Christmas Preparations By: Stella

I don't know about any of you, but for us-Christmas preparations are in FULL SWING!!! We just got our tree last Saturday. Out tradition is to get out all of our Christmas decorations and decorate around our house and in our yard the day before we get our tree. Then we get our tree the next day and stop for peppermint cocoa at Cumberland Farms. We have lots of fun! I took a bunch of pictures of our Christmas preparations and our vacation, as we took the whole week of Thanksgiving off and Dad was off on Thanksgiving through Monday. :) Here are the Pictures, Enjoy!!!


Leo and Filia

Mom has been buying turkeys since they are so cheap and either boiling them in Grandma's big canning pot or putting them in the oven. Our freezer is jam packed with yogurt containers of chicken broth and bags of turkey. We have all been eager taste-testers for Mom. The latest time she put the turkey in the oven. We enjoyed slices of turkey while 'decking the halls' and putting lights on our Christmas tree, which I, (Stella) and Dad always do together. We have had lots of fun trying different ways to use turkey. Last night we had pulled turkey (instead of pulled pork!) :) How's that for improvising?!

Yummy!!!! :D :D :D
We ate these slices of turkey, without any gravy-just the meat juices and it was DEEEE-LICIOUS!!!

I strung popcorn and cranberries with just a needle and a spool of red thread. It came out in beautiful strings and I hung them outside for the birds to nibble on. The suet that Leo and Mater made is also a huge hit with the birds. *There is a post about the suet by Leo if you scroll down. If you can't find it then keep scrolling till in the corner you'll see a Older Posts button and if you click it his post will pop up. This applies to any posts. :)
Cranberries-little beauties



Pop-pop-pop-popcorn!!! Need I say more?!

Yay! Our Christmas tree! Don't Christmas trees make you feel so--well...Christmasy? ;)
This is a beautiful angel made by Grandma Z. :) It finds its place on our Christmas tree every single year! :)

Yay! Our Christmas Tree is decorated and lit. We love our little tree! <3


In front of the Christmas Tree in our dresses, mine from Auntie S and Grandma again!! :) Thanks so much!! :) (In case you're wondering, Filia's dress is a hand-me-down. :) LOL!)
Frosty the Snowman Had to Hurry on His Way, so He Waved Goodbye Saying Don't You Cry: "I'll be back on Christmas Day!! This adorable snowman is a pretty decoration for our house and sings the song whenever you touch his 'frosty' foot. :)
~Under the Christmas Tree~

Awestruck

OH CHRISTMAS TREE!!!! OH CHRISTMAS TREE!!!!!!!! How LOVELY ARE...

Undecorating the Christmas Tree... Hmm....
How does that taste Filia?!
Our Stockings are Hanging in A Row, Santa! Mine will be the Shortest One, You'll Be Sure to Know...

~Filia~
Here are some adorable pictures of Filia and Tert playing together during our vacation. :)


They love playing cars together :)

~Happy Holidays!!!~

Pics of Stella and Filia By: Stella

This is a pic. of dresses from Auntie S and Grandma P. Thanks so much Aunt S. and Grandma!
Sisters Cooking :)
*(The outfit Filia is wearing in this picture is from Aunt G and cousin L-thanks so much!!)

A bit groggy in the morning...

Little Filia By: Stella

Hi All! I just wanted to spend a post on little Filia. She is growing up so fast! She walks and talks now and it is not rare to find her standing in the middle of the kitchen on her chunky little legs eating grapes or bananas. :) I find that babies get cuter at each stage, and Filia is certainly no exception! I thank you all for your prayers that I might have a little sister to call my own. This chunky little pigtailed one is a beautiful answer to prayer! :)
But let's get to the pictures... I will post more in another entry about Christmas preparations but for now here are some around the house pics...

Ahhhhhh!!! Hair in her eyes! We have to put her hair up or else...well...this happens :)


This is a little stuffed animal that she calls Baby. It is really cute! :) L crocheted it for me actually, but Filia claimed it right away, just as she does anything that has even a tiny bit of pink on it. :) L has a great crocheting site: http://www.cherryblossomcrochet.jimdo.com
We'd definitely recommend the site! It has lots of adorable crocheted toys, household items and such. L taught me how to crochet and she is a whiz at it! :D

L-This is one of Filia's favorite TOYS!!
Check out her expressions! :) :)

Right here she is using Baby as a telephone and talking to 'Dada' on it! :)

Playing with Mama's pots and pans, how adorable is that?
:) :D ;)

Tert's Trip to The Hospital ;( By: Stella

Hello All.
Most of you may have known that Tert had to go to the hospital for hernia surgery. He was so sweet, and he is home now, bouncing off the walls. We can't even BELIEVE the recovery. He has been dancing, playing, jumping, singing and eating. :)
He went yesterday to the hospital with Mom, Dad and Filia. They left really early but Leo and I were up and said goodbye to Tert and gave him hugs and kisses. Grandma was here too, and she got to say goodbye. We all went back to bed, but Leo and I couldn't sleep. We got up at quarter of six and watched a movie and had breakfast. After a morning at home with Grandma and having a plumber fix our unflushing toilet, (but I'm not going to get into that)... We greeted Tert when he finally came home. He was really sleepy and went right to the couch because he couldn't even stand up he was so tired. He soon recovered after several little snacks and some ice cream. (That'll do it!)
He is a very happy little boy now, and we are so glad to have our little Tert back!!

