The Memories are in the Mess: Winter 2017

My mom took us to a real farm in town. It was so great because Ammon is really in love with barnyard animals right now. He can "moo" and "neigh" and does so often when he sees cows or horses. Here's a short video of him moo-ing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0zC0pi-QaQ

The cows were really loud and kind of scared the boys

Their favorite animal: the friendly barn cat

Ammon has two new favorite hobbies: unloading the dishwasher (clean or otherwise) and flushing the toilet. He just loves doing what the big people do. I can tell he wants to be a big boy and talk so badly!

Here's a video of him talking on the phone (it's acually a TV remote) https://youtu.be/nkBNvjMP_Ec

Ammon loved decorating for Christmas

We went on the Candy Cane Express. It's a train ride with hot cocoa and popcorn served by elves. Santa and Mrs. Claus were also there. Quin pointed at Santa and said "that's the Christmas guy. He's wearing a costume." I'm not a fan of Santa Claus so I haven't actually taught him anything about Santa. Everything he knows comes from books, movies, and what other people say about it. I'm not anti-Santa, I just don't feel comfortable deceiving Quin, even if it's for fun.

It was cold and drizzly but we had a great time.

Next was the city of Lebanon holidays at the park. It was also cold and wet.

We rode on a horse drawn wagon through downtown Lebanon and sang Christmas songs with the other passengers.

We stayed for the Christmas lights parade and as soon as it was over we went home.

We drove through the Pastega lights together.

We went to Storybook Land. I loved how it was a combination of the Pastega lights and Enchanted Forest. You walk through awesome animatronic stations that depict scenes from nursery rhymes and children's books. There were a lot of Disney sections and two huge train sets in the back. There was also a large Christmas village on display.

Quin really wanted to sit on Santa's lap. I realized it was because he wanted to get a candy cane. When Santa asked him what he wanted Quin said "a candy cane", which Santa gave him. It's not every day Santa grants your Christmas wish on the spot! Way to keep expectations realistic, Quin.

Quin's gingerbread house. It was really difficult to build because I made the frosting wrong. Michael finished it for Quin when I gave up. Not long after Quin destroyed it like Wreck it Ralph. Next year we'll just not do gingerbread houses.

This is what I made for my mom, grandma, mother in law, and previous piano teacher. It's called string art. You print a picture, put the paper on the wood, and then hammer nails in the outline. Then you rip the paper out and thread string to make a pattern. Each one is unique, just like each musical mentor in my life is unique.