Gone Fishin'

The boys with their haul

John and Sam had a "guy day" yesterday. They headed to Stockton Lake where a guide took them out fishing. They both caught their limit of crappie, although Sam had some help catching some of his. They also fished some for walleye. They both caught some large fish and had a great time.

Sam said his favorite parts of the day were getting to drive the boat and just the talking. It is nice to just have time to visit without a lot of other distractions. Maybe I should take up fishing with John again :). Now we are all looking forward to a big fish fry!

Paine Family Christmas

My cousins and their spouses. Hopefully somebody got a better pic than mine that they can pass along to me.

The kids!

We spent our Christmas Eve and Christmas in Kansas City again this year. We arrived on Christmas Eve just in time to change clothes and head to mass with the Siegels and my family. We took up a whole pew and as Aiden said, "we have a crowded family." It is so nice to be together with everyone celebrating the birth of our Lord.

Then it was off to dinner with John to celebrate his birthday. I don't think his birthday celebration would be complete without a steak at Houstons. The dinner was delicious and I was so glad to have time to celebrate him!

Christmas morning is just with my parents and brother and sister's families. Everyone enjoyed some breakfast and gift opening. Then the house begins to fill as all of my mom's family comes over to celebrate. There is nothing I love more than a house full of my family. It is so nice to see everyone and enjoy time together. It was a wonderful holiday.

Medley Christmas

Last night we hosted Christmas for John's family at our house. It was a yummy potato soup and chili supper. Ella was so excited when she saw the gifts come in that she actually just sat and looked at them for a while. Sam was just happy to have his buddy Caleb at his house to play. We enjoyed some snacks, opened gifts and then the kids played while the adults visited. It was a nice evening and the type of the thing we should do more of throughout the year. The gifts were a success too because Ella and Sam have been playing a lot with their new things.

Gingerbread Houses

Sam's class made gingerbread houses this year. Ella and I were able to go in to help out in the classroom. We thought Ella could just help her brother a little but there were enough supplies for her to make one of her own. She was very excited! All of the kids seemed to have a great time making the project and it was fun to watch them create. Sam just kept building and decorating and came up with some neat ideas. It was a project we might have to make a yearly tradition.

Cookie Time

After a year off, we got back to our tradition of making Christmas cookies with the cousins. The skills have definitely improved this year, there were some very impressive cookies! The kids young and older all had a good time creating some beautiful cookies. It was a fun time with family that I hope we can continue for years to come.

Christmas Program Time

Can you find Ella the cow?

Today was Ella's Christmas program and party. She had a great time up on stage. She knew all the words to the numerous songs and as the head of the program told me later, "Ella is my best dancer." She was really moving up there on stage.

I was a little worried about the Christmas party because Santa came to the party, and last year she didn't want to go anywhere near him. When were going to visit Santa last night (before we knew the line would be so long) she told me she wanted me to go with her to see Santa and she did not want to sit on Santa's lap. So, I thought we might have a repeat of last year. But, this year when Santa called her name she walked right up to him and posed by him for a picture. She had a great day and is counting down the days until Christmas is here!

Guns, Crossbows, Carousels, and Santa?

You know you must be going to visit Santa at Bass Pro when your trip involves shooting guns, crossbows, and racing cars. Bass Pro is the place to visit Santa in our neck of the woods. It was such a popular place to go that the one hour line actually prevented us from seeing Santa. We did get to do a lot of other things though like make a craft, ride a carousel, shoot at targets, race toy cars, slide and much more. The amazing thing is all of these activities are free. Of course some of the toys they are trying to get you to buy but the kids had a wonderful time. It was actually our second time visiting Santa's wonderland this year and this time was as big a hit as the last. I wish we would have seen Santa the first time when there was no line but I had this great idea we would dress up for a picture, not my best plan.

O Christmas Tree

So the Medleys have their first artificial tree. The real trees were just getting too expensive. Also, trees are not picked up with the trash here in Springfield so you have to find somewhere to dispose of them. I think the artificial tree looks pretty nice but I do miss that smell.

Reindeer

Sam had his Christmas program last week. He was Dancer the reindeer. His best buddies were all reindeer too.

Caroling

I didn't take any pictures of our Christmas caroling but wanted to write about how wonderful my kids are. Our church makes baskets and goes caroling each year to the homebound of our parish. I've been trying to think of something that my kids can do to help others for Christmas and after talking to them this seemed like the perfect project.

Saturday evening Ella and I made cookie dough and Sunday morning Sam helped me bake the cookies to add to the baskets at church. After mass we gathered and divided up the places to go and carol. The kids and I went with a small group to an assisted living facility and a nursing home. We visited seven parishioners in all. We sang at each person's apartment or room and visited with them briefly. My kids were so kind and patient. The visits took about two hours and they never once complained.

