Saturday, November 29, 2014

Days of Creation

With Thanksgiving behind us, it is now time to change gears and begin preparations for Christmas!!
And our first order of business:  find out perfect Christmas Tree!!!
We drove out to Days of Creation tree farm is Jesup because I just love it here.  I love the farm animals and the ability for the kids to run through the fields to help us select and then cut down our tree.  We have made so many Christmas memories here over the past few years.




One thing the kids look forward to most are all the farm animals!
There are goats, chickens and rabbits and the goats love the attention and the twigs the kids feed them.









We grabbed an ax and some gloves and headed out toward the trees...but first another photo op for mom.




Alright kiddos....go find out tree!





It was not an easy decision because everyone had a different favorite,
but in the end we found one we all liked.





While the big boys assessed the best way to cut down our tree,
Grant was giving Kate a wagon ride.








Time to cut down the tree!  We had the perfect helpers this year...



Kate & Gabe then took turns carrying the tree
to the packaging area so we could get it ready to bring home.





Grant offered to carry Kate's doll while she pulled the wagon.  :)





Thank you Days of Creation for always helping our family to make memories
and providing us with a beautiful Christmas tree year after year.






Once home we set up our beautiful tree in the living room, strung the lights, and Kate placed the star on top.
It's beginning to look alot like Christmas......





In other big news....Gabe lost his top front tooth!
Time for another visit from the Tooth Fairy!




Found this sweet note that Gabe left for the Tooth Fairy to find.  :)


Thursday, November 27, 2014

Dingman Family Thanksgiving - Day 4

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!
We are spending this final day with Jon's family in Virginia and will then head back home tomorrow after breakfast.  It's been a great week, we made lots of memories, and now it is time to head back to reality...and school.  But, it also means we are one step closer to my favorite time of year....Christmas!


Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Dingman Family Thanksgiving - Day 3

Myra surprised the kids with a gingerbread train to make and decorate tonight!
Kate was more interested in playing with the adults, but the boys were SO excited!!!





Decorate...taste....decorate...taste


 





Thanks Aunt Myra for being so awesome!!




Choo Chooooo.....Looks good and delicious!



Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Dingman Family Thanksgiving - Day 2

After taking lots of pictures, we headed down the street of Colonial Williamsburg.
I remember coming here as a child with my parents and always loving this area.  I have never been a huge fan of history, but Williamsburg is just beautiful without even getting in to all the reasons why!




Jon's sisters planned lunch at Shield's Tavern,
with portions of the building still intact from it's origins in the 1700's.



We walked in and found this lady playing the harp in the lobby.
She later came to our table and played a special anniversary song for Walt & Patty.




After lunch we walked down the street exploring shops,
watching a musket firing, and enjoying the cool weather of Virginia.






 Before leaving, WaWa & Pakky bought Kate a beautiful colonial dress to take home
for her American girl doll and got the boys cap gun rifles!
Thank you for these awesome Christmas gifts!!



Dingman Family Thanksgiving - Photoshoot

Since it is getting less often that the whole Dingman clan will be together, Jon's sisters wanted to do a family photoshoot while we were visiting this week.  They also planned a surprise 40th anniversary luncheon for Jon's parents since that is also coming up very soon and we would not all be together for that date.  I am not a professional by any means, but I set up my camera on a tripod and we had fun capturing this time together.  Only missing from the picture is Tina's husband, David, and cousins Carrie & Nathan.




The siblings with their mom & dad.





The biggest reason my kids beg to come to Virginia...
they LOVE Myra & Andrew!!









WaWa & Pakky with the grandkids





The grandkids






By this point Grant was pretty much done with the photoshoot!





I was so proud of Grant though!  He didn't like the outfit I put him in, we were not on to our third location for pictures, he was getting sleepy and hungry...yet he still managed to sit for more pictures!
I may or may not have had to bribe him.  ;)  But, if you know Grant, a bribe may or may not work!









Happy Anniversary Walt & Patty...may you be blessed with many more years together!





As an added surprise, Walt's brother Steve and his wife Cindy came to join us
for lunch and arrived just in time for the final family picture!