Tree Trimming

 

We've had our tree up for about a week and I have to say that it has been a lot of fun.  This is the first year the tree hasn't been gated off to protect the "baby."  Instead we have a "big boy" who wants to help with everything!

 

In the past we've purchased real trees but that isn't always an economical choice.  We also live in a condo and aren't sure if there are any rules/fire codes so for now we are sticking with the fake one that we already have.  It's budget friendly too.

 

Rory was fascinated from the moment Josh brought the box upstairs and immediately wanted to help.  I'm so grateful for his helpful spirit because he is ALWAYS wanting to assist or takeover the project completely!

 

This was the first year I've put up the tree with a toddler's help and it was quite the experience!  The "branches" are color coded with little pieces of tape so you know what "level" to put the branches on.  I had to re-sort the piles at least 10 times because a toddler just doesn't understand why it's so much easier to leave each color together.  Instead he would grab a branch and tote it around calling it his "umbrella."

 

 

The tree assembly/decorating had to be split into two days.  It normally takes about 20 minutes to get it up but this year it took over an hour and then I had to remove some of it because I realized I missed a level.

 

Rory loved looking at all the ornaments and hanging them on the tree.  He thought they were toys though so the ornaments on his level are ones he can actually play with.

 

I also found these nesting dolls in our tub of decorations.  I remember playing with a set when I was little and would spend a good amount of time, unstacking, stacking, unstacking and stacking.  It's funny because now Rory is doing the same thing.  Just tonight he called them the "four little girls."

 

 

 

 



 

He is quite proud of his Christmas tree handiwork!

Remember when I said he loves to help? Well, he really does! I started to vacuum since the artificial tree loses needles every year and he was right there with me. I wish they made the toys vacuums to really work because he stayed right beside me the whole time. Together we could have done the job in the half the time.

Poor Josh isn't in any of these pictures...he spent the whole time trying to salvage a few stands of lights.  Even after changing bulbs and fuses some of our strands had to be thrown away.  He isn't a huge fan of decorating the tree...he's more the type that likes to go out and cut it down.  Maybe next year when we have a house!

Airplanes and Budweisers.....Horses not the Beer!

 

Sunday was a real treat for our family.  It had all the makings of a perfect day and ended up turning out just that way!

 

The Budweiser Clydesdale's were at Wright Patterson Air Force Base doing promotions for military families.  Kudos to Budweiser for doing this.  The military families deserve all the extras and special events they can get.  Sunday, the team was going to be hitched up and open to the public.  Unfortunately, it rained so the team couldn't be hitched but we did still get a tour!

 

The horses were staying in a huge tent and if I've ever seen horses live in luxury this was it.  I wouldn't consider myself "country" but because of Josh's horse background I've walked through my fair share of horse barns and nothing compares to the Budweiser setup.  The first thing I noticed was that it didn't smell like a horse barn...literally, not kidding, it smelled like a baby's room.  The horses, stalls, everything smelled like baby powder.  Second, was the tent had better Christmas decorations than our house!  Red drapes were everywhere, fresh mulch and poinsettias lined each stall and there were chandeliers hanging from the ceilings.  Yes, chandeliers.

 

 

 

The horses were perfectly manicured and not one hair was out of place.  Each of the horses wore a coat...this is to prevent them from getting their winter coat, which I assume could mess up the whole "perfectly manicured" look.  The coats themselves were beautiful and each were embroidered with this emblem.

 

 

This is Jack!  He was very well mannered.  He stood there and let kid after kid come up and pet him and the camera flashes didn't bother him one bit.

 

 

 

The Budweiser dalmatians were also there but they were moving too fast to get any decent pictures.  

 

Since we were at the museum already we decided to walk around to look at the displays.  Let me tell you, I wish we had the video camera.  Rory's reaction was priceless!  He has always loved planes and can hear or spot them in the air long before I can.  We walked into the first area which is an open hangar and he spreads his arms wide and says, "big airplanes EVERYWHERE!"  I think it just may have been his dream come true!

