Visions of Gingerbread

The Christmas season kicked off a little early, as I discovered that the entry for the local gingerbread house contest (which I wanted to enter this year) was due right before Thanksgiving!  No pressure!  The girls and I made a house to enter, while the boys decided they didn't want to enter the contest.  That's fine.  I made small ones for everyone to do (including the Nanas and our neighbor friends) in December.

The great thing (for me!) about this contest was that there were only two adult entries....and three prizes, so I was guaranteed to win something!  I came in second....and rightly so.  The first place winner's house was AMAZING.

My mom and the boys think they want to participate next year.  I hope they do - it was quite fun to see our houses in shop windows this Christmas season.

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving with our family!  We had plenty to eat (as always) and plenty for which to give thanks.  I hope your Thanksgiving was just as nice!

October

October is always a fun month - we carve pumpkins and it's Peter's birthday!  Our trick-or-treating group is getting smaller....only the girls are "young enough" to trick-or-treat, although Jonathan was allowed an extra year after a friend asked him.

Peter turned 15 this year, and he wanted a medieval feast.  We  considered going somewhere that had jousting and a dinner and  show...but it's really expensive... and there are six of us.  He agreed to compromise and allow us to have a medieval feast at home.  No utensils allowed (except knives) and we watched The Princess Bride.  It was delicious and great fun!

Randy

On October 29th, we had to say good-bye to a beloved member of the family, our cat Randy.  We have had Randy since July of 1998....through six moves, across the country and back, over to Germany and back.  He has been a royal pain, and a real sweetie.  He will be missed.

Vermont trip

I decided to take the kids to New England this year.  They'd never been to the Big E (the New England state fair) and never had fried dough!!  For you Southerners, fried dough is sort of like funnel cake, but it's only one piece, fried, with your option of toppings (although I think it's best with powdered sugar!).

We had a great time!  We not only went to the Big E and ate...and ate...and ate...oh my goodness....  we had lobster rolls, blueberry pie, maple cotton candy, fried dough (a few times!), fried veggies, hotdogs....

We also went to VINS....an amazing place near Quechee, VT with eagles, hawks, owls, vultures, and other various birds that are rehabilitating.  We LOVED it and would go again in a minute.  As an added bonus, it was definitely educational, but the kids didn't even notice, they were having so much fun!

We got to see where my cousin lives and works (a horse barn) and meet her horse, Glitter.  Caroline and Victoria rode her, as did my Nana.  My mother-in-law threw a little tea party, too, which was great fun!

My baby's....no baby!

My baby is seven!!  I realized awhile ago that I am out of a stage of life I felt I would never leave - that of having at least one preschooler.  It's a bizarre feeling.

Victoria asked for a Barbie cake, which I had never made, but I think it turned out really well!  We ate about half of it, then wrapped it up, put it on the counter... and the next morning we discovered our dog had knocked it down, smashing the plate in the process, and ate the rest of the cake....and the plastic wrap that had covered it.  Victoria took it really well...better than I did...am...!!

We tried to grow dill...

I have only tried to grow dill once before, and it died.  This year, I tried to grow it for pickles, and it got eaten.  Not nibbled, EATEN.  But who could complain after we figured out what was eating it?!?!  Swallowtail caterpillars!  Needless to say, we'll be growing dill every year from now on.

Double Digits

Caroline has finally hit double digits!  She had some friends over for what was SUPPOSED to have been an outdoor water party....but it started storming shortly after everyone got there, so we decided to do it inside.  Still fun!  Of course, we celebrated again another day with her grandparents...and another cake!

We are Family

My mom hit the big 6-0 this year, so we had a party for her....well, two, sort of...one for church friends and then a week or so later, her mom, sisters, and other friends came over.  We had a friend take pictures for this momentous occasion.

So close to being a teen...

Hard to believe Jonathan is twelve!  Here are some pictures from his birthday party and his birthday celebration with us.  We also took him to the circus!

April Fools!

The boys had youth group shortly after April Fools Day, so we had a bit of fun tricking the kids in their group.  We started with "hamburgers"... really 'Nilla wafers with peppermint patties, green-dyed coconut, and red and yellow frosting for "ketchup" and "mustard".  They were a hit!!

Then there were cupcakes for "dessert".  These were muffin-sized meatloaf with green-dyed mashed potatoes.  Also a hit!  Nothing returned home with the boys.

Cherry Blossoms

One of the best things about living near DC is Cherry Blossom time.  Every April, the cherry trees along the Tidal Basin come into flower, and it's just gorgeous!  This year, we had both sets of grandparents come along.  What fun!

Happy Easter

Christ is died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!  Amen!

St. Patrick's Day

Yes, I'm aware that St. Patrick's Day isn't until the 17th, but here in the Manassas area we had our parade on the 9th.  My mom, brother, and mother-in-law came over from Culpeper.  We enjoyed the parade, then came home and had boiled dinner and beer (Guinness, Harp, and Smithwick's), then Irish Car Bomb cupcakes for dessert (also washed down with beer, as we ran out of milk!).

It finally snowed!

Oh my gosh, the weathermen this winter have been driving my children to the brink of insanity.  They keep putting out winter weather advisories....and then it's not even CLOUDY.

So, FINALLY, last week, it snowed.  Five inches - and it came down really hard.  My kids get up at 7 - and they were outside by 7:15.  They were in and out alllllll day.  And they slept so well!!

I'm fondue....

That's sort of a silly title!  One of Peter's requests for Christmas was a fondue pot.  My mother was thrilled to give him one....with chocolate, fruit, and marshmallows.  Well, with all the food in the house (STILL) we didn't get to use it until tonight.

YUM!!  We had strawberries, pineapple, and blackberries.  We also cut up a banana that was hanging around.  And then Jonathan dug out some pretzels.  I had to watch the kids, because they were ready to dip fudge in there, too!

It's hard to decide which is my favorite....I'll have to try again....and then marshmallow fondue....cheese fondue....hot oil fondue....hmmmm.....