Let's have a party

 My girls came up with an idea early last week to have a "Strawberry Shortcake" Party. No birthday...no special reason...they just wanted to plan and have a party. So...at first I didn't think much about it, but as the days went on they were planning and talking about it more and more. So, on Saturday, Tony and I decided to indulge them and have a little party. We invited Grandma, Pa, Aunt Jenn, Uncle Chris and Cooper.

 Kaitlyn was Strawberry Shortcake and Kennedy was Raspberry Torte

 My parents arrived and they were such good sports. My mom put on extra jewelry and my dad went all out and dressed like "Huckleberry Pie"  (The only boy in the list of characters). I think Cooper was supposed to be Huckleberry Pie, but he looked more like Spiderman to me. :)
Jillian dressed as Blueberry Muffin.

 Kaitlyn made a Pinata out of paper and put candy in there. Cute.

 Cooper taking a swing.

 We had snacks and cookies and the kids had a little parade through the house. 

 They had a good time.

Here are a couple of other random pictures that I just wanted to throw in.

My mom reading to all her grand kids....cute.

 And this picture makes Kennedy look so grown up to me.....Not loving that they are growing so fast, but loving who they are all becoming.

We have all managed to stay healthy, minus some eye problems that I'm still dealing with.

Tony's family is coming this Friday to have a late Christmas with us. Excited! :)

More Christmas fun

Tony's aunt and uncle came to visit this week. The girls were sooo excited to have them come!

A quick picture with Uncle Lee and Aunt Darlene (Dar)

They brought the girls lots of fun things for Christmas.

Kennedy modeling her new Pj's

Each girl got sand art! 

Hmmm...whats in these big bags?

Woo hoo! Pogo sticks!

Tony was surprised with a hammock

And they each got a new La La Loopsy doll. What fun! (Kennedy)

Kaitlyn's doll

The girls also got music boxes with jewelry inside from their Aunt Earlene...here they are modeling their jewelry.

My trio with their Santa hats

After bath time, Jillian wanted to jump on her pogo stick for a long time. She still needs someone to help her. The twins can do it on their own. (Sorry for the blurry picture)

Family picture (iphone picture again)

The girls are all ready for bed in their new pj's.

The next morning, the first thing they wanted to do was their sand art.

Kaitlyn made a picture frame.

After that, Aunt Dar put the girls to work making Christmas candy. They had to unwrap all the chocolate from the wrapper. What a big job! They loved it though.

Kaitlyn and Jillian working together

Kennedy and Uncle Lee were cracking nuts

I think everyone's eyes are closed, but I got big smiles!  More candy making fun!

That night was New Year's Eve and we didn't do anything special. The girls went to bed, and we watched the Sound Of Music on DVD.   Dar had never seen that movie (!) and I couldn't let her go back home without seeing it. It's one of my favorites.  Our neighbors are very into fireworks and we heard them until about 1AM.  It felt like they were in our backyard (and front yard). Needless to say, we didn't get too much sleep. ( I had also come down with a yucky cold, so I'm sure that had something to do with not a lot of sleeping too)

The next day (Jan 1), Dar and Lee sent Tony and me on a long date. It was wonderful! We got to spend our gift cards out shopping, to see Les Miserables and to dinner.  The whole date was so fun. The movie was amazing!!

Meanwhile, they were having fun with the girls. They took them to Chile's for dinner and sent us this picture.

Spoiled rotten :)

We were sad to see them go, but we are looking forward to a visit soon from their Paw Paw and YaYa.

On Thurs morning, our family went out to breakfast! Here are my twinkies. It's sooo wonderful having Tony home for the holidays. Last year, he was working everyday.



The weather has finally turned cold and Scooter hates being cold...so here she is sporting her little t-shirt. :)

The Christmas break is winding down and I'm sad about that. It has been very fun and restful...exactly what our family needed.  :)

Christmas 2012

 We had a wonderful, healthy Christmas!! :) Everyone was well and we were all able to enjoy the day! I'm so thankful.

 We managed to get a family picture on Christmas Eve.

 All the girls!

On Christmas Eve, the girls sprinkled reindeer food on the lawn (on the super warm "winter" day)

and then we got them all bathed and into their new Christmas pj's (thanks Grandma!).

  Then we got in the van and went to look at Christmas lights at a nearby neighborhood. 

(Kennedy, Kaitlyn, Jillian)

On Christmas morning, the twins were up first and we woke up Jillian.

Santa left them each a LeapPad 2! They were very excited!

Kennedy playing with her LeapPad

 Kaitlyn excited about hers too!

 Each girl also got a Cabbage Patch Kid!  :) 

Kaitlyn got a blonde one named  "Kait Lelia"

 Kennedy got a blonde one named "Ariel Marie" We tried to find one with the name Kennedy, but we couldn't ever find one. She didn't seem to mind at all.

Jillian got a red headed one named "Maya Jillian"

 Jilly enjoyed playing with her LeapPad too! 

Right before the girls came down the stairs to see what Santa brought them, Jillian said "I hope Santa brought me a LeapPad!!"  So glad he did! :)

 Each girl also got a "mini" American girl doll. They had been begging for a real American Girl doll, but Santa had already decided on the Leap Pad when the begging started....so maybe for their birthday. But, they sell "mini" dolls that come with a mini book. Each of my girls wanted a specific doll.  Jillian wanted "Rebecca".

Kaitlyn got "Caroline" and Kennedy got "Julie".

 All the girls with their dolls.

Around 10:00 we headed to my parents house for more Christmas fun!

 When we first got there, all the kids got on their LeapPads and started playing on them...Cooper got one when he turned 4.  It was cute to see them all playing on them.

Then it was time for presents! There were soooo many and the kids had such a great time!

 Jillian loved her La La Loopsy umbrella.

 Kennedy showing me her new video

 Kaitlyn excited about her new art supplies!

 I tried to get a picture of the whole room...I think I missed my dad and brother.

 Jillian got an adorable Strawberry Shortcake dress up dress. She loves this.

 After all the presents were opened, the kids played and played. I found Kaitlyn digging through her bag of toys....she was practically inside the bag!! (Can you see her? Her head is in the bag and her plaid dress is sticking out!)

We had a big Christmas lunch and stayed around until about 4.  I'm soooo thankful that everyone is well!! We are looking forward to some more Christmas fun soon. Tony's Aunt Dar and Uncle Lee will be coming for New Years and the girl's PawPaw and Ya Ya will be coming in January sometime.
Merry Christmas!

Class Christmas party

 Today was the last day before Christmas break and party day at school! Since, Kennedy is still recovering, she had to miss her party, (she was bummed!)  but Kaitlyn was super excited about hers.  So this post will be all about Kaitlyn!  :)

 First thing, they sat and listened to instructions from their teacher.

 Then, they broke into groups and rotated through 3 different stations.  The first station 

was Christmas Bingo! :)

 My happy bingo player

 The next station was cookie decorating. They had extra large cookies and were able to put on

icing and sprinkles. 

 The third rotation was "Pin the nose on Rudolph"

 We stopped and got a sweet picture together. 

 After the 3rd rotation, they all got to eat some fruit, cheese and chips. Kaitlyn was sooo happy that I was at her party and I think she loved having all the attention.  Her smile was so big! I loved seeing her so happy.

 My happy reindeer. :)

 Class picture time

Her class was surprisingly very calm. They all sat and ate quietly and the party was very organized.  I hated that Kennedy missed her party, but I am thankful that I got to spend such quality time with my sweet Kaitlyn.