Christmas Traditions: Gingerbread Houses

We have a few Christmas traditions in our home.  One of them is decorating gingerbread houses.  I usually buy the pre-made houses and some extra candies to go on them.  Sometimes the kids have decorated their houses at their grandparents' house in Louisiana.  This year they decorated them with friends.  I think this is their favorite way to hold the tradition.

I bought houses that were not only pre-made but also pre-assembled.  Easiest thing ever!  Just take off the cellophane wrapper and start decorating.  Several other kids had pre-made pieces but they were supposed to assemble them with icing.  Well, if you've ever done that then you know it is time consuming and tries your patience.  And then it all collapses in a mound of disappointment.  But my friends are so creative.  They took the kids' pieces and stuck them together with hot glue.  Not as edible as the traditional way but much more efficient!  You go, girls!

And these days, you don't have to just buy a gingerbread house.  No.  Now they have gingerbread barns, movie-themed gingerbread houses, gingerbread, Christmas trees, and even gingerbread trains!

They also had graham crackers and other cookies and candies in case friends wanted to just make their own crazy creations.

Nicholas assessed his house and the candy options and then decided on the best way to proceed.  He often takes his time with decorating gingerbread houses.  Last year, he enjoyed some crazy decorating for his house to make it look like a monster!

But this year he said he wasn't going to make a monster or anything crazy.  He just wanted to decorate it like a house.

While the boys were outside decorating their houses, the girls were inside decorating theirs.  

Gingerbread house decorating is serious business for these girls!

After decorating, everyone enjoyed pizza and fellowship with friends.

Finally, the kids had fun with an ornament exchange.  Everyone brings a wrapped Christmas ornament and they play a white elephant game to see which one each child gets to keep.

Nicholas ended up with a silly dog with a bow.  

Rachel was even less excited than Nicholas because her ornament was Superman.  And no, Nicholas did not want to trade with her.  He is a Batman fan all the way so he didn't want anything to do with Superman.  Silly kids!

What are some Christmas traditions in your family?

Choose Nature

Rachel had a friend over to play for a while.  I thought they would probably play outside some, play with dolls, make a mess with craft materials.  I had been feeling a little down so I was looking forward to just enjoying some time to myself while they played.  I made plans to sort through that ever-growing pile of random papers and books that have been neglected in the corner of the school room.  It would be to finally have some time to just get that pile cleared out and I thought that might help to lift my spirits.

After about 10 minutes I was getting settled into my project when the girls came bounding up to me begging for me to walk with them down the street to the playground.  I groaned quietly in my head.  I didn't really want to leave the house.  I didn't feel like being social with other moms at the park.  I was so looking forward to just getting some things done around here.  Walking the whole two blocks to the playground in the heat of the day just sounded like too much for me at that moment.  But these girls had such sweet pleading eyes and I felt guilty for not being more excited about my mantra that kids should spend more time playing and exploring outside.  Of course, I eventually gave in.  I knew they would have more fun at the playground than at the house plus they would get some exercise climbing around the play equipment.  Besides we could all benefit from some fresh air and sunshine.

So I filled a backpack with bottles of water and snacks and we headed to the playground.  I found a bench in the shade and settled down to watch the girls play and just let my mind rest, hoping that maybe just sitting and relaxing outside might cheer me up.  But alas, that wasn't meant to be either.  We didn't stay long at the playground.  Almost immediately upon arriving, Rachel told her friend about the dry creek bed in the woods next to the playground and sure enough they chose to go exploring in nature instead of playing at the playground.  Again, I really didn't want to go.  I had resigned that I would just sit on the bench and not have to do anything.

But I do love the woods and exploring a creek... In the end, the call of nature was too strong and I chose to follow its call.  I'm so glad I did.

The girls quickly got to the bridge and went down to the creek bed to explore.

Before they got too involved in exploring I stopped them to have my usual safety in nature talk.  Part of this includes reviewing how to recognize poison ivy.  The most common identifier is leaves of three.  Often the outer two leaves look like they are mittens with a thumb sticking out.  There is often red on the stem.  Poison ivy can be found as a vine, on the ground, or as a bush so you have just keep your eye out for it where ever you go.  It is abundant in the parks in our area.

I showed them Virginia Creeper and explained that many people mistake it for poison ivy but it has five leaves and it is perfectly safe to touch.

They soon found some little bugs swimming around in the creek.

We found these furry little balls hanging from a tree.  I'm not positive but I think these could be young osage oranges.  I will have to go back and look for thorns on the branches to be sure of that though.

