O National Christmas Tree

The National Christmas Tree has been on the Ellipse for 31 years. For almost that long, I've been going to see it every year (well, I've missed a couple since I moved away- but not by choice). It's a wonderful tradition that we had growing up to drive downtown and meet my dad (coming from work) at the Yule Log. Then we would walk around to find the Minnesota state tree and the Maryland state tree. We'd visit the live reindeer and the creche. All in the glow on the biggest Christmas tree I've ever (to this day) seen. Then when we were too cold to stay any longer, we'd go get pizza. This year we shared that tradition with the next generation. We found the Arizona, Michigan and Virginia state trees. They watched the trains going round and round the base of the National Christmas Tree. We listened to a choir sing Christmas carols while they looked, in wonder, at the biggest Christmas tree they've ever seen.

Winter Wonder

We just got back from our trip out to Virginia. We had a wonderful time being with family and doing things that we just don't get to do at home. Trevor and Braden had been hoping for weeks to see some snow on our trip, and what do you know? We saw some! A lot, actually! When we woke up on saturday, it was snowing lightly. Trevor told me, "Mommy, I prayed to God for snow, and it's snowing!"

Well, the weatherman predicted a dusting, but it ended up snowing all day, leaving more than enough for a snowman...or two...or three... even if the grass did start to peek through.



And after the snow family was built, there was plenty more left over for a good snowball fight. I had to be careful not to get caught in the cross fire. Snowballs went flying with no regard for age, size or expensive cameras.



No children were harmed during the making of this blog post.

Moonrise

We are loving the cooler weather here and are outside as much as possible. This time of year, it's great to have the whole desert for our playground.

Giving Thanks

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration. I've been reading some special books with the boys that talk about the first Thanksgiving. I love how one book summarizes the first Thanksgiving. It talks about all the cooking and preparation, how the Pilgrims played games and held contests with the Indians. There was music and probably singing and, of course, feasting. Most of all, it was a time for the Pilgrims to share and give thanks to God. I think that's a wonderful representation of our Thanksgiving. We had a great time working together to prepare for the meal, there was singing and music and games. Most of all, we thanked God for all of the blessings he has bestowed on us- and good friends to share with.

Fireside

It's finally cool enough to use our fire pit again. I made Ev promise not to singe my lemon tree with a four alarm fire...again. The boys are old enough to roast their own hot dogs and s'mores, though Braden usually chooses the easier route of having someone do it for him. As for me, it's easy to relax when you know the clean up is so easy. So, we pulled our chairs close to the fire and listened to good music while munching our yummy dinner.

Bounty of the Earth

I found this beautiful, fresh rainbow trout at the grocery the other day, and I just couldn't pass it by. I don't often see good, fresh fish around here so this was a real treat. Since I had no experience with whole fish, I did a quick internet recipe search. I found this simple, tastey recipe for grilled, whole trout using all ingredients I already had on hand. Stuff the inside with fresh thyme, rosemary (bought for a VERY tastey Turkey Osso Buco), garlic and lemons (from our obliging citrus tree out back). Wrap the outside with strips of bacon to hold everything together and keep in the moisture. Grill for 10-15 minutes each side. So easy! And so good that even my pickey, non-fish-eaters ate it up.

Happy Birthday, Marines!

I can't begin to explain why they do some of the things they do on deployments.

Just like I can't explain how they can stay friends through so many moves and so many miles.

Unles you've experienced it, you can't know the life-long cameraderie of the Marine Corps.


But if you know anything about them, you know that there's no such thing as a former Marine. So to all Marines, Happy Birthday!

Great White Birthday

We had Trevor's birthday party last night. He chose Grandma's Hamburgers, applesauce jello and broccoli with cheese for his birthday meal. The dinner table gets so quiet when everyone enjoys everything that is served! After dinner Trevor unwrapped the rest of his birthday gifts with plenty of encouragement from little brother. Everything was a hit, and we've got lots of fun stuff to keep us busy in the coming weeks! Some good friends came over to share the cake and ice cream and try-out the new toys. Oh, yeah, did you notice the cake? It was a big hit, too! Trevor gave me carte blanche this year, as long as the inside was red, and there was absolutely no fondant. (I'm not kidding about the fondant- he mentioned it by name) So I did a little brainstorming and came up with a shark theme. Shark books have been very popular picks from the library recently. Besides, what better to put with blood-red cake? True to my word, there was not a bit of fondant on the cake. The numeral 6 and shark figures were made from modeling chocolate- very cool! Once I got the hang of it, it was easier to handle than fondant, and 100% tastier! Unfortunately, one of the sharks got a bite out of the number 6 before I could stop him. I guess that's an occupational hazard of working with sharks.

Happy Fall

We had our own little fall festival last saturday. . . complete with hot apple cider and caramel apples. I think the last time I had a caramel apple was before I got braces in the fourth grade. Ooooh, they were good! Between yummy snacks we squeezed in some crafts and fun games. (The Gnip-Gnop was smokin!) We wish dad had been with us, but we made sure to save him a caramel apple. Under the circumstances, we thought that was extremely generous!

Wise Warrior

That's what we call him. He's very proud of his name, and will tell you exactly what Trevor Kellen means. It's so hard to believe that it's been 6 years since he came into our lives! I often think of him being so big, becuase I remember how tiny he used to be. Six years seems like such a long time, that sometimes I forget how little he still is. I see how responsible he is and how mature in so many ways. But in other ways I will always see him as my fearless toddler, outgoing preschooler and clowning youngster. I don't suppose it gets much easier as he gets older! I'm his mommy, and I always will be. He bring so much joy into our home! We praise and thank the Lord for blessing us with such a wonderful gift! Happy Birthday, Trevor!