Thanksgiving Weekend 2014

We have had a great weekend of relaxing, Christmas decorating, and hanging out with family and friends. We are so fortunate in so many ways.  The girls loved having both sets of grand parents here to snuggle with for the holiday.  Molly has been a little under the weather but it hasn't stopped her from joining in on the fun.  The neighbors were over today playing in the melting snow, hot cocoa, charades, dress up, and more.  

Molly in heaven sitting with her daddy and two grandmas

*the only picture I took on Thanksgiving :(  

 So proud.  

 Some of the group posing with their snowman

 Molly so proud to be making the slide extra slippery with snow

 

 Quinn was having a blast. 

*Note the one neighbor staking out in the playhouse because she is afraid of Hayley who was lying near the swings sleeping...such a threat.

 Eating snow

 Just want to eat her up.  

 Two hours later, the snow has melted but Frosty still stands

Fall 2014

Last week, Quinn went to the zoo with Ali, Caroline, Mema, Papa, and Julianna for some Halloween fun. Molly couldn't go because she was sick with the stomach flu, which everyone else ended up getting the following few days. Here are a few pictures the group took for me:

 Caroline, Julianna, and Quinn

Quinn and Jules

 They did their own face paint there. :)

What a group!

This week we went to a local farm to pick pumpkins and have some fall fun. It was a perfect day and the girls had a blast.  I loved being with my family and watching the girls. It reminded me of Ali and me as kids.  I cherish these times we get to be together.  

  

 Molly watching the girls on a ride. She was too intimidated to join them, but loved cheering them on.

 Veggie cars

It was so fun to watch their excitement.  Their expressions were priceless.

 

 Lunch break

 The 3 Amigas! They can't get enough of each other.  Love them.

 Attempt at a family picture. We have very few of these.

 Our favorite girlies.  

Mema and Papa love.

 The whole gang. 

 Playing in the corn. She wouldn't go in alone so I was the only adult in the corn. :)

 

 Quinn was a brave girl. She was the only one of the three that would use the slide. Caroline kept climbing to the top and then would panic. Molly wouldn't even go near it. Maybe they will be more into it next year.

 She finally ventured away from me.

 The king and princess waving

 Sandbox fun

 Molly's 1st hayride

 Caroline spotted her favorite.

Molly and her favorite auntie

Pretty positive the pumpkin weighed more than our little peanut. 

 Pumpkins. Check. Now it's time for a nap!

 Molly helping load up the cars.  We had such a fun day with great weather!

Back to School

Well this summer (as most) feels like it flew by.  We spent every day outside drawing with chalk, going swimming, biking, playing on the swings or running in the sprinklers.  The last couple weeks of summer were a bit hectic so none of us felt fully prepared to get into the routine of rushed early mornings and earlier to bed.  I finally feel like we are into the groove of the school year.  Now dance, story hour, and religious ed are starting so we will be off for another couple weeks I'm sure!

Scavenger hunt at her kindergarten open house. I can't believe our baby is old enough for school!! She has been asking to go to kindergarten for two years now so she is pumped that the day is finally here.

Where has time gone?  

Does it surprise you that she insisted on multiple picture poses?

Quinn wants to be a ballerina, a dentist, and a teacher when she grows up.  

Her favorite color is pink

Her favorite toy is her Elsa doll (from Frozen) this one does not surprise me

Waiting for the bus at daycare

She loves that her bus driver is named Ms. Colleen

Quinn and Mrs. Wicinski, her kindergarten teacher

Learning about the classroom with new friends.

1st day parents got to ride the bus with them and join them for a shorter day to run through the routine.  That made it easier on everyone.  Such a smart idea!

Her teacher has a twitter account and class website.  It is so nice that she is tech savvy and will post pictures throughout the week. It is so fun to see what they are learning each day. 

Picture Day-don't let the smile fool you. 

This is after she screamed at me for having a loose baby bow and then she ripped it out and ran to her bathroom to shove ten bobby pins in the front of her hair.  I had just had a conversation with Andy the night before about how good she has been about getting her hair brushed and clothes on without any fuss this year.  Totally jinxed myself.

Molly had a rough first week and a half adjusting from being home all summer with me and used to a home daycare setting.  I had to pry her off of me and hand her off to her teachers while she screamed hysterically. That always makes for an easy start to your day.  By the end of week two Molly started walking into the school with her backpack on and proudly hanging her things on her hook.  I can barely get her to give me a kiss goodbye now.  She will say, "bye mom, I go play with my friends."


Getting excited for the first day.





Doing a happy dance. This is not what her face looked like when I dropped
 her off and reality sunk in.

Here Molly is with one of her good buddies, Brinleigh

Picture Day- Molly loved showing off for the camera.  

She sat very still and asked for her hair to be curled.  Mema cut her hair and she 

sat so still. She unlike her sister loves getting her hair done.

In Mema's salon with Auntie Ali