Sledding

Three of my favorite things....a new camera, snow and Dawson!  With a perfect snowy day, we went to my brother's house to get in some snow fun.  There's always a boy around that house willing to play outside with Dawson!

First comes a snow angel.

 Next, comes the work to build a snowman.

 Some final touches.

 And the final project.

 When the snowman work was done, they headed to the backyard hill for some sledding.  This sled went crooked a lot so she shared her cousins sled instead!

 A neighbor friend came over to join in the fun!

 Dawson and her cousin Alex...keep in mind, he is 18 and still having a great time with his little cousin!

All three of them headed down the hill and boy did they go fast!  It was a great day filled with so much laughter and a ton of smiles!!!

SANTA WAS HERE!!!

Santa came and left a special sack for Dawson.  Was she ever surprised when she saw a big red sack filled with presents for her!!!  She really has been a good girl this year!

 It didn't take long to dig in and find out what all the presents were in the bag!

One of her favorite gifts....Chubby Bunny!

(named by Dawson)

An Ariel doll for Dawson and Alice in Wonderland doll for Bella.  

I wasn't sure which one Dawson liked better?

 After Santa presents, breakfast and some play time, we headed over to my mom and dad's house for more XMAS.  Here are all of the grandchildren together!

 Presents, presents and more presents!

Finally, another favorite...Butterscotch.  Santa forgot to bring it but, Grammy and Papa came through!

Merry Christmas 2012.

Santa's Visit to School

Santa made a visit to Dawson's kindergarten class this year right before the holiday party.  Did you notice there are no tears this year?  This was as close as we got to Santa this year!

 After his visit, the holiday party began.  I volunteered to be a room parent this year which was super fun but, I found it impossible to catch many pictures.  

I found a great game that every student loved...which is hard to do in kindergarten!  I wrapped a package of candy canes 22 times.  Like musical chairs, I played the music and when it stopped, that person opened one layer of wrapping paper.  Instead of being sad when the music stopped, the kids were so excited to tear off the wrapping paper!  In fact, they were looking for a pattern in the wrapping paper!

 I have to admit, it did take forever to wrap the same present 22 times but, the excitement and happiness of the kids paid off!  The loved it!  The last child tore off the paper and in the box was.....a candy cane for each child!

And lastly, there was a small, school singing program downtown in conjunction with a banner unveiling.  Unfortunately it was windy and rainy so they kids sang inside a large warehouse.  There voices still sounded wonderful!

Gingerbread Houses

This weekend we were off to the Botanical Gardens to enjoy some beautiful trees, plants, flowers and gingerbread houses.  

Usually a green place, the gardens were filled with red, white, green pink and gingerbread houses.  It was really turned into a Christmas spectacular!  

Recognize this place in Cleveland....the Westside Market!

I only caught a few pictures of Dawson and when I transferred them to my computer, only one appeared.  Something strange is happening with my camera lately!  This was a moving window display behind her.  Very cute display.  Makes me remember the windows in NYC and downtown Cleveland.

 

A few more gingerbread houses.  Aren't they amazing????  I did get a few good ideas for our little one we make every year! 

Mother Daughter Luncheon

Last Sunday was Dawson's school Mother Daughter Luncheon.  It was much more than I ever expected.  The theme this year was "The Nine Muses."   Everything was based on all different artistic areas.  There were orchestra instruments to try, pottery to make, poetry to write and stories to be told.

A few girls from her class!

The DJ had all the girls dancing the day away!

Look at her go!

This story teller was FABULOUS!  She will be a must at a birthday party some day soon!  Every child was listening attentively!  She was telling a child version of Harry Potter!

Our favorite art studio was at the luncheon helping the children make fall hangings.  So cute!

We both had a great day exploring the arts and spending time together!

Trick or Treat

Some friends, a clam bake and some rain was what our night was all about!  Nothing held us back!

The gang heading out! 

 Everyone had an umbrella in hand to weather out the rain.  A few adult umbrellas even broke.  Looks like the aftermath of hurricane Sandy is going to hit us tomorrow!

 When we got home, the girls went upstairs to try and scare the trick or treaters that came in the front door!  They were so funny!

Hauntaquarium and Carving

Cleveland opened a new aquarium this past summer and we've been waiting to go!  When we heard our friend was going to be the DJ for the night, we headed out to join in the fun.  Children were dressed up and there were a few stations with entertainment throughout the aquarium.  We saw a magician, jugglers, fire eaters, and pirate sword fighting.

Many of the fish tanks had carved pumpkins in them.  It was interesting watching the fish go in and out of the pumpkins.  We saw a conch shell with a live snail in it and made a stingray puppet.  At the end of the night, we did a little dancing as our friend DJ Beatboy played some happening music!

As we headed home, Dawson reminded me I promised we would carve pumpkins tonight!   That was fine but, she fell asleep!  Never fear, she woke up when we got home to do some carving.

She cleaned, scraped and carefully drew her face!

AND the FINAL PRODUCT!

Fall Fun

 My favorite time of the year...FALL.  It was a perfect day for an outing to a local farm and then to a nature center.  The weather was about 60 and the lighting for fall pictures couldn't have been better!  

Lots of running and pumpkin climbing gave me some good photo opportunities!

 This farm had some HUGE pumpkins!

We like to pose these days!

 We found some bird seed.  At this nature center, you can put some bird food in your hand and the birds will come and eat it.  Such an amazing experience if you have never done this before!

 It was fun to run through the herb garden and head towards a small waterfall.

 If there is something to climb on, we will find it! 

Right before we left, I was lucky to catch a perfect reflection in the pond.  Beautiful!