Festival of Lights

Oh my word, the Festival of Lights at Hillridge Farms is AMAZING!!!  I am so excited we did this!  The kids and I had a blast.  The kids kept thanking me for taking them over and over again - it was seriously a huge hit!!!

We Played (HARD)

We made S'mores

We went on a hayride through the lights.The kids (and I ) were in awe!  The lights were choreographed with the music and there was so much to see.  Anna asked, "why have we not done THIS before?!?!"

Ice Skating

A pop-up outdoor skating rink appeared 7 minutes from our houses near our house in Parkside Commons.  We have been looking for a good reason to visit and cousins coming from Florida made perfect sense! Andy, Jenny and the kids along with Mimi, Pop Pop and Uncle Matt joined us for a little adventure on ice!  Oh my, it was such a blast and everyone was very proud of their own success!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (#6)

Peter and the kids have been keeping up with Jacquie and her kids and the Harry Potter series.  We decided a while back it would be fun to view the sixth movie together when we finished the book.  We set a date...and we were two chapters shy... Jacquie and the kids skipped jui jitsu practice the day before to finish up, so the kids and I had a power hour (or two) the day of the viewing to finish the final two chapters.  They are all very into it which is motivating for the adults.  It was a fun and relaxing evening of pizza and movie watching.

Little Leo

Cousin Leo, Lana and Charles arrived from New Zealand this week for a two month visit!  The kids are smitten with Leo and simply adore holding him and playing on the floor with him.  He is such a sweetheart and loves to smile and make happy noises!

Thanksgiving

This thanksgiving it was a wonderful gift to have the entire "Johnson" family together.   Everyone was eager to meet baby Leo.  All the kids adored the little ones and did not waist a minute of precious play time together.  It is so fun to see these seven cousins so grateful for each other. 

The adults had fun munching all day and catching up.  We all had our jobs in the kitchen and our feast was AMAZING!  Our table was overflowing with turkey and all the fixin' and a freshly baked apple crumble for dessert.  It was just amazing to see it all come together.  

Everyone spent the night, the kids had a sleepover and we enjoyed a wonderful brunch with fresh pastries from Le Farm, fruit and a goat cheese frittata! YUM!

Thanksgiving Feast

Alexander's Thanksgiving Feast was AWESOME! Alex and his classmates were pilgrims. Since he was the only boy, he got to carry the special turkey for the class! He was so super proud! The kids were so EXCITED to see Alex on stage they could hardly sit in their chairs.