Ham-Spam

Clara was watching me cut up some ham for our pizza last night.  We had a funny conversation that went like this:

Me: Clara, do you know how to rhyme?

Clara:  Yes.

Skeptical, I added: Rhyming is when two words sound the same, like ham and spam.  Do you know another word that sounds like ham?

Clara:  Yes.

Me:  What is it?

Clara:  Chocolate chips!

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Birthday Week

Last week was birthday week.  Monday was my birthday, Tuesday was Grandma Carlson's birthday, and Thursday was Jared's birthday.  Clara sang "Happy Birthday To You" all week.  On Monday, Clara made a project for Jared.  It was beautiful with paint, beads, glitter, buttons, and ribbon-just what he wanted.

Then, Jared and Clara surprised me by making cupcakes together.  Clara was in charge of putting the papers in the muffin pan and cracking the eggs.  She did very well with the eggs, but wasn't too excited about the goo that was on her hands.

On Wednesday, Clara and I made cookies for Jared's birthday.  Thursday afternoon, I wrapped Jared's brithday present and left it in the middle of the kitchen table.  Later that night, I went downstairs to bring up a load of wood.  When I came back up, Clara had unwrapped the present and left the torn wrapping paper all over the kitchen floor.  I guess she wasn't too excited about the saw that was inside.  I managed to patch it together before Jared got home so Clara could help him unwrap it again.

 

We had a great week!

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The Ward's Christmas Vacation

It started with a 14-hour drive. Seven hours to Buffalo on Thursday, December 22 and another seven hours on Friday, December 23. Finally, we arrived at Grandma and Grandpa Carlson's house. Shortly after we got there, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Tom, Ella, and Owen arrived. Clara was excited to see her cousin, Ella. Aunt Jenny, Uncle Tom, and especially Ella were excited to meet Charlie. Ella even told me, "He's even cuter than I thought he would be."

On Christmas Eve, Clara and Ella carefully picked out some cookies and milk for Santa and a few carrots for the reindeer. The kids hung their stockings by the fireplace and finally went to bed. Christmas morning was very exciting. Clara must have been a good girl, because Santa sure delivered this year! After we opened all the presents, we went to church. It was a special day because Charlie was baptised during the Christmas service. Grandma and Grandpa Ward were able to join us for the service and Christmas dinner that followed.

On Wednesday, we traveled to Grandma and Grandpa Ward's house. We opened more presents, made bird feeders with peanut butter and birdseed, went to the Curious Kids' Museum, and rode the carousel. We even went to a New Year's Eve party, but we left before 9. We were all in bed before midnight!

We ended our trip with a night at Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Ward's house in Ohio.  We ran into some snow on our drive home that slowed us down a bit, but the time we were able to spend with our family was well worth the drive.  

Here are some of the highlights from our trip.

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