Visit to the "North Pole"

A few weeks ago, we went to Lake Farmpark Lights with our MOPs group (Mothers of Preschoolers).  It was so much fun and Olivia thought we were at the North Pole.  (In fact, she has asked to go back to the North Pole multiple times!)

The visit consisted of a trip to the toy shop to make a toy with the elves, sitting on Santa's lap, visiting the cows, taking a wagon ride through the farm decorated with lights, a petting zoo, pony rides, and more.

In the Toy Shop:

In awe:

Working on the Polar Bear toy that she chose:

Painting the toy:

Putting a little glitter on it:

And more glitter:

And more:

Visiting with Santa:

Riding a pony:

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Wow, I'm way behind and I have a LOT of catching up to do.  Things have been pretty crazy around here, but more on that later.  Where did I leave off.... Oh, yes, right after our trip to Arkansas for Thanksgiving.

Upon returning to Ohio, we immediately started getting into the Christmas spirit.  We bought a little tree for Olivia's room, and she had fun painting some ornaments and hanging them, and some bells, on her tree.

We spent the 1st of December putting up our family tree.  Her favorite part was putting the star on the top.

Helping Daddy put the tree up:

Being silly:

Hanging the 1st ornament:

We've been in the Christmas spirit ever since and we haven't slowed down!

Starry Nights

One of the highlights of our Thanksgiving trip was taking Olivia to see Starry Nights. Glen booked us a carriage ride to take through the lights display. I figured Olivia would like it, but I wasn't prepared for how much she would love it! We all agreed that her reaction made the trip worthwhile. Here are some pictures:

What a fun night!!!!

All Play, No Work

One of Olivia's favorite parts of our trip to Arkansas was going to work with Gram. I'm not sure if I've mentioned, but Olivia loves construction equipment and big trucks right now. She can identify bulldozers, excavators, crane trucks, cement mixers, and backhoes. She also gets excited when she sees an 18-wheeler (and will sing "Roll On 18 Wheeler"). So, getting to go to work with Gram was a blast because she got to ride on a tractor, and sit on combines and big trucks. Here are some of the pictures my mom sent from her boss' cell phone:

Another favorite was visiting Uncle Glen at work and getting to sit on the train. She even got to honk the horn and blow the whistle!

Who knew that working could be so much fun!?!

Thanksgiving 2012

This was the year that we spent Thanksgiving in Arkansas. Olivia and I flew down on the 14th and stayed until the 27th. Jon was able to join us from the 21st-25th. It's hard to believe that it had been almost an entire year since I was last home. (I hope it's never that long between visits again!) We had such a good time, and enjoyed catching up with everyone. I'll let the pictures tell most of the story.

Watching Dora on the plane (which by the way, Olivia was such a great passenger... whew!!)

Sleeping with Abby:

At the zoo with Uncle Glen, Abby, and Mason:

Reading with Abby:

Trying on Uncle Glen's hat:

Helping Gram with Thanksgiving desserts:

With cousin Bentley:

With cousin Brody:

We did several other things that were highlights and deserve their own post (coming soon!) Needless to say, we had such a great time and didn't want to have to leave. In fact, Olivia cried on the plane ride home because she "just wanted to go back to Arkansas and see Gram." (She wasn't the only one...) This was her face:

Isn't that the most pitiful thing ever?!? We miss all of you already, and can't wait to see you next time!!!!! xoxo

November Fun

November had unseasonably warm temperatures here, so we took advantage of it and spent lots of time outdoors, both at the parks and the zoo.