Trimming the Tree!!

As soon as we got home from Greenleaf, we started preparing to put up our tree. It was quite nippy in our house because our heater went out Thanksgiving morning. Since we were headed out the door for 4 days, we decided to deal with it when we got home (or rather on Monday). We set up our space heaters, vacuumed the floor, and brought all the Christmas boxes in! Well, almost right away, we blew a breaker and lost power in our livingroom except for the overhead light! I was undeterred. We forged ahead and added calling the electrician to Monday's chores (the breaker was completely broken and had to be replaced).

I started the tradition last year of picking out an ornament for Mandy Rose each year. She chose Mickey Mouse for the second year in a row! This is the ornament that gets placed first. When she moves out on her own (don't think about that now, Momma!), she will have a nice collection to start her own tree with! After Daddy helped her with that first ornament, Mandy Rose kinda carefully handed the rest of the ornaments to Daddy to put on the tree. Her oohs and aahs as I opened each box were precious!

The First Ornament of 2009! Isn't it cute?

S0000 excited!!

The magic of a snow globe!!

The obligatory "in front of the tree" pose!!

We still need to puts up the house lights but, Christmas is in the air at the Wenzl household!! Yea!!

Thanksgiving & Family!!!

We spent a wonderful Thanksgiving at Grandma's & Grandpa's house in Greenleaf this year. 3 of the 5 brothers were able to attend, so the house was pretty full. Of course, little miss Mandy Rose was the center of attention most of the time! It really is quite wonderful to see how our family has fallen in love with her as much as we have! I found a terrific way for Mandy Rose to help prepare the Thanksgiving meal. Tearing up bread for stuffing is just made to order for almost 4 year olds! She was thrilled to be Momma's little helper!

Mandy Rose and Karen!!

On Saturday, we went geocaching with Gary's brother, Rich, his wife, Judy, and our niece, Karen. It was a beautiful day, custom made for caching! We found most of the caches on our list, saw some really pretty countryside, and scored some neato treasure for Mandy Rose!

One of our stops was a point on the Oregon Trail!

The joy of jumping!!

This is the LARGEST cache I have ever seen(note the briefcase in the backgrouond)! Mandy Rose got a really neat whistle!

Beautiful Girls!!

Tickle Time...an Annual Tradition!!

First a ride on Uncle Rich...

...then Karen got her turn!!

Unfortunately, Mandy Rose's computer doesn't get Facebook!!

Cousin Don coloring while Kaitie (Don's girlfriend) looks on!

Like I said, Mandy Rose loved being the center of attention! I can't believe she got Don to color for her!

I am thankful for my God, my daughter, my husband, and my family! I am thankful that we can all create memories together!

A Friend's Birthday Party!!

We spent Saturday morning attending the birthday party of little miss Sophie M. She is turning 3 years old! She has only been home with her forever family for a few months, but is blossoming with them! We were thrilled to be allowed to help her family celebrate her birthday! They chose Chuck E. Cheese as the site for the affair. Mandy Rose had never been, but she took to it like a duck to water! She ran from game to game with her little token cup in hand! She scored enough tickets to obtain 2 plastic Chuck E. Cheese spoons and 2 lollipops! A real haul for a 3 year old! Probably 10 cents worth of product for $10 worth of tokens! Oh well, fun was had and that is really all that is important!

The sweet birthday girl!!

Chuck E. Cheese....Vegas for children!!

See my winnings?

Adorable Birthday Hats! Mom, do you have to take my picture in this thing?

Enjoying the obligatory cupcake!

A hug between friends...so precious!!

Fall Fun!!

Mandy Rose and Daddy "worked" raking leaves this past week. Daddy actually worked on raking...Mandy Rose "worked" on destroying the piles!! She had a ball and they actually got some leaves hauled to the compost pile. Such simple pure joy for a child!!

I still can't believe what a beatiful little girl we have! Mandy Rose was helping by pulling leaves off the tree!

JOY!!

