Merry Christmas!

December Happenings

December flew by as always and I can't believe all that we snuck in. Above is a picture of Zoey's letter to Santa. Here is the translation: Dear Santa, I want a Tangled Castle. I be good diss year. I already have lots of toys. I help my family on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Love, Zoey. Below is a gift tag that she made at a girl scout function. I'll let you try to figure it out. (The answer is at the end of this post.)

Speaking of Girl Scouts. Zoey is enjoying being a Daisy. We went with the girls in her troop to see Disney on Ice. Her expression is a good clue--if you are wondering if she likes it or not.

Zoey sang at church a few Sundays ago and Nana and Auntie Tammy came to watch her sing. She had a lot of fun sitting with them after she was done.
We attended the annual Cookie Party at Mary's house. All the daycare kids gathered around Santa when he stopped by for a visit.
Zander had no fear and went up and asked Santa for a Buzz Lightyear.
Zoey, believe it or not, was speechless when she sat on Santa's lap. She asked for nothing.
Here is a happy Zander sitting on Mary's lap after opening his gift from Santa and Mary.
We also found some time to go outside and sit in a fort.
(Answer to Zoey's gift tag: Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle All the Way.)

Our Karate Kid/Daisy Girl

The countdown to Christmas has begun in our house this year. We are decorated and ready to get the holiday season started. As is tradition for the past 2 years, I have an elaborate advent calendar that consists of a bag for each night counting down to Christmas Day. Each bag has a very small toy/game or craft inside for me and the kids to do. This year, my idea is to teach them about appreciating the people in our lives that do so much for us. So tonight's activity was making a list of all the people that are special to us so that we can think about them this season and make a small gift for them during our craft times. Simple enough, right?

Zoey was all over this idea. . .she had no problem filling up her page with all fantastic people and then another page after this. Once again Mrs. Kostuch tops her list and the last one is Mr. M the principal at her school. "I can't forget the principal!" Zoey said.
Zander was a little less into it. . .

Our little Zoey is filling up her social calendar with lots of neat events. She is now an official Daisy in the River Valley Girl Scout Group. She has enjoyed the her meetings and events so far. She went to the annual Sock Hop dance--which consisted of 2 hours of girl scouts running around and occasionally finding the beat to a song. It was fun to watch Zoey hang out with friends. Our next scouting event is going to Disney on Ice next weekend. She and I are both very excited about that one.

Zoey has also started her second session of Karate. We bought her the outfit so now she really feels like she has some moves. Watch out!

Zoey's Shopping List

Had to take a picture of the list that Zoey made me for our shopping trip the other day. She wrote down everything that I told her too and didn't ask for help on the spelling at all! I am so proud of her! My personal favorites on the list are in no particular order--the toofbrushes, the chicken in a can, and the Mountain Dew 4 mom.

You may notice where it says fre Zoey and fre Zander. When my kids go shopping with me they like to stand in the aisle or on a bottom shelf and yell "Free Zoeys! Get your free Zoeys!" Then of course Zander gets in on the game and says, "Free Zandas! Get your free Zandas!" So I go over and inspect them (when I am in the mood for this game) and say, "Oh this one is too dirty." To which Zoey replies, "They're washable AND free!" My only fear is that someday someone else is going to realize what a great deal that really is and take these two joys home with them.

Thank you Zoey and Zander for making us laugh each day!

Zander and Nana's first theatre outing:

The weather was rainy and threatening to freeze up everything, but we carefully took a window of opportunity for a 2 p.m. show of "A Christmas Story." Zander was happy to go with no hesitation. Judy got him hooked into the car seat and I drove the big SUV very carefully taking many side roads away from freeways. Zander was very quiet. I was expecting the Zoey chatter of earlier days. Not so with Zander. He fell asleep on the way to the theatre. I asked him to sing a song before he fell asleep and he said, "I don't know any songs." His eyes glazed over and the next thing I knew he slept. As we exited the downtown area he was wide awake. We had to look for parking - there was nothing available in the free ramp but I found a free outside lot just across the street. It only took me 5-6 minutes to get him out of the car seat... whew! I was willing to break a nail if I had to.

Again, I have to make a distinction between Zoey and Zander. Zander took my hand and we walked together to get to the door, to get the tickets, hang up the coats, stand in line to give the ticket to the lady and walk to our seats. I had to chase Zoey on her first trip. Zander was always near and never wandered or ran away. We sat in great seats. Just perfect for the little guy to see everything. He kept saying, "what movie are we going to see?" I explained he would see real people acting as different characters. This would be a story about a boy who wanted a "Red Rider BB Rifle" for Christmas and his adventures leading up to Christmas. This is called a play. He said, "Oh."