We watched some bees scurrying around on a rock.  I wonder if someone had spilled a soft drink there and the bees were enjoying a new kind of "nectar".

Here is a picture of part of the creek bed.  Rocks, shade, beautiful trees, and birds singing overhead.  I was feeling happy just being out here.  Nature has a way of doing that and there are scientific studies to prove it.  Just being in nature can reduce stress and improve mood for many people.  It is certainly a "happy place" for me.

We found several little damselflies.  I think this one might be a familiar bluet damselfly.  It's hard to say for sure without being able to inspect his markings and wings more closely. He didn't seem interested in that and he quickly flew away when I tried to get closer.

The girls were constantly finding a new area of the creek to check out.  They found frogs here.

I found some insect galls on this cedar elm tree.  Cedar elm is interesting.  The top of the leaves are rough like a fine sandpaper and the undersides of the leaves are smooth.

This tree caught our attention. It has these bright seed pods hanging down close to the branches.  I sent a picture of it to a nature group that I'm in and learned that the tree is a green ash.  The girls looked closely at the seed pods and realized that their concave shape would help it float better in the wind which would help spread the seeds farther.

Those sneaky girls were trying to hurry up and hide from me under the bridge.  We were all giggling and being silly.

By the time I crossed the bridge they were already on the other side, feet submerged in the creek and big grins on their faces.  I was so happy that they were having fun.  And to be honest, I was having a lot of fun too!

A little more inspection of the water.

They found a damselfly larva swimming around in there!

Then they found this other one who is a little younger.  It was swimming around too but the girls put it on a leaf just to contain it while they kept searching for more.

I noticed this piece of possible fossil sticking out from a chipped piece of a rock.  Oh if only I had brought my rock hammer with us....

I found this black flying insect munching away on a cedar elm leaf.  I haven't figured out what kind of bug he is but he seems to have a long stinger on him.

The girls found this interesting thing which looks like seeds.  It looks spiky but it was actually very soft and pliable, not spiky at all.  I don't have a clue as to what type of plant it came from.  

My favorite part of the day was when Rachel cried out, "Lobster!  We found a lobster!"  I smiled and without even seeing it I told her it probably more likely a crawfish.  Yep, they found two crawfish.  They thought they wanted to try to catch them but I had to remind them that crawfish had pinchers and we probably didn't want to try to catch them with our bare hands.  They were ok with that and decided to just watch them walk around under water for a while.

We were only out in the woods for an hour or two but we had a great time!  The girls got exercise, built some confidence through exploring, and learned some new things about trees, plants, and critters.  When we got home, I was surprised to realize just how much that fog had lifted from me and I felt happy again, almost excited about what we had found.  Being out in nature is an amazing experience.  No matter what I might be worrying about or feeling down about, being out among the trees always helps me see things in a better light.  I'm so glad we didn't just stay at the house or play at the playground.  I'm so glad we chose nature to explore nature instead.  

Imagine if we all just stepped away from our cell phones and video games and spent even just an hour out in nature once a week.  Do you think we as a society might be a little less stressed, a little more focused, and a lot more happy?

This post is a part of the Homeschool Review Crew's Homeschool Link Up. Want to learn more?  Click on the image below:

Spring Campout

The boys go camping every month with Trail Life USA but this month we had our annual spring Family Campout with all of our Trail Life USA and American Heritage Girls friends.  It was an amazing weekend!

Our group had all of the campsites in the park reserved from Friday to Sunday so we would have the park mostly to ourselves, except for a few day visitors that come in to fish or hike around.  We like to arrive on Thursday so we have some quiet family time before everyone else arrives. 

We stayed at Bonham State Park.  It's a nice little park with a lake and nice hiking trails.  Most of the camping sites have their own running water and electrical outlets but primitive camping is also available.

The kids were quick to find things to do.  Nicholas rode his bike around and then found a nice spot to sit by the lake.

I watched him whittle on several sticks for a while.  One of his creations is a little piece of wood that says, "N loves M"....for Nicholas loves Mommy.  Awww, heart melt!

I always love this tree.  It looks like it is just swaying with the wind.  I imagine it was poorly pruned at one time in its past.  Or perhaps the trees were thicker here at one time and it was simply responding with phototropic growth (growing towards the light).  Either way, I just like its crazy branches.

But this tree, by far, is my favorite in the park.  It is fun to climb on and crawl under.  It's a tree climber's dream!

I found a beautiful patch of wild onions soaking up the sun.

Stuart was chopping some of our firewood into kindling and he found some kind of wood-boring beetle larva hiding in a piece of wood.

I made some chili on the camp stove and we enjoyed watching the moon and the beautiful sunset over the lake.  It was so breathtaking!

