Christmas tree fun

Last weekend we headed out to get our Christmas tree.  We may have a new tradition on our hands, as this was the second year that we went to a local Christmas tree farm.  This farm offers the "complete" experience, with wagon rides, cookies, hot chocolate, bonfires and, of course, lots of trees.  We lucked out with great weather - not too cold, but still winter-y. 

Decorating was fun too - Kate found the whole tree-inside-the-house concept (not to mention the tree-inside-the-car concept!) to be quite hilarious.  She kept pointing to the tree and letting out a squeal of delight.  The initial novelty has subsided, but she still enjoys moving the ornaments around every once in a while.

Kate's first baking experience

Don't worry, these cookies were not destined for public consumption  :o)

November Holiday

Back in early November we took a long weekend and went to Lapland Lake Resort in the Adirondacks.  It was an odd sort of in-between season, with virtually no fall colour left, but no winter magic either.  But it was still a nice break.

Lapland Lake provides simple houskeeping cottages with small kitchens.  It was a nice "home base" for the weekend, as it is right on the edge of Adirondack State Park.  We climbed Hadley Mountain (3.6 miles roundtrip) and got a great view from the top of the fire tower.  Even though it was much shorter, it seemed harder at times than our Camel's Hump climb in September.  I expect it was quite a bit steeper, but I haven't calculated the elevation gain.  The trail was interesting, as it crisscrosses with a little creek all the way up.  There were lots of other people on the trail too - it seems to be a popular local spot. 

We also spent some time at the resort's private waterfront.  We even tried our hands at rowing for the first time - we didn't get very far, but it was fun to try!

 At the waterfront

Kate insisted on climbing the fire tower, but Daddy wouldn't let her go all the way up. 

Kate likes to carry her backpack! 

 (She walked about the first 100 feet by herself but was carried the rest of the way)

Great views

 

At the top!

Halloween

Sorry for the gap in posting!  We've been busy around here. 

Kate enjoyed Halloween this year.  I wasn't sure if she would "get it", or even let us dress her up in a costume.  But, as you can see, she made an adorable little mouse.  This costume was made by my Grandma Patterson when I was Kate's age, and it's been waiting for another chance to be on display ever since. 

And the day was made even better by a visit from Great Aunt Jayne:

Earlier in the day we had the first snow fall, too.  Kate wasn't quite sure what to do with that...

Enjoying fall

Kate's first camping trip

Back in early October, Kate and I went on an impromptu camping trip with my parents in Fitzroy Provincial Park. I was Kate's first time sleeping in a tent!

Unfortunately it was rather COLD (almost freezing), so she did not really like having to sleep in so many layers. But we survived!

She did like campfires and canoeing though...

Around the campfire

Dad expertly making toast

Boat ride with Granny!

Handmade Holiday Grab Bag

Hi all,

I've decided to participate in the Handmade Holiday Grab Bag hosted by one of my favourite blog authors, Renée Tougas of FIMBY. I am always inspired by this family and their committment to learning and adventuring together. This is the wierd thing about blogs - I feel like I know the Tougas family because I've been reading about them for years, but since I have never so much as left a comment on their blog, they have no idea that I even exist. (That is, until I have to email Renée the link to this post!)

So, hi Tougas family and any other people that come here to read this post! This blog is primarily for keeping in touch with my own family and friends, so I'm afraid I don't have much in the way of inspiring or thought-provoking posts. But I wanted to support the Handmade Holiday Grab Bag, so here I am.

Renée has offered to collect ideas for handmade gifts and put them together in one place. My contribution is this tutorial for Thrifted Felted Trees. I made a pair of these this week, and they came together quite nicely! It took me two evenings - cutting on the first day and assembling the next. I don't have a photo of mine, but I will update this post if I get the chance.

Photo from thelongthread.com

I found the instructions to be quite clear. I would only add that silver or gold balls might be a nice alternative for the top if you can't find star-shaped beads.

Also, if you've never felted sweaters before, it is quite simple. Look for some 100% wool sweaters at your local thrift shop (men's sweaters are great because you get more fabric for your money, but sometimes you have to look in the women's section for brighter colours) and just throw them in the washing machine on a hot water cycle. They will shrink and turn in to felt. Some people also put them through a dryer cycle, but I don't usually find it necessary.

Happy crafting!

UPDATE: Here's a pic of my trees...

Adventures in Washington

I attended a conference in Washington DC last week. It was pretty interesting, and I did have some time to see the sights. Kate and Daddy had fun hangin' out together at home. I'm not much of a picture-taker, but here are a couple of shots.

Lincoln Memorial

National Cathedral as seen from Bishop's Garden

We Climbed a Mountain!

For the long weekend we took a trip to Burlington, Vermont, and did some hiking. The highlight was making it to the top of Camel's Hump (6.8 miles round-trip, 2800 feet elevation gain). It was the biggest hike we've ever done, and the view was worth it!

We did it!

View from the top

On the way

Camel's Hump from afar

At the Air Rallye

At the end of August we caught the Classic Air Rallye at the National Aviation Museum near our house. Grandpa and Zach came down for it too. Kate liked hanging out with her cousin!

Kate and Daddy have fun with Play-Doh...

Hi and welcome!

We've created this blog because Facebook still kind of creeps us out, but we do want to be able to share photos and keep in touch.

We'll be posting occasionally about what we're up to, and we hope you'll drop us a line now and then.

Here's a video of Kate enjoying a recent rainstorm to get started with...

More to come!