I was battling a cold over the weekend and didn't feel great, so my sweet little monkeys made me a get well banner. This was their own idea, and they executed almost completely by themselves (thankfully, they asked Adam for some help hanging it up!). I love those two.

Today the McNallys took to the sledding hill for the first time this winter. And all I have to say is that we cannot wait for more snow and more sledding days. [Stay tuned for more sledding pics later this week.]

Two Saturdays ago, we took a ride on the Candy Cane Train. It's a beautiful trip from Bath to Wiscasset, complete with elves and carolers and snacks and — Santa! We rode the train last year as well, and ended up having to explain to Grace (due to her many questions) that it wasn't the…

Last night we took part in a solstice celebration at a friend's house. We had an outdoor fire, lit candles, and sang some sweet songs, like Silent Night. It's amazing what a little candlelight can do to make a simple outdoor experience seem so magical.

Today the four of us, plus Nana, went to see the play "The Snow Queen" in Portland. It was excellent, and we were especially impressed with the costumes and the portrayals of animals. After a nice dinner in town, we took a lovely horse-drawn sleigh ride through Portland to see the Christmas lights. It was…

Adam will tell you that shooting an acceptable family photo took half the morning. Don't believe him — the time stamp on my camera tells me it only took about 8 minutes. Either way, I'm not sure why we went through that exercise — we didn't even use this phot in our Christmas card!

On Sunday we visited the Christmas tree farm right down the road from us, in search of our annual tree. This year was the best year ever for tree-hunting, because there was no snow on the ground. No snow means no whiny children, and no pulling Tess on a sled. Nope, we just ambled around…

I am thankful for so many things this year. I am thankful for a husband who is willing to build an igloo outside in the dark, and two little girls who find great joy in doing this with him… I am thankful for a family that is full of love, and is not afraid to…

We spent lots of time outside this weekend enjoying the beautiful weather — I promise! We raked, played baseball, got ready for winter, etc. But we also spent time inside experimenting, using simple science kits a friend gave us. The girls made bubbly water, wrote with invisible ink, and made pepper flakes shoot away from…