Decorating, Baking, Quilting, and Shopping!

November 28, 2009

Jennifer and the girls came for the weekend and we did some decorating yesterday and baking today! What fun!! We threw in a DVD on quilting, gosh, how much better can it get!!

Yesterday the girls helped put lights up on the railing. Liv said, "OOH! Look at the lights!" She didn't notice them being on until it got a little darker. Then Jen and I got the tree down from the bunk house and the girls helped me put the ornaments on. It was such a blessing for me. I could tell them where some of them came from and they got to put them on "where ever" they wanted!!! Of course Liv is ready for Christmas to be tomorrow. I explained that we are getting ready for Cookie Day too and that it would be SOON! Ready or not here it comes. I am so GLAD Jennifer wanted to start baking cookies. We now have some in the freezer waiting for the big day. I also have some sugar cookie dough in the refrigerator ready to be rolled and cut tomorrow. I love the smell of them baking as well as tasting them. I'll try to refrain until the BIG day! I tried another sugar cookie recipe. Maybe it will be the best one yet...

The Farmer's Wife came up with the idea of Cookie Day. She wanted us to make some memories together with the kids and this will be our 7th year. Not everyone has been able to come to each one, but we have done well. We have taken lots of pictures and there is lots of decorating of sugar cookies! A little candy is made. It is mostly visiting and eating and laughing. It is really Cowboy and my Christmas with the kids. Weather permitting, this will be Tristin's first Cookie Day.
Liv is hard at chopping the nuts finer. She was a BIG help to Jennifer! She stirred and shaped cookies and was ready for something else to do. Kamy was Cowboy's shotgun today. Actually Amy was shotgun and Kamy rode in the middle. They had a big time and Cowboy said she didn't say anything. I told him she was taking it all in. It will all spill out later!

Liv takes the best pictures! She is happy and smiling and ready for ...

Kamyrn got the garland put up and it will look "shiny" and bright for awhile. That is the last of the garland from Christmases past! All us kids like this! Look at her two helpers in the background.

I am sorry I don't have "shopping" pictures, but look in any paper or online. Cari and Joey went shopping yesterday morning. I didn't realize people were "driven" to get up at 3:30 or earlier to get to the shops which open at 4 a.m. Yikes!! It really takes Cari to tell the story. I was truly laughing. I told her she needs a blog and she asked me to blog for her, BUT it loses something in the translation from her to me to you. She said their destination was Best Buy for a new laptop for Cari and a router. She had the number and name of what she wanted. They waited in line and then they sat in the car and they she got in when the crowd rushed through the doors instead of going to the back of the line (at almost 6 ft. she can cut if she wants!). She made a "beeline" for the laptops, got the one she wanted and then had to swim through the crowd to find a clerk to find out where the routers were and then back to the same spot.

Joey had given her the pep talk in the car that it was to be a fun outing and if they didn't get what they wanted it would be okay and just enjoy it. He was farther back in the line, so when he got through the door, he grabbed a laptop and didn't even know what he had, thinking Cari maybe didn't get one!! They had a big laugh together about just enjoying the shopping and not getting in a panic! It sounds like the best part of the morning was when they met up with Joey's folks and went to breakfast at the Muzzle Loader. Cari said the cops were out in force early this morning... She said I would have to come up next year and we could go shopping. What could I possibly want at 4 a.m.??? and in cold weather where I would have to stand in line? I will have to give that some thought. Well, on second thinking--if it were fabric at 75 or 80% off...hummm.

And the best part was we got up to a skiff of snow. We girls were delighted. As Liv said, It looks like Christmas!!!