Pretty girl!

Look at those piggies flying!!

An Adorable Clown Goes Trick or Treating!!!

Is this not the cutest clown you ever saw?!

Mandy Rose has been down all this week with the flu, possibly H1N1! She had to miss preschool and gymnastics. She even missed her Halloween party at school! And, all week she has talked about trick or treating! Thankfully, today, she was fever free and no longer contagious so we got to traipse around our cul-de-sac and show off the costume!! I had ordered it several weeks ago. I found several really cute ones on the internet, so I gave her the choice. She decidedly chose the clown costume! She was so adorable! But, the cute little red circles I painted on her cheeks were nearly wiped off by the time we got home. No matter, little Miss Mandy Rose had a ball and came home with her pumpkin bag full of treats!

Cousin Jamen's Birthday!!

The birthday boy! Isn't he adorable!

Mandy Rose and I went to Kansas City last weekend to share in celebrating Jamen's 3rd birthday! It was a simple family affair, but we all enjoyed ourselves! My sister, Mandy, made a wonderful supper of chicken enchiladas and her boyfriend made fresh, delicious guacamole!

Yummy Chocolate!!

Of course, there was cake! Chocolate to be exact! Everyone's favorite! Mandy Rose tucked right into her cupcake!

Cutting the cake....kind of!

Jamen did the honors and tried to cut the cake for everyone. He even leaned over and licked the frosting off! Well, he is the birthday boy and it is his cake to do with as he pleases!

Fascinated by the prospect of a new Thomas movie!!

Jamen's passion at present is Thomas the Tank Engine! Everything to do with trains is fascinating to him. In fact, he is dressing up as a train engineer for Halloween this year. He got quite a haul of neat presents for his birthday, including more trains!

Equally fascinated by the balloons!! Party with the cousins!! We had a good weekend again. It was our last at this house. Mandy has sold it and is buying a townhouse. Next time we visit, she will have moved. I always have liked this house and we have many good memories here! It was nice to end it with a party!

Applejack Pumpkin Patch!!

On Saturday, we joined our friends, the Dresher's, and went to the Applejack Pumpkin Patch. We had gone last year for the first time just a few months after we got home with Mandy Rose. Last year, she was so little and wasn't able to partake in all the activities. This year was a whole different story!!!

Swinging with Daddy! Aren't they cute?!

We started the day warming up on the swings! Last year, we thought that was all she was going to do! This year, just a few minutes worth and she was ready for something new! After checking out the goats, rabbits, chickens, and alpacas, Mandy Rose spotted the BIG slide! Her friend, Cassidy, graciously went down with her a couple of times! She was all smiles!

Cassidy and Mandy Rose on the slide!

Next, came the zip line! I would probably have not thought she was big enough for this yet except she does this each week at gymnastics! She still looked awfully little, but she held on! She had such a look of determination on her little face!

Whee!! The best ride is on Daddy's shoulders!! Getting ready for a train ride!

On the way back! That is her friend, Cavin, in the car in front of Mandy Rose!

After the zip line, the little kids rode the "train". Mandy Rose looked at us as she pulled away like she wasn't quite sure about this. She was all smiles again when they returned! She told us it was "bumpy"!

Riding to the pumpkin patch on the trailer!

Finally, it was time to ride out to the pumpkin patch. Once we got out there, Mandy Rose wandered around looking for the perfect "little punkin". Every time we pointed one out and asked her if that was the one, she would say, "Nope!" Eventually, we gave her a choice of a couple and she picked one. We could have been there all day!!! Daddy got his pumpkin and we were ready to ride back!

Searching for the perfect punkin!!

This is the perfect one! And the pumpkin isn't that bad either!

We finished up by choosing some neat gourds to decorate with and paid for our stash! The day was wonderful! We had perfect fall weather...sunny, a bit cool, but not windy! We also got to share it with good friends! Afterwards, we shared a yummy supper of chili at the Dresher's house while the kids played! A great new tradition!!!