It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

It's official:  today was the first snowfall of the year.  We've had some flurries, but this morning we woke up and there was a thin layer of snow on the ground.  It's warming up already, so now we have a nice slushy mess!

This weekend was full of festivities preparing for Christmas. We started off on Friday night by taking the kids to Christmas on the Farm.  It was a perfect night - cold but not freezing, and the boys and I had a blast listening to stories by the campfire, eating cookies and popcorn, and drinking hot chocolate.  The boys loved the fact that everything was lit up by Christmas lights (yes, they still LOVE Christmas lights and any and all Christmas decorations), and we capped off the night with a carriage ride around the park.  By the time we got home, those boys were tuckered out!

Here is a picture of the two of them all bundled:

On Saturday we went to a Christmas party, and the kids loved making crafts and meeting Santa.  Shannon is still not quite sure what to make of the big bearded fellow, but she REALLY liked the fact that Santa gave her a new baby doll.

They each got a "Rudolph" nose and thought that it was pretty awesome!

Saturday night meant that it was time for the Christmas parade, and even Chris (Mr. Outdoorsy) admitted that it was the warmest year ever for the parade.

We capped off the weekend with a trip to the Christmas tree farm.  It was a gorgeous day, and in a miraculous development, we picked out and chopped down our tree in less than half an hour!  This is a MAJOR accomplishment, because usually we wander around for at least an hour before all of us can settle on a tree that is 'good enough' to grace our house. ;-)  We hung out by the campfire eating our PB&J (because I was just too darn lazy to pack hot dogs) and roasting marshmallows, and then we let the kids run wild and run through the hay stack maze, play on the climber, ride the ponies and the train.... phew!!!!  Chris and I told the kids that as long as no one was cold or crying we could stay as long as they wanted.  They clearly took us at our word, because we ended up staying at the farm for almost 4 hours!!

On the train:

Riding the pony (who left a nice deposit just as Quinn was getting off!):

Climbing the sand mountain:

Soooo..... tired: