Earmuff Madness!

I can't tell you how much fun it is to go shopping with these three girls!

Wizard Checkers

I may not be the biggest fan o' the Mall, but right outside Macy's is the coolest giant chess/checkerboard I've ever seen, complete with playing pieces. Elora played against Team Seleia/Amarra and the game came down to one king each, chasing each other around the checkerboard, before Elora finally let Amarra jump her so we could actually go to Macy's. Even the onlookers enjoyed the game, as Elora actually jumped over, ballerina style, each piece that she jumped and Amarra did a little victory dance each time she captured a piece and got to carry it off of the board. Seleia, of course, had a great time walking around the board telling Amarra what to do. Good times had by all.

Oh and those rides!

I think it's safe to say that Oaks Park is one of my kids' favorite places on the planet. I have really been hearing it for not posting these pictures sooner. (Obviously they have not yet been to Disneyland.) This was, however, Daddy's first trip there along with us. Until this summer the only place with rides Joel had ever been with us to was the Planters Day carnival with its kid-centered rides and Ferris wheel. Somehow every time we went to a fair or Oaks Park, Joel was working.  So this was a verrry special treat. He had been rather skeptical of the fact that Amarra has been going on the scrambler with me since before she was 2 (I love this kid!) and had probably thought I was exaggerating Elora's love affair with the 3 mile an hour motorcycles and airplanes. No longer! And Seleia...Mikaela got her to overcome her fear of rides she had never been on before (we could not get her off of the Rock 'n Roll! Or get Joel on it, for that matter.) and she had so much fun!  This was really the first time she ever got to go off on rides with her friends and check back in with us later (*sniff*) and she was smiling so big at times I thought her face might actually crack. The biggest news of the day, though.....I found out while we were there that my husband had never been on a roller coaster.  Never. For those who don't know, I've been on pretty much every roller coaster from California to New Jersey. I love thrill rides. I momentarily reconsidered my marriage, but he saved the day by agreeing to go on Oaks Park's one upside-down coaster. He had a blast, don't let him tell you otherwise. Now we need to go somewhere with real coasters.  The kind not bolted to the asphalt. I've got some plans in the works, hee hee hee....

Pictures With the Big Man

The kids had breakfast and pictures with Santa yesterday morning, thanks to Joel's company. Dozens of kids dressed up in their finery and brought Mom & Dad to sit on Santa's lap and make lots of crafts while enjoying all the pancakes, ham, biscuits and gravy, and scrambled eggs they could fit in their tummies. Dashiell wasn't too thrilled with Santa (He wouldn't sit by himself, but would go with his sissies.  You can tell, though, that he's still rather dubious.) but danced his little heart out to the Christmas music that was playing in the background and even befriended a couple of girls about his size. The girls had a wonderful time.  Seleia asked for a spy kit, Elora for a ballerina outfit, and Amarra for a remote control spider. Now that one made Santa do a double take.

O Christmas Tree!

 

I love, love, love this time of year! The excitement level in this house when it comes time to find the perfect tree is positively contagious.  This year it was fun to have Dashiell in on the action as we traipsed through the trees for an hour or so before finding the perfect Christmas tree to bring home. (We went a little shorter this year. Its only 11 feet.) We've yet to trim it (hopefully tonight) but the lights are up and blinking and the house smells like pine and I love it. Ho ho ho!

The Petting Zoo

Children and animals are always an entertaining combination, but watching a child really discover them for the first time....well, priceless. We had a great time with the goats, cows, pigs, donkeys, chickens, roosters and more at the petting zoo.  The girls had so much fun introducing their baby brother to the farm animals, telling him all of their names and what sounds they made. Dashiell and a baby goat spent quite some time quietly regarding one another, and then seemed to come to some sort of understanding. The goat agreed to hang out with Dash amidst the chaos of hungry animals and excited children, and Dash agreed to talk to him for awhile while intending to pet his face but inadvertently poking him in the nose. Repeatedly. Oddly enough, baby goat didn't seem to mind. After some wandering, Dashiell discovered the pot-bellied pig. For some reason, that little pig tail wagging back and forth was the funniest thing Little Man had ever seen. The pig would face Dash and grunt at him for a bit, then turn around and aim his rump that direction and Dash would laugh and point at that little piggy tail. (Then the other kids would laugh even harder and point at Dash...egging him on, of course.)  We were also highly entertained at two little piglets that kept chasing a frazzled rooster at high speed. Good times.

I must point out...Miss Seleia is wearing a scarf that she knit all on her own in these pictures, and was quite proud to show it off. That's my girl!