Kids Christmas Party

 Every year we go to Matt's work place, S&P Global, and there is a Christmas party for the kids.

 They have snacks, and the kids run around a play with each other.  That is, until Santa comes.  When Santa comes all the kids sit and are anxiously awaiting the calling of their names.

 When their name is called, the kids go up and get their presents.  The parents get a nice photo with Santa.

Then the kids go back to their seats and tear into the gifts.  This year Glen got a robot that can record his voice and change how it sounds.  Grace got a bath and body beauty set (bath bombs, body gel, glitter, etc.)

Thank you S&P for thinking of the kids and making Christmas time special for them in this way.

Kitty

Glen's new favorite stuffed animal is this grey kitty that he got from church.  He named the cat Grissom because it reminds him of the cat that Grandma and Grandpa Daniels have that is also grey and named Grissom.  That cat has been slept with, loved on, and been to Arkansas with us already.  I think that it is already much loved.

Glen is an Angel

Our first Christmas at our new church and in the children's program Glen was able to be an angel.  He did such a great job.  Grace was a shepherd, but I did not get a picture of her.

Grace is 10

We have double digits in the family!  Grace is 10 years old now.

She is a sweet, smart, helpful girl who is always wanting to be on the move at all times.

 She is in violin, and piano, and learning the recorder at school.

Here Grace and Glen are putting together the Harry Potter Lego set.

 She is in Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and church club.

The first two scrunchies from the sewing machine she got from Amy and Carol.

Not to mention she loves playing with her friends and learning new skills like cooking, sewing, and crafting.

For birthday this year she got a Harry Potter Lego set, money, and a sewing machine which she has already started making many scrunchies.

1. How old are you? 10

2. Who is your best friend?  Andrew

3. What is your favorite thing to do?  Ride my bike

4. What is your favorite color?  Gold

5. What is your favorite food? Carbonarra

6. What do you like to do with your family?  Play games 

7. What is your favorite toy? Legos

8. What do you want to be when you grow up? An art teacher

9. What makes you happy? Looking at old photos

10.  What makes you sad?  When someone moves away

11.  What is your favorite show to watch? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

12.  What is your favorite book? Harry Potter

13.  What do you love to learn about? Math

14.  What is the best part of your birthday? Getting presents

15.  Where do you like to go?  The children's museum

16.  Who was your teacher?  Mrs. Van Nortwick and Mrs. Rodriguez

17.  What is your favorite treat? Gummies

18.  What do you think about right before you fall asleep? What the next day will be like  

19.  If you could meet anyone famous, who would it be?  The characters from Frozen

20.  What was your favorite birthday present?  Sewing Machine

Holiday Parade

The holiday parade is always a fun time and this time it was not too cold.  It was not warm, but it was not freezing like it has been in the past years, so it was not bad to be with both of our children who were in it.

 Grace rode in the float for Smithland Sound (the morning choir at her school)  They sang a song and she played the drums in the float.

 Glen walked with his cub scout troop.  Matt walked with him as he gave out candy.

 Here are the guys at the end of the parade.

Suddenly Grace hopped off the float at the end so she could join the guys.
Holiday parades are so nice because we get to see so many people from our town that we do not see on a regular basis.  I hope that we can continue to be involved in this parade for many years to come.

Christmas Time

The tree is decorated, and the kids are happily playing Othello.  A great start to the Christmas season.

Turkey Trot

This year, three out of the four of us ran in the turkey trot.  Glen ran the gobble gobble kids dash around the court square.  Grace ran the 4 miler.  I walked the 4 miler with Amy.

 Grace did a fantastic job.  She was kind of scared to run on her own so we gave her a walkie talkie and she was able to tell us where she was and how she was doing during the race.

 Glen ran as fast as he could then sat with Matt and waited for Grace and I to finish the 4 miler.

 He looks so proud of himself, and she should be!

A picture of the three racers.

Night Time

Last Christmas Grace and Glen got a set of flashlights as a present.  One of them was a headlamp.  I did not know how it would be used at the time.  Grace and Glen each came up with the idea that it is perfect for bed time.  Then they can use both hands to hold the book and turn the pages as they read late at night.

Fire Safety Art Contest

In October there is always an art contest held by the Harrisonburg Fire Department where they choose a theme and kids can draw a poster on that theme.  This year's theme was "Not every hero wears a cape, plan and practice your escape."

