Buche de Noel

This was my first attempt at the classic French Christmas dessert--Buche de Noel. (not sure how to add French accents in blogger . . . just pretend they are there!) I have been teaching a French class for a handful of girls since the summer. They learned the basics of French vocabulary, grammar, and culture. While I love teaching about the French language, the girls LOVED the culture parts the best. We cooked, played games, had a fashion show, all while learning about France and French culture. Our last class was a few weeks ago and we learned all about how the French celebrate Christmas. Some traditions are the same, and some are very different. I desperately wanted to try my hand at making a traditional Buche de Noel and for two days, I worked on it. During class, we put the whole thing together and this is how it turned out! It was delicious and I might just make it every Christmas!

Santa Pictures

The easiest Santa trip of all time! Several weeks ago, the Corinth-Alcorn County Humane Society was holding a fundraiser in downtown Corinth. Santa was there and Jack and Kate were able to visit with Santa without the hustle and bustle of a mall visit. What a blessing! We were the only ones there at the time and Jack took advantage of the extra time to tell Santa all about the toys he and Kate wanted for Christmas. Kate kept her distance, of course. The fun part was that we (John and I) knew Santa and have known him for years! I wonder if Jack and Kate will see him around town and wonder why Santa lives in Corinth, not the North Pole.

Merry Christmas!

The annual Christmas card picture is always a big production around the Frame household. I think about it for months leading up to Christmas, Mother and Claire make their Christmas outfits which coordinate with the theme of the card, Laine and Claire come for the weekend to shoot the pictures (Claire is in charge of motivational treats for the kiddos and Laine, obviously, is the one with the camera!), the layout is designed by Laine's good friend who is a graphic designer, and VOILA! It is ready to be mailed to all our loved ones around the country. It is actually alot of work, but I enjoy every aspect of it and look forward to it each Christmas (not sure my mother and sisters would agree, but they do a great job humoring me!) This year's theme was wishing for a White Christmas. The day we took these pictures, it was 60 degrees outside. We found John's sled from childhood and tossed in some artificial snow. Little did we know that only seven days later, we would have our first snow of the season in Corinth. The extra pictures were not used in the card, but I loved them as well.

Beach pictures

I know it is December and you probably have been in and out of the cold all day . . . what better way to warm up than look at pictures of the beach! Actually, I just realized I never posted these pictures of Jack and Kate from our summer vacation. My favorite photographer/little sister took some great shots of them and I wanted to share with you. Stay warm!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Recent photos

I am so far behind with my blog posts! I hope to have several more posts in the next few weeks, but until then, I wanted to share a few pictures Laine took the last time she was in Corinth. We have been on the ultimate quest for a good family picture . . . one where everyone is having a good hair day, smiling, looking at the camera, and wearing coordinated outfits. This is a close as we've gotten so far, even though Kate looks like she could punch somebody. Oh well, I'm couting it as a success!


 
 
 
 
 
 

The "hot now!" light was on ...

Special Agent Oso and Dottie

Here's how the conversation went ... Jack talking to Gigi (my mother)

"Gigi, I really want a jet pack. A real jet pack so I can fly like special agent oso"

Gigi's wheels start turning and before the week was out, Jack received a letter from special agent oso himself promising his very own jet pack (but it would just be a pretend one because only special agent bears can use the real thing). And you can't have a jet pack without an Oso vest, thought Gigi. And surely Kate will want a jet pack and vest too, right? Within a month, both Jack and Kate had one-of-a-kind, made just for them, first class jet packs, vests, and accessories. The pictures don't do them justice but the attention to detail (embroidery, binding, fabric choice, jet pack construction, everything!) is just amazing and I knew right away that Halloween costumes were done for this year! Jack and Kate were thrilled, of course, and have been zooming around the house for months. Well done, Gigi. Well done!

Happy Halloween!

One of my favorite fall activities! Today we carved our pumpkins. I had big plans to do a complicated design from the Martha Stewart website, but I took a nap instead. Good decision, I think. So the Minnie mouse is for Kate and she was thrilled to wake up from her nap to see "mimmie" on a "punkin". Jack picked the spider web ... much tricker than I thought it would be, but we persevered. Pumpkin seeds are roasting in the oven as I type. Hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween tomorrow! Stay tuned for pictures of the costumes ...

First cold night of the year

So the temperature is supposed to drop to 39 degrees tonight and we are so excited! Every year, we look forward to what we call "THE morning". You know, the fall morning you wake up and it has gotten cold enough in the house for the heat to turn on sometime in the night. The first thing you smell is the gas heat and you are all warm and snuggly under your covers and you realize that the best part of fall has arrived. True sweater weather and maybe a fire in the wood burning fireplace every few nights. In hopes that tomorrow will be THE morning, Jack and Kate wore their fleece footies to bed!

Dancing

Where do babies learn to dance like this?! John took a video of Kate's killer dance moves and I thought I'd share with you. While Jack was intently watching the video on the TV screen, Kate was groovin'! It reminded me of 2 year old Jack dancing in the aisle at Lowe's so I added a clip for comparison. Been a while since I've seen that little boy!

Fort Morgan 2011

The suitcases are unpacked and I've got a minute to post some pictures from our beach vacation. We had a great time in Fort Morgan, AL with my family and I can't think of a better way to finish out our summer. Jack was in heaven surrounded by all the sand, and Kate loved every minute of being in the ocean and splashing in the waves! While Jack was digging holes, Kate was collecting sea shells (We must have brought home 100+ shells!) While Jack was standing on the shore, Kate was waist high in the water. The video above really highlights how different they are. This was taken on our first day at the beach. Kate could hardly wait to get in the water and would have kept going deeper if I had let her, but Jack, my cautious child, was "just going to practice" a bit first before getting in. He did eventually walk into the water and enjoy the waves--not for long though. There was too much work to do in the sand. My favorite part of the video is at the end. Jack glances back at John setting up the tent in the background and it is almost as if he is thinking "Maybe Dad needs my help . . . no, I'm a big boy, I can do this. Just balance with my arms and the waves won't knock me over."

Happy Birthday, Jack!

Is it possible that our little baby boy is four and not so little any more?! We had a wonderful day celebrating Jack's fourth birthday at the beach. We buried our feet in the sand, splashed in the waves, baked and decorated a one-of-a-kind train cake, and opened presents. A perfect way to spend a special day.

I will post some beach pictures after we return home . . . too busy enjoying my vacation to stop and sit in front of my computer!