The night before the hospital I was packing his bag with him. He put in this stuff, as follows:

1 Ball
1 Pair of Socks
1 Fake Ambulance
1 Quarter
1 Musical Instrument
and....
1 Curious George Stuffed Animal

Now, I'm going to highlight this part, because there IS a story behind this one. Dad had hernia surgery when he was Tert's age. He received this little Curious George from his family. Tert was thrilled to hear this, and he immediately bonded with it. He hugged it and held it all the way up to anesthesia.
He asked Mom, "Mom? Am I all packed for my surgery?"
"Yes, you are, Tert."
"Okay. I'm gonna tell my backpack. Backpack? I'm going to have surgery tomorrow."
It was so sad!
I have some pics. below, all of him before his surgery...

Tert and George :-)

Getting into the 'hospital jammies'
Snuggling with Dad and Curious George

Filia

The doctors let Mom dress up with Tert and go into the operating room with him all the way up through anesthesia. She put him on the bed, kissed him and then went to take care of Filia during the surgery. She snuggled with him before surgery and Dad took a picture of the two of them. ;)
Thank you all for your prayers concerning Tert's surgery. He is doing great, and he can't wait to see all of you! :)

WE LOVE YOU TERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Geography Meals By: Stella

Hello All! This is Stella again, and I wanted to tell you about our geography.
This year we are doing the Trail Guide to U.S. Geography. It is really fun! We are moving on to the South, and I'll make another post with more pics. for that area. We also do regional meals for each section of the U.S.
First we did the New England area. We did our study of each state and had a grand finale by making Sconset Cafe Clam Chowder. Mom used to make this when she worked in a restaurant on Nantucket. It was scrrrumptious! :)
Making Chowder (Compliments of Mom, Leo and Stella)
For dessert we had Apple Dumplings-MMMM!!!!! :)
Compliments of Mom, Leo, and Stella)
I'm ready for supper!

Next Region: Middle Atlantic

Menu:


Eggs Benedict with Twisted Oranges (Compliments of Mom)

Buffalo and Honey Chicken Any-tizers (Compliments of Dad, Rus, Tert, and Filia) with the Option of....

Celery Sticks and Blue Cheese Sauce-Compliments of Stella
Waldorf Salad with:
Grapes, Apples, Raisins, Celery and Marshmallows, Mayonnaise, and real Whipped Cream
Compliments of: Leo and Mom

MMMM!!!!!

Dessert:

No-Name Pie
Compliments of: Stella


This was a DEEEEEE-LICIOUS!!!! pie with a yummy raisiny sugary inside and a meringue topping with a yummy pie crust recipe from Grandma Z. I mean, you'd think- raisins in a pie? No way! But it was absolutely wonderful! Everyone loved it. Whipped cream is an excellent topping. The best part of this recipe is that you probably have most of the ingredients on hand!! :)
Any recipe seekers-we would be more than happy to give you the recipes for any of these delicious foods. The chicken any-tizers were just from the store-but they were very good. :)

We have had a wonderful time with our regional cooking, and we hope you've enjoyed comin' along with us! :) :) :)

Post and Pics. By: Stella
Meals By: The Whole Clan: Dad, Mom, Stella, Leo, Rus, Tert, and Filia :) :) :)

Geology Day at Junior Ranger Camp, by Rus

Recently Leo and I went to Junior Ranger Camp. The topic of the day was Geology. We began by learning about how minerals were formed. We then went on a hike to study different soil horizons. We went back to the activity center to learn more about how fossils form. Finally we made fossils of our own made of plastic bugs stamped into play dough. Leo and I are excited to come back next year.:)

The Audubon Story By: Rus

I won some prizes. And I got a ring-a spider ring. (An aside to Stella: "After this could we play a little bit of soccer?")
I got to touch animals- a snake and a turtle shell, made out of bones-(empty turtle shell) but I didn't get to touch a turtle. Leo and I both got to touch a turtle shell.
We learned about Fall. Animals hibernate in fall. Some birds fly to somewhere warmer in the winter. In Fall all the leaves fall off the trees. And you rake all the leaves into a pile and jump into them.
And I got to hear a few songs, made a table project, got three in a row in a beanbag toss-not just to make three in a row circles, but there was also throwing in circles. And I threw things to get a prize, I threw balls on top of the stuffed animals to get a prize. And I also got a cupcake.
And......that's about all I can remember.
Actually, we learned about animals when it is fall. And that's all I can remember.
Actually, we heard two funny stories. Actually three-but two were funny. About some people trying to blow out a candle, but they couldn't-and that was funny, and people who found out that they were washing the wrong child, and a bird that hurt its wing, and that's all I can remember.
And that's it folks!!!!!!!!!!!
That's it.
Nothing Else.
We went home.
And that's all it.
Nothing Else.
Just coming home.
I HAD FUN!!!!
By: Rus

