santa's wonderland

about to enter!


the family
at the beginning of the hayride
deer in headlights excitement
giggling with granny on the hayride

she was having a great time. really.


amazed at all the lights

grandma sue and ben
ok, i know this is blurry, but you can still see the expression on marley's face. she is soooo excited!
the first spotting of the mini horses
this is for my aunt lori. my mom thought of you when she saw this sign.
well who wouldn't want a fried country vittle?
marley loved frosty
and she is partial to cowboys.
not shy at all.
watching the band play and dancing some to it.
marley even gave frosty a high five


we went to santa's wonderland last night and it was fantastic. i took over one hundred pictures. don't worry, i won't post them all. these are some of my favorites. enjoy!

Gingerbread baking fun

discovering the joys of cookie making
she caught on right away
even grandma susie baked, which as she says is a christmas miracle.
in response to smile at momma


marley loved adding the sprinkles

her beautiful creations
making one all by herself
showing momma
pressing the dough flat

her mouth was green b/c of all the sprinkles she ate by the end.
watching the cookies bake.


grandma susie, granny, marley, and i made gingerbread cookies today. it was great fun. marley caught on right away. and she especially loved adding the sprinkles. now if only someone liked to eat gingerbread cookies at our house...tonight we are headed to santa's wonderland for christmas time fun.

thanksgiving

marley at the head of the table, of course. she's the boss.
everybody sitting down to dinner
yeah, the musical dancing christmas dog

helping uncle eric unwrap his presents
marley and grandma susie
the new game that aunt resa and aunt lori invented.
yummy...birthday cake
watching the ut atm game with uncle eric
aunt lori reading marley her nighttime stories.


well, i think we can declare our first thanksgiving at home a total success! the company was great AND no one got food poisoning. =) Sue got here just in time, and marley warmed up to her other grandma super fast. she was the floor show after dinner. and of course we got to celebrate ben and eric's birthday. it felt like a preview of christmas. having all our family here (or most) has made me very thankful. it is so nice to be able to share important moments in life with those we love. we have been blessed with so much and are ever so thankful for all the gifts in our life, especially the gifts of people. so thank you to everyone who helped make yesterday a fun and special day. we look forward to many many more.