The Annual Griswold Family Christmas Tree Hunt

 We had to find a new tree farm this year, but the good news is this one had snow to set the mood (a little, anyway). We didn't quite have the "lay of the land" at this one, though, and the actual tree part of it was a little less yuppified. I mention that, because we got the idea in our head (I blame Kristen, but it may have been my idea) to walk to find a tree. One LONG walk later, we finally got to one. A lot of the close trees had been attacked by deer, so they just said to "Look at the top parts of the tree, and if you like it, just chop it off 6 feet off the ground."
Uh, how about no.
But alas, we finally found the perfect tree. It was a little bit shorter than we (read: Kristen the Chirstmas Elf and her junior elves Tate and Quinn) were accustomed to due to our 8-foot ceilings in our rental house, but we found one that used up every last one of those 72 inches. And it was fat, because the Head Elf (Kristen) says a fat tree is a good tree.

And just to be Christmas-tree-hunting purists, I drug the sucker all the way back myself. So there. It was 5 miles if it was 1.

We Heart Baby Kenzie

We used to go to Texas to visit 2 of our favorite people. Now we go to Texas to visit 3 of our favorite people. (Not pictured: Scottsbluff, NE, where we met them for Kenzie's baptism a few weeks later.)

Leaves!

 So this is what it's like to live in a neighborhood with big trees instead of one where the oldest tree is 10 years old.

You don't have to teach a kid to react by jumping in when they see a pile of leaves; it's a law of nature, I think.

Aerial Shots

This kid makes me happy.

 A little bit sweet...

...and a little bit ornery. Just like her mom. What's not to love?

Birthday Party

Tate and Quinn had their birthday party together at the 'Holidome' pool area. Here's the group of kids - friends from church. (Adults not pictured - something about swimsuit photos on the internet?)

Quinn is 2?!

 Here's our princess with her birthday cupcakes.

 And yes, I know her birthday was November 2, and it's February 28 now. We're catching up.

 We got Quinn a yellow rocking chair. When you flip it over, it makes a good ladder.

Love these kids.

Happy Halloween!

 The cast of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse carved on pumpkins? Check.
Glow-in-the-dark Halloween shirts that they liked so much they now want to wear them in November? Check

Jake and Izzy costumes from 'Jake and the Neverland Pirates'? Check
In this picture, Quinn is pretending to hold a sword and saying, "Ahoy!"