Our Christmas

Our first "gingerbread" house. I really had planned on baking real gingerbread, but before I could get my stuff together, it was Christmas Eve and the graham crackers had to suffice. The boys thought a candy house was the best idea ever! Note to Aunt Jen- the "Choker candies" will not be eaten by anyone- I tried to fight even having them in the house, but to no avail. ( My sister and I seriously choked on those hard round peppermint candies more than once as kids- no, we're not fast learners)

Sunglasses and football cards- it's the little things that make us the happiest.

A few days before Christmas, I read that Rochester had already recieved over 34 inches of snow for the month of December. It was a long wait for Santa to bring them some boots, snow pants, hats, and gloves, but well worth the wait. Even though the once 8 foot tall snow piles are now less than 2 feet, the boys loved it! As much as we missed being with our families, it was nice to stay home. A bit odd to have Jordan work up until Christmas Eve and then go back the day after Christmas, but I guess we can't live the high life of school forever.

The Big 3!

Hooray for me; today I'm 3!

What a day. Mama and Dad sang Happy Birthday before I even got out of bed, my grandmas and grandpas called to wish me a great day, and my friend Dan called too. All of that even before lunch! Then my Dad took a big lunch break and we all went to Chuck E Cheese; I love all the games there. I got a lot of presents! New golf clubs from Mama and Dad, Henry gave me new golf balls,a car from my grandma and grandpa, a "credit card" from Aunt Jen, and my friends Brooke and Sydney even sent me a present all the way from Idaho! I didn't have a party this year, but our friends the Shermans came over for cake and ice cream. I chose a Diego cup cake tree and got my candle out on the first try! I like being three; I can get myself undressed, I hardly ever make a mess when I eat ( I hate to get my hands, face, or clothes dirty), and I'm getting really good at coloring and drawing. I'm not feeling so good the last couple of days though- I have a cold sore and a cough, so Mama says I have to go take a rest now. I just wanted to share a picture and some videos of my big day with everyone. So far 3 has been good to me.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Yesterday was Jordan's mom's birthday. The boys were so excited to sing to her- they practiced all through the grocery store, much to the amusement of the "grandma and grandpas" that were in the store. We love Grandma Higham! Thanks for being such a great mother and grandmother.

Oops!

So, this is what happens when the woman tries to do the man's job.

We turned our heat on a few weeks ago, but just hadn't gotten around to taking the air conditioners out of the windows (I know, we're like the ghetto family with Christmas lights still up in May). So last week, I'm vacuuming the boys window ledges, and decide that I could probably take their a.c. out myself- "won't Jordan be proud of my independence" I think as I start to lift open the window. Not more than a millimeter later and whoosh-it disappeared. Smashed into oblivion! I wanted to cry, but the shock and disbelief was too great. Wow! Did that really just happen? Did I really just drop my babies a.c. out a second story window? Wow! Who knew it was that tricky? Jordan wasn't upset that I destroyed one of our a.c. units, but he was pretty sad that he didn't get to see my face as it disappeared out the window. I guess I should use a little more discresion when I try to do the man's jobs.

Halloween

We like Halloween. Our fun began a few weeks ago trying to come up with a costume for Jordan (mandatory for a Pediatric Dentist) that was not too hot, not too cumbersome, and kid friendly. It was a long, but successful search. More on that later.

We spent a Saturday searching for the perfect pumpkins and then carved them for family night.

Hunter wasn't crazy about touching "pumpkins guts", but both boys liked the finished product.

Our church held a carnival and "Trunk or Treat" on Tuesday. The boys mostly liked running and sliding on the gym floor in their costumes, but the candy was like some great surprise for them. On Halloween itself, they got to wear their costumes again for neighborhood trick or treating. They didn't last so long on the second round of getting treats, but it was still fun. I was surprised by the number so suckers they received, but that's the only treats they've really wanted since, so someone knew what they were doing.

So Jordan has had a couple of assistants tell him he looks like Mr. Incredible since we've been here. Seriously? Hadn't thought of that before, but now that they mention it, I see some resemblance. We searched costume shops, Halloween shops, and finally turned to our good friend e-bay. So off Jordan went to work as Mr. Incredible. We thought it was a good costume idea- so did his co-workers. Jordan won Best Costume! Always fun to win a contest. This is probably our last year with the chicken costumes. So very cute when they were little tiny guys, but three years has probably gotten us our money's worth. I'm excited to see what they'll be next year. I already have some ideas, but maybe we should take it one day at a time.

Our Daddy the Dentist & The Museum of Play

Even though Jordan checks out the boys' teeth every night, we decided they needed an appointment with Daddy the Dentist, not just Daddy. They loved it! The big up and down chair, the fun sunglasses, practicing brushing on the giant teeth and picking out their own stickers; so much fun. Jordan enjoyed the visit as well; two rather calm and no issue patients in a row doesn't happen every day.

Even before we moved here, everyone told us about the Strong Museum of Play. I bought our pass our second week here (it also covers the zoo), but we didn't actually visit the Museum until just a couple of weeks ago. Now I see why everyone loves it. The boys could get lost in play land for days. We will be making good use of the pass once winter sets in, but for now we have to take advantage of the last few days of sun.

A childhood dream fulfilled

When I was four, my first sister got married and moved away. She and her husband traveled all over the country for quite a few years and she would always call home with stories of the fabulous or not so fabulous places they were either living or had visited. At some point in time she told me of Vermont. The most beautiful place ever- I honestly don't remember any exact words, but something she said made me believe Vermont was my dream location. Last week Jordan took me and the boys for a long weekend to upstate NY and Vermont.
We first went to Thousand Islands, NY. Crazy the things people do with an island. Boldt Castle is a tragic love story. This man builds his wife a castle as a sign of his love. Three months before it's finished she dies and he orders all work to stop and forbids his children or grandchildren from ever visiting the castle again. At 80 percent complete, he walked away. I told Jordan if he ever aspired to build me a castle and I died, he best not waste all that money by abandoning it!

Boldt Castle

So the little bridge in this photo is actually the US/Canada border. I guess the man of the house can't just leave home when his wife's hormones go crazy, he uses the bridge and leaves the country! I'm sure Jordan would appriciate that option some days.

Just the house on this island, no landscaping requried. This island is just the deck. Odd.

I found this little place on a lake that was super cheap right in the heart of Vermont for our last night of the trip. One might ask, "Why would a place on a lake, right in the mist of prime tourist travel be so very cheap?" Well, the view was great, my boys loved throwing rocks in the water , and we got out alive. Enough said.

Throwing rocks in the lake at the cabin
View from our cabin

On our way home, we went through Sharon, VT- the birthplace of Joseph Smith. It was truly stunning. One of the more beautiful places we visited.

I saved our favorite pictures from the trip for the last. Inbetween Thousand Islands and Vermont, we traveled through the Adirondack State Park. Beautiful. We spent one hurried night at Lake Placid (home to two winter olympics), where the view from our posh hotel was awesome. Like being on top of the world.
Vermont Cows
Lake Placid



New England Fall

Fall in the north east is beautiful, we're very lucky to be able to experience this part of the country. So thank you Jordan for continuing to fulfill all my dreams. Now I'm off to dream of new dreams.