Oh, Christmas Tree

The day after Thanksgiving we went and got our Christmas tree.  Dan wanted to cut down his own this year so we looked into tree farms nearby and decided to try Pinecrest Farms in Galien, MI to see how we liked it.  It was quick and easy and we all enjoyed the horse drawn wagon ride out to the trees.  We have had absolutely beautiful weather this fall and have been able to enjoy some last of the year outdoor activities before the snow and frigid cold set in.  I'm ready for snow anytime now as long as the date on the calender is December 1st.  Glad that we had a basically snow-free November.

 Dan snuck baby brother into this one:

 Sawing the tree we picked out.

 All cut down and ready to be bound and taken home.

 Magnolia did the honor of cutting the string that held the tree.

 Boothe was a little shocked as the tree sprung to life. 

 Pulling out the decorations and ornaments without pants.  It's kind of her thing.  I'm so used to it that sometimes people come to our house selling things or delivering packages and I won't even notice that Boothe isn't wearing pants until they are already gone.  I'm at the point where I'm satisfied if she is at least wearing underwear.

 Ho Ho Ho

 Magnolia had the honor of placing the star.  Our tree took 2 days to finish decorating because we had some light issues.  Dan didn't even get frustrated when he had to try and replace the bulbs that weren't lighting up...ahem.

 Boothe took her turn with the star too.

Nutcracker Tea

To kick off the holiday season, I took Magnolia the Nutcracker Tea.  Since she has been taking dance lessons I thought she would enjoy seeing some of the ballet, meeting some real live ballerinas and spending a fancy afternoon with mom.  She loved it more than I even expected she would.  I thought 30 minutes of performed scenes from the Nutcracker would be just enough but Magnolia was upset that we weren't going to see the whole thing!  And with all of the dancers in such a broad array of costumes running around during the tea, she was in heaven.  There were some simple crafts for the kids; hot tea, iced tea and lemonade; and some killer desserts.  This was the first year we have gone.  It is a big fundraiser for the dance company where Magnolia takes lessons, Southold.  I am already looking forward to taking both of the girls next year.

Trick-or-Treat

My little Strawberry Shortcake and little chick took to the streets on Halloween night like champs.  They went door-to-door for an hour before Boothe started to lose it and Magnolia was ready to get back too.  They even trick-or-treated at our house twice before the 5pm start time just to get some practice.  I was proud of how often they said thank you for the candy at our neighbor's and neither was shy about going up to most houses and saying trick-or-treat.  After every house Magnolia would run back to me and show me the exact candy she had got and when we got home she dumped her bucket and counted each piece.  All the candy was gone within a week.  I think I helped out a little too much, but baby brother made me do it.

And now the count down is on for Thanksgiving and less than 6 weeks before baby boy arrives!