And the Winner Is . . .

We did the drawing for the advent calendar yesterday and the winner is Soon 2 China! Just send me an email with how to get the calendar to you and I'll post it straight away! Thank you for taking the time to follow our ramblings!

Fall

I know it's nearly Christmas, but we are just now getting to our leaves. It's not that we're super lazy (although we do at times lack the necessary inertia to get things done) but the trees have been hanging on to their dried out vegetation like the bald guy refusing to admit that his comb-over is a bad idea. Just get it over with and dare to bare. Well our trees in the past two weeks have finally given up any hope that their leaves would come back to life and have released them to our care. Fortunately it is a beautiful warm December day (that is just so wrong) and we've raked and gathered, and raked and mulched, and the yard looks much tidier.

Holiday Street Lighting

Last night was a great example of how fun our neighborhood is. Some very creative and festive neighbors decided to have a holiday street lighting celebration to kick off the holidays. The idea was to have all of your exterior decorations up and ready to go by Sunday night. Just before 6:30 we were to meet at the Cul-de-Sac halfway along our street, but leave one family member at home waiting for the signal! Everyone was to bring bells and their best holiday cheering voices, and when the countdown was over Dads who were left home, heard the ringing and shouting and flipped the switches and illuminated the street. The Dad's soon joined the festivities which included hot cocoa, cider and cookies, and a surprise guest performer Stacy Clearman , who performs weekly at a local coffee shop and is extremely popular with the preschool set (and their parents).

It was a nice evening chatting with neighbors, listening to fun holiday music (with some creative and interpretive horn accompaniment) and kids playing in the fresh piles of raked leaves. We walked home, with cowbell in hand, enjoying the first lights of the holiday season.