I read a book to him as we waiting for the light to go out and the play to start. This play was done very well but wasn't as slapstick as "Cinderella" and "Mulan." He didn't belly laugh real loud like Zoey - he'd smile as the story went along. He was fascinated by the kids in the show. One kid pretended to be a pig for his mother. This way she got him to eat his oatmeal and he got oatmeal all over his face. So, if Zander tries that at home you know where it came from. We spent the intermission eating a rice crispy bar and some juice. He wasn't interested in any of the toys for sale...

He sat in my lap a couple of times but mostly he paid full attention to the play. He applauded at the right times. Very little conversation because I think he was taking it all in. As we walked back to the car he held my hand with one hand and held his program with the other. All buckled up again, we drove past the theatre he said, "Can we go to this play again, Nana?" Wow, I think he liked this.

How can two children be so very unique. I'm looking forward to more fun times individually so I can experience the extremes the Z's are capable of. They are so fun! Next time I hope to pick a more raucous show for Zander.

What the Zs do when they think no one is watching. . .

Because I know what I was like to my brother when we were little, I am posting this video to myself as a reminder of how well my kids get along and enjoy each other. After a full day of Halloween, the kids helped pass out candy to a few trick-or-treaters. They were super excited and very impatient for people to come for our candy.

However, I am always amazed at how well they entertain themselves and what actually keeps their attention. This video was taken without them ever knowing I was spying on them. It makes me smile.

October has been a GREAT month!

This weekend has been fantastic! Tyler and I had two days off of work and we spent Thursday getting things done. That included some of our school work, house work, and earning our right to say "WE'RE DEBT FREE!!!!" Twenty-eight months ago, Tyler and I made a commitment to get rid of all of our debt based on the teachings and guidance of Dave Ramsey. I have to admit when Tyler first brought it up, I thought we would be joining a cult, but that was not the case.

It turns out that when you are purposeful with every dollar and live on less than you make, knocking out debt is pretty easy! Not to say that we didn't have rough bumps and things come up, but over all it has been a great experience. Tyler and I looked forward to each budget meeting as we watched our 100K of debt (cars, 2nd mortgage, student loans) dwindle.

Last Thursday night we decided to make it official. We sat the kids down with us in front of the computer with us and explained the momentous occasion. The kids have been subjected to many hours of listening to Dave Ramsey, so they knew that this was a big deal. Both Zander and Zoey know that borrowing money is bad. We all pressed the mouse button to pay off our student loans.

To celebrate we had Family Fun Day on Friday. This consisted of running errands, painting pumpkins, a family bowling trip, and dinner out! A fun day!

Zoey enjoyed a blue drink at the restaurant.

Today we went over to the annual Pumpkin Carving party at our friends' Randy's and Sharon's house. The kids had a blast jumping on the trampoline and eating, while the adults all carved the pumpkins. (That doesn't seem right to me. . .)

Zoey and Zoe!

In other news. . .here is a picture of one of Zoey's latest writings. I absolutely love watching the development of her writing and reading. You really get to know what your child is thinking when you watch her write. She did all this writing on her own. Here is the translation. The title is at the top: I Know a Fruit That Grows on Trees. The song starts at the bottom left and goes up. I know a fruit that grows on trees and apple is its name-o. A-P-P-L-E. A-P-P-L-E. A-P-P-L-E and apple is its name-o.

Zoey is very envious of our neighbor's Halloween decorations. They really do go all out--a graveyard, lights, pumpkins, webs, ghosts, and bats, etc. Zoey has been trying to duplicate those decorations in our yard. Below is a picture of the trash bag ghosts and the scarecrow that we made.

Another cute picture from the pumpkin patch.
This is an oldie--but worth mentioning. This is a picture of Zoey on the morning of school picture day. I am looking forward to seeing if the pig tails stayed in long enough for them to get the shot.

Some Artsy Shots from Uncle Eric

Thanks Eric for the pictures! You always manage to get some pretty cool shots!

Beautiful Day at the Pumpkin Patch

No trip to the Pumpkin Patch and Apple Orchard is complete with out a bag of mini-apple donuts! And that was the last thing we did today before coming home to our chores. These pictures are out of order, but I am too lazy to put them in order. They do, however, paint a good picture of how we spent our day. It was GORGEOUS! Almost too hot, but we won't complain!

We headed out to McDougall's Apple Orchard in Hastings, MN again this year. It is our 3rd consecutive year and they really do put on a good time for the family. Nana, Auntie Tammy, and Uncle Eric came with us--which the kids were super excited about!

Here are the 3 pumpkins we picked out for our family. They are such jokesters! Oh, the glasses? It was the prize that the kids picked out for successfully completing the corn maze.

Zander thoughtfully roaming through the pumpkin patch.

Tyler found himself a pumpkin!

Tammy took it personally that the kids kept sticking their tongues out when she tried to take a picture of them.

What a cute bunch!

One lap around the race course.

How tall this fall? Taller than last year! I am pretty sure that Zoey is at least a half a foot taller than this time last year.