A couple of weeks ago we went Christmas tree hunting with my mom, Amy, Joe and their boys. Aaron and I had decided to skip getting a tree this year (I was feeling lazy) – but we thought it would be fun to go along anyway. It was a mild day (temperatures continue to be unseasonably high) and so it was nice to be outside, walking in the woods. After a thorough search we got two trees – one for Mom and one for Amy and Joe. We then went back to Amy and Joe’s house and played outside a bit with their boys. Later in the afternoon we helped them decorate their tree. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday. I took the above photo of Amy and Aaron at the tree farm. See how they are laughing together – probably at me – usually means they’re up to something…

For Thanksgiving we made our usual trip down to Washington DC to spend it with Aaron’s family. Travel was actually remarkably easy and smooth. We had great visit with the whole family, except for Molly who is studying abroad in Israel this semester. Her presence was definitely missed. We continued our tradition of making center pieces out of dough – although this year we just did two large cornucopias, and no animals. Emily and I made one of the cornucopias and Aaron and Lisa made the other one, which was entertaining to watch – they are siblings after all. Rita made the decorations and worked on the fine details of the cornucopias – as pictured above. We had a great time catching up with everyone and of course eating all the delicious food. Here’s a small album of photos from our visit, mostly of the cornucopia project.

In November the whole family traveled down to Connecticut to celebrate Alice’s first birthday. The party was held at Chrissy’s grandmother’s house – who just happens to live in the same town as our grandmother (talk about coincidences) – so we went down a couple of days early to visit with Nonnie and Becki. As you might imagine, it was a casual affair, but Alice was surrounded by lots of family from from both sides all there to wish her a happy first birthday. I’m told Chrissy spent days ahead of the party baking the cake, which as you can see in the photo above was no grocery store sheet cake. I think maybe Amy and Chrissy should open a bakery together specializing in kid’s birthday cakes! Happy Birthday Alice!