Sea World and Santa

While Liam had time off school for Thanksgiving we made one last trip down to San Diego to go to Sea World. The whole park was decked out for Christmas and the kids had a blast.

Brygit really wanted to touch a dolphin which was a change since she has been adamant all year that she did not want to touch one. However, she missed her chance because she kind of chickened out when it was her turn. She was able to throw some pieces of ice into his mouth and interact in other ways but she never did get to touch the darn thing. If you bring it up to her, she cries. The only thing that got her over it was being able to touch these Tiger Sharks. She was so proud of herself for being so brave.

We ended our visit with a photo with Santa. When Brygit saw him she ran up to him and shouted, "Santa! I want a pony with roller skates!" Which, really, is what she wants for Christmas. A stuffed pony on roller skates with a leash that she can pull around. She's weird. Liam, on the other hand, had to tell Santa that he is still thinking and will send him a list in the mail. And that's mainly because it's too much to remember. Lord help us.

The following day we took the kids to get their Christmas pictures taken and we decorated the house. Hooray for December!

Thanksgiving

 

Our Thanksgiving was awesome. I am so thankful for Paul's coworker volunteering to cover for him so he could come home early and spend the day with us, for my kids who say things like, "I'm thankful for everything except strangers," and for wonderful extended family who make some delicious food.

Be Thankful

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, isn't it? I completely understand that it is, in fact, still November and that Thanksgiving is tomorrow but we still have been busy decking our halls and preparing for my favorite holiday season. But I do believe that we would miss out if we passed over this special time of the year. Thanksgiving I mean. I believe that we should think of gratitude just a bit more than shopping and sales, and even Christmas. Christmas is a season of giving but I really do believe that thankfulness puts our heart in the right place for giving. It makes us happy, it makes life slow down for a bit as we notice what we have all around us, and it brings us closer to God. I have been venting a lot lately. To Paul, mostly, the poor thing. And, let's face it, venting is just a fancy word for complaining. And complaining often leads to feeling discontent which, in turn, leads to feelings of ingratitude. It may not happen that quickly but, eventually, it always seems to end that way. And when you have hard time finding things to be thankful for, your mind and your heart are truly not where they should be and you will find yourself an unhappy person. My personal goal is to complain (or vent) less and show gratitude more. At any time of the year. So, on this beautiful Thanksgiving, let me say that I am so thankful for my family, our home, our way of life, God's grace, the love and support I have, and for the hard life lessons I am learning in this season of life. And, really, so much more.

 

Halloween

I'm a bit behind on posting Halloween pictures but here they are! Liam had a career fair at school on Halloween where the students were invited to dress as the profession they want to have when they grow up. He chose Fireman and Brygit chose Minnie Mouse. No, she just saw Liam dressed up so she wanted to do the same. She was Minnie Mouse for the first half of the day and Anna for the second half.

Liam was a Skylander named Stink Bomb for the second part of the day. He was a little nervous about his costume and felt a little silly in it but I was proud of him for choosing what he wanted, wearing it proudly, and even staying in his mask until the very end of trick or treating.

Brygit, on the other hand, knew what she wanted as soon as she laid eyes on it. She wanted to be Anna and she wanted to wear braids. This poor girl can't wait to get some hair on her head.

We met up with the cousins and collected candy in our neighborhood then we returned to home base for passing out candy before finishing our night off with dinner at Grandma's.

Triangles and Letter H

 

Last week Brygit learned about triangles and the letter H.

 

We did a little color mixing to talk a bit more about orange and then she painted a triangle she glued together with popsicle sticks.

 

 

She also made this candy corn craft and, of course, snacked on some real candy corn.

 

We also talked about how H is for Halloween and Hello Kitty. Brygit enjoyed sticking these stickers on so much that she used the entire package of stickers. I just gave her scraps of paper and showed her how to build an H then I let her stick the rest of the stickers on that one.

 

We didn't get to do all that I had planned since this week went by way too fast and we spent a morning at a Frankenstein play date. Priorities, people. But I'm excited to teach Brygit more this month!