Christmas KAMP...

Yesterday, Rowan and I went to a party with all her friends (children of my co-workers) and Santa too. Amy, as always, had an outstanding couple of hours planned. The party was, Ella and Lily's Gingerbread house. So the house was decorated in such a way, and many of the party favors were gingerbread themed as well. We had a lovely lunch display, decorated cookies, played, and even had a visit from Santa.
We also did a gift exchange between the kids, and Rowan received the Cat in the Hat book (yes, we didn't own that one), and her favorite Gerber fruit strips!
Then there was Santa! Not so much of a fan this year as you can see. She was fine when he first came, but once we got close to him, and her mean mom put her on his lap, the tears were flowing. It even took her a few minutes to recover and make sure I wasn't going to put her near him again.
Here are a few photos of the delightful set up Amy had for us!

Playing in the Snow, Round 2!

This was Rowan's 2nd time out playing in the snow today. This afternoon it was a bit colder than it was this morning, but easier to navigate around the driveway being the majority of the snow had been removed in the morning. She had lots of fun outside. The snow in the yard was too deep for her to walk through, she had a hard enough time dealing with the snowpants and boots without inches of snow!

Mmmm...fudge...

In between playing in the snow today, Rowan helped Nana with her fudge making. Or maybe just the clean up part. But she was a good helper!

1st time in the snow...

Rowan and I went outside after breakfast this morning to enjoy the new snowfall, and help with clearing the driveway and sidewalks. Admittedly, we didn't help much in the snow removal area, but we enjoyed the snow. We tried out her new sled and shovel too. It was hard enough to keep her mittens on, so actually using the shovel wasn't in the picture, but she tried to pull it around with her a bit! We will have to wait for the snow to pack down a bit before we actually take the sled down a hill, the snow kept getting stuck underneath making it difficult to pull her. Therefore, we made several circles around the driveway instead!

Our Address...

For those of you who don't have our current address and need it, in order to get us your annual Christmas Card, here it is...

W329N3788 Timberwood Ct
Nashotah, WI 53058

Thanks!

Ride 'em Tulah...

The things that her Daddy teaches her! (bottom right, sorry so small)

And Rowan doesn't think ornaments belong on the tree. She likes to wear her new bling ornament (courtesy of Aunt Amanda) as a bracelet, but we have overused the word NO today, to keep her paws off of the ornaments on the tree! She will learn!

Christmas Spirit...

Well, this weekend was Christmas kickoff in the Smith household. Although, we have never missed our own tree so much! Needless to say, Papa and Nana's tree was frustrating and time consuming.

Every year since they have owned their tree (3 years now) they have had to replace strands of lights (it is a prelit tree) because they don't work when reassembled! So of course, this year didn't fail, 2 strands were out. So the first plan of action was to go buy a new one. But there wasn't anything perfect out there or within an appropriate price range. So they decided to remove all the lights and restring their own LED lights. We assisted in the removal of the old light strings, but refused to put the new ones on. Let's just say, the tree didn't get ornaments until Sunday after that Saturday worth of frustration!
Rowan had more fun with the stockings than anything. Note Rowan's new stocking in the upper right. Christmas things are among many items we are without by having a POD full of belongings stored away! Rather sad!