Snow, Trees, and Bees

Well, December wasn't kidding around. December 1 = snow and freezing temps. At least we still have an eager shoveler! He was happy that he didn't have school (because of parent-teacher conferences), so that he could shovel the driveway properly.

And he was still excited 2 days later when we got another 4-6". I love this kid and his work ethic!

We are getting into our annual holiday traditions, like the puppy tracker (scavenger hunt) downtown, seeing friends in the Nutcracker (both kids made it through the whole thing, though yawns and exhaustion showed up mid-Act 2), and decorating the tree.

Hadley has been my very dedicated decorator this year, especially with tree ornaments. As we ran into last year, we are getting too many ornaments for our old 6-footer, so we put a mini-tree in each kid's room for them to put their own ornaments on. They like them, but I had envisioned them doubling as a night light, and they were just too bright for that. Oh well.

And of course, the outside lights were not to be forgotten! Owen gladly went out to the garage to unravel and test all of our light strands. Both kids were then "helpful" to get them on the front shrubs and trees.

In other news: Hadley graduated to a booster seat! Woot! This means that she can buckle in much faster, keep her own drink nearby, and mess with her brother much easier.

While we attended the aforementioned parent-teacher conference (O got glowing remarks and grades, by the way!), we swung by the cafeteria where the 2nd grade had set up their "bee showcase" for their case studies on the life of bees. Did you know that drones don't leave the hive and don't even have stingers? Fascinating! (P.S. I made one of those giant pink flowers! Mom-unteers for the win!)

I'll leave you with a snippet of the 2nd grade's rendition of "Jingle Bell Rock". Owen is 5th from the left on the back row, and a little slow on the turn...