What have we been doing since November?

Well, you know, things.

Like posing with Daddy.

Playing in the leaves with our friends.

Rolling out pie crust for Thanksgiving pie.

Learning to play Scrabble.

Eating Thanksgiving dinner.

Decorating the Christmas tree.

Making cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.

Reading with cousin Lucy in our PJs.

Playing Christmas-present-games with cousins.

Getting awesome new T-shirts.

Snuggling with Aunt Karen.

Picnicking in January!

Marshy Point State Park & Such

An afternoon at Marshy Point was cloudier and chillier than predicted, but still fun. The first pic is pre-departure, but features A&B looking unusually twinny:

Then, various marshy things. Alex and Ben decided the marsh grasses were different instruments, and spent the rest of the afternoon making various instrument-noises as they tromped down the trails and boardwalks.

Sawmill Branch Trail

Last weekend our walk in the woods took us to our friendly neighborhood state park, as usual, and featured wriggling worms, wet feet, a big rock to climb, and a garter snake. This time we had Grandma and Grandpa Yoder along, which means more fun AND better photos.

Classic, or Cliched, Fall Adventures

Picking apples and jumping in leaves... some delights of fall (especially when the apples turn into pies).

Alex and Ben Had A Birthday...

Admittedly, this was some weeks ago now. They were very busy being six. But as you can see, it featured balloons, presents, cake with friends-- the usual birthday suspects, really. The September birthday party for their kindergarten class was, possibly coincidentally, on their birthday, so they got birthday crowns, too. And a special birthday present: zebra finches! Their names are Finch and Olivia.





More to come soon on fall-themed adventures.

Animal Maps

Constructing maps of continents out of various toys is a popular activity these days, so I decided to get one or two on record. The best part of the first one is when Alex corrects Ben's pronunciation of "Tajikistan". (By the way, if you're wondering, Ben is dressed up as Teddy the wizard from the Magic Treehouse books).




Alex chose to make his map out of stuffed animals, instead. It's of Africa. Unfortunately the camera memory card filled up before he got to tell us the North African countries. (He's dressed as Kathleen, the selkie/wizard from M.T.)

Beach Boys

Last week marked the very first beach vacation for A&B, which they and we enjoyed in the company of all the usual Yoderae. Actually going in the water was a bit scary for Alex, but the beach and rental house had many other attractions, including cousins, treats, and lots of sand for digging and shells for collecting. It was a wonderful week!

Burying Mama/Aunt Sarah in the sand

Mole crabs!

Grandpa taking pictures of dolphins

Saving a dinosaur from drowning, I think....

Presents from Italy!

Digging for shells

No one can resist Grandma reading Nate the Great.

There was birding too! Here is a Clapper Rail.