Home for Thanksgiving

Last night we arrived back in Oklahoma after spending the Thanksgiving holiday with our family in Arkansas. We had a wonderful time! The day before Thanksgiving, my sister Betsy and I jogged 4 miles! Can you believe it? It was really cold, but we decided that we should prepare ourselves for the upcoming Thanksgiving meal. The day after Thanksgiving, I also went to the gym with Alex (my brother-in-law) and worked out for 80 minutes. I think this might be the first holiday that I won't be GAINING any weight--now that's an accomplishment!

For many years now, we have decorated for Christmas during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. That's exactly what we did in Arkansas. The kids enjoyed putting up the tree and decorating it with all the ornaments. Niah is responsible for arranging the nativity scene, and Aliya was responsible for putting the angel on top of the Christmas tree.

The best part was when Niah got to climb up in the storage space above the closet in Nana and Papa's room to put back all the empty Christmas boxes and bins.

It didn't take long before Aliya discovered what Niah was getting to do and of course, she had to join in!

The fun couldn't stop there--Taya and Kiahna also wanted to "help". They wanted to stay up there much longer than either TJ or I wanted to watch them. After several minutes we finally made them come down.

We had a great time, and we will be returning in December to spend Christmas there. But before we return, we will be celebrating Aliya's 5th birthday!!! According to her calculations, she has been waiting a VERY LONG TIME!!!

What a Mess!

Kiahna found a tube of Aliya's lipstick. Unfortunately, her aim isn't very accurate yet! I guess she thought that her legs and arms needed color, too! I think it's really difficult for kids to understand that they are being scolded for doing something wrong when they see that their parents laughing at the same time.

A Natural Adventure

Today we went to Martin's Park in North Oklahoma City. I had signed the girls up for a "Eat Your Backyard" class this afternoon, but when we got there, we found out the class was actually earlier in the morning. We were all very disappointed. The girls were going to be learning which plants and trees were edible and which were poisonous. They were also going to get to sample a selection of backyard treats.

At first I thought that we had made this trip for nothing until we discovered the Nature Discovery room. It was full of science displays, projects, and hands-on activities. The girls enjoyed observing objects underneath the microscope. There were also reptiles, amphibians, and fish.

Kiahna enjoyed getting to touch everything without being told "NO, NO, NO!!!" At one point, I even let her walk around "by herself". She didn't know she was being watched! I realized once again that she really is not a baby any more.

After we got finished with the discovery room, we walked on a few of the outside trails. Our nature adventure was cut short because Kiahna had a dirty diaper and the diaper bag got left at home. We decided to hike it on over to Walmart for some diapers. We also decided to get the girls an ice cream cone at McDonald's since they were so disappointed in not getting to eat leaves and plants. When it was all said and done, they still were able to come home with a full belly!