We spent a week experimenting with cars and ramps. They had fun seeing how far their cars could go, and crashing their cars into various toys.

They kept track of their data and made all sorts of conclusions about their experiments.

Sylvia started a whittling class at the Vesterheim Museum. She love. it! Lily got a whittling set for Christmas so here Sylvia is showing Lily a few things she learned.

We got a mushroom mini farm to grow mushrooms right out of a box. But first we had to soak the medium. More photos of our ‘shrooms to come.  And I’m the only one that likes mushrooms, so they’ll all be mine!

Yesterday, we spent some time building with toothpicks and marshmallows, and making structures with rolled newspapers.

Let’s just say that construction is not my forte. I did not give great guidance, but the girls learned a lot about building through their mistakes!

Sylvia turned 10 on January 16th. Double digits! Lily made her dessert: raw dough in an ice cream cone with chocolate chips and sprinkles on top. Lily said that they LOVE raw dough but I never let them eat very much.  Plus, this recipe didn’t have eggs in it, so it would be fine to eat a lot. 🙂 Sylvia loved it!

With her birthday ring.

Looking for a Christmas tree at Oneota Slopes farm, run by our friends, the Johnsons.  It sure is a beautiful place to walk around and there are so many lovely trees to choose from.  That is NOT the one we chose, by the way!

That’s our tree. 🙂 Lily dragged it the whole way back.

New to our Christmas tree tradition this year: climbing and running on round bales.

We made treats for the little animals this year. We put peanut butter and bird seed on pieces of bark and checked on them everyday. The white stuff is flour so that we could see footprints (since we didn’t have snow).  The food didn’t last long and there were lots of interesting tracks!

We went to Lincoln, NE for several days before Christmas. One afternoon, we took a hike at Pioneer’s Park Nature Center and spent time watching the birds.

We also acted like birds! Turkey Vultures, to be exact.

My mom and I made kolaches for Christmas morning (and every other morning during our stay!).  They are the best!

Grandpa Bruce brushing Lily’s hair on Christmas Eve. My sister Mikaela took the girls to the Children’s Museum, hence the face paint. It came off before church. 🙂

Christmas Eve!  It was Aliyah’s first Christmas.  The girls love their new cousin!

On to New Hampton, IA where we got to spend time with Jon’s family. We frosted sugar cookies one afternoon – a favorite tradition.

The girls and Jon played daily ice hockey games. This was the first day at the pond – making sure it was frozen enough!  I was the only one who didn’t participate – I didn’t want to re-injure my arm!

And yet another favorite thing to do with the cousins – play games!  The girls love being with their cousins, even if they are just watching them play games.  They are getting old enough to play a few, too.

Merry Christmas!