The Last Few Days

We're not doing all our usual decorations for Christmas, so that we won't have to pack it all up in a rush the last few days before we move.  Instead we got a small Christmas tree at Home Depot... 

 

 

...and some dollar store ornaments to decorate it with.  We did our usual day of decorating and watching Rudolph. 

 

 

 

 

 Then we finished up by going to the Parade of Lights with the Cassons and the Barsons.  It was fun, although Kingman could probably plan a more time efficient parade.  That thing took 4 times as long as it needed to, with like 150 yards between floats.  This was the first year we made it to the end of the parade.  One year it was way colder than we anticipated and Paige was a baby, so we got her out of there.  Another year a random stranger mistook me for someone else and tried to pick a fight with me out of nowhere.  The last time we went we left for the E.R. before the parade even started because Caso accidentally stepped on 3 or 4 week old Neely's face as she was lying on the quilt.  So this was our first positive experience at the parade too.  Ha.

 

Sunday turned in to "Leaf Day" after church.  I raked up a HUGE pile of leaves and then the kids played in it with Jess.  They threw them, buried each other in them, and Caso and Jess filled their jackets with leaves to make big bellies to smash into each other.   They always love Leaf Day.  But it's over now and I've bagged up SO MANY leaves. 

 

Caso was sick yesterday so I spent my day sewing mostly.  I decided to make Stacy(Skye's wonderful mama, for those who don't know her) an ornament inspired by her beautiful dog Steinway.

Skye helped me with a plan to surprise her.  She texted me when her mom arrived at her house, and I was going to drop it off at the door, and text HER when I left.  Then she'd tell her mom she thought she'd heard the UPS man and ask her to go check so she'd find her gift.  So I thought I'd be clever and leave Skye's doe ornament and surprise HER too. 

 

Meanwhile she texted me to tell me the painting she'd been working on that I loved was done and to see if I still wanted it so I'd have first dibs.  When I tiptoed up to her door the painting and a sweet card were waiting for me.  Skye was the biggest trickster.  I love my painting!