As the summer went on our playgroup days were coming to an end. That made me very sad. We have so enjoyed meeting with our playgroup each week and we were going to miss it when school started. In August we headed to Mary S. Young Park for a little hike.
Linda put together a nature scavenger hunt for the kids.
Grace found a cute way to carry her bag.
We hiked, explored and climbed.
We stopped for a break and snack before heading back to our cars.
It was a fun day with fun friends!
The first Halloween party of the season! Isaac and Grace were so excited to dress-up in their Halloween costumes. Our playgroup Halloween party was hosted by the sweetest lady in our ward who doesn’t even have any playgroup age kids. She completely decks her house out for Halloween each year and she wanted the kids to have a chance to come see it. She provided the house and the treats, while I did the stories and activities. It was so fun! The cutest was watching these kids mesmerized by the spiders that glide down each time the front door opens. They opened and shut the door over and over when we first got there.
I brought some of our favorite Halloween stories to share, and then the kids made a pumpkin craft and did a little coloring.
Then the kids stuffed their faces (literally, look at Isaac and Grace with their full mouths!) with the yummy and cute food Sister Perez made for them.
Sister Perez also sent them off with goody bags full of Halloween fun.
I wish I had more pictures of the super fun Halloween décor. The kids loved checking it all out.
Grace insisted on a picture with the rats.
We love our playgroup friends!
Our playgroup went for a ride on the Oregon City Trolley. The kids were so excited to ride the trolley. I felt really bad for those people who were riding and hoping to actually hear the driver point out all the historical sites and facts along the ride. We sat all the way in the back and tried to keep them as quiet as we could!
Isaac and Logan were determined to find as many of the murals around Oregon City as they could. They studied their little mural map closely and were so excited whenever they spotted one along the route.
At one point we got to get out and look at the view of Willamette Falls.
Once the fascination with the murals wore off these boys were trying really hard to get the people in the cars behind us to wave at them. They were being super silly and cracking me up!
It was a really fun ride and I was reminded of all the historical places in Oregon City I haven’t visited. Pretty sure the kids didn’t grasp the historical significance of the places we passed, but they had a ton of fun being together with friends!
We ate lunch at the End of the Oregon Trail Museum and let the kids run around and play on some of the outdoor exhibits.
While we were eating lunch we got to talk to Tenley! She was waiting to board her plane to Japan. It was so fun to talk to her for a few minutes and to wish her luck on her adventure in Tokyo. We miss her.
It has been many years since we’ve been to the A.C. Discovery House in Salem. I was excited that our playgroup was going because I knew Isaac and Grace would enjoy it just as much as Emma and Arianna did when they were their age. I was right, they did!
They really enjoyed the different rooms and activities, and it was even more fun to be there with friends.
Grace’s favorite room was definitely the veterinary clinic. She could have spent a lot of time in there taking care of the animals.
Isaac loved the submarine, the room with the big screen that you could see yourself on, and the trains. But he kept asking to go back to the jungle room and was totally bummed that we didn’t (ok, he threw a little bit of a fit about it!). I know this picture is blurry, but I love it. He and Logan were totally hamming it up!
My favorite part of the whole place is the outdoor play area. It is the coolest wooden play structure and it’s huge. Thankfully the weather cleared up enough for us to play out there. I was a little worried about the maze. I knew Isaac and Grace weren’t quite old enough for it and would find it dark and scary. I saw Isaac follow the older kids in there and I wasn’t quick enough to follow him. By the time I got there I had lost him. Somebody eventually found him for me and sure enough, he was terrified and in tears. Poor guy! He told me over and over that he wouldn’t go in there again without me. I hope he gets over and it and does go in there again because it is pretty cool!
It was a fun day!
Christmas really is the best time of the year! I love the excitement and all the traditions.
Eddie the Elf came to remind us to remember the true meaning of Christmas. We had a lot of fun with him from December 1st until Christmas day. We found him in some pretty crazy spots.
On December 1st we also started opening a Christmas book each night. One of my favorite traditions! I love reading stories next to the Christmas tree.
We changed our morning scripture study to focus around stories of Jesus Christ, which was another way to help us focus on the important part of the season. We read a different scripture story each day from December 1st until Christmas.
Our playgroup decorated Christmas cookies—always a favorite activity! The kids got to take some home for themselves, and some to take to somebody special.
We had a preschool Christmas party at our house. So fun! The kids made Christmas trees by measuring strips of paper from largest to smallest, then they decorated them with q-tips dipped in paint. Then we played a create a Christmas tree game that involved sorting M&M’s by color. They loved that one! We also decorated apple Christmas trees with M&M’s and Craisins. Then we talked about the importance of each member of the nativity and had a scavenger hunt to find each piece to complete our scene.
Then we talked about how we can give gifts to our Savior as we are of service to others. We made cute little manger and baby Jesus ornaments and they took home hay to fill the mangers each time they did something nice.
To wrap up our party we all went to the store to pick out toys to donate to the local toy drive. They each brought their own money to contribute. It was so cute to see them in the store, they were so good and worked together to choose the toys. They got to hand deliver the toys right to the organization running the toy drive. It was a good experience.
By the time Christmas came around both Isaac and Grace’s mangers were full of hay. Although they both became good at saying “I love you mom!” and then running to put hay in their mangers…
One night we had Christmas pancakes for dinner.
Another day we had Christmas trees for lunch.
The Polar Express book is a favorite at our house, but Isaac and Grace had never seen the movie. The kids found Polar Express tickets on their plates at dinner one night. We drank hot chocolate ate popcorn and wore bells while we watched the movie.
I try to make a new ornament every year. I make one for our family tree, one for each of the kids, and a few more for family and friends. These nativity ornaments turned out cute and were fun to make.
I also helped make some pretty ornaments for the Young Women in our ward.
I also made A LOT of Peppermint Bark Popcorn. We have been making it for several years now to give to friends and neighbors, but we just can’t get enough of it! I think I could make it in my sleep.
Isaac was begging to go to the temple before Christmas. We couldn’t think of a better place to go! So we went to one of the nightly programs at the visitor’s center and then went to look at the new nativity display. Tenley had just returned home from Arizona the day before so we had to stop at Granny and Grandpa’s house to see her and they all went with us.
So many reasons to love the Christmas season!
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