Playdate to see the Big Man in Red

Yesterday was the Winter Festival at Webb Nursery, so we picked our best pal Kennedy to share in the fun.  First on the agenda was a talk with Santa.

 Emily put some serious thought into her request.  Santa was helping her think.  We have been checking in with Santa at reindeercam.com, so Emily already had the heads up that she is currently on the nice list (she saw her name scroll across the board...).  She settled on asking for a scarf and a sleeping bag.  Then worried because she forgot her third request, a teepee.  She agreed that another trip to see him was in order!

Then it was time to do the crafts - an ornament made out of cupcake wrappers, that they both gifted to Santa, Rudolph made out of craft sticks, and a decorated sugar cookie.  They also played a ring toss game and tried to knock down snowman cups to earn a couple prizes.

After lunch, it was time to play in the newly fallen snow.  First, it was sledding.  Then, it was building a pair of snowmen in the front yard.  The girls had a great time!

Lookin' Good in a Poodle Skirt

Friday the 14th marked the 50th day of school, and the kindergardeners celebrated in style.  Luckily, costumes were on sale right after Halloween, and we were able to pick up this snazzy outfit for a pretty fair price!  Emily even agreed to wear a pony tail, which is a pretty big deal because she doesn't like her hair up in any sort of way.  It was also the first day of school that required boots and snowpants along with all the other winter gear considering we had a couple inches of snow covering the ground, and it was still coming down!

Nights around here are a little different these days.  Emily is still in bed by 7:30 on a typical night, but the biggest change is that she's starting to read to us, and really read.  She even amazes herself sometimes when she figures out a word!  The other thing we are practicing a lot of at night is jump roping.  They did a unit on it in PE, and she was frustrated that she wasn't as good as her teacher.  Her record so far is 13 jumps, so there's been some improvement!  The rest of our evenings are spent chasing down the dog, who inevitably has a sock, shoe, toy, garbage, toilet paper... you name it.  Not sure how Christmas will come together this year!

Another busy week has flown by...
How is it that Thanksgiving is only a couple weeks away from now?

Swimming just keeps getting better and better, and sticking with the private lessons is definitely paying off, even though it means we are paying out even more!  Emily has become a very relaxed swimmer, and she's gliding across the pool now.
Thursday's riding lesson, now in the indoors arena,  was all about Emily riding independently; and for a little excitement, Emily saw another rider fall off for the first time when the horse got spooked.  No one was harmed, and the other rider got back on like nothing ever happened.  But it was a good lesson for all!
Friday was the last Mindful Movement class for this session.  Afterward, we stopped by the ski shop and picked up her rentals for the season.  There's another Mindful class starting in January, but not sure how we'll fit it in!  After all, winter is about skiing and ice skating!

Halloween Happiness

There was a slight costume malfunction this year, at a playdate last weekend, Emily's puppy feet went missing, yet to be found.  But that didn't spoil the fun.  The costume was worn again on Thursday night when our favorite puppy went for a scavenger hunt on Trigger.  We somehow managed to squeeze the puppy head under the helmet, and she managed to see well enough to locate 21 items and get a dancing Frankenstein as a prize!

And one benefit to having Emily at school with me is the opportunity to see her on the special days without having to take time off, we both enjoyed the Halloween parade at school first thing Friday morning.  

Then after school it was off to downtown Hailey to go trick or treating at local businesses for the Halloween Hoopla.  This year Emily went with her friend Kennedy, and they finished in record time because they ran the route!  

Although Emily was tuckered out at this point, she was determined to do night time trick or treating this year.  So after dinner, armed with a glow wand, a reflector (thanks again, Grandma and Grandpa), and a flashlight we hit one of the most popular neighborhoods in town and made it around the block.  At this point, Emily believes that Halloween might be the greatest event of the year!