Christmas 2014

I have one picture of gift-opening:

And a bunch of attempts at a family photo:

From the Phone

1. Andi and Kit making faces in their fort.
2. Andi and Kit playing "hair salon".
3. Kit gathering the last of the dandelions.
4. A friend alerted to me to Elsa and Anna being at Walmart until 7. We raced around the house getting ready and got there with four minutes to spare! The ladies were very nice and it made Arlie and Andi's night.

1. Kit and Andi hiding behind trees.
2. Daddy trimming Kit's nails.
3. Andi posing with her new bangs.
4. The first picture besides hundreds of selfies Kit has taken. She captured a nice moment of Arlie talking to Daddy and me reading to Andi.

1. Andi, Arlie, and Kit treated us to a fashion show one night.
2. Fireworks at our new favorite Christmas tradition, Palmer Colony Christmas.
3. Frost, fog, and a sunset.
4. The box that Grandma's gifts came in re-purposed as a fort.

1. Arlie running in a fundraiser. She pledged to run 4 laps then ended up running 11. Her whole class just did such a good job that they ended up winning the pizza party!
2. Even Monkey got roped into playing dress-up.
3. Andi at a tea party my friend hosted.
4. A little taste of home.

We Love Snow

Yesterday's post was Fire, this one is Ice!

We are so happy to see snow! We'd only seen a few inches so far this year and they were yucky, crunchy patches that didn't even fully cover the grass. It was so exciting to wake up to a winter wonderland!

Winter Solstice Lantern Walk

We went to the Eagle River Nature Center for their Lantern Walk and Solstice Celebration. The girls and I spent a long time today making lanterns from a 1/2 gallon milk carton, an empty oatmeal container, and a Pringles can. I didn't get any good photos because kids move - a lot. You can kind of see Arlie carrying hers in the last photo. One of my resolutions in 2015 will be improving my photography game, mostly focusing on dark and winter photography!

I somehow managed to capture some of the places nearly empty but there were hundreds of other solstice celebrators there with us. First we followed the Sun Queen down the latern-lit trail to a large bonfire. We warmed up there and watched the sparks fly high into the sky. After we got warmed up we walked along another trail to a yurt. Everyone had to park their lanterns outside before we could go in to share and eat some goodies (I brought Lavender Lemonade Biscotti made with Lavender Hill flowers).

We walked back when the girls got cold (it was 10 degrees). The lanterns we made lasted just long enough to get back to the car which was perfect.

Classroom Christmas

 

I'm a little sad to see the quality of the pictures. I only used my phone because Andrew couldn't make it to Arlie's Christmas play so I wanted to send him a few pictures and a video. Then I put the phone away and focused on the play. Specifically, the very adorable Narrator! Arlie did a fantastic job, she didn't need any help even when she was reciting 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

 

I had to include a picture of the gingerbread house that she made that day as well. Her priority was candy and it makes me laugh.