Christmas - Take 3

We traveled to Gaylord on Christmas afternoon to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa Carlson.  Jared and I went ice fishing with my dad, while my mom spent some time with Clara.  We managed to catch a few pike using the smelt Dad caught this summer.  If you can make out this photo, you'll see two smelt bait and a pike striking from the right.  It was a lot of fun to watch.

We opened more presents when the rest of the family arrived.  Clara and her cousin Ella had fun with all their new toys.  Owen just sat back and took notes.

Clara loves her cousins!

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Christmas - Take 2

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning at Grandma and Grandpa Ward's house.  Clara did a great job helping Grandma decorate (and eat) cookies.

Then Clara handed out all the presents under the tree on Christmas Eve.

Santa came and Clara opened more presents on Christmas morning.  Clara must have been a very good little girl, because she sure was spoiled!

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Hoarse Horse

Last night Clara woke up twice screaming for unknown reasons.  She ended up falling asleep after a few minutes (or was it hours?) of rattling the house.  When we were getting ready for school this morning, I said, "Clara, it sounds like you have a hoarse voice."  Her reply, "Neigh!"

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Christmas - Take 1

We celebrated the New Hampshire Ward Christmas on Friday.  Clara wasted no time unwrapping her presents (and Mommy's and Daddy's too).  She got a giraffe bike from Grandma and Grandpa Carlson, and a new camp chair and a Dyson toy vacuum from Mom and Dad.  She hasn't quite figured out how to pedal the bike yet.  Her favorite part is turning the power off, saying "bye," and waving.

 We're leaving on Wednesday evening to start the trip to Michigan so we can spend Christmas with the rest of the family.  We are very anxious to see everyone, and we know our time there will be too short!

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Broadway Bound

Clara has always liked music and dancing, but lately she has really shown her talent.  Check out this video.

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Santa!!

We took Clara to see Santa this weekend.  In her defense, she was tired and wasn't feeling well.

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O, Christmas Tree!

On Sunday, we went hunting for the perfect tree.  It didn't take very long, because despite the lack of snow, it was pretty darn cold.  Clara had a fun time walking around the Christmas tree farm trying to keep her mittens (which Clara pronounces "minutes") on her hands.    

   

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Early Christmas

Christmas came early for us.  On Friday, we bought a new laptop on an impulse Black Friday deal, and Clara got a new art easel from Grandma and Grandpa Ward.  She loves it.  It didn't take long for crayon scribbles to graffiti the desk and stool.

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A Very Thankful Thanksgiving

We celebrated a quiet Thanksgiving at home this year.  Clara helped me make dinner on Thursday - turkey, two kinds of stuffing, gravy, broccoli salad, rolls, mashed potatoes, and apple pie.  Jared pitched in with the green bean casserole, and Elsi put three ducks in the freezer!  As Clara watched the turkey roast in the oven through the oven door, she said, "Gobble, gobble!"

We have a lot to be thankful for this year!!

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Indian Head

Last weekend we were blessed with sun, temperatures in the 60s, and no wind.  Since Jared has already reached his deer quota this year, we had to take advantage of the weather (and Jared's spare time) with a great hike.  As Clara gets bigger, our hikes get shorter and easier.  With an extra 30 plus pounds on your back, we look for hikes with the most bang for your buck.  Indian Head has become number one on our short list.  A mere 3.6 miles round trip, but the views were spectacular.  Get ready grandparents, we'll be suggesting this one during your next visit!

Getting there:

We're there:

Where we were:

  

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Daddy's Away, the Girls will Play!

Jared is gone for the week hunting in Michigan.  Here's a summary of what we did while he was away.

Clara and Elsi spent some quality time together on Saturday afternoon.

On Monday, Clara helped me make dinner and reorganize the spice drawer.

On Tuesday, we voted!

Wednesday... Tea for two?

We celebrated Christmas early on Thursday.  A package came in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa Carlson.  We're ready for our visit!  Thanks so much!

On Friday, we had a picnic in the living room.

Daddy made it home safely Sunday night and we were all excited to see him!

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Halloween Fun

Clara had a Halloween party at school on Friday.  They whole school paraded around the parking lot, then we went inside for snacks.  Clara was a very cute monkey!

  

On Sunday, we went trick-or-treating with our friends, Amy and Jay, and their daughter, Anna.  The girls had a fun time.  Clara enjoyed walking down the street, but was shy when she reached the door.  She was excited about all her candy!

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Toe Jam

When I took Clara's socks off the other day to get her ready for bed, she discovered that little black fuzzies had been living between her toes all day.  She began her investigation, pulled out the fuzzies, and said "yuck!"

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It's Punka Time!

Clara has really become quite the talker these past few weeks.  Her expanded vocabulary now includes the word "punka," which in adult language means pumpkin.  We carved our pumpkins this weekend, and Clara was excited to help.

She chose her face design from a couple options I drew on a separate paper, then I carved her pumpkin to match her choice.  She was mostly fascinated with the guts and removable top of the pumpkin.  She even tasted a sample.

  

I think this year's pumpkins are definitely the best so far.  Here are the family pumpkins.  Jared's is on the bottom, mine in the middle, and Clara's on top:

    Jared really went above and beyond his normal pumpkin carving standards by creating a pumpkin snowman and a green Spartan pumpkin.

They look great displayed on our new porch, which still needs a coat of stain, but you get the idea.

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The New Range

I finally got a new range to replace the old one that came with the house.  I'm sure it was the original range, and our house was built in 1980.  The old range had four burners: one worked well, two never got hot enough to boil water, and one didn't work at all.  The new range has five burners: one rapid boil dual burner (9" / 6"), one dual burner (12" / 9"), two 6" burners, and a warming zone!  The old range didn't have a window in the plain electric oven.  The new range has a window, a light, convection, steam cleaning, three oven racks, and probably a lot more features I haven't discovered yet!  Needless to say, I love it.  

It was delivered last week, but doesn't sit flush to the wall because the receptacle sticks out too much.  So, Jared was trying to figure out how to change the plug configuration so it can move back to the wall.  Clara was more than willing to help!  They were both on the floor with a flashlight!

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Clara's First Haircut

As you can tell from previous posts, Clara's hair has been out of control lately.  Maybe it's my grandmother's voice echoing in my head, but I can't stand her hair in her eyes.  I've tried to keep it tied back in a ponytail, but during Clara's thumb sucking and hair twirling habit, the ponytail usually comes loose, or Clara just yanks it out with a clump of hair.  So, yesterday, Clara got her first haircut.  She did a great job sitting still.  She held on to the spray bottle and a comb while Lisa did her magic.  When she was done, she willingly helped clean up.

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