Grammie and Poppa (Todd's parents) came up to visit and brought a couple of my nieces with them. My kids had a blast hosting "the cousins," Shaylee and Carli.
Isn't Gemma darling?
I was really sad on mine and Todd's anniversary. Special days are hard to enjoy with him gone. Lucky for me, he had flowers delivered, which helped cheer me up and confirm to me that Todd's thinking of these important dates as well, and wishing he were with us.
We started getting snow, and the kids were excited to play in it. It's been a lot of work bundling these two up in all their gear, but they're loving it and it's worth it (at least for one year!).
We made a gratitude tree the week of Thanksgiving. Hazel and Jack wrote things they are thankful for on leaves and taped them to the tree. Hazel's list included family members, costumes, and steak, chicken drumsticks, and turkey. Jack's list included the color orange and tape.
Hazel taped together five or six pages of squiggle-line writing, then sat down and "read" her book to Jack. It was titled "The Three Frog Leprechauns." She told an exciting story and had us all mesmerized. It's going to be pretty awesome when she really learns how to write and can record all her fun ideas. She is a great storyteller.
Gemma has been spending a lot of time practicing standing on her own. She's also cruising on the furniture a bit.
Hazel and Jack played "Halloween" one day, and I made them hold still so I could take a picture of them in their costumes. I felt so ripped off that I didn't get a good one on the real Halloween. It's not quite the same without Hazel's wig, but I still like it.
Todd's been writing stories, then reading them to the kids while we FaceTime. Hazel and Jack have been so excited to hear his "butterfly stories" when we talk. The kids drew illustrations to go along with the stories, which I scanned and emailed to Todd. Todd's turning it into a bound book for them for Christmas. He is a wonderful dad.
Jack went through a mitten obsession. He was wearing them everywhere! He wore them all through Sacrament Meeting one day. I started calling him "Mr. Mittens."
We bought a permit and went into the Cache National Forest to cut down our Christmas tree. It's not quite as epic as last year's, but it's still pretty tall and beautiful.
Todd also went on a tree hunt, although it was a little different from ours. He took some other soldiers with him in his helicopter and flew all around, searching for a tree, pretty much any tree.
They ended up with an olive tree, pretty fitting for a Middle East Christmas.
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