Native Americans, Bacon and Christmas!

We might be getting just a little bit excited for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays over here!

 We had one little, two little Native Americans yesterday.  Ainsley had a sweet get up from her Thanksgiving feast at school, which prompted Bennett to create her own Native American head piece.  A peacock feather and some duct tape was all she had to work with, but it was cool.

 We have erected and decorated the tree!  And every year it brings the girls great joy to add the bacon...I mean ribbon candy.  The "bacon" is Bennett's favorite ornament.

 Here is Ainsley in her N.A. costumage.  She drew some lovely arrows and sunsets and such on her vest and hat.  Very authentic!

Aaaannnnddd....the "Put this on my Christmas list, put this on my Christmas list!" has begun when visiting the local discount center.  How nice of them to have toys scattered all throughout the store.  Terrific.  Here is the most recent "Put this on my Christmas list!" item.  Grandmas?  Aunts? Uncles?  These items have not yet been purchased, if you are needing a gift idea.  This mom is finished with her shopping, so the sweet little eyes are looking at you!

Walking In a Winter Wonder...What?!?!?!?

Again with the snow village?  Yes, again.  For us, the snow village is a major source of entertainment each holiday season.  Less that one week of the village being on display, and we already have major adventure unfolding.  Last night around dinner time, I asked Ainsley if she would like to help me make some meatloaf.  Her response was, "Yes, but first I have to watch Bennett's people jump through the rings of fire."  What?  Rings of fire? What?  I rounded to the dining room corner to investigate and it appears that the empty tape rolls from my window insulation kits have become a double ring of fire.  It also appears that each and every villager wants to attempt to jump through the double ring of fire...notice them waiting patiently in line?  As if this isn't bizarre enough, there is a team of My Little Ponies perched on the toy store, overseeing the entire event.  Maybe it's just me, but I think it wiser that the ponies attempt to be jumping through the hoops versus the people in their wool coats and long pettiskirts.  And what does this have to do with Christmas?  To each his own, I guess.

The New Folks In Town

The holidays are approaching, and with a day off from school this week, the girls and I decided to begin just a bit of our holiday decorated.  Little bits at a time make the task less overwhelming and more fun.  Thus, the Christmas snow village came out of the box!

 The girls love to play with the villagers each year.  Many of them have met their maker when they have fallen to the hard wood floor.  So sad.  Additionally, each year it seems some villagers enter the scene who did not originally come with the set.  'Tis the case again this year, and this season we have quite the troop...Mr. and Mrs. Sponge, Mr. Cap (from Japan), the eraser family, Mr. Carrotini (an Italian gentleman) and my personal favorite, the Barley Brothers.  The Barley Brothers are the four little, Asian, wooden guys with fuzz on their heads.  Yep.  The Barley Brothers.

Oh, so heart warming, how the eraser family has lined the balcony of the Christmas Shoppe to sing carols to one and all!  And that giant bear (actually he's only 4.5" tall in real life) is Pookie.  Bennett got Pookie from her grandparents for Halloween, and he is her FAVORITE right now.  We'll be seeing much more of him throughout the holidays, I'm sure.

It's Almost Here!

The girls did not have school today, so we decided to get a little jump start on the holidays.  It's a bit too soon for Christmas decorations, but it's never too soon to begin dreaming up challenges for...wait for it...CANDLE-KAZAM 2011!!!!!!!!!

We decided today would be a great day to make our candles and create the challenges Dad will face this year.  I sort of feel bad for the poor man, and yet I am so excited to witness the spectacle.  He is a great sport and we just love the memories he makes for us each year!  Let's take a little trip down memory lane and recall a couple of favorites from last year's Candle-Kazam!

Ah, the fake mustache.  Remember when he wore this to an area retailer?  The best part was that he had to pass two gentlemen with real, large mustaches just as he entered the door.  The irony!

And oh, how we loved his time spent "up on the housetop."  It was truly a show stopper!  Come Decemeber 1st, 2011, Dad will begin his new set of challenges for this Christmas season.   Highlights to come!

Slicky Boot 2011 Highlights

We recently celebrated Slicky Boot Awareness Day with friends!  Pardon the long post, but I've included several photos for my non-Facebook friend (Julie) to see.  Thanks to all of the fantastic folks who celebrated with us this year!

 The children are ready to feast on the delicious spread of food that was contributed to SB 2011.  The real-looking-fake-cats are also ready to dine, apparently.  Here are the kids and pets, waiting ever so patiently for their plates.

 You may have noticed a couple of pioneers at the table as well.  This little friend (sorry she's sideways) is always eager to suit up in her Laura Ingalls attire at our house.  Laura Ingalls and her laptop...this just seems unnatural.

 Of course, we had the ladies table...plus one fellow, Kellee.  He is obviously a good man.

 And a few of the boys ate in the Soul Patch. 

 After the food came the annual quiz.  This year's quiz was over the occupation of professional figure skating.  I, personally, thought it was pretty tough.  Here is some quizzing...

 ...and more quizzing...notice our friend Chris has his hand on is head.  He's clearly distrought over the difficulty of the quiz.

 And more quizzing!  An adult taking a test in a tiny pink desk.  This is as unnatural as Laura Ingalls and her laptop. 

 And we have a winner, with a PERFECT score (so sickening)...Zach!  You should be so proud, or maybe ashamed, of yourself!  Zach received candy, a boot-shaped 75% used up bottle of stinky cologne, and a  figure skating coloring book as a prize.  See the look of thrill on his face?

 After the quiz we headed outside where is was BEAUTIFUL for the annual Floamrun Derby.  It was moved to the front yard, as the maple tree in the side yard has become too large of a floamrun obstacle.

