A whole month of anticipation

December was filled with many special events leading up to Christmas. The chocolate-filled advent calendar was just the beginning. The town lined Main Street with Christmas trees, and all the shops and organizations decorated them. Below is the Unitarian Universalist tree, which the boys helped beautify. 

The boys' youth group teacher, Leyah, is a much-loved figure in our household. 

We got a small tree and wreath for the house.

Zeal, our little guy who loves animals and detests loud sounds...

Avery, our bigger guy, who shares his love easily and lives for the extreme...

Town was bustling and festive in December.

And Sid, who does what he watches big brothers do.

We made lots of crafts for friends. I learned how to make dreamcatchers in a workshop. 

Zeal in the new sweater I made him in anticipation of colder days at school. (He wouldn't pose.)

We made the wrapping paper for all our presents this year. 

The school's fundraising festival is called The Yuletide Fair. Chris and I helped with set up and with some of the crafts sold at this event. Zeal and Avery also made ornaments and toys in class that were sold at Yuletide. It was a very magical weekend.

Zeal's class made these wool and ribbon "shooting stars." We bought two of them as baby presents. 

The weather helped get us in the mood for hot cocoa and indoor projects. 

The boys were in a performance with their classes. Avery can be seen in the background working on a boat as part of the show. Chris accompanied some of the classes with his guitar. 

And more December excitement: my dearest friend, Katie Groark, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Soleil. Here she is a one week. Welcome, baby Soleil!

Thanksgiving

Our bookend boys: Avery and Sid. We have been enjoying the crisp fall weather and walking on the bike paths around our house.

The beautiful Masquetuck (one of our favorite places):

On Veteran's Day we visited Plimouth Plantation in Plymouth, MA. We got to see a Wampanoag descendant making a canoe. The Wampanoag would burn a fire in a tree log for 3 days, slowly scraping away the charred parts. When the boat is finished, it looks like the one Avery and Zeal are sitting in.

The Wampanoag would hang dried fish in the middle of their agricultural fields on these tall perches to attract birds of prey, which would scare away animal pests. Brilliant! The original scarecrow.

This is the view from the fort overlooking the English settlement. The original village was originally about 3 miles from this spot.

We also went to visit Pops (Craig Campbell, Christine's great uncle) and his daughter Dausha. Dausha runs an impressive horse riding program, and we got to feed the horses with her. 

Dausha is on the far left.

Pops will be 100 years old in February. He still lives at home, in a house he built (and then repurchased many years later). Every visit is such a gift for all of us. He is still very sharp and connected to the world.

Nantucket Thanksgiving photos:

And we have excitedly begun the winter crafts. 

Dreamcatcher by Christine, spiral weaving by Avery.

Dragons on Halloween

Happy Halloween! 

This year, Avery wanted to be a dragon and Zeal a mountain lion. Quickly, though, Zeal changed his tune in order to join big brother. This made costume making much easier on Mama Dragon. 

These little dragons are trying their first dragonfruit for Halloween. 

Yes, it's 5:30 a.m., our usual rise and shine time.

Nantucket town is quiet, but certainly knows how to provide Halloween flavor.

Avery and I attended an evening of spooky stories outside the old gaol (jail). It was very scary, complete with zombies and even an old true tale about a ghost on the island who would rock in a chair in a baby's bedroom at night. (Guess who now falls asleep in his parents' bed???)

The boys were very helpful with the costume design and execution, though it was very much a parent-led project. The boys pressed the sewing machine pedal, did the paper mache and the mask painting. 

Then there is Papa's costume. Chris did all the planning and construction of this creepy optical illusion:

Can you find Chris? Monkey or mover?

The view from the house after the parade was deliciously beautiful but somehow, on this night, a tad bit spooky.

Additional shots of dragons in action: