O Christmas Tree

We took our Christmas tree down a couple of days ago and I laid it outside beside the house. The kids were out playing today and decided to put it up again, complete with lights.

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December Hike

The weather has been nice and we got out for a hike in the woods behind our house yesterday, just before the rain started. It was fun to be able to get out and explore the woods with none of the ground plants and not being freezing.

Decorating the Tree

We wasted no time getting our Christmas trees up this year. On our way back from Kansas City we stopped at Costco to pick up our tree and we had it in and set up later that night.

New this year we have a second Christmas tree in our house. We put the live tree in the back family room. This is our more traditional tree. We also have an artificial tree in the front room, to help decorate the inside and outside.

Weekend Hikes

This weekend we got out for two hikes, to enjoy the nice weather. On Friday evening we went for our monthly hike with the Prairie Grass Guild. On Sunday we went with the Reagens to Brown’s Woods.

 

Elliot’s Piano Lessons

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We like our kids to choose an instrument in 3rd grade and Elliot has chosen to play the piano! He has his second lesson this afternoon, with Piano Jen, whose has been Andrew’s instructor

Inside Out

We have a very limited media policy, not having a TV and tightly limiting any screen time. Another rule we have is that no one is allowed to see a movie until they can read. Mari has been able to read for a while, but had yet to see a movie in the theater. This afternoon Mari, Andrew, and I went to see Inside Out, an animated movie about a girl, Riley, and her emotions. It as an OK movie, and it was a good experience to see it with the kids. I don’t love the movies, but I do look forward to the day when we can all go see a movie together.