The Holiday Card and the Outtake

Here they are:  the best holiday card with the best kids followed by the best outtake (we almost picked it)! This year we have hearts full of gratitude, joy, peace and a lot of laughter. Wishing everyone a very happy, healthy new year! 

Kitty Love

"Mom, does Kitty's heart beat or purr? I think it probably purrs." 😻

Little Dribblers

Reed's basketball season is in full swing now and his Little Dribbler team recently had this yearbook photo taken. After the holiday season, Reed and Willa will both be on the court during practices because their parents along with another parent are resuming coaching duties until February!  

Nana's Tree

This year, Reed and Willa helped Nana decorate her tree, too.  The tree is set up high, with a gate surrounding it, to keep is safe from little and big paws🐶😻🎄

Breakfast with Santa

Every year, the South Onondaga Fire Department in conjunction with the Rockwell-Wheeler PTO hosts a breakfast with Santa event and this year, Reed, Willa, Nana and their parents attended.  After eating a decadent breakfast of eggs, French Toast, pancakes, sausage, and Italian white toast with butter (Reed's favorite), the kids got to meet Santa.  This is usually the closest Willa will get to Santa and, with her big brother acting as a buffer, she stood near him for this photo! 

Oh, Christmas Tree 2016

After a late afternoon start (impending darkness meant very few photos), the Lutons headed up to Goodman's Tree Farm in Phoenix, NY to cut our Christmas Tree.  We've been going there since before the kids were born and every year, we are able to find that perfect, tall, thin but full, flatter-on-one-side Fraser Fir!  

Changing of the Seasons!

Stones Throw Farm's 2016 CSA season officially ended on the first Saturday in December and, while it was too chilly for Reed and Willa to last outside until the bitter end, their parents snapped the annual selfie to show our happiness and heartfelt gratitude for another amazing season with our farm

family and family farm!

All Aboard!

Reed and Willa's annual trek aboard the Polar Express happened on the Friday following Thanksgiving.  The kids donned their best pajamas and climbed aboard for a magical journey to the North Pole and back! Along the way, they enjoyed cocoa, cookies, carols and the opportunity to meet with Santa, himself. This event is usually our "kick-off" to the Christmas season and if this year's ride is any indication, we are bound to have a joyful, magical holiday season! 

Thanksgiving Gratitude

Thanksgiving 2016: Grateful for slow mornings, snuggles and being surrounded by people who generously dole out both hugs and headlocks. Wishing everyone a day filled with gratitude and joy. Happy Thanksgiving 💛🦃

The First Snow...

I'm ...and it was a big one.  Mid-November, we got a few feet of snow over a couple days, result in the first snow day(s) of the season!  

Family Photo

One fall afternoon, we set up the tripod and timer and this happened :)

We Mustache You...

...Trick or Treat?  Reed gave these silly mustache eraser and pencil combos to his classmates at school for Halloween and these kiddos couldn't resist mugging for the camera in disguise! 

Enchanted Beaver Lake

After Reed's Halloween parade at Rockwell Elementary, Willa and her mom, who took the day off, met the Treehouse Kids from Jowonio on a field trip to Beaver Lake. Here the kids walked the trails and saw the beautifully carved pumpkins of Enchanted Beaver Lake in the daylight, when it's a little less frightening to young children.  Willa loved hiking and exploring with her classmates and it was a delightful way to spend a crisp, fall afternoon. 

Mac & Cheese and Memories

On the first anniversary of Pa-Beard's death, we wanted to honor him. We decided to make a meal with one of Pa's favorite dishes, butternut squash mac and cheese, as the main course.  We made this meal to feed the 30 residents and families staying at the Central New York Ronald McDonald House.   When he was in Boston for amyloidosis treatment and a stem cell transplant, Pa and Nana stayed at Hope Lodge, which is like RMH for adults. Nana, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Jenny, Reed, Willa and their parents all delivered and set up the food for serving.  Then we all went out for a meal

at Empire Brewing Company, where Reed continued to honor Pa with a dinner choice of the Big Mamu Platter, another one of Pa's favorites.  While the day was bittersweet, surrounding ourselves with loved ones, giving and good food helped to make it a little sweeter and a little less bitter. 

Captain Hook and Tinkerbell!

Reed and Willa chose to dress up as Captain Hook and Tinkerbell this Halloween!  Reed loves pirates and Willa loves fairies and it was the perfect pair of costumes!  They explored the Zoo Boo in them the week before Halloween and then Reed wore his in his school parade, which was followed by the annual 2nd grade pumpkin-carving party, and they both enjoyed trick-or-treating at Nana's house in Liverpool!  

Raking it In...

...this fall at Stones Throw Farm!

Goleib Farm

We spent another fall afternoon at the Golieb Farm, aka "Our Farm".  Here we ride horses, pick pumpkins, and trek through the area's best corn maze. Fall is our favorite season to explore in CNY and there are not enough weekends to see all the sights but our time spent at "Our Farm" is always worth it!