Oh Ginger Bread House...Oh Ginger Bread House

So far Christmas 2009 has been the year of the Ginger Bread house as today Ellary attended her third party. Here are two versions created by our girl.

Dear Santa...

My how our little girl has grown; first learning to tie shoes and now writing her own letter to Santa.

Like the title of this blog says life with Ellary is never boring.

Ellary's Christmas Tree

Last year Ellary began decorating a small Christmas Tree in her room, with her special ornaments. Below are pics from this year's version as the Christmas Spirit keeps flowing here in Denver. Good times.

Christmas Lights at Botanical Gardens...cont.

Christmas Lights at The Botanical Gardens

We visited The Botanical Gardens to take in the holiday lights and what a nice display. The below freezing temps didn't scare us away but thankfully it didn't take longer than an hour to see everything.

A nice way to kick off the Christmas season but Ellary told me I had to step my game up with our house light display because it surely pales in comparison to what we saw.

Tying a shoe...by Ellary (the puppy)

Thanksgiving in Wichita

Good times had with family in Wichita. Always good cousin time spent with Rachel and Margaret...and believe it or not there was an Uncle Wayne sighting.

Pizza Night with Casey

As usual Friday is Pizza Night and this time Ellary and Casey made their own with lots and lots of pepperoni and cheese.

November Hike

Last Saturday we took all the girls, including Gracie and Piper, up into the foothills near Evergreen for a hike on a beautiful fall afternoon. Ellary experienced the beauty of fall in Colorado because she was able to wear shorts, throw rocks in the creek and even throw snowballs. What a good time.

To make life even more wonderful she had a sleep over with Casey and came home with a plate of self decorated yummy cookies.

I love you a Bushel and a Peck

Ellary loves to sing this song and we finally got it on tape...sort of. She hopes you enjoy her performance.

Trick or Treat

Time to build a snowman

Ellary got out of school early today so we took advantage of the abundant snow and sunshine to build a snowman. She also got a chance to try out her halloween costume for a party at school.

Winter Wonderland...in October?

Winter has arrived in Colorado at least until Sunday when temps return to the 60s. Snow is not that uncommon around Halloween so we aren't too surprised.

Schools have been closed the last couple days so Mom and Ellary have been home and we are finding ways to have fun, which of course means some play time outside.

Snow Angel

Face plant with a smile

Trudging through

Ella's ghosts almost blend in

Neighbor's Harley Skeleton

Pumpkin Carving

We hosted our annual pumpkin carving party the other night and Ellary really got into the act this year. She did a great job scraping and cleaning out the pumpkin and even helped draw and carve out the jack-o-lantern face.

The Bountiful Harvest

Behold Ellary's bountiful harvest featuring photos with one ear of popcorn and one large carrot all under the watchful eye of the bat pumpkin sitting in the corner.

Oh and she is way too tired to smile after a long and fun filled day.

Work...and play on the farm

Ellary's class took a field trip to Miller Farms up near Longmont and thanks to my newfound freedom aka unemployment I was able to attend. First thing we took a hay ride with stops throughout the fields to gather produce. Starting with red potatoes followed by Indian Corn, Popcorn, Carrots and finally pumpkins.

Real fun was had after a short lunch break.

Loading up on red potatoes

BIG Carrots - well worth the digging required

Barrel Train Ride

The Jumpy Pillow

The really Jumpy Pillow...Wahoo!!!

First Snow

We woke up on Saturday to a light blanket of snow and regardless of the amount there is always enough to make snow angels

BOWLING!!!

Ellary was invited to a birthday party at the Brunswick Zone bowling alley and boy did she have fun. She wanted to keep rolling even though is wasn't her turn and kept at it until the final frame. Not sure when she last had this much fun and has only asked me 10-20 times since we got home about going again.

Guess if we are looking for a weekend activity during the winter bowling will certainly do.