Pretty Girl under the Christmas Tree

Adventures in Christmas Caroling

Manny and Mama had the opportunity to go Christmas Caroling with a group of Young Adults from Mechuwana (where Mama used to go to camp when she was little).

Manny loved Christmas Caroling and we go to sing his favorite, Jingle Bells at every house we stopped to sing at.

Manny getting a lift from his new friend, Beth:

Manny taking a break while singing:

Helping Beth cross the street safely:

Singing Jingle Bells:

After caroling we went back to the church and had chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate. Manny had a great time and asked if we could go Christmas Caroling every day.

Best Friends

We took Manny, Makenzie, Roman, Reed, McKayla and Kristian to the mall to get their pictures taken. We decided that it would be nice to have some "real" pictures rather than just playground pictures.

We had to wait a little while to have their pictures taken.

Kristian and Kenzie watching tv:

Kenzie and Reed:

Manny giving McKayla a Christmas kiss on the cheek:

Manny, McKayla, Makenzie and Kristian waiting for Roman and Reed:

Signing the Beam

Manny was chosen as a representative of his Pre-K class to sign the last beam to be built into the new Pre-K through grade 8 school.



The Superintendant of Schools holding Manny so he could sign his name:




The official signature:



Telling the man where to put the beam on top of the building:





There's the beam:

We don't like to pick

...just one color for our clothes. We like to mix and match and, well, not so much match.

Three Monkeys on a Tire Swing

An evening at the Playground

Last week Manny, Makenzie and I joined McKayla, Kristian and Christine at the Abe Lincoln playground.

The kids had a lot of fun and McKayla used it as a teaching moment.

There were four boys that were about 10 years old trying to play hopscotch. McKayla decided to take matters into her own hands and show them how to play. They were surprisingly happy that 2 four year olds and an almost three year old decided to show them how to play a game.

McKayla made sure that everyone followed the rules and that everyone had a turn.

At the end of the evening, Kristian ran up to Kenzie and tried to give her a kiss goodbye. Kenzie apparently wasn't interested in Kristian's affection:

"Kenzie, I kiss you!"

What do you think Makenzie's favorite color is?

Can you guess?

Manny and his prize

Manny entered a Halloween Coloring Contest at Paradis Shop 'n Save and he won first prize! He was so excited to go in and get his prize.

On the way into the grocery store he turned to Makenzie and said, "I'm going to split my prize with you Kenzie". I was so proud.



Manny and Kenzie with Manny's prize: crayons, coloring books, movie passes, juice boxes, crackers, and of course, candy:




Manny dividing his prize while Kenzie naps:

I found this skeleton online and cut out the different bones for Manny to put together:

Manny with his little friend:

Pre-Halloween Party at MyGym

We joined Roman and Reed for an evening at MyGym for a Halloween Party.



The kids had fun listening to the stories, songs, and playing on all the equipment.



Roman and Manny finally sitting still for a picture:

Kenzie and Reed:

Peek-A-BOO!

Rolling around:

Playing in the Leaves!

Who needs snow when you can slide down the hill into a pile of leaves?

Having a "leaves fight" (as Manny says) with Grammy:

Manny trying to take a nap in the leaves:

Makenzie with leaves down her shirt. Do you like the leaves in her hair?

Visit to the Farm (part two)

Manny, Makenzie and I headed back to the Farm so that we could do the Corn Maze.



Of course, we fed the goats again:

Racing to the Corn Maze:




Finally finishing the Corn Maze:

A Visit to the Farm

We went to the Treworgy Farm as a family. We checked the weather and it was supposed to rain, so we decided we would just go for as long as it wasn't raining.

We took a tractor ride:


We fed the goats:



We picked pumpkins:

And then we had to go home because it was raining.

A day out with Manny

Recently Joe and I decided to treat Manny to a day at the movies with Mama. Joe and Makenzie went geocaching and I surprised Manny with a day out to see Toy Story 1&2 in 3D.

Here is face when I told him where we were going:



I asked Manny where he wanted to go to lunch, he immediately replied, "Olive Garden, Mama". We shared some ravioli, chicken tenders, and calamari, which Manny loved. It was really nice to be able to sit there and just talk with Manny and enjoy some quality time.



Manny enjoying his popcorn and lemonade:

Manny and his very stylish 3D glasses:

Who Needs to call a plumber...

...when you have two little fix-its at home?

Manny came out of the bathroom one day and said, "Mama can you come in here for just a minute, I really need to show you something?".

I followed him in there and he said, "Stick your head right down there and watch." I stuck my head down and looked at the pipes. Manny turned that water on and said, "watch Mama, keep watching, keep watching". I finally saw a little trickle of water. Manny said, "see that Mama, we have a HUGE leak. I think I will try to fix it."

He went to his room and retrieved his tool box. Then he tracked down his assistant Makenzie who was more than happy to help.

He instructed Makenzie to climb up on the toilet and run the water for him when he asked her to and to stop it when he, "located that HUGE leak" (seriously, those were his words).

They weren't able to stop the leak, but guess what was the first thing they told Joe when he got home?!