Orville and Wilbur Wright

A couple of weeks ago, the twins gave an oral report on the Wright Brothers for their history coop class. They decided to dress up and pretend they were the Wright Brothers and tell their class about "themselves" (speaking in 1st person). They wrote their own reports based on the books we read. Their Daddy helped them build a glider out of toothpicks and styrofoam trays. It turned out great! They also copied pictures, cut them out and I helped them make a timeline of the Wright Brother's flying machines. Here are some pictures. Hannah is on the left as Orville and Kristen is on the right as Wilbur (because it had part of her friends name in Wilbur...Will.) They learned a lot and had fun preparing for the report.

Christmas Day

This Christmas was very relaxing. The kids got up around 7:00 a.m. and we watched them open their stockings. After we started the coffee brewing, ate a little something, we started to open presents. The tradition at our house is to watch as everyone opens presents. We didn't want our kids flying through the present opening time and saying."Do I have more to open?" So we let each person open a present and everyone watches. Plus, after the kids open one present it gives them time to play with it before they open another. They actually enjoy their presents and are not overwhelmed.

Every year our children get three presents from us like Baby Jesus got from the wise men. Sometime I get creative and make one box of stuff that goes with the theme. For example, this year the girls have really liked spy stuff after watching SPY KIDS. So they each got trench coats, spy books and other spy gadgets in a box as one present. Kelson loves watching the movie CARS so he got a winter theme car set of all the Cars characters, wooden Thomas the Trains, and a new/used bike that looks like a racing motor cross bike. Kristen got a metal detector with book about geodes, a science super ball making kit and a spy box. Hannah got a hair chair with accessories for her American Girl doll, an American Girl Doll hair book with CD to learn how to style hair and a spy box. Emma got "the Biggest Littlest Pet Shop", a digital camera and a spy box.

MeMe bought them their Vermont shirts with butterflies and Kelson got a sea turtle shirt, along with some books written by a local author. After we opened presents Pete finished cooking the ham and we ate dinner. Then we played the rest of the day. The girls and I went to see my mom for a couple of hours later in the day since she was had been down with phenomena for a couple of weeks. Nannie bought them some other little things they have been asking for like more Littlest Pet Shops, marbles, science kits and Thomas the Train tracks with train cars. When we got home from Nannie's, we ate a light meal of left overs and had Happy Birthday Jesus cupcakes.