Zoo trip with cousins

Rachelle is in town with Kaitlyn & Garrett, so we took the kids to the zoo yesterday. It was an absolute gorgeous, sunny day - you would never guess it is winter around here! The kids had a great time at the zoo...they especially loved the "Lory Landing" where you can feed the birds nectar. Here are a few pictures from our day:

Christmas Lights

I am a little sad today...it is time to take down the Christmas lights. Some people would probably say PAST time! I just love the lights and decorations at Christmas and I am never ready for it to end. I don't think one month is long enough to fully appreciate all the beautiful Christmas trimmings. And my house never looks as good as it does at Christmas. But Chris reminded me that I wouldn't appreciate it if I left it up all year...so I guess it is time to pack it all away.

I will have to say that I got my love of christmas lights honest...here is a pic of my parent's new house, all decked out for the holidays:



And their gynormous Christmas tree:



And then there is our house...I still have a ways to go to match my parents, but I am slowly adding a little more each year. In fact, I just hit up Walmart's 75% Christmas clearance yesterday and found more goodies for next year...I can hardly wait!