 

This is my favorite plane...a B-2 Stealth Bomber.  Yes, I have a favorite plane and know the model thanks to my brother who is 3 years older than me.  Without him, I would not know anything about planes, super hero's or comic books. :)  None the less, I was trying to get Rory to repeat the name of the plane and he just kept saying, "no bomber mommy, airplane!"  Uncle Seth can work on that with him later!

 

 

 

Rory loved that he could sit in a real fighter jet...actually, Josh did too!  I think Rory was his excuse to sit in it!  Rory kept pushing buttons, pulling levers and twisting knobs...all the while telling me what each one does!  It was hilarious because he was using his imagination but was also completely serious in his schooling me on fighter jets.  

 

 

 

This is one display we always visit.  My Grandpa was a civilian electrical engineer at the base for a quite some time.  The project he worked on was the "Aerobee."  This device sent two monkeys and two mice into orbit and then the effects were studied to determine how humans would do in orbit. 

 

 

Our last stop was the more modern area.  I can't even begin to describe how massive these missiles (maybe they were rockets) are.  HUGE.  Rory said, "BIG rockets!" as soon as he saw them.  I didn't even know he knew what a rocket was!  This picture cuts off the lower half of the missile/rocket and there was a viewing terrace just below where the picture ends so that gives you some idea of how humongo these things were!

 

 

 

 











 

 

On our way out my Dad wanted to buy Rory a plane so he let Rory pick out whichever one he wanted....and wouldn't you know the B-2 Stealth Bomber is what he wanted to take home!  That's my boy!

 

 

 

We had such a great day! If you ever get a chance to visit WPAFB is is worth it! It's also free which is really nice.  I can see us spending many more afternoons enjoying the airplanes!

 

 





Menu Plan thru December 9, 2012

I'm pretty excited about this week's menu as nearly all the recipes are new!

Monday-Zippy Dogs with veggie straws and fresh pears
Tuesday-Chicken Carbonara Risotto
Wednesday-Poppy seed Chicken Casserole
Thursday-Coffee Cake with bacon and fruit
Friday-Tater Tot Casserole  (for 3 of us I half the recipe)
Saturday-leftovers
Sunday-lunch-out to Graffiti Burger
            dinner-leftovers

I hope you all have a great week and yummy things planned on your menu!
My menu can also be viewed here and here.

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Happy Cooking!             

It's Lovely Weather for a Sleigh Ride Together

It was the 4th annual Christmas Celebration at Josh's parents house.  Many different families get together for a bonfire, yummy food and a Christmas sleigh ride.

Rory played with a couple of his cousins, Hunter and Kenny.  Hunter is 3 and Kenny is 4 so it was fun for me to see a preview of what is coming!  The boys were immediately drawn to the John Deere lawn mower!  They each were very patient taking turns sitting in the driver seat.



Josh's family owns 2 teams of draft horses.  Belgians, which are tan colored and Percheron's which are black.  Duke & Jordan, the Belgian team were our transportation for the night.  The team was hitched up and we took a ride through town!  

 You can't help but have fun on a Christmas ride!

Isn't this team beautiful?  Draft horses remind me of the awesome power of our God.  Looking at the horses they are pure muscle and the love to pull.  Yet, they also remind of the gentleness...Duke & Jordan stood there still while Rory felt how soft their faces were. 

With lights on the wagon we went back out for a night ride!  It was so much fun and we can't wait for next year.

Thanksgiving 2012

 

Although I'm a bit late, from our family to yours we hope that you had a wondeful Thanksgiving!

 

Thanksgiving usually works out perfect for us schedule wise.  Josh had Wednesday and Thursday off so I took a few days and Josh took an extra day and we ended up having a wondeful extended weekend.  After our gym class on Wednesday we headed for Cincinnati where we would be spending 2 1/2 glorious days!

 

On Thursday we spent the day with my side of the family and my aunt (Mom's sister) and uncle. 