Nicholas had disappeared for a while at the lake with some friends.  We found him using their net to catch bait for tomorrow's fishing.

Hey, look!  He caught a crawfish!  Now we just need about 10 pounds of those, some corn and potatoes, and a little Tony Chachere's seasoning and we'll have ourselves a nice crawfish boil!

Friday morning, the kids were up early, ready to explore and play some more. 

While they played, Stuart made breakfast in the Dutch oven.  He has truly mastered the campout Dutch oven breakfast.  This is called the Mountain Man.  It has eggs, pork sausage, onions, bell peppers, tater tots, and biscuits.  I'm so amazed that he cooked this amazing dish in one pot over a pile of hot coals!

Nicholas had gotten his hiking boots soaked last night as he was wading around the edge of the lake so I headed to Walmart to get him some tall rubber boots as well as a net and a bait tub to keep his live bait in. 

Rachel and several of her friends had fun playing with bubbles and a foam bubble maker.

We kept lunch easy today with just turkey sandwiches, chips, a fruit bowl, and a veggie tray.

You will notice that Nicholas is wearing his bike helmet in probably every picture.  I don't think he ever took it off.  He was constantly riding his bike around.  But most often he was riding around the lake with his new bait bucket and net in hand and those new mud boots on his feet.

He only needed about five minutes to catch these two little guys.

He is a sweetheart and he knows I love unique treasures from nature so he picked some water lily seed pods for me.

Some kids delight their moms with flowers.  My kids know me better than that.

A few minutes later he was back in the water.  He went almost as deep as those boots are tall.

Here are a few minnows he was storing in his bait bucket.  I'm so glad I picked up these few fishing items for him.  He was so delighted to have the right tools he needed.

He even caught a cool frog!

I loved watching Stuart relax and tell stories with his friends.  The dads in our group are an amazing set of men who love God and their families.  They are tough men but not too tough to hold hands with their wives or play games with their kids. 

Rachel and her friends spent most of their time playing at the beach area on the lake.  They splashed in the water, buried each other in sand, and built sandcastles.  They also made concoctions in which they gathered seaweed and called it chocolate.  I didn't bother to learn the rest of that recipe though.

While eating, this little bee lighted on Nicholas' hand.  I tried to get him to shoo it away but he wasn't bothered by it and wanted to just watch it crawl around on him for a minute.  I don't know how this boy got so brave (or crazy!).

After dinner we played a game of kickball.  All kids and parents were welcomed.  While Nicholas and Rachel played, Stuart stayed at first base the whole time to help the little kids understand when to run to second base.  I did get in line with Rachel and kicked the ball.  I don't think I've kicked a ball in 20 years but it was fun.  I love that my trips to the gym have given me more energy so I can be more active in playing with our kids.

Rachel had a lot of questions about how to play the game but she did great and I even caught this picture of her running into home.

Nicholas couldn't wait to get back out into the water.  This time he had a headlamp too.

He caught another crawfish!

Rachel enjoyed playing with all the critters in the bucket.  Eventually she got brave enough to pick up the crawfish.

Saturday morning came too soon.  Stuart was up early making a fire in the pit and getting coffee made.  He finally poked his head in the tent to see if we were all still alive.  Yes, alive but tired.

Each troop spent the morning together working on badges and activities.  The Tenderhearts were given nature journals and they walked around finding beautiful things in nature to sketch.

They also painted with watercolors and practiced their skit for the group performances that night.

Stuart had a cute little ladybug stop by to say Hi at the campsite.

The Navigators had an amazing opportunity to interview a park ranger.  They learned about his police and park training as well as some interesting stories about crazy things that have happened in parks.  They also learned that all areas of interest are needed in the parks department from management, computer technology, nature science, education, and more.

For dinner we made some red beans and rice at our campsite while Stuart cooked an apple dump cake to enter in the Dutch oven dessert contest.  This was his first year to compete and his dessert was delicious! 

We heard the kids come on to the stage for open mic time to tell jokes.  Then each unti performed their skits.  We listened to the kids who played instruments and sang for worship and then heard an inspiring sermon from one of the boys.  It was a wonderful evening of food, fun, and laughter with the best friends in the world.

Back at the campsite, we got to meet this big guy!  I've never seen a spider so big!

Weather reports showed the possibility of severe thunderstorms and hail approaching so we had packed up our gear earlier in the day so we would be ready to head home that night before the storms came in.  The kids mostly slept on the way home.

I love camping any time but there is just something special about camping with our friends.  It was blessed time and we made lots of wonderful memories!  I can't wait to go back!