Christmas prep

We've been preparing for Christmas by putting up the decorations, listening to Christmas music, and hitting up Santa's Village with the neighbors.  And my personal favorite so far has been welcoming back good behavior with the arrival of Franklin, our Elf on the Shelf.

He's back!  He pulled up last weekend.  The kids loved it.

Incase you haven't heard of Elf on the Shelf concept, here's how it works: Franklin, our elf, was sent by Santa to observe behavior - good and bad - throughout the month of the December and report back to Santa each night.  Each morning when he gets back to our house, he hides in a different place.  The kids wake up and rush to find Franklin.  It's cute. 

And Nora has now taken it to a new level.  She's so interested in showing Franklin her good behavior that she relocates so he can see her.

Franklin is up in Gus's curtains (way up there). 

She wanted to show him that she can use the potty, even brush her teeth on her own.  Pretty funny.

Santa's Village was chilly, but a good time.

 Nora was not sure about Santa.

Gus had his list memorized and rattled it off in record time when asked by Santa, "what would you like for Christmas?"

Nora helped alot with the stockings during the decorating process.

Hockey - still going strong

Gus is into week 6 of hockey and still going strong.  He likes the games, which he has once a week, but his favorite thing so far has been the chance to skate in the big rink in Fargo, Scheels Arena.  It is where the Fargo Force play.

They had an open skate last week and he went with his buddy, Caleb.  They loved it.

Here's some footage of #14 in action, doing some drills.

Best Friends

Nora and Peyton (her BFF from down the street) spent every summer evening playing outside together, but now that winter has settled in, they are trying out a few new ideas. 

This was my first taste of a girly slumber party.  I'm sure as soon as these gals are fully talking, they will ask to have a sleepover.   For now, they were just pretending. 

Good thing they are both so cute.  It's nice having friends so close by.