Feeding the Birds

We made some fun bird feeders at our house this week. Ty and McKinlee have had fun watching the birds come to our yard to eat the birdseed. It's very cheap entertainment for them too! This is what we made them with.

Spreading peanut butter on the pine cone.

Eating the peanut butter from the pine cone.

Eating more peanut butter...

Rolling the pine cone in the bird seed.

Finished!

We hung them in the trees in our yard for the birds to enjoy.

We need to refill our pine cones!

Christmas

Christmas was lots of fun at our house this year. Ty woke up at 7:20 and wanted to go and see if Santa had come. I told him we had to wait for McKinlee to wake up and tried to get him to wait. He waited patiently for a few minutes and then we ended up waking up McKinlee. They were so excited when they saw what Santa had left for them. Waking up McKinlee
Santa brought them a kitchen. They had lots of fun "cooking" Christmas morning.
McKinlee got a doll and a stroller.
Ty got his jump rope!

McKinlee ate a lot of candy canes.

Ty and his new pet hamster.

All the excitement wore Shadow out.

McKinlee got dress up clothes from Melinda and spent the whole day changing from princess to princess. She loves dressing up!

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve with Grandma and Grandpa Roach. We had a good dinner and lots of visiting. The kids did the nativity and opened presents. It was fun to get together with everyone. Ty and McKinlee brought gifts to Baby Jesus, but they wouldn't wear the costumes. They are a little stubborn sometimes.
Grandpa, reading the Night Before Christmas.
Patiently waiting for presents.
Finally, opening presents!



When we got home, the kids always get to open their one present on Christmas Eve. Of course, they open the one I get to pick for them. I remember one Christmas I begged and pleaded my mom to let me open the gift of my choice from under the tree. She finally gave in or got tired of my begging and let me open one. I can't even remember what it was, but I can still remember being disappointed the next morning when everyone had new pajamas but me.
Ty got Spiderman pajamas.

McKinlee got The Cat in The Hat pajamas.

McKinlee is eating our cookies for Santa.

Even Shadow was ready for Santa to come.

Sleigh Bells Ring

Here are some pictures from our sleigh ride through town a few days before Christmas. A good friend of Darren's had hitched his team and wagon and wondered if the kids would like to go on a ride. They liked the ride a lot, even though it was pretty cold. He picked us up at our house.

We rode through town and up to the hay barn.

and home again.