The Magic of Christmas

Maren:
Christmas is coming and mommy is spending lots of extra time to make sure things are magical!  The first weekend of December kicked it off with a bang when we got to have breakfast with Santa and get our Christmas tree!  The best part about it was that it had snowed the night before so we got to have a little romp in the snow too!  Breakfast with Santa was awesome, just like last year.  How Rogue River can convince Santa to come all the way down here I will never know but we feel really special that he does.  Maddox and I got to snuggle up on his lap and take plenty of time to chat with him... I told him that I wanted a Baby Alive Newborn and we even took him some cookies that Nonna made.  After breakfast we ran home, changed into our snow clothes and headed up the mountain to get a tree.  It wasn't long before we hit the snow!
Once again Mommy, Nonna, and I stuck with our tradition and went to see the Nutcracker Ballet.  Mommy decided to mix it up this year and got tickets to the production in Grants Pass.  I don't think I enjoyed it quite as much as I do the one we have seen before but it was a nice change and they did really have some beautiful dancers.

Maddox:
Christmas season is here and I ask every day if it's truly Christmas.  I don't quite understand why every one keeps saying that it's Christmas but I don't get to open any presents.  I have been a really good boy and even though there are gifts under the tree I haven't touched a single one!  Sparkle came back the morning after Thanksgiving and has been watching us really closely so that may have something to do with it but really I think I'm just being a super good boy.
Sissy told you all about breakfast with Santa.  We had a really fun time and ate lots of pancakes but my favorite part of that day was the trip up to the snow.  We are lucky enough that when it snows up in the foothills it only takes us a few minutes to drive up the hill for a little sledding fun.  And boy, did we have fun!  We spotted trees all the way up the hill and then stopped for a good ol' fashioned snowball fight!  Sissy and I chased each other; and mommy and daddy; all over the place with little snow balls.... and we giggled and giggled and giggled!  There wasn't a ton of snow but there was enough for us to use our sleds and have some fun.   On the way home mommy picked a great tree and we all went home to help decorate it.

 

 

 

A lot to be Thankful for

Maren:
Fall is here and the holidays are quickly approaching.  We are getting ready for Thanksgiving and for Pica and Grammie to come and visit.  It seems like once November gets here that time just moves extra fast!
Riding lessons have been going really well and I am advancing in my skills as well as my confidence.  I rode AJ for the first time after my big fall on him and made immense progress just in the span of an hour.  Sonja and Mommy were so impressed by how well I was doing that they planned a big surprise for me!  We showed up to lessons one day to find AJ all saddled up and ready to go.  Sonja was on a horse and then asked me if I would go trail riding with her!! I was so shocked and excited!  Mommy walked along side me and even Daddy and Maddox came too!  We all had a really nice walk up a trail behind Sonja's house that crossed over Foots Creek and gave us a really nice view of Birdseye Creek Road and the winery.

Maddox:
November means Thanksgiving!  Thanksgiving means that Christmas isn't far behind!  At least that's how I see it! I was really excited to have Pica and Grammie come to visit us for the weekend... me and my Pica have lots of fun together.  While they were here I got to go to the clinic and hang out with mommy and Pica while they did some work on the dogs.  Afterwards Pica took us to In and Out Burger and we had lunch!  We didn't get a lot of pictures while they were here because we stayed pretty busy playing and hanging out but we had a really nice visit and I'm sure glad they came.

Fall is for Fun and Friends

Maren:
Fall is all about Harvest and Halloween and we have been having a lot of fun doing it!  We haven't seen our good friends the Trautz family in a really long time and they invited us over for a really fun night.  They put an outdoor pizza oven in on their deck and a really great zip line.  We spent the afternoon riding the zip line and playing outside.  Miss Heather made us some really amazing pizza too!
Because it is Halloween all of the local farms have activities for kiddos to go to.  We spent a fun afternoon with The Oppelt family at Fort Vannoy Farms enjoying the cow train, the pumpkin patch, and the corn maze.  We all got to pick out our own pumpkins and then we went back to their house for a yummy dinner.  They also got to come over to our house for a slumber party... we played in the hot tub and had a great time together.
For Halloween this year I decided to be Belle.  After all, I had a beautiful costume that I had yet to wear and wanted to make sure I was able to show it off.  My mommy dyed my hair a dark brown to fit the part and even did my hair like Belle does in the movie.  I certainly felt like a princess.
The week of Halloween was also Spirit Week at school so I got to dress up every day!  That was a lot of fun for me but tons of work for mommy!  We had a crazy hair day, green and gold day, dress like your favorite pet, and more!  It was so fun and I was such a good sport and did it all to the max.

Maddox:
Fall is so fun!  I love the weather and being outside in the leaves, I love getting ready for Halloween... but I keep asking when Christmas is!
Sissy told you about the farm we went to with the Oppelt Family but she forgot to tell you about the most important parts!!! We got to go on a hay ride in a tractor!  It was absolutely the highlight of my day.  Oh... the cow train ride was pretty darn awesome too.  I thought both of those things were really fun until we went on a Monster Truck ride!!! Mommy, daddy, Caleb, Emma, and Sissy and I piled into the back of a big truck and went on a ride.  It was so very much fun!  I giggled the whole time!
For Halloween I decided to dress up like a fire man.  I borrowed Jace's old turn outs and even asked my daddy to dress up in his.  We both looked so cute and people really loved it.  Daddy felt a bit silly and the Central Point police kinda made fun of him but I felt pretty proud that he would dress up with me.

We also went to a really fun party at Miss Ashley's house, a lady my mommy works with.  I changed my costume and dressed up like Captain America while mommy and sissy both dressed like cowgirls!