Bella and her Beau

Bella, our boxer, is going to be 12 years old really soon.  We've had her for 11 years & it was such a blessing when the animal shelter (where we had put our names on a list in case a boxer mix came in) called us to say that they had a young purebred boxer that someone dropped off "because she had too much energy."  We hustled over there and grabbed her & our lives have never been the same!  She has been such a wonderful dog & has seen us through everything.  In the beginning we would rollerblade, run, bike with her, play on the beach...  Now we can only walk together for a block, but she still enjoys sniffing everything in her path!  She has had her share of health problems recently, but she is still going strong.  Boxer life spans are 10-12 years, so we're prepared for what will inevitably come, but we're enjoying her company while she's still here.  She has recently taken a strong liking to Ava & Sofia's big soft doggy...

Was Christmas really almost 2 months ago? Oops...

Time flies when you're really busy...

So, Christmas:
Sofia didn't mind putting on a dress & showing me her favorite ornament:

Ava did not want to put on a dress & insisted on wearing her pants:

She did take the pants off for Christmas Eve dinner.  And she even had some fun with her sister.

Transformers & Bakugan - what more could little girls dream of?!

 

Mining for gemstones, of course!

We also took walks on the beaches & collected seaglass...and we did more stuff I just didn't take pictures. I'll work on that these next few months! In fact - I'll take pictures this weekend & perhaps I'll even post some!

Picture Day at school seems to be Sofia's enemy...

Well, the first picture day in October, Sofia was sick on the couch with a fever and looked very much like she had earlier in the month:

But luckily Ava looked like this:

We just had makeup picture day yesterday.  Little did I know Sofia would wake up with her right eye looking even worse than this:

Conjunctivitis.

No school for her on the make-up picture day.

I guess candids & non-professional portraits will have to do for her First Grade year...

Gratitude

Both of my girls have now officially lost 2 bottom teeth.  The picture of Ava below was taken after her first one was lost and the second one was SUPER wiggly & crooked!!

I was just going through their schoolwork that I had put aside & I want to share what they wrote for Thanksgiving.  I wish I knew their thought process as they wrote these gratitude essays...The cuteness is just overwhelming!

Ava:

"I am thankful for God and pets.  I like puppies the best.  My cusins and my dog and terkey.  Cus all uve tham are cute!  And I love tham.  And I am thankful for frands and I am thankful for animals."

Sofia:
"I am thankful for turkeys and corn and cows and God and my family and my ster [sister] and trees for my oxygen.  I just love trees and spyders and Amarica because I lieev in Amarca and I love pumpkins and crayons and my flowers and food and Purell and Mrs. Morrocco and my dog and my fish and chick."

Veterans Day Hike

Last week we wanted to do something special on Wednesday since we were all off on the same day! 

It was a gorgeous blustery fall day...

We bundled up and walked through the woods and

we found a hollow tree,

a yellow tree,

and finally, the water.

Excellent day.  The only thing missing was Xavier.  But now that's an excuse for another hike on another day!

Happy Halloween!

Apple Pie

The Apple Pie was made!

But I'll give you 3 guesses who made it...

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Yes, the Chef made the pie.

But I don't think of myself as a coward who chickened out.

I think of myself as a very intelligent woman who knew that her Chef would make an amazing apple pie.  And I'm always right ;o)

Plus, he truly enjoys to cook and bake so I didn't have to do much arm twisting.

Yum yum.