The Thompson Tree is Up

We told the kids on Friday that since Keith had Saturday off work we would put the tree up. Well you can imagine, that was the first thing they mentioned when they got up and the only thing they talked about all morning. I had a hair appointment at 11:00, so after a great husband prepared breakfast, I left to do the girl thing leaving instructions that they could put the tree up but had to wait for me to decorate. When I got home....I walked into the kitchen and there was a tree in the middle of it. As I walked in the Dinning room...a tree, and as I entered the living room....two trees! Well I got what I asked for! Keith was in the mood to decorate since we really didn't do much the previous year so he got out all the trees he could find. Actually he found one more after I got home so we have a total of five trees up. Some of you know how big our house is, so as I heard people say they were getting rid of their old tree and getting a new one I asked if I could have the old one. We have plenty of room for one more tree. I guess I didn't realize it has now totaled up to five...anyway, Keith decided to put a tree in each room that goes up the tower. Boy does it look nice! I will get a picture of the house when we are all done. The girls were SO EXCITED to get a tree in their room. Lola wanted to go up and rest her eyes in her bed to enjoy the tree...cute! We still have a mess but did get some stuff done. Guess what I'm doing today?? Getting everything out can be such a mess, but fun. The kids had fun. They enjoyed helping me get the village up (which hasn't been out for a couple years). We put that up above the tree on the ladder that Keith helped me put in the tower. He placed some barn boards over the ladder and I put my village up there. It worked since our tree looks a little shorter since we gained the extra ceiling space. It was Kolton's turn to put on the star. That was so funny! After he was done trying to eat the tree and as I was waiting for my camera to get into gear he just looked at me like "Why am I up here?". I also got some cute pictures of the kids so click on the flicker link to check those out. I love our tree! It is so bottom heavy with the ornaments! How I will miss that some day! Well...I'm off to get the day started. I think I heard Kolton upstairs. Hope to touch base soon!!

~Tina

The FIRST Snow!

We had our first snow last night. The kids were so excited to make snow angels, snowmen, and have a snowball fight in our less than an inch snowfall! They couldn't wait to get outside and left strict orders to have the hot chocolate ready when they come in. My nephews Chase and Skylar were in on the action and everyone managed to cover themselves in the fluffy white stuff. It was pretty to see the big flakes coming down. We all had a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving yesterday and enjoyed a quiet day here at home today. I hope you all enjoy your weekend!

My Latest Cakes!

Here are my latest cakes. They are getting a little easier to decorate. The more you do it the easier it is and the better they look. Superman cake was for my nephew Skylar's fifth birthday, and OSU cake is for Keaton, who is part of our extended babysitting family. He is celebrating his seventh birthday! His only request was that there were homemade buckeye's on it!

Natalie's First Riding Lesson!

Natalie would like you to meet Daxie! She is a 17 year old Quarter horse and very sweet! We started riding lessons last night at Shady Lane Stables in Shawnee. Natalie's instructor, Shelly did a great job teaching Natalie the basics of tacking, grooming, mounting/dismounting, leading, cleaning up, and general facts about horses. A month or so ago we looked into riding lessons and asked Natalie if she would like to give up dance to learn how to ride. Let's just say, we didn't have to ask her twice and things were set into motion from there. I figured we might as well spend money on something that she is passionate about. Last night went very well learning how to stop and start Daxie and even getting her to trot a little bit. I must say my camera did not do a very good job at taking pictures. I will hopefully get better ones next time!