A Visit With Santa, 2014

Our Santa picture

Each year, we plan a trip to one of the local malls with our friends to have a visit with Santa. It was a lot less production when the kids were little and no one was in school, but now we wait until everyone is out of school and keep our fingers crossed the morning we drive to the mall. Usually, a queue has already formed, and if we are lucky we are just a few people back. Thankfully, this year we were about fourth in line. I brought lots of activities for the kids to do while the moms waited in line. It was a good year! As we were leaving from our visits, the line snaked around  & down with a security officer standing at the end to direct people to the second line, which went nearly back to the parking garage- yikes! We sighed in gratefulness that we had arrived early then went off to do a little window shopping and enjoy a holiday lunch. As always, it was a lovely morning with our friends. We hope to continue this tradition for years to come! 

Our darling boy tries so hard to have a nice smile for pictures, but he is at an age where it is a task that tends to be thought about too much and thus it comes across strained. He is working on it... On the drive, he kept showing us his smiles and asking, "Is this good?" And we tried to give him advice. Unfortunately, he got a bit nervous when finally sitting on Santa's lap, and the above photo was his 'best' smile. When we said something to him, we got the typical response you see below... poor Degen! I told the photographer that this happened before and told her that she should let the visit play out and try to get a more candid shot, which worked out just fine. 

We stopped to look at the mall's holiday displays and snapped a few photos before our day ended. 

New Barn, New Adventures

In October, our longtime barn enacted policy changes that made our continuation with them disadvantageous, so we made the decision to find a new barn. There was some emotions that went along with this decision, but we were happy to find a barn with lessons that fit our schedule. Kyrie's first lesson was the first week of November, and she has been riding at the new barn every week since. We enjoy the positivity of Kyrie's new instructor and that her smaller class size has allowed her to canter more and begin jumping exercises. We look forward to watching Kyrie improve her riding skills and hope that Degen can start lessons in the spring when it is warmer.

Wildlights 2014

Our busy schedule had us visiting Wildlights a lot closer to Christmas than usual. We had a chilly evening for the event, which made it feel nice and Christmas-y! We went to several indoor exhibits and rode the carousel and the train, but missed out on seeing Santa because the line was too long. We had a great evening and warmed up with sips of hot chocolate & coffee from thermoses. We stayed until it was nice and dark and left as the crowds kept coming! We had dinner at our traditional post-Wildlights eatery: Culver's! Yum!

He wanted to act like the crocodile was going to eat him!

We really enjoyed the musical light show on the pond.

Kyrie & Darren on the "Polar Express."

Degen & me!

I love this photo of Degen on the train!

Girl Scouts: Wonders of Water

It has been so much fun to be a part of Kyrie's Girl Scout Brownie troop this year! As a co-leader, I was able to help the troop wrap up the Wonders of Water Journey that they started last spring. The troop ended the calendar year and their journey with a holiday potluck and a presentation of skits about saving water. This is a great group of girls, many of whom have been together since their Daisy troop started in Kindergarten. The girls did holiday-themed activities, presented their skits, received the badges they earned the past few months and their participation prizes for the fall fundraiser. It was a great evening to celebrate their accomplishments with all the troop families! Special thanks to our troop leader, Rachel, for all the hard work she does!

Kyrie presenting her water-saving skit with one of her Girl Scout sisters.

The kids waiting for the badge presentations.

Kyrie was honored to be top seller for the fall fundraiser. 

Homeschool: Christmas

Our last unit of our homeschool year! Hooray! Our last unit is a focus on the Biblical story of Christmas. Though we read a Bible story for each of our homeschool units, religion is not the primary focus or reason why we homeschool, but we think this unit is important in building the kids' faith & understanding. During this unit, we learn about the story of Jesus' birth, and we talk about the meaning behind many of the Christmas symbols we see this time of year. This is a thoughtful & celebratory unit that focuses our attentions on love & family. 

Degen's unit folder

Kyrie's acrostic poem

Two of Kyrie's journal entries from this unit.

Christmas tree by Degen

Kyrie's unit folder

This is a nice book I found on-line that we use to talk about the meaning of different Christmas symbols.

One of Degen's unit words

Kyrie's narrative writing for this unit.

Though Christmas is the primary focus in our home this time of year, we believe it is important for our children to understand & honor the Jewish faith because it was the practice of Jesus, and also because we have several dear friends who are Jewish. We read about the re-dedication of the temple, light a menorah, eat traditional Hanukkah & Judaic foods and play the dreidel game. 

Degen's unit folder included a Hanukkah picture

Kyrie & Degen playing the dreidel game on the first night of Hanukkah.

We also briefly learn about the celebration of Kwanzaa, which is a wonderful look at how to celebrate African-American culture & community this time of year. This is an acrostic poem that Kyrie did about Kwanzaa. The kinara is the candle holder, Nia is one of the 7 principles of Kwanzaa, and zawadi are Kwanzaa gifts.

Christmas at the Conservatory

This rotating display really wowed us. Upon each revolution, we would find some new detail that enchanted. 

We took an afternoon field trip to the Franklin Park Conservatory to see the gardens in all their Christmas splendor. The kids always enjoy a trip to the Conservatory, and winter is a delightful time to go as there are few people there so the kids can run around a bit while they explore. We loved the bright poinsettias and cheerful decorations, but the highlight of our trip was probably the gingerbread houses that were there for competition. We oohed & aahed over the beautiful confections, and each cast a vote for our favorite. 

Kyrie & Degen looking at the gingerbread houses.

Degen's favorite!

Kyrie's favorite!

My favorite!

We loved the details inside this bakery.

These are some of the houses that we thought were extra-special for one reason or another. 

We laughed at the Frozen-themed one.

I loved the neatness & detail of this little town.

We liked the candy garden of this Africa-inspired gingerbread scene.

Degen loved the Grinch in the sleigh in this scene in Whoville.

A lovely afternoon!