It's the holiday season...

Well folks, once again it's our favorite time of year. Nora and I are spending our days making lists, decorating our apartment and listening to Christmas music. I have a significant amount of work to do in order to be ready for the big day, but it's all the fun kind of work leading up to the 25th. We are finally feeling well enough to really enjoy the holidays after laying low for over a week with a bad case of, well, something. Nora is once again a ball of energy and you wouldn't know she had been sick if it weren't for the lingering cough.

(I might have asked Nora to go to the window and look for Santa Claus in the preceding picture...)
We went out to a tree farm owned by a friend of Shane's and picked out the perfect tree for our place- tall and skinny, just like my favorite husband.

Nora worked on a bit of artwork while we decorated the tree. Her new friends, the three wisemen, and Frosty watched over her.

Later I sent the two of them to bed so I could get some work done. As usual, I was called in to photograph some 'adorable' moment. Okay, so this time it actually was adorable.

A few days later we took a train ride to the North Pole! Who knew you could get there so quickly? Technology is way over my head these days. (By the way, those are real elves in the picture.)

Kalen wasn't feeling his best; in fact, just about everyone in our family either was just getting over an illness, feeling sick, or about to become sick. Quite fun.

Nora was sure to check Wylie over very carefully. I'm sure her face-to-face contact and sloppy kisses helped Wylie to feel better. Right.Finally, finally, the grand finale of our trip- the real deal! Santa came aboard the train and greeted every child, and gave each of them a gift of a bell off the reindeer's harness. (I'm assuming that's where it came from. You've all read the story, right?)
The next day dawned bright and (very) early, especially since we had stayed out late after getting back from the North Pole for a holiday party before returning to my parent's house. We had a lot to do, though, with Christmas tree-getting, sleigh-riding and an art show to visit. All that will come in the next post, though. For now, you just get a sneak peek of our second tree-searching/cutting down/hauling expedition.