not-so-christmas crafts

douglas noble turned some cardboard and an old shoebox into a foozball game. noble then created a marble maze on the lid - it all turned out really cool - and it works! they had a blast making it even though it meant that we were postponing christmas activities!

christmas craft making

shadow puppets

mischa and sascha joined us for an outing to go see a shadow puppet show in the presidio. sascha and mahala got to take part in the show since they were some of the oldest kids there. then all of the kids had a chance to make their own.

thanksgiving #2

we drove to morgan hill to join the franks, the other franks and the smiths for thanksgiving. the kiddies at the kiddie table are no longer really kiddies! everyone stayed overnight and the kids stayed up late playing maffia - which they seem to always play when they get together.

thanksgiving #1

our annual 'friendsgiving' with the she's included some creative options for all of our crazy dietary restrictions - no one went home hungry! dinner of mashed potatoes, roasted cumin sweet potatoes, vegan gravy and vegan mushroom gravy, cauliflower with lime, maple roasted brussel sprouts, vegan paleo stuffing, gluten free stuffing, cranberry sauce, white beans with caramelized onions and for dessert, chocolate fondue with all of the fixings, gluten free apple crisp and paleo apple crisp. natascha put together a thankfulness activity and the kids put on a few performances complete with costumes and props!

thanksgiving toilet paper tubes

as long as i lead the way, the kids get really into making crafts. they made turkeys, owls and napkin holders (with dried beans) to dress up our table.

10!

and now for her real birthday! requests were to make crepes with chocolate and banana for breakfast, go rowing on stow lake and macaroons for dessert - so she got it!