 

Mom and I have gone shopping on Black Friday for years now...I would say at least 10 years.  We got up early on Friday and headed to our favorite stores; Kohls and Target.  We also stopped for breakfast at Chick-Fil-A....I could eat a million chicken mini's...they are SO good!

This was what Mom found for Rory at Target. It's a Lightning McQueen suitcase and backpack. She gets ancy and ends up giving him surprises.  I don't think either of them could wait until Christmas!

I guess we need to travel somewhere now!  Rory is ready for an adventure.  He was very concerned about his backpack and it had to accompany us the remainder of the time we spent in Cincinnati. 

My Mom has a cat, Sweet Pete or just Pete for short.  Rory is fascinated with him and I'm not quite sure why because we have a cat.  Our cat though is afraid of Rory and she generally only appears when Rory is asleep.  Pete however is not afraid or skittish like a typical cat.  He hangs right in there and I think even enjoys Rory trying to be friends with him.  And don't worry--I know animals are still animals and I would never leave Rory with an animal unattended.  :)

After resting up on Friday we headed to visit Josh's family.  We had a great time!  We also found out that we are going to be Aunt Jenna and Uncle Josh around June 2013!  It may seem odd but I'm really excited to be an Aunt!  I'm guessing it's because I have such amazing aunts!  I'm happy for Rory to have a cousin to play with and have a new addition to our extended family.  Maybe it's because I'm a Mom but I keep thinking about this new baby and how much I already love this little life that we will get to meet very soon.

One of the things I love about the Smith's is that they are gamers...not the video game type but nearly every time we get together a board game or card game beings.  In the past we've played Trivial Pursuit but after some long and down right excruciating rounds we've moved onto games that require less "trivial" knowledge.  I love to play games and always have.  It's so refreshing to have that time spent together.  By the way-Josh and I dominate at Sequence...almost unstoppable! 

Here's to many more Thanksgiving as wonderful as this one!

Menu Plan thru December 2, 2012

Geesh-I can't believe I just typed December!  This year has truly gone by so fast-although, I am really looking forward to what 2013 will bring.

With Thanksgiving last week I didn't do near as much cooking as I originally thought and we came home with lots of leftovers.  As a child/teenager I did not like leftovers.  It's only now that I'm paying for groceries do I really appreciate the true value of eating leftovers.  :)

You'll probably notice some repeats from meals I didn't get to in the past couple weeks.  Next week should be all new inspiration!

Monday-Tortellini kielbasa alfredo
Tuesday-Grilled turkey sandwiches
Wednesday-Green bean, ham and potato soup
Thursday-The Danimal Sandwich with bacon
Friday-Johnny Marzetti
Saturday-We will be going to a Christmas party with our family.  My contribution is homemade peppermint  patties.  Stay tuned for more info.
Sunday-leftovers

This menu can also be viewed here.

Happy Cooking!

Gym Time!

I was able to take a few days off around the Thanksgiving Day holiday and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Normally, Josh and Rory have gym time at our local recreation center.  It's happens to fall on Josh's off days so it's a great activity for them to do together.  I always miss out since I'm at work but this week I got to have the stay-at-home mom experience and I loved every minute of it.

The gym time for toddlers isn't overly structured.  The teacher sets up "stations" and the kids can go to different stations or stay at the same one if they want. 

Rory is pretty good at holding his own weight and swinging. This bar was really high though so Josh kept his hands on him.

Rory was so proud of himself after walking across the balance beam!  I just love to see his beaming face after he accomplishes his task.  That is one thing I truly love about this age.  Toddlers really want to accomplish and learn and they are so proud when they reach their goal.

Did you notice how Josh keeps one hand on Rory and the other on his coffee? :)  Rory's favorite activity is the long trampoline. I couldn't get a picture of it though because he moves so fast they all come out so blurry!  It's so funny though to watch him run and bounce and this is the perfect way to burn off some energy!