Silly Pole Vaulter!

 I love to watch pole vault practice right outside Papa's office at SMU and my parents had no idea the influence it would have.

I had so much the other day running all over the house. I used a broom to launch my body up and forward like the pole vaulters I see.

As I got better and faster, Mama advised I move my event outside for safety. :)

GO SAINTS!

We love our Saints! Yeah, it's basketball season!! Holden and I made signs as well as brought pom-poms to cheer on the team at the most recent home game. The popcorn is probably our favorite part...but we also like the fast-paced game, people watching, and all the upbeat music during half-time and time-outs!

Visitors from the North Pole

Thank you Grandma D for helping watch us during the Jingle Bell Run at Saint Martin's...so Papa could help put on the event and Mama could race the 5K. We were so excited to see Santa and Mrs. Claus after the run. Thanks also for your help writing them a letter!

Decorating our annual gingerbread house

It took a lot of time, detail, and cooperation to decorate our house this year but we had a great time with the project.

 We're so proud of the final product serving as a center piece for our table.

Just a few hours after we were done, mama found Karen climbing up on the table...all the candy was "calling her name"!

Not afraid to get dirty!

Karen had so much fun the other day helping papa outside, digging in the dirt, and picking up worms. She would proudly come to the back porch and show mama all the worms she found.

Who are these masked Christmas characters?

With all the Christmas stories we've been reading from the library this month, I requested a "Nutcracker" mask and Karen a "Gingerbread Girl". We were delighted what Google, our printer, and a little imagination helped us make!

Hunt for our Christmas Tree

Karen brought her little saw and I brought my plastic axe to help cut down our Christmas tree. There were so many choices we had a tough time deciding.

We finally decided on this Noble Fir. It smells SO GOOD in our house!

The tree farm is less than 1/2 mile from our house. They gave us a ride throughout the whole farm on horse-drawn trolley with two Clydesdales.

 Later that night it was time to decorate.

Notice the overload of all the ornaments on the branches right at Karen's height. :)

And the finishing touch...the angel on top!