December

December was busy trying to finish all the work we got behind on when we were on vacation.  Katie was also spending time getting ready for her first piano recital.  Erik kept himself busy making messes all over the house.  Here he is with some Styrofoam he decided to use his tools on. I had to vacuum him up after that and then the next day he had to vacuum the back yard with the shop vac.  He enjoyed his jobs. 

December of course brings Christmas.  We visited my parents again but this time left the dog at a friend's house.  My parents carpet looks nice and stayed that way. 

A few days before Christmas we went to my good friend Theresa's house and sang carols.  Her husband is really good on the piano so he played and we all sang.  We convinced Katie to play one song, hopefully we can continue this and each year she can play more and more.  Now to convince my parents they need a piano. 

Christmas Eve, Katie, my dad and I went horseback riding.  It was Katie's fourth time on a horse.  She does pretty well.  My biggest problem was trying to keep good spacing.  I always get nervous when the horses get too close because I don't want them to annoy each other and start bucking me off.

Erik turned four on December 27.  We had a little party for him and invited a few friends to build some projects.  Erik chose to make little coin holders. We had his party at home with the bounce house.  Save mart made a really cute cake with trucks, cookies and marshmallows just like Erik wanted. 

We took Erik and Katie to Knotts on Erik's birthday. One of the benefits of driving to Southern California in December is the great weather.