 For the first year, Glen decided that he wanted to draw and participate in this contest.  He won second place for his age group.

 There were many gifts given and certificates.

 Grace also won for her age group.  She won first place.

In addition to the ribbons and prizes, we got a meal in the fire house with the fire fighters.  This is the third time that Grace has participated in this contest.  It is a wonderful event that helps teach the kids a little about fire safety.

Fall Pictures

If was a nice afternoon so we decided to enjoy our bench swing, 

 And have a fire in our fire pit.  Which meant we also needed to have smores.

 Another fall day Glen had just gotten this pink bear blanket to snuggle up with during the day.  He loved it so much that he went to bed with it on.  I thought it was so cute, I just needed a picture.  Then I took off the blanket while he was sleeping so that he would not get too warm.  But I still have the cute picture.

 Grace found this wall while we were going to Girl Scouts one day.  She stopped and said "mom, I match the wall!  Take a picture."  So I did.

Apple Orchard

Every year we also try to go to Winchester to meet up with some of our friends who live in Northern Virginia to pick apples and catch up, since we do not get to see them as often as we would wish.

 And each year I try to get a picture of the kids in this window.  I think the pictures turned out pretty well.

 This year the apple pickers were Vitaly, Violetta, Danny (their son), Matt, Grace, Glen and I.

 And to the shock of us all, the apple eaters were ALL of us!

 Glen, who does not like fruit.  Tried an apple and declared it good.

 Did he eat any more after that day?  Nope!  But he did eat that one and he said he liked it.  That was enough for me.

 It was not a long walk, but Grace still got a ride.

Glen was just happy to walk with his stick (sword) and fight off all villains along the way.  What would I do without him keeping me safe?

Back Home On The Farm

As a tradition we try to go to a farm/pumpkin patch every fall.  Since we have been back to Harrisonburg we have found Back Home On The Farm and we love it!  So on October 5th we headed to the farm.

 Right after we got our tickets and got into the farm the kids were drawn to the tire swing.  I thought it was cute that they wanted to share and swing together, but there are so many other attractions and games and things to see at the farm.  It took a bit of convincing to get them off of the swing.

 But I did it by reminding them of the Merry-Go-Round, and the corn maze (which we got lost in this year), and the rubber ducky races, and the pig races, and so much more!

 But before we headed out to all of that I wanted to get my yearly LOVE picture.

 Glen in the train.  He is growing up so fast!

 Here Grace is doing the sling shot.  She did get to hit some of the metal animals up on the hill.

 Oh and some other favorite activities are the hamster wheel, the underground slide, and the petting zoo.  We were running around the whole time.

 Grace on her way to do the slide yet another time.  She is growing so fast.

Fall is here!

The Joy of Grandma Being Near

On October 3rd (Grandma's birthday) Grace woke up VERY early.  She did not want to sleep anymore.  She decided that she wanted to make something for breakfast.  So we talked about it and decided that she could make apple scones.  We would have one for breakfast and Matt could deliver one to his parents on the way to work so that Grandma Sue could have a special birthday breakfast.  So Grace got to work and made two scones which turned out really well.

I like this independence she is getting in the kitchen.

Festival of Magic and Mystery

On September 28th (happy birthday Matt) we decided to go to the Festival of Magic and Mystery in Staunton.  It is very much Harry Potter themed and it was a lot of fun to experience.

 We started off the day with Grace and Glen running the Race of 100 Harrys.  And Matt and I running the Firebolt 5K.  So we had two Harry Potters and Matt and I chose to be in Ravenclaw house.  I think that fits us very well.

 I like this family picture of us.

 Here is our little Harry running through the field at the Frontier Culture Museum where the race was being held.  He did a great job and ran a lot more than I ever expected.

 Here is Grace with all of the other Harrys, eager to start the race.

 Grace, Glen and Hedwig in the flying car from book number 2.

Grace and Glen and many of the characters of Harry Potter.  We had such a great time.

Grandma and Grandpa

 At the beginning of September Grandma and Grandpa Daniels moved from Iowa to Weyers Cave, VA (about 15 minutes away from us!)  We are so excited to have them closer to us, but I think that the kids also enjoy the fact that their cats moved 15 minutes away from us too.

Here is Grissom and Sophie.  Two cats that tolerate Grace and Glen very well, as the kids love on them SOOO much!