 All eyes to the skies for a pop fly!

 While mostly boys play floamrun derby, mostly girls hang out and drink coffee.  Mostly kids throw dirt around the yard with plastic shovels.

 Some kids watched and participated in the game though, and some kids and adults also enjoyed the big yellow Hummer. 

 Ball in the gutter (so sorry for the sideways)!  The men tried to solve this problem creatively.  Attempt one was a no go. 

 Attempt two was better.  This was a three man job. 

 Yay!  He got the ball.  I really enjoy how Julie has her mom hand out like "if you fall forward I will catch you."  You know the mom hand.  The same one that flies across a passenger's midsection when you're in a car and it's coming to a sudden stop.  The mom hand.

 The littles also enjoyed a little time together on the porch swing.

 And the winner of the 2011 Floamrun Derby traveling trophy...Cy!  Congrats!

And finally, a glimpse at this years commemorative ornament.  Presenting the Slicky Boot cowboy boot ice skate!  Hope you enjoyed the recap, and sorry if you now need to visit your chiropractor to get the kink out of your neck.  I'm having some Blogger/photo software issues.  I know how to resolve it, but sometimes I forget to do so before it's too late to be changed.  I'll try to do better next time.

The Latest "Scenes"

I happened upon a few new "scenes" in Bennett's room the other day. 

 Mousey is home sick in his bed/hammock.  He's holding his special blankie and playing an oversized (for a mouse) cardboard DS.  He also has some sort of top secret science experiment brewingat the foot of his bed...it's in a Dixie cup covered with a tissue reading "Do not open."  Mysterious!

 Great.  Another sideways picture.  Bennett appears to have turned the tower of her doll house into a lucador.  It's very Nacho Libre-ish.  I just have no further explanation for what's going on here.

 Oh, look!  It's my Snugglebum from the '80s wearing my HUGE glasses, also from the '80s.  She is ready for winter in her furry blue wrap and plaid scarf.  Weirdness.

And here's Clowny, just enjoying a good book...or seven, in her plastic canvas canopy bed.  I enjoy how the book on her lap is open with a bookmark in it.  Notice the pile of books on the floor as well. I notice Clowny also has a quilt, hand-stitched by Bennett out of some old t-shirt scraps, on her bed.  Delightful! 

Just a quick note to say "hi!"  We're still around.  However, with me now working outside of the home part-time and with kids in schoolio all day, I don't get to snap the camera as often and my time to blog is limited.  Here is a delightful, sideways photo from last weekend.  We enjoyed some quality time with the ever popular Uncle B and Aunt J, as we took a nature hayride.  Here is Uncle B shaking Bennett's hand while she was wearing a wicker cowboy hat that Grandpa L. loaned her for the outing.  Uncle B was teaching her the art of "having the upper hand" when closing a deal with a hand shake.  Thanks for the life lesson, once again. Uncle B!

Fridge Art

 Here's what we have going on in the arena of fridge art these days:  First, we have "Monkeys In Love" by Ainsley.  Notice, they are truly in love...in fact, they are getting married in this drawing.  See them exchanging wedding bands?  Ainsley is a hopeless romantic. 

 Here is some art from a school project of Bennett's.  We have an astronaut we quite a large noggin.  Astronauts are real smart, you know. 

The other half the project features a scientist, also with a gianormous head from what must be a huge brain.  These pictures REALLY make me want to purchase from this website... www.childsown.com What a super idea to make your kid's art into a plush character!  This mom and lover of her kids' art is very, very, very tempted!

Footie Pajamas!

There is just something about footie pajamas...no matter what your age, they make you look like a baby/toddler.  They also make a person break out into a sweat just looking at 'em. 

Very Animated Inanimate Objects

 One of the best things about having creative little kids in the house is the endless entertainment they create with inanimate objects.  Above is Bennett's most recent "scene" where the beloved "Mousy" is being a teacher to a number of animal students.  The papers on Mousy's desk are tiny replicas of a class list, a page from a grade book and some other school-type papers.  Bennett put a lot of time and effort into creating this little classroom.

 The girls continue to L-O-V-E playing with old fabric.  This week we are featuring some ninja/mummy animals.  They are getting ready for Halloween. 

 Dang!  Another sideways photo.  Actually, I think I have this problem figured out but it was too late to change the orientation on this one.  Sorry.  Dad really enjoys the "scene" making the girls do, and he sometimes gets involved.  Yesterday I opened a cupboard door to discover the ninja/mummy friends and their striped costume buddies had invaded the pantry.  Apparently Dad arranged this the night prior, just before we went to bed.  It was a startling but fun morning surprise!

 Scene making as expanded to encompass our socks!  It is crazy sock day at school today, and Bennett had no socks she felt were crazy enough.  I decided to give her an old pair of mine and let her decorate them with permanent marker.  Yes indeed, these are now crazy socks!  I especially enjoy the side with Bennett's HUGE self portrait.  It's a bit alarming.  And the Humpty Dumpty panel.  What on earth?  I asked her why she drew it and she said she has no idea.  Hmmm.

 Cardboard, we will always love you!  The girls have been building their cardboard dream homes.  Bennett's has an elevator, thanks to Dad's engineering!

 This project was as fun for him as it was for the children.  He worked on Ainsley's house for quite some time one night after she had gone to bed.  I love him!

And to close, we constantly have fun little drawings floating around the house.  I found these on the kitchen counter last week.  They are two kids, one in a ninja suit and the other in a lion costume.  The girls are currently Halloweenifying their dollhouses, and these kids are taped to Bennett's front porch on her dollhouse.   When they get their dollhouses officially finished, I have to post pictures of those.  If we're lucky, maybe the creepy rubber fetuses will be participating in that bit!