Christmas tree

  
On the 6th we walked outside and found a Christmas tree growing in our yard.  Beastly blackberry vines had forced it to grow horizontally for about 10 feet before curving upright, so it’s not the most magnificent specimen (but we probably wouldn’t have cut it down otherwise).  Alice wasn’t impressed. 
  
Standing it up was a challenge that took most of the afternoon and eventually involved support lines strung around the living room.  Alice napped through that part.  We watched Charlie Brown’s Christmas that night and decorated the tree the following day.  It turned out pretty nice. 
  

Gryphon’s Concert

Here’s a distilled version of the Holiday Concert we saw at Gryphon’s school:

And here’s something Gryphon made during his hour of “quiet time” one day:

Thanksgiving

We had a relaxing trip to Bellingham last week. 
 
We looked for salmon in Whatcom Creek on Thanksgiving.
 
 

The next day we did some shopping and the kids went to Nanna’s favorite donut shop.
 
Dar Dar took Gryphon and me to a magic show at Mt. Baker Theater on Saturday.  Gryphon was impressed by the handkerchief that changed color.  We tried to figure out some of the tricks at Red Robin afterward.
 
Then we sawed down a Christmas tree in the rain real quick.  I got to visit my friend Zach and his lady Angela afterward. 
 
We headed home Sunday, and Alice and I did this on Monday:

Breakfast in bed

Gryphon and Alice are doing a good job playing together.
 
Cheri got breakfast in bed on the 16th and 17th for no particular reason.
 
“We’re sitting next to each other, watching a movie.  Gryphon and me.  There’s Alice and Gryphon in their beanbags.” –Alice
 
Alice has been helping out in the workshop lately.
 
 
Cheri’s been painting more, and started up a blog to post the results.  Alice painted a rock until it turned brown.