Freeport, ME and L.L. Bean

You may have asked yourself why was the Christmas tree empty from Thursday morning to Sunday night?  I'll tell you.  First thing Friday morning we packed in the car and drove to Freeport, Maine. 

Luke had a conference there for the weekend so the rest of us went along for the shopping.  About a block from Luke's conference was an outlet mall and the L.L. Bean flagship store.  We wandered around a ton, but did not buy much.  We spent most of our free time at the giant L.L. Bean store.

With the boot.

Dallin and Christine loved watching the fish in the pond.  Yes this is in the middle of the store.

Benjamin just hung out in the stroller.  He does not like to wear hats or hoods to help keep him warm.  I have yet to try mittens yet.

We checked out a few displays.  But we spent most of our time in the kids section of the store.

 This store actually knew people would bring their kids shopping.  They had a tree fort to run around in.

 

With an occasional rest.

Coloring on paper.  Christine hogged this table and was picky about who was allowed to sit and color there.

Huge chalkboard walls to draw on.

Even Benjamin was happy to be there.  I was just happy to be able to sit down and let the kids get out some energy.
It was a fun trip.  Next time I would rather do it in warmer weather so the kids could check out the discovery park and just be outside without freezing.

Oh Christmas tree!

The first Thursday in December we picked out a Christmas tree.

We brought the tree home.

Luke brought it in all by himself.

After Luke stabilized the tree in the stand and gave it some water the tree sat with no change until Sunday night.

Then the Christmas boxes came out, and it was time to decorate!

We got the lights on.

This cute little boy was trying to learn how to climb the stairs during this because of all the boxes asking to be touched.

 

Dallin and Christine loved getting to hang ornaments on the tree.

This is how you keep Benjamin out of trouble for a few minutes.

 It was then time to put on "Santa's boots".

Such a little princess!

Our first snow of the season!

When we came back from warm Las Vegas for Thanksgiving, Maine decided to welcome us back in style.  We got our first, unpredicted by weather people, snow storm.  Luke, Dallin and Christine went out to play in the snow Sunday afternoon.

First time getting all geared up for the season.  We did not have snow boots for Dallin yet so his feet were soaked when they came in.

Running around, throwing snow and all sorts of silliness.

Benjamin and I stayed inside, in the warm house.  We definitely enjoyed watching though.

While they were out it started to snow again.  It was a very wet snow so it came down pretty quick.  You can see it in the picture, all the white streaks.

Benjamin is on the move!

Benjamin finally decided a week and a half before Thanksgiving it was time to start crawling.  Since his new learned skill I have all sorts of new problems that I forgot I would have.

 Dishwashers have limited times when they can be loaded.

Under the sink cabinets don't have child locks yet.
I have been facing these problems for a few weeks now, you'd think I would have already solved them.  Maybe tomorrow.

Halloween and fun around house!

This year we planned on trick or treating, but it was raining and the kids were sick so we went to 2 houses on our street.  After talking to the neighbors we went to a friends house for a Halloween party.  We called it a night by 7pm.  Here are the kids ready to head out.

We have now entered the season where we spend more time indoors.  So we try to find excitement in the little things.  This morning the kids had fun watching the heater blow Christine's dress.

This afternoon Benjamin discovered the drawers in the kitchen.  He opened it himself, but could not figure out how to close it.

In sickness and in pumpkins

This last week our house has been full of sickness.  Dallin caught it first and passed it to Christine and me.  Today Benjamin just started into it.  Christine has had the worst case of all of us.  It is quite comical to listen to a 3 year old who has lost her voice.  On Sunday only Luke went to church because the rest of us were doing this.

All three kids asleep on the couch with me.  Of course Dallin is wearing his dinosaur costume.  It is his favorite thing to put on whenever he is home.

On Monday Luke carved our pumpkin.  He drew the design himself this year, from a picture he saw online.  Luke thought it was amazing.

 

This year we also roasted the seeds for the first time.  Up next, Halloween!

 



Benjamin all ready for bed

One of Benjamin's favorite things is bath time.  He gets so excited when he sees the tub filling with water.

He loves to splash in the water.  He loves to get all snuggled up in his towel after.

Then he gets all lotioned up and in his pjs and sleep sac.  All ready for bed!