Sam even sat down next to a lady that wanted someone close by and tied another woman's shoes when he noticed they were not tied as she walked around her apartment. While they didn't know all the words to the carols they were the highlight of the visit for a lot of the people. They loved seeing the kids and I loved seeing their kind hearts.

Craft Day

I absolutely love Ella's preschool. The teachers there are so creative! Ella is always bringing home amazing projects and the things she learns astound me. Once a year they have a craft day before Christmas. An adult comes to school with each child and helps them make different craft projects in each classroom. It is a great experience to share with your child and the things they make are really neat. Ella and I had a great time working on all of her creations. They are currently hung in places of honor on our Christmas tree.

Thankful

Ella's turkey disguised as a gymnast

Nick and Sam playing catch

Meghan playing dollhouse with Ella

Ella's turkey

We had so many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving that they are too numerous to list. Most of all I am happy to have my family together and to celebrate all of our blessings. We got to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal at AC and Uncle Al's house and while not everyone could be there this year it was nice to visit with those who were. The dinner was amazing, as always, and so was the company. I think we all had more than our share of what Sam has dubbed, "AC's famous rolls."

Stationery card

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Silver Dollar Christmas

Sam had the day off of school on Friday so that afternoon the kids and I headed down to Silver Dollar City. We were lucky enough to run into some friends there and the kids had a great time running around with them and riding as many things as they could.

Ella went on her first official roller coaster ride. I was hoping she would love it but as soon as we hit a tunnel she was not a fan of the ride any more. I need to find someone to ride roller coasters with me!

The highlight of the day was the Christmas parade. I wish I would have gotten a picture of the way Ella's eyes lit up when she saw Santa Clause. The kids both enjoyed watching the floats and characters go by and looking at all of the lights. It was a great day.

Turkey Tumbling Meet

Ella had her second gymnastics meet a week ago. There were six kids in her division and she finished third on trampoline and second on the floor routine. She was very excited! She has been practicing her cartwheels all week hoping to move up to the next division soon. She loves being a little gymnast!

The picture is her posing with her ribbons and trophy after the meet.

Trick or Treat

Ella with her candy!

Sam performing a spell.

The kids with Caleb and Sarah

All ready to trick or treat

Happy Halloween! The kids had a great time dressing up and trick or treating this year. Sam dressed as Harry Potter and pulled it off really well. We spray painted his hair and once during the night I even lost him looking for his blonde head. Ella was Fancy Nancy. She loved her tutu, crown and jewelry and looked adorable.

First, we started at the Lowe's. Now things are not the same as when we first moved to Springfield. Ellie is now helping walk around with the kids, Hannah had basketball practice all evening, and Sarah dressed up but did not trick or treat. So, it was my kids and Caleb heading into the neighborhood for candy. When did they all get so grown up, before I know it my kids will be the ones too old to trick or treat. They had fun though seeing family and enjoyed getting candy.

Then it was back to our neighborhood to hit up a few houses before heading home. Our neighbors are usually very generous since there are so few kids that actually trick or treat. Once we got home they had to dump out their candy and see what all they had collected. They had a great night!

Jack O' Lanterns

Sunday was the day to carve the pumpkins. The kids began by cleaning them out. They are getting so much better at this and it is nice to not have to do all the dirty work. Then came time to carve. John and Sam hit the computer first to find their pattern. It was originally going to be Harry Potter but the printer wasn't cooperating so they decided on Angry Birds. Sam was so excited with his choice!

Ella and I were up next and I tried to steer her towards something that was a little easier. We decided on a cute kitten pattern and set about working on it. The carving was done by the adults and John worked on his and Sam's pumpkin for hours. He is a perfectionist and wanted it just right. He enjoyed it though and already has plans for a more challenging pumpkin next year.

The kids were very happy with how they turned out and so were we!

Fall Party

Ella's preschool had their Fall Party last week. One other mom and I were in charge of planning the festivities. I think the kids all had a wonderful time and I enjoyed getting to be with Ella and her friends. She was so excited to have me there and wanted me by her every second.

Though technically not a Halloween party the kids all make paper costumes to go with their theme for the year. This year they are doing bears and Ella's class made Pooh costumes. It was a lot of fun!

Park Place

While in Columbia this weekend we took the kids to two different park to show them a little of what Columbia has to offer. They were so excited about the quality of parks there. They ran around for a long time and really enjoyed some time playing together. They are excited to be able to return and play again in the future.

TIger Time!

We hadn't seen our Tigers in action yet this year and wanted to look at some neighborhoods in Columbia so we headed up this weekend for the game. Mizzou played a ranked Oklahoma State and didn't fair so well. The kids missed the better seats we had last year and had a harder time paying attention from further away but still had a good time. Too bad the Tigers couldn't have played a little better for our visit.