Good Ole Saturday Morning Bowling!

The Alley Pro gives a few pointers to the novices:

Hoping the bowling gods will grant her and Joe a strike...


Maybe...just maybe...they did!
If you lose favor with the bowling gods, there are other strategies. Bring in Emma!
Self-timed photo shoot!

C is for Cookie

It's good enough for me!

COOKIE!!

The baking cupboard is getting a workout after a 4 month sabbatical. Cookies for Molly's class holiday party and then all the old standby Christmas cookies. We tried a few new ones this year that just might make it on the rotation again for next year including homemade oreos, with Daniel's twist of mint icing in some of them and chocolate mint crinkles with mint truffles. Yummy!

Stepping Stones Montessori Holiday Performance

Molly and I arrived as the curtains rose for the Stepping Stones Holiday Music Extravaganza!

Charlie works through his pre-performance jitters.

Miss Erin's casa gathers for the show. Charlie is sporting "his" Grinch sweater, handknit by Linda. This is probably the Grinch sweater's 7th and final annual outing, as the last of the Conlins is quickly outgrowing it!

"Hanukkah Mouse"

Post-performance let down.

Nutcracker in a Nutshell

Molly was a star performer in the Nutcracker in a Nutshell. The practiced for 2 1/2 weeks and had a 1 hour show on a Wednesday night in December at the Hannah Community Center. Molly had lots of roles and the whole performance kept Charlie on the edge of his seat (he LOVED the fight scene between the nutcracker and rat king). Daniel, on the other hand, slept through about half of it and awoke refreshed in time to get to Charlie's concert right afterwards.

The annual Christmas Card Photo Shoot

On the banks of the Red Cedar

A few days after the kids' snow day, our upstate New York friends left their green grass for some Michigan snow!
The kids are back in school, so the grown up are playing hooky.

Fa La La La La!

Deck the Hall

When did he get so Tall?

You need to think deep.
Santa will know if you're asleep.

Molly reaches way up high,

Sweetly decorating o're the tree.

Can you see the wombat on the tree? He's in the bottom right of the picture.
No rhyme for him, but he's cute.

How to Make a Snow Day

The East Lansing Lore says that if you wear your pajamas inside out, flush an ice cube down the toilet and/or (I'm not sure if all are necessary), sleep with a spoon under your pillow, the next day will be a snow day. I'd like to add that if you make lunch plans with a friend, that will do it too. Anyway, Daniel sent this picture of the "night before" to his South Coogee classmates. You can just barely make out the Aussie School hat through the snow flakes.

The Western Pensylvanian in me has resisted going to manufactured hills for sledding, but that's what we've got around here. This is the Frandor sledding hill, close to our house. The exciting part of the day was the mid-hill collision among Conlin kids that left Molly bleeding profusely from her nose and parents at the top of the hill gasping and filling my hands with Kleenexes intended for other nose fluids! After leaving her mark on the fresh white snow, she resumed sledding for the rest of the afternoon!

Peacock Road Tree Farm

On a cold rainy day, we donned our Santa hat and tree snobbery and set off for the latest local tree farm in our quest to find the BEST tree selection. After a few bust years, we finally found a hit at Peacock Road Tree Farm! The weather was COLD and rainy, but somehow tree hunting moods are not dampened by that.

Wagon ride out to a small bonfire being fueled by...lighter fluid, perhaps? I'm not sure what was in the small gas can that the tractor driver was dumping on it.

After serious deliberation we settled on a short chubby tree and a tall skinny tree. For a moment, it looked like there was a "passing of the saw" to the young man in our house...

In the end, the wiser man still wields the saw:

Thanksgiving in Chicago

Part of the original plans were to be back in the US before the holidays. One, unnamed, member of our family is ridiculously attached to traditions. Here we are eating the Conlin family spread at Tom and Nancy's. The new tradition this year was picking up cousin Maddie at Notre Dame on our way!
.

Maybe some day our kids will age into smiling for the camera when asked...

Grandma's "present" from Down Under was some New Zealand yarn for making the kids new sweaters. Aren't we generous? Daniel's measurements have changed the most.

Earnin' some cash from Grandma.

Pat, the 6'6" cousin: "The rule is, you stay behind the blue thing."
Charlie, the 3'10" cousin: "Well, you haven't heard my rules yet."