Christmas Goodies!

Baking Christmas treats is always fun, for us girls, and for the guys, cause they enjoy eating them!

Chocolate covered pretzels is a Christmas tradition. Sometimes we do dark and white chocolate, but we just did white this year. We also made peanut butter cookies and m&m cookies!

And my favorite tradition...............  GINGERBREAD HOUSES!!!!!!

It's takes quite a while to bake the pieces, which is why we only do this once a year!

and, of course, you have to have lots of candy, pretzels, animal crackers, etc. We have gotten quite creative with our little houses!

we use icing for "glue"......

we sometimes have trouble keeping them from falling apart.....

Nathan and Bethany made farms using pretzels for fences and animal crackers for cattle and horses....

Nathan invented (and patented) the balcony!

we put green icing on waffle cones and peppermints or gumdrops for pine trees and bushes....

we took quite a while perfecting our creations... Mom and Dad  were wondering if we were ever going to finish! =)

Caught in the act!!

this is Daniel's house.... he finished quickly then looked at all of our's and decided he needed to add some things! 

this is mine... it's hard to see it, but in the back of the house is a feeble attempt at a swing set...

this is Bethany's farm......

and Nate's farm.... his balcony stayed up this year! =)

Tomorrow they will be destroyed, but it was fun making them, and it will be fun eating them!

Field Trip

   Today our home school group took a field trip to the Raleigh Museum of Science. We were able to participate in several hands-on classes, look around at the various interesting sights, and watch Tornado Alley in 3D! That was really cool, cause it looked like a tornado was coming right at you! Anyway, enjoy the pictures!

Amber, Megan, and Leah

No, that squirrel isn't real! (Though Daniel would not believe that they were stuffed!)    :-)

I think this was a skeleton of a whale...... 

Leah decided to try the Tyrannosaurus Rex on for size....

It's hard to see, but on that window sill, just below the tree limb, is the slothful sloth.....

And this is Megan, being, well, Megan! (I love you Megan!!!!!)

This was one of the hands-on classes......

Such good little angels! (Don't choke, now!)

Me (Hannah), Amber, and Megan...... we all had to wear those odd-looking glasses for the presentation of Tornado Ally to be in 3D.

Leah, Lauren, Bethany, and Elaina looking cool!

And, last but not least, Daniel!

       Afterward, we went to Pullen Park for lunch. Then we played two-hand-touch football......

Have you ever seen such a thing in downtown Raleigh??!!

             On the way home, we saw these two policemen on horseback! In downtown Raleigh!
        Sorry we didn't get a better angle for a picture! Lol!