Christmas in Cleveland

Ahhh the Great White North- Cleveland! We had a super fun Christmas with Mimi and Tommy...Avery loved setting out cookies for Santa and going to bed early (that is a definite lie) so that Santa could find his way to Bradgate Lane! Avery was a great girl this year, and she enjoyed opening lots of fun presents from the big guy in the red suit, including games, puzzles, Legos (Duplos), a princess play-dough set, clothes, headlamps for camping with Daddy (very cool), and lots more. She was very gracious and appreciative- so proud of her. Later Avery made a snowman and snow angels with Grandpa Tommy, and then the whole family came over for some Christmas fun- Mimi made a delicious meal and fun was had by all! Avery especially loved playing with Jackson, who was visiting from San Francisco- they led a sing-along and generally ran screaming through the house for 2 hours (a GREAT way to burn off energy!).  :) We made a last minute decision to head home from Cleveland on Christmas night at 10:00, which made for a not-so-fun late night trip home...it had to be done though, because the next day brought a wild blizzard to all of Ohio!! What a merry Christmas!

Avery's Preschool Christmas Show and Pre-Christmas Fun at Nana and Papa's

This was as close to Santa as Avery would get- she's wanted nothing to do with him this season!! :)

Our little performer did a great job at her first Christmas show from Lakeview Preschool.  Her teachers put her front and center because she was a little ham during rehearsals...She did great during the show, but things  started to go awry during "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (who DOESN'T lose their composure during that song?), when Ave became obsessed with the "swishiness" of her pretty Christmas dress.  So cute!

We had Christmas a little early with Nana and Papa since we are going to be driving to Cleveland on Christmas Eve and then there on Christmas morning.  Avery and her cousin Addy received power cars which are hilarious.  Avery was surprisingly awesome at maneuvering the car- we determined that at some point she did achieve a three point turn and successfully parallel-parked near the play kitchen in the basement. Avery was a doll opening her presents- she kept shouting, "This is JUST what I wanted!!!" after everything she opened, even clothes! What a sweetie! 

Thanksgiving on the Farm

When I was little, I used to love visiting my grandparents' farm. Since my dad was a fighter pilot in the Air Force, we moved every 2-3 years, and I don't really have a house that I "grew up in." My grandparents' house (and farm) in tiny Greenfield, Illinois has become the one constant "place" that I've known and gone back to my whole life. From the days of hogs to ostriches (those were fun years! :) to sheep to now the lone horse being boarded in their pastures, I have countless memories of riding on my grandpa's lap in his tractor, helping my grandma shuck corn or snap beans on the back porch, and loving the silence of the country. One of my favorite things to do over the years was to sit on an old metal glider they had in the back of their house- the view was priceless in the summer- acres and acres of corn swaying in the wind broken only by tree lines with winding creek beds.  We spent Thanksgiving on the Greenfield farm this year and for the first time, I began to realize that our days on the farm are numbered. My grandparents are in their eighties, and spend their winters in Southern Texas. Their property is huge and would be difficult for anyone to manage, even though they are amazing- spry and self-sufficient in every way. Avery's been to the farm 3 times now- twice in the summer, which is my favorite time there.  She loves it. LOVES IT. Even this time, when we didn't go outside much except to see Max the old gray horse, she squealed running from end to end in my grandparents's ranch house with her cousin Addy and finding joy in the simpler things in life- reading, napping (a farm tradition), huge noon meals (with Thanksgiving being the ultimate of a farm "dinner"), and having her parents' undivided attention. I hope Avery's little sister has a chance to see the farm someday, but just in case, I took lots of pictures. :) Thanks to my wonderful grandparents for having us, and to my parents for caravaning (not a word) us over in their cars (especially to my dad who listened to way too many princess songs on the way over). We are so blessed to have so many years of memories in such a special place. Happy Thanksgiving!

 We had a special treat this visit- my cousin Kelly drove in from Nashville- she's in her Senior year at Belmont University. She is just the most lovely girl, inside and out, and it was great to spend time with her. The girls adore her:). 

 Chris was put on potato-peeling duty, even though he was in the Army and not the Navy! (Naval guys peeled potatoes, right?)

 Matching outfits for Thanksgiving dinner.

 Great-Grandma wanted to have a tea party with her girls :)

 A pants-less Avery tries to venture out into the forty degree temps.- we shut that down! 

 Just being nostalgic- the barn and outbuildings (not the original barn- that was damaged by a tornado in the nineties I believe). 

 Back porch with views of the clothesline, and then, nothing but farmland- love it:).

Max, the old (and grumpy) horse. 

Halloween 2012

Avery had a blast at Halloween this year- she was a princess, of course, but we tried to make things interesting by dressing her up as "Avery Princess," instead of an existing princess :):):).  Mimi and Tommy came down and Nana and Papa came over, which was so fun to have all of the grandparents present! It was raining and about 40 degrees, so that made things interesting, but Avery was a trooper, and enjoyed trick-or-treating thoroughly, saying "Trick-or-Treat" and "Thank You" at every single stop! We had a great time on this very chilly Halloween! Oh, and the first treat she picked to eat?  Pretzels! Whose child is she- ha ha! 

Riding the Rails to the Pumpkin Patch

A couple of Sundays ago we took a first-time-ever trip on the Lebanon-Mason railroad to Schappacher's Farm/Pumpkin Patch with Nana and Papa. Good times were had by all, especially Avery, who LOVED the train ride, even though it topped out at speeds of about 5 MPH- we rode 4 miles in about 45 minutes- ha ha! She also enjoyed feeding a (slightly crazed and definitely chubby) donkey a large raw carrot and riding in a homemade barrel train (genius).  Despite the super chilly weather, it was good Fall fun for sure!