the time they had to come in they were covered in dirt, grass and leaves and I was actually happy about it! It was a great couple of hours of fun in the sunshine and fresh air, hopefully the time spent "out" will tide us over for time we'll spend "in" with the expected snow over the next couple days!

It's Amazing

How much more efficiently we are able to do our school work when everyone is keeping themselves entertained.
Usually I wouldn't be able to bribe them, even with electronic devices, to hang out quietly for this amount of time but somehow it worked today. Elee and Eliad kept busy playing quietly using some electronics and snacking and Ardon was able to stay focused and unstressed with school.

New Sleeping Arrangements

We don't know if they are permanent, but we are trying some new things!

Tee Ball

Cold wintery days call for in door activities that burn off energy. As I saw Eliad and Elee throwing balls/swinging bats at each other in an attempt to play baseball while Ardon and I were doing school I decided to redirect them a bit to hopefully avoid injury. With a few supplies we came up with a homemade tee that worked out pretty well. The pictures are a bit blurry but it's hard to get clear action shots at a ball game!

Cooking Creepy Crawlies

The kids have been digging through old toy boxes to keep themselves entertained the last few days. Ardon brought out his bug making supplies and asked if he could make some critters. Eliad was very interested in this whole process and when I had my back turned he'd hoisted himself up onto the counter so he could be close to the action.

Treat Time

The other day we decided to take the kids out for special ice cream, this means that instead of a 79 cent kids cone we went to a place with $1.49 kids cones that are half the size. :-P Here though you have an abundance of flavors to test with tiny spoons before you make a decision on your flavor. I wasn't very impressed but they thought it was great fun!

Cousin Time

Last week Shylee and Emmy came over for the afternoon while Ryan had an appointment. The kids had a lot of fun playing, they ran around the house making tents and dancing and I whipped up a batch of cookie dough that they each got to make their own cookie shapes with. It was a fun busy day.