2013 advent calendar

Our advent calendar went so well last year that we continued the tradition of putting little notes in each of the boxes and making it about doing something together rather than what-do-I-get. Sometimes, it's extra work thinking of or squeezing in an activity when I'm swamped with all the other hustle and bustle of the holidays but I love this and hope to continue it for years to come.
So every morning in our house Addie and Liam eagerly look for their elf and then get to open a box to read a new message with the day's activity. Here's what we've been up to this December as we count down to Christmas! (We got started a little late since Thanksgiving ran so late and we were up in Oregon.)

silveyville field trip

Addie's preschool had a great little field trip to a local tree farm! We loved it! All this time, we had no idea we lived so close to this little gem of a tree farm! Here's some pics from our day!

Three of us moms all piled in with our preschoolers and made our way to Silveyville Tree Farm!

All lined up ready to learn about the life cycle of the Christmas tree!

Such attentive preschoolers! 

Our girl ready to ride around the farm and sing Christmas carols!

It was an extra ordinarily cold day! Don't they just look cold?

The kids got to play in a barn full of hay trampolines and slides!

Two little goof balls waiting for their snack!

our 2013 christmas tree

We didn't bring a tree home from Oregon this year because we've discovered one of our local fruit stands, Larry's, sells them cheaper than we could find one in Oregon! The kids were so excited to bring a tree home and decorate it! I think we had this done even before we finished unpacking our bags from Oregon.