Our Trip to the Audubon By: Stella

Hello Again All!
I wanted to tell you about our trip to the Audubon.
We had a lot of fun at their fall festival. We didn't know what to expect, as we had never gone before. We drove to the festival and were directed to the parking lot. We bundled up warmly in thick, winter coats and walked up to the door. Outside we received a spider ring from the volunteers, all garbed in Halloween costume. Tert was a little hesitant at first, but soon joined in with all the fun. We registered, and received glow stick necklaces. Everyone at the festival was merry and full of fun. We went inside a large room, where displays were set up everywhere. Against the right wall when we walked in, were raffle ticket prizes and guessing bins of nuts and little plastic pumpkins. Above them was a board with the winners. A little prize bag was given to the winners. Against the right wall were games. There were two big bins full of prizes. On the left wall were crafts, face painting and nail polishing. At the front of the room, pushed against the wall where the door opened, were three long tables with spotless white tablecloths, ready to be spread with goodies after our tour. We were the four o clock tour. In the middle of the room was a long display with animals that you could hold, including turtles and snakes. These the boys eagerly went over to. I went with Rus to get my face painted. I got my face painted as a pumpkin, and he got his face painted as a pumpkin too. :)

Face Painting:

Rus and Stella-Pumpkins!
Leo-A spider
We're here!!
Posing with the BirdsHappy Fall!
Then I went over to get my nails done. She painted my thumb as a little pumpkin! It was so cute! She painted the whole nail orange, then dried it with a little hand fan. Then she put two little dots of black and a smile. She finished it off with a green line at the top for the stem. I went out and bought the nail polish afterwards and am excited to do my nails for Thanksgiving. :P
I went next to Mom and we watched the boys. We were soon called by our leaders for our tour. We went into a room and we sat down in chairs that had been provided for the many people in the four o clock tour. After we had sat down a lady dressed as a cat showed us the path that different birds migrate on, hibernation, etc. She also gave us some really neat facts about animals, like this one, which shocked everybody:
An animal's heart (that is hibernating) beats only 4-5 times per minute. She had a clock and showed us how long it was in between each beat! It seemed like ages!
Who? An owl of course.WOW!!! Tert

After learning some more facts, we left to go onto the next part of our tour. We went to a building where we heard three very clever stories from two ladies. The first story was about a little boy who was so dirty that a family, who thought it was their 'Bill' washed him till he was clean enough to recognize and then found out that it wasn't their kid. It was very well-done. Then we heard a story about a little bird who broke its wing and was helped by a large tree. The last story was about a family, who when the power went out, weren't prepared. They lit birthday candles, went into bed, and finally tried to blow out the candle. They didn't know how and made so much noise that they attracted a neighbor's attention. Everyone went from their bedrooms, downstairs and the neighbor blew out the candle. But then, they weren't in their beds, so they lit another candle and they went on like that all night. :D
After that came music. The boy's favorite was the "One Eyed One Horned Flying Purple People Eater."The Band
We then went and roasted marshmallows outside. We had lots of fun and after roasting marshmallows to our hearts content we went inside again.
By this time the three tables were full of food! I had a brownie that was cut into the shape of a piece of pie with lots of chocolate frosting over it and sprinkles and a candy corn at the tip. I had trouble deciding, but after getting my brownie I went to the third table to get some cider. There was a big pitcher of hot cider and another container full of cold cider. I got a cup full of cold cider and sipped it slowly. When I had finished with my brownie I went to try my hand at the guessing games. The guessing games were hard, and Leo came over too. Neither of us won, but we had fun! :)
After we had finished our guessing Leo and I went to the craft table. I made first a little pumpkin centerpiece. It was just a paper bag, with newspaper stuffed firmly into it, and a little pipe cleaner at the top, which I curled to make the stem. Then I took little triangles and glued them on the "pumpkin" to make its face. On the bottom was a little circle of paper, which I glued paper leaves on.
Next I made a little bookmark. It was laminated and I put little paper leaves on it and my name and the date.
Finally I made a little hat which was just a strip of green construction paper and a paper bat, pumpkin and ghost taped on it. It was very cute.

Craft Time!!!
Silly Tert!!!!
Rus
Our little Filia <3

After this we reluctantly headed out to the car, having had lots of fun, our arms loaded, and our minds full of new facts, and memories of this amazing day at the Audubon Fall Festival.