Easier Said Than Done

How to take good Christmas family photos.

Rule #1: Everybody keep their eyes open at the same time.

Rule #2: Don't say "Ho, ho, ho," during the photo shoot. "Cheese" works much better.

Rule #3: Don't wear your glasses ... and try to sit up straight so that you look bigger than the children if you're the daddy for example.

Rule #4: Fingers out of your mouths.

Rule #5: Keep your hands to yourself.

Rule #6: Smile.

Rule #7: No crying.

Rule #8: Remain seated ...

No seriously. Maintain order.

Rule #9: Know when you've lost, give up and wait for another day to try again. Just trying from the other side of the room isn't going to change much.

Christmas in Dairyville

 It's always fun to have new Christmas adventures! So this year we head over to Alpenrose dairy to see Santa and their Storybook Lane (They haven't had it in 6 years but it was a long-standing tradition before that). Unfortunately, we got there 15 minutes after the opened on Saturday and were given #45 to see Santa - right before we heard them call #3. An hour later they were on #25 ... so we kinda didn't wait to see Santa. But we did get to enjoy this charming little village, with a yummy bakery and a cool train set  and Storybook Lane with the animals. Our little dude wasn't particularly thrilled to be there, but I think everybody else had a fun time :)

Thirsty?

So the other day we went to this Family Fun Day at our local library. They have this room set up with lots of board games and Wii games, and a table of refreshments. We took advantage, and I am ashamed to say ... left quite the mess. Sorry about the popcorn Mr. Janitor. The other misadvanture had to do with our little man taking matters into his own hands when he was apparently a little thirsty. Or just curious. He kind of grabbed a whole pitcher of water, and poured it on his face. A little choking and a lot of crying later, we had ourselves a very wet little boy. So we went white trash and stripped him for the rest of the time we were there of everything but his pants, which were in decent shape. It was too cold though to go outside like that so we used the only thing we had - daddy's sweatshirt! Hilarious. He walked all the way down the hall by himself, tripping a bit as it dragged on the floor. Just our cute little Sith Lord. :) 

Preschool Pajama Party

Looking through pictures, I just noticed I missed posting these. Can't miss the pajama pictures. M was so thrilled about these! She laid out every single one of her jammies that morning and took hours deciding which one she would actually wear. Life is full of tough choices. Never too early to learn that :) Here she is with her friends and teachers:

M LOVES her school! It's been basically the best thing that's happened to her and possibly even the whole reason we moved to The Dalles. I do think this particular day that she was so excited about was the day her teacher laughed and told me that when they take pictures in class, M asks if she's going to put them on the blog. Her teacher thought that was hilarious. Especially when she told her she could just look at our blog and see. Like she was telling her how it's done.

Book Review - Cold River

*So this is a little out of the ordinary routine, meaning there are no pictures of my cute kiddos in this post, but I am going to be reviewing books from time to time on the blog now as part of virtual book tours. I do receive the books for free so I can read it and review it but am not paid to write this nor am I told what to say. Thanks for reading!

Today I'm reviewing Liz Adair's new novel, Cold River. Here's the blurb on the back:

Mandy Steenburg thinks her doctorate in education has prepared her to run any school district - until she tangles with the moonshine-making, coon-dog-owning denizens of a tiny district in Pacific Northwest timber country. She's determined to make a difference, but the local populace still looks to the former superintendent for leadership. When Mandy lands in the middle of an old feud and someone keeps trying to kill her, instinct tells her to run. And though she has to literally swim through perilous waters, she finds a reason to stay and chance the odds.

So what did I think? Liz does a great job of describing this small town in the heart of my homeland (I've lived in the Pacific Northwest my whole life). While I've never been to the particular area described in the book, it feels like dozens of tiny towns we've driven through. I've always wondered a bit what people do there or how they come to end up in such tiny places hidden in the woods and mountains, and Liz's novel painted that picture for me.
Another thing I enjoyed were her characters. They were all very different from each other - many of them quirky and interesting to get to know. However, I do feel like in the end, the resolution and romantic relationship got wrapped up a little too quickly, not letting us fully get to know some of the characters as the dust settled and they're seen in their true colors.
Overall though, it was a pleasant, cozy, easy read. I honestly usually read a lot heavier stuff, but sometimes it's nice to read something that you can enjoy without having to work too hard. I like what Liz said about her romantic suspenses in her short bio in the back. She said, "I remember when I was a young mother with all those kids and a slender budget. I was so grateful for books that let me go places and meet people who carried on adult conversations. That's what I want to write - cheap vacations." So there you go! I think she accomplished her goal. Some things are predictable, some surprised me at the end. Basically, if you need a break or a "cheap vacation," check it out. You can purchase it here. And to learn more about the author - what she's doing and what she's reviewing -  hop on over to her blog.

Hunting Christmas Trees

We decided to go all out this year and make the trek to an actual Christmas tree farm and cut it down ourselves! Getting credit for doing this was so important that when we'd realized we'd forgotten the camera we went 20 minutes back to get it and yes J, "now we have to start all over again." But in case we never repeat this adventure, we need evidence that we did it so the kiddos "remember." And it was totally worth it! Gorgeous day. And quite the hilarious excursion. J was thrilled to find so many trees "her size."

M, on the other hand, was overjoyed to find trees the same size as Gumby Santa and Tinkerbell's friend, who apparently hang out. We kept momentarily losing her, and every time it was because she was on the ground somewhere playing with these guys. 

Dude was just taking advantage of all the wide open spaces. He just kept running like crazy, which would've been fine except that the ground was uneven and pretty much any time he headed downhill, he laughed maniacally ... and face-planted. Didn't bother him much though. He'd get right up and do it again. Here he's giggling his head off as J is chasing him to try to get him to slow down. Pretty sure I know how that ended.

When he got to this section of the field, he went from tree to tree patting them as if to say, "nice work guys."

Then he discovered the stumps, which were understandably, quite fascinating. Naturally he had to kick them and try to stand on every one, which without fail resulted in him ending up on his face or backside.

But the fun had to end sometime - we picked one! All cute and little and perfectly shaped. Then what? Let's just say, Coop was pretty envious of the guys with the chainsaw. And dude was fascinated. 

But who needs a chainsaw? We have daddy (who, incidentally, is now wearing a Dora the Explorer bandaid). And an incredible view.

Oh and one last pic just because she's looking way too grown-up. Totally freakin' us out.

Time to go vacuum up pine needles!