Our weekend

We decided to spend a bit of time at the mall on Friday evening...no shopping, just people watching. After a pretty heavy dinner at Olive Garden, it was nice to walk a bit and enjoy just being out. Bob and Ryan wondered off to the Game Stop, while Emma got sidetracked by the

ride-on toys. Here she is thoroughly enjoying the fact that I actually had a few quarters with me and the motorcycle was moving!

Emma had been quite positive that she didn't need to see Santa. However, once she saw him, she changed her mind. Ryan was kind enough to forget the fact that he's almost ten for a moment and joined her on his lap...just because she wanted him to. Poor kid...Santa asked what he wanted and he said, "Ripstick." Santa thought he said, "Lipstick!"

While we were there, we just happened to bump into a dear friend and her family.
We finally got to meet Jasper! Oh, what a little cutie he is! And when Em and Em saw each other, they took off at a dead run and give probably the hardest and longest hug in history.
I love their friendship!

One of us doesn't look so happy in this photo. That's o.k.
He'll grow to love me...some day.

Em and Em exchanged gifts while we were there.

Emma gave Ember and Aisy the owls and crayons, along with

a blank book for each of them. Ember gave Emma...

...the cutest Hansel and Gretal puppets that Ember and Cassie made

out of wooden spoons. Emma {loves} them!

Saturday morning, we headed out to the farm to do some holiday baking.

Emma was quite excited to get to join in this year. We made

caramels, fudge (the best in the world! It requires an hour of stirring, but it's oh-so

worth it!), toffe bark, almond balls, mint chocolate cip bars, and chocolate covered oreos.

(I think that's all!)

We're so lucky because Emma's favorite job it to wash dishes.

She was quite happy to wash up the dishes as we used them.

(Just in case you notice these things...yes, her water looks disgusting.

She'd just finished washing out a bowl covered in chocolate. The water was changed right after this photo. No dishes were washed with dirty water!)

Ryan popped in occasionally to help and/or sample.

He and Dad spend quite a bit of time practicing guitar.

This is what I get when I ask him for a smile...

...and this is what she gives me.

{Mom and the kids}

Most of our 10.5 inches of snow have melted. They got somewhere around

14 inches, and it hasn't melted like ours. The kids had fun playing in it...

{Me and the kids}

Waiting for summer...

My sweet (not-so) little ones

That evening, Randy, John and Donna came over. Randy had

just gotten back from the coast and had fresh crabs for us to feast on. Mom made homemade potato soup (the best in all fifty states!), Donna brought delicious bread and we feasted!!

After dinner, the guys headed to the bedroom for a jam session/lesson.

Bob and I taught Donna and Mom how to play Settlers.

Mom, with her beginner's luck, won the game.

We kept finding Bob with the quitar in his hands...

might there be some music in his future?

{Do you like that beautiful wall behind him? I painted it years ago when

I was in high school. I was bored. So I painted it with a scrunched paper bag

and a partial can of paint found in the garage. And then Mom came home.}

We ended the evening by snuggling warm in our beds, scattered

throughout the house. Em and I got to sleep under this...totally hand pieced and quilted...

partly by Dad's mom who died just a week before I was born.

{This photo is much more true to color}

{Amazing!}

Someday!