Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man...

In one of my last of many (MANY) trips to Michael's this holiday season, I meandered the holiday aisles like I always do.  This time, everything was 70% off.  It was like my holiday freak flag tripled in size.  I think that I ended up with wreath hangers in my cart, holiday tags, candles & more.  I also ended up with about 16 sets of light.  This year, I decided on LED lights for my outside lights -- big mistake, HUGE.  LED lights are supposed to be energy efficient, they say.  LED lights are supposed to last 3 years, they say.  LED lights are the biggest pain in my ass EVAH.  Within the first two weeks, I had sections of my lights go out -- only to then turn back on the next day.  One day, I had literally 50% of my lights out.  The very next day, no joke, 98% of them were back on.  Never again.  I'll be the old lady clinging to her rabbit ear TV before I buy LED lights again.

Anyways, while perusing the holiday extravaganza, I came across gingerbread house kits.  We have never decorated gingerbread houses.  But these were only $2.99 and they were already constructed!!!!  Just pop them out of the box and start decorating.  So decorate we did.  And it was an amazing time.

Finorah took her job so seriously.  She meticulously placed frosting and then would search through her bowl of decorations to find the right one and place the decoration perfectly into place.  There was a strategy and she had a plan in her head.

Conall, well... Conall just wanted to eat all the things.  He started out placing frosting here and there.  Then he realized that he just could squeeze and a bunch would come out all at once.

All in all, gingerbread housing decorating was a success and it will probably become an annual tradition, if I can find the houses that are already constructed.

The head scratcher

Pennsylvania seems to be where blogs go to die.  Or at least my blog did that.  To be fair, this blog was more for myself, as a record keeping for memories and memories of my kids to be looked back on.  And I feel horrible that I lost this year -- a year filled with firsts and big developments for my kids.  I still have two drafts set up for both of the kids' first days of school this past September.  Each filled with photos, but just needed words.

I am at a total impasse of where to go from here.  Being that this is for my records, do I go ahead and word/photo vomit the past year on you guys?  Or do I just give a couple highlights and move onward and upward?

Until that point -- enjoy one of the most recent photos of the kids before school.

Happy holidays from our family to yours!

Our past holiday cards:
2015 -- The Code of the Elves
2014 -- A Very Murphy Christmas
2013 -- I Triple Dog Dare Ya
2012 -- Santa We Can Explain

August Road Trip

In August, we went on a road trip.  We stopped in Cleveland for a weekend and then drove to Iowa for a couple of weeks, stopping back in Cleveland on the way home.  I'll post my photos from my phone later, but here are some highlights from my camera.

Fish became a lawnboy. 

He loved riding on the lawn mower with Papa. 

He also became a "popcorn" boy (as he lovingly refers to corn on the cob). 

Papa put him to work shucking the sweet corn for dinner one night. 

Despite the faces in the photos, he actually really does love sweet corn. 

Finn got out my Barbies from when I was little.  It was fun to watch her play with my old toys. 

Fish had to have pigtails a couple of times while we were there.  This is just photo evidence. 

She is such a sassafras 

Wanting to be just like sister 

We hit up the local aquamarine while we were there with cousins.

We also had the opportunity to drive down to Iowa City and see Kinnick Stadium -- where the Hawkeyes play. 

Their cousins Owen & Reid celebrated their birthdays with a party.  It was really fun! 

Fish crashed the motorized truck into the tree. 

He thought that if he couldn't see me, that I couldn't see him to yell at him. 

Watching gifts be opened. 

Cousins 

Mimi & Finn 

Papa & Fish & Finn 

While playing in the sandbox, they found a toad.  Fish was really brave in holding it until it moved.  Then he freaked out and dropped it. 

Flower Children

There is a field on the far side of our neighbors.  Calling it a field isn't quite right.  It's an open space next to a pond.  But the pond is only a pond during the spring and when it rains more.  It's been pretty dry here, so there really isn't a pond right now.  And even when it is a pond, it's more a goose-poop puddle as the Canadian geese who like to congregate in our neighborhood so to take a dip.   Wednesday evening, I was walking along the perimeter of our yard with Munk and saw a bunch of flowers out by the pond.  I went out and saw that they were at the perfect height for Finn.  A plan was hatched for the following morning (and I invited to take photos of our neighbor's girls as well).  Well, later that evening, the owners of the property started mowing back by the pond and I went to sleep thinking my beautiful idea was foiled.

When I woke up Thursday morning, I walked out to the pond expecting to find nothing, but saw that he only cut the far side of the property and I could still get some photos.  Unfortunately, the sun rose too quickly and it was far too wet back there to get the kids there, so I postponed until that afternoon.  I knew that I wanted to get into a couple of the photos as well, seeing as how the last photos I have of me and the kids was back in November of last year.  We got all ready, E came home and when we were walking over there, the owner was mowing again!  I was so upset, but we tried to grab a bunch of photos while he was mowing farther on the other side of the property.  I'm glad that E told me to just take some photos and see how they turned out.  They were amazing!!!!!!  (And when the neighbor came out with her girls, the guy stopped mowing out there so we could grab our photos quickly.  So kind of him.)