Maestro - Jingle Bells

So, I was cleaning up the kids' room tonight, having a million thoughts running through my brain, not really paying attention to what was going on in the room. I was hearing a melody being played on Maddie's pink piano... a melody that has been sung about 90 times a day since Thanksgiving... a melody that I don't even hear anymore I've heard it so much. So, when I noticed it being played, it didn't even occur to me that it was my son PLAYING the song on the pink piano! This, people, he did all on his own. I never once showed him how to play it.

So, for your viewing pleasure, I give you: Jingle Bells (arrangement by Taylor Norris)

Thanksgiving

Better late than never!

We have a Thanksgiving tradition of going out to Rick's Grandma Norris's house for Thanksgiving day. We've done it all but one year since we've been married, and it has become one of my favorite days of the year. Grandma Norris is about the sweetest lady you will ever meet! She is all of about 90 lbs, you could break her with a hug, and she makes a mean Thanksgiving meal.

We watch football, maybe play marbles, take a nap on the "drool" pillow, read the newspaper, eat a lot of wholesome goodness... nothing out of the ordinary for a Thanksgiving day get-together. What I love about it is being together with our family. The older I get, the more I just truly enjoy being with family.

Maddie had a wonderful time playing outside. Grandma has a huge yard - field, really - so Maddie and Jim went on an exploration!

We stayed inside where it was nice and warm!

The boys resting on the couch!

I love family days...

If I could pick one way to spend the best day, it would be having a "family day" with my husband and kids. I love getting to hang out with them, play, riding bikes, watching movies, etc.

Bellingham has gorgeous fall weather. The other day it was sunny, blue skies, so we decided to hop on our bikes and ride around our favorite park, Boulevard Park. Maddie is still showing off her riding skills on two wheels! The park is nestled next to Bellingham Bay, so on a good day, the water is gorgeous and the ride is so relaxing. We rode from Fairhaven, down onto Taylor Dock (which is a really long bridge over the water connecting to Boulevard Park), around the park circle, then back again. What a blast.

It was one of the first times for Rick on his bike since the surgery! He missed it!

We capped off our day with family movie night. They chose to watch "The Polar Express." I love this movie, and the kids really loved it - especially the popcorn and licorice! Other movies the kids have been really liking lately are "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" (yes, the musical), "The Wiz" (yet another musical), and Disney's "Very Merry Christmas Sing Along" (a full DVD of Christmas songs set to cartoons). Can you imagine Rick's horror when we pull ANY of these movies out?! Musicals AND Christmas music - his worst nightmare! :-)

Enjoy your family - have a fun day!

Taylor's Christmas performance

'Tis the season for the Christmas plays. This year is SO much fun since it is both Maddie and Taylor's first Christmas to perform.

Last week, Taylor's school performed a few Christmas carols for all the families. It was cute! He actually did fairly well. He was one of the only 3-year-olds in the 4&5 year old groups. Considering the fact that he HATES it when people applaud OR sing, he did extremely well. He made it through the entire production with crying once!


He really enjoyed turning around and watching the other kids, and standing up and sitting down multiple times in each song. Quite the character!

Here is Jingle Bells:


Here is Silver Bells:

Get your groove on!

Ever wonder what Rick looks like when he dances?

CHECK THIS OUT!!

By the way... this was his creation!

First Snow!

Bellingham had about 2 inches - yep, count 'em - two inches of snow! Saturday proved to be a great day to stay home and enjoy playing outside, drinking hot chocolate, and watching movies!

We have a great sledding hill in the back yard. There is a steep driveway that is awesome for sledding. Maddie and Taylor spent a good hour going up and down...

Taylor actually enjoyed it this year. Last year he wasn't so fond of it, but this year he's learned to climb on the sled, hold on and go down the hill by himself. I have to admit it's pretty funny to watch him go tumbling down when he falls off. Every time he stands up and yells a big "YES! That was AWESOME!" What a good sport.
We are looking forward to a fun winter of lots more sledding and hot chocolate! Hope your Christmas season is getting off to a wonderful start!

What are you thankful for...

As we sat around our table and asked that question of each other, here were the answers:

Rick: Wifey, family, a working back that we didn't have to pay for...

Karyn: Husband, two beautiful kids, nursing school...

Madisyn: Mommy and Daddy and Taylor and Cede (our dog)

Taylor: Bread

Rick: Taylor, are you thankful for anything else?

Taylor: Um... nope. Just bread. Black bread.


Enough said...


Oh, yeah, and we still don't know what he means by black bread.

Happy Veteran's Day

Maddie was in her first school performance this week! Her school did a Veteran's Day tribute. It was SO cute. They sang America the Beautiful (see video), recited the Pledge of Allegiance, and they all had at least one line. Maddie, of course, memorized EVERYONE'S lines. She told them to me on the way to school that day.



Her hat said "Speaker." Her line was, "Please join us for snacks in our classroom." :-) Sarah Bernhardt, look out.

Emma and Maddie

The whole BCS kindergarten class

This is Isaac - better known as Abe Lincoln. He recited part of President Lincoln's speech: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." (Maddie, of course, just recited that for me...) He was pretty impressive.

Nani and Poppa

Maddie and Taylor got to go to Nani and Poppa's farm last weekend. They had SO much fun...
They got to go see the Bee Movie, go to Sunday School with Miss Jean (one of my old friends), ride their bikes in the driveway, play with Cede (our dog on vacation at the farm), visit Great Grandma Talley, and eat LOTS of treats (that's what Maddie said)!

Do you think their related?

Thank you, Nani and Poppa, for having such a fun weekend with our kids! They are looking forward to the next time...

A Happy Halloween it was...

First let me say this... we don't "celebrate" Halloween. We let the kids dress up and get candy. That's it. I know some people get upset about Christians celebrating a pagan holiday, yada, yada, yada... Everyone has their own ideas. For our family, we let our kids dress up and have fun getting candy at the downtown Bellingham trick or treat. Do I pretend there's a Santa Claus... yes. How about the easter bunny hiding eggs... yes. Call me what you will... I grew up "believing" all those things, too, and I turned out just fine. I love that families have their own traditions. To each their own.
Now... off my soap box and onto the cute kids. Since last year (no joke), Maddie has been planning her costume - a mermaid. She really wanted to be that LAST year, but I couldn't find an outfit for her. So she carried that thought with her the WHOLE year, and of course, stuck with it. She was so beautiful.Taylor, I must say, was a HIT with all the other kids. Everyone would say, hey there's Spiderman. I heard kids across the street yelling to Spiderman. There were even a couple young boys who were so fascinated with Spiderman, they were tripping over their own feet because they were watching him instead of where they were walking. Taylor, of course, didn't want to have anything to do with anyone. One little boy walked up and got right in his face - HI SPIDERMAN!! Taylor was like, this is MY personal space, buddy. It was too funny. We had a wonderful time... not many trick or treaters at our house, though. oh well. More for us! I hope everyone had a wonderful time with their families - no matter what you were doing!