{o christmas tree}

All year I look foward to going to cut down our own Christmas tree.  For me it is one of the highlights of Christmas time.

  We go to the cutest little tree farm and it all just so cozy and cheery.

  We found a great tree this year that everyone loved!  We also went to a new Disney movie called Frozen.  We even got popcorn.
  Once at home the kids were so excited to get out all the Christmas decorations and help trim the tree.  It was a wonderful day to start out this Christmas season.  I have not figured out yet how to put pictures on here that are taken with my phone, but I took some really cute ones of the kids at the farm...hopefully I can put them on soon:).
Here is a picture of the tree all done up!

{thanksgiving}

I love decorating for Fall. 

 I love decorating for Thanksgiving!

It was really fun to see all the different things the kids came up with that they were grateful for this year.  My favorite one that Henry wrote was "gravity".  We wrote something everyday and then put it up on our Thankful tree.

  

We had Thanksgiving at the Iund's house this year.

  The Christensen and Martinez family were also invited.  Last year felt a little weird to me, but this year was wonderful.  We had such a great time talking with the other adults and the kids played together really well.  The food was awesome and it truly was a day to be thankful for.

We did miss our families though:).

{holding hands}

Eliza loves to hold my hand at the dinner table...

actually at breakfast or lunch or anytime I sit down by her.  I know this phase won't last long so I wanted to record it.  She just smiles at me and tells me she loves me...and holds my hand while she eats.  So very precious!

{st louis}

We decided to take a quick trip down to St. Louis.

  We went to REI first to see if there was anything Chris wanted for his birthday and then went to lunch.  We found a P.F. Changs, which was great because it was something we don't have in Peoria. 

 Then off to the Magic House!

The Magic House is a fabulous children's museum in St. Louis.  You can't even get to all the different parts in one day.  Instead of trying to see everything this time we let the kids really explore in each area we went to.  We all had a great time!  The kids especially liked the Lewis and Clark exhibit...the canoe and fishing.  Then we had a quick bite before heading home.  It was a late night, but it was well worth the drive!

{eliza trick or treats}

Eliza was finally feeling well enough to venture out and go trick or treating.

  I called some of our neighbors and asked them if it was okay to come to their house.

  First we drove to the Svenssons house (this was a request from Eliza) and then went to three homes in our neighborhood.  She was so excited she could not even stand it!

  Happy Halloween baby girl!

{a first snow}

Our first snow came.

Remember how excited I was for the crisp fall weather?

Well, it did not last long and we went straight from warm weather with a little bit of chill to REALLY cold weather!

Henry and Eliza are in heaven!

They both love the snow so much!

These pictures were taken not long after Henry went to school.  It was very early and super cold.  Eliza felt great all bundled up head to toe, but I only lasted fifteen minutes and then I had to make her go inside.  She was very thrilled to realize she now could use the snowball maker.

{sweater weather}

We have had a really beautiful and warm fall....

I am grateful for that, but I am so excited for the crisp air now and the need for a little sweater!

They both really did not want their picture taken right before church.

{true love}

Henry truly loves to shoot his bow and arrow.

He has two.

One is more classic and was bought to go with his Robin Hood costume.

The other one is quite functional and really shoots a target...at an alarming speed at times.

He loves it so much!