Christmas Morning

The Hunt for the Perfect Christmas Tree

We left our house on the perfect afternoon to begin our tradition of cutting down our own Christmas tree.  After about 20 minutes and climbing 1000ft in elevation, we ended up in quite the snow storm.  

 There are somethings you just can't disguise, and the fact that we are a bunch of city slickers gone country is pretty obvious.

(lillian above, aleia below)

Lillian and Aleia had a grat time for the first 15 minutes, but the snow only got colder and deeper as we  climbed up into the trees.  So Moss headed off with the older kids while I kept these 3 little angels busy.  (What do you do when a 3-year-old bundled from head to toe tells you they need to go potty in the middle of nowhere????)

So, here it is in all its glory.  

The Perfect Tree!

While the tree looks enormous in the picture, it was even bigger in the house.  

We ended up cutting at least 5 feet off the bottom:)

And now for the decorating.  Seeing as how this is not your classic christmas tree, we opted for pink, blue and silver instead of green, red and gold. 

Mother's Day

So I was spoiled with Jewelry this Mother's day. Winchester has a sweet little downtown that the locals really support.
So Moss took the kids out and let them pick something out for me.

I am so blessed to be a mother and have some pretty great little people who call me "mom". It is quite the adventure that we have been through together.  I am still a little amazed that I am a Mother of 6 beautiful and wonderful children. People always comment, "i don't know how you do it!" and I honestly reply, "Not very gracefully." We may have a lot of chaos around here at 3 standish lane, but nevertheless I am so glad for our family and I wouldn't change it for anything.

But the unplanned tradition that I have kept up is getting to go out "Mothers Day Eve" to buy myself a dress or outfit. So Moss' was very generous this year and even watched my friend's kids as well so she could come out with me. Her husband is an Ortho resident and was working. So we had a very nice evening out. The other part of the tradition is that there really is never enough time for me to get out, so my shopping trip is usually limited to an hour or less. I remember one year in Winston-Salem, we were on our way home from a church function or something and we stopped at the mall and I had about 15 minutes to find something. I can actually look through my closet and see the many skirts and dresses that i have collected from these outings.

Mary's 11th Birthday (early)

Let the fun begin, again....

First, The Pizza. (and jumping on the trampline)

Second, The Craft.

Third, The S'mores.

Forth, The Make up Game.

Fifth, The Cake.

I didn't get any pictures of the "homestyle" glitter toes or the finished frame craft, but we were so busy there was no time for the movie we had planned. This was one fun-filled party and the girls had a blast. Somehow birthdays are so perfect when your a kid. It is a shame they lose their luster as we get older.

Jacob's 7th Birthday (finally)

Jacob has made some super friends while we have been here.

It is hard to have a bubble gum blowing contest when none of the kids can blow a bubble anyway...

If I had know that all you need is a pinata to make a party a succes I would have succumbed a long time ago!

The Loot.

Brooke's Family Party

The Cake was delicious and everyone really seemed to enjoy eating it!

Cousin Alistair (Brooke does not like to share him!)

Anna's Belated 9th Birthday

Girls just wanna have fun, especially this group! It was party from beginning to end!

Moss really go the party going with the pink and green hairspray!
The girls loved it!

Anna is really going to miss this crowd of girls.

Jacob lives in a world of girls, and I guess there is just no getting around it.