Winter Sports Return!

This week we got, what I hope will be, lasting snow and ice thick enough to skate on!  To make sure we took full advantage we had a day of skating AND the first ski trip to Sugarloaf.  Everyone's skating and skiing was a bit rusty, but it felt exciting to be back on the ice and the mountain.

The pigs don't seem to be phased by the snow one bit.  They do plenty of running in their pen (as evidenced by the snow they pack down) and are currently enjoying the food scraps from our house and the hospital cafeteria.  They seem to love it and are growing well! It continues to be so cool to see how smart they are in interacting with us.  It will be interesting when they go to slaughter, but we will just keep telling ourselves that it will be worth it to "know our meat" and what it ate... I think;)

Christmas Preparations- Part 1

The Christmas season has gotten off to a fast and furious start around here!  We brought our tree home after the Chester Greenwood parade (Gabe talked me down from a bigger tree;)).  We have been looking at it for a few days waiting for Gabe to have another day off to help us decorate it... then we got impatient and decided we could do it ourselves.  I made sure to review with the kids what to do in the case of an emergency (likely me falling off the ladder) before we started.  I could hear my dad the entire time gently encouraging me to make safe choices when using a ladder.  We got the lights, decorations AND the star on and felt quite accomplished by the end.  Some of us put in more work than others...

Tonight we attended our first (of many) holiday parties where the kids got to jump in a bouncy house and eat all of the sugar cookies/frosting and candy canes they wanted:)

Beginning of December Activities

For art this week we are taking on paper mache.  I am sure this will be a project that lasts for a few weeks.  It was really fun working with this medium and watching the kids problem solve to create the shapes they wanted.  Noah is working on an octopus, James an owl, and Audrey is making some kind of cat ball.  Ben had no interest in making anything that involved him touching the glue.  So, he helped me make a few volcanoes and was happy to do some painting instead;)  

This past Saturday was Chester Greenwood Day in Farmington to celebrate the inventor of the earmuffs.  The kids were excited to be in the parade, but realized quickly that if you are in the parade you can't watch the parade;) The hospital staff was walking in the parade and somehow Gabe and the boys got to carry the banner in the front.  It was chilly, but not as cold as past years. 

Lastly, this week the Academy Hill School had their annual holiday concert.  Noah has been working very hard as part of the 4th grade orchestra playing the violin.  They all did a great job!

Thanksgiving 2016

We had lots of fun visiting and making a great meal with lots of friends and family.  We got some snow, made mini snowmen and the kids made some custom tattoos. This was a tough Thanksgiving since it was obvious that Dad wasn't here and he was terribly missed.   Having said that, we were so blessed and felt so loved by those who were present and made an extra effort to be there and help us through! Thank you all!

Turkey Trot 2016 & The First Winter Weather

The kids have been working hard all fall to prepare for the annual Turkey Trot 5K at the UMF fitness center.  Ben and Audrey both ran the kids 1-mile fun run and did a great job.  Audrey ran the entire way!  Noah and James also finished strong on a chilly morning. Noah's goal for the upcoming year is to run a 10K when he is 10 years old.  We will see how that goes:)

This Sunday after church we stayed to help decorate for the holiday season. The kids were proud of their work on the tree in the Vestry.  The cold weather has arrived and we got right out to play in the first "snowfall" of the season.  James was so excited that he made a basket and it stuck in the ice for everyone to see.

The pigs are growing! They have completely turned over the ground in their pen in just a short amount of time.  They love to play with the kids and are very entertaining to watch.

Veterans Day 2016

We are entering what is going to be a tough time of mourning as we move through this upcoming holiday season without Dad.  It was no secret that Dad loved Christmas, but what kicked off this season for him was Veterans Day.  He was a proud veteran and seeing him on this day was a truly special blessing that I will always remember.  His pride at the parade as he thanked fellow veterans and they thanked him always made me cry (and him).  This year we ventured out in his honor and made it through together feeling his presence the entire way. He would have been proud:)

After the parade we had lunch and took a field trip to the Cole's Transportation Museum.  We had not been before and, per usual, we were surprised at how long the kids stayed to learn about the exhibits and the extra special memorials for the Veterans who served alongside Mr. Cole in World War II.  It was a wonderful day, but we missed you Dad!

Fall Family Concert 2016

We did get to spend some time playing in the leaves this fall!  Today we got to take in one of our favorite Portland activities, the Portland Symphony Orchestra's Family Discovery Concert.  This theme was "sports" and it certainly didn't disappoint. The kids got to meet Slugger, Crusher, the USM softball team and the USM men's hockey team.

New this year They added a "meet/be the conductor".  Ben surprised us all by raising his hand and answering some questions from the conductor correctly that we had no idea he knew. Both he and Noah were chosen to be the conductor and practice with some real musicians. Per usual, the instrument petting zoo was a big hit:)