First Snowstorm!! . . . sort of . . . who said there's no global warming?!

This morning, Ava & Sofia looked out the window & were absolutely thrilled to see snow on the ground! They immediately wanted to run outside & play. They got their boots, hats, mittens & coats on & rushed outside. It was funny & cute & a little sad all at the same time. Ava was pretty funny saying that it wasn't a very big snowstorm and that they could only play in one corner of the yard.
They asked me to help them make snowballs . . . It didn't work out that well . . . But they had fun & that's what matters!



After playing in the "snow" we ate lunch & went to see Santa at the imPossible Dream playground. They had crafts set up & they had pony rides & "fishing for toys" where the girls put a fishing pole with a hook over a wall & then magically there was a toy attached to the end of their fishing pole. It was a pretty cool Christmas party & something different to do on a Saturday. Ava & Sofia had the most fun with the crafts, but they didn't smile much at Santa or when I went to take their pictures on the ponies...They did smile the whole time they were riding the ponies, though!

Christmas Tree Farm

Yesterday we went out to the Christmas Tree Farm & bought this year's tree. It always feels a little bad choosing a tree to cut down & essentially kill just to bring a little beauty & sweet smell into your home, but I think the Christmas tree likes to be used for a wonderful purpose bringing joy & happiness into a home...but that's only a guess.

There were a lot of trees to choose from & Xavier, Sofia & Ava had tons of fun running through the fields. It was pretty cold but the girls were bundled up. Xavier is 14...I think that's enough said about why he didn't have a hat on. I guess they're just not cool enough for him...Alas, I tried...Hopefully I won't be blogging next about the pneumonia or flu that he got...



We got it home... Ummm... in the car next to Xavier. Tight squeeze, but on the plus side he said it smelled really, really good.



When we got home the girls really wanted to start decorating, but I told them that the lights have to go on first . . . So they put the lights on...












Bella got into the Christmas spirit, too...She doesn't like getting dressed up. I can't imagine why - she's so darned cute!

Thanksgiving

TG pictures...

We had a really yummy & fun Thanksgiving this year. Holidays are definitely yummy with a Chef in the family. The past 11 years of my life have definitely been filled with delicious food. Good thing I exercise!

Here are some pictures from TG this year. We ate & then we all went outside to throw the football around & Garry got tackled by 3 defensive backs...I think they were defensive backs. I don't know. I don't talk sports, I just watch football by default. However, my father-in-law did say I have a good arm & I put quite a nice spiral on the ball. How do you like them apples, Gregg?!

November

We had a ridiculous amount of leaves in our yard & on our driveway this year. We raked over 30 (close to 40) bags of leaves. Unbelievable!! But - the girls & Xavier had a lot of fun playing in the leaves. What is it about leaves that kids love so much? Who needs toys? You just need a lot of leaves . . . and . . . a cardboard box . . . (see below)









Ava & Sofia love cardboard boxes. Ever since they were toddlers, they've loved playing with boxes - putting things in them, drawing on them and of course getting in them themselves! The girls haven't seen Nonni for a while and so they found this box & asked if I could send them to Nonni's in this box. I told them that they probably wouldn't fit . . . Of course they had to prove me wrong. I then jostled the box around quite a bit & although they said it was fun at the beginning, they decided it wouldn't be a very comfortable 3 day trip, so we'll travel by car.

Halloween

I am determined to catch up to "real time"...


But first...here's a few from Halloween! Sofia & Ava got to wear their elephant costumes to school for a Halloween party. Then after dinner we went out on a long trick-or-treating trip. I say long because there is a very bright purple house that we drive by on the way to school. This purple house has a yellow car & if you remember, when they were babies if there was a purple piece of clothing, Sofia would be in it & if there was a yellow piece of clothing, Ava would be in it. Now those are their favorite colors, so that house is their absolute favorite house. Anyway, it's about a mile away, which is pretty far for 4 year olds in the evening. They made it there & halfway back, but their "legs were tired" when we were halfway home, so mommy & daddy were lucky enough to give piggy back rides the rest of the way! Fun fun fun! Their bags were so heavy that the handles were stretched to the limit! Despite 2 sore backs the next day, we all had a really good time.

From today...I couldn't resist...

I know I still need to put Halloween pictures up & some November pictures, but I just took this video today (sorry for the bad color quality...it's the camera...). I hope this works! They're singing "What's the Weather" in their perfectly goofball way!!

Still September & October...

Hello! I think I have about 30 minutes so hopefully I can get some pictures up! Here are some we took that we like to refer to as "Gap Ads" :o)

Next we have some pictures of our fun times at the imPossible Dream playground - It's a great playground with a lot of fun stuff to play on. I tried to tell the girls they were probably too big for these swings, but really, how can a 4 year old say no to flying dolphins?!

Then in the beginning of October we went to visit Great Grandma McCann :o) 96 years old & still going strong!! As you can tell, I am the photographer of the family & so very rarely in any pictures...

After we visited Great Grandma we went apple picking & had a ball! In fact, we had such a ball that I forgot to take a lot of pictures until it was time to go...

Then we went visit twin friends Zack & Sarah & it was so much fun!! They played really well together so the mommies had time to themselves to talk.

We did manage to quiet them down for just enough time to take a picture of them on the couch...

September & October -- Nope, just September for now.

So, what have we been up to the last 2 months, you ask? Well, we went to the Zoo back in September (here's Daddy & the girls).

And you'll just have to wait to find out what else we've been doing because I'm having problems uploading more pictures. This will have to do until I can figure this thing out...when I get more time. Ha ha!

Belated Birthday Pictures!

Well here are some birthday pictures I promised you a while ago! Nonni made the awesome, custom birthday shirts (Pablo the Penguin & Tyrone the Moose of the Backyardigans) & Sofia wanted Pablo & Ava wanted Tyrone, but at the last minute Ava decided not to wear her Tyrone shirt but instead wear her London shirt (brought back byAuntie Abey (aka Elisabeth!).
I made the Pablo cake (took me a few hours & I might not make another cake for a while, well, Daddy would probably prefer that I not make a cake for a while...). There was no Tyrone cake pan unfortunately, but they both loved the Pablo cake.
After the cake was gone & most guests had left, Ava, Sofia & Xavier had a ball popping all the ballons with Zack & Sarah (twin friends born on same day, remember?!). Sorry I missed your head when I took the picture X...I'll do better next time. You're just getting so dang tall!!
Then after that Daddy & Xavier set up a race & obstacle course for the 4 year olds! Nothing better for releasing sugar cake energy than running around the yard kicking balls :o)
Finally, Sofia & Ava just HAD to try out their new big girl bikes. I know, I know...BARBIE?!?!?! Yuck-0! But, hey, when you've got to buy two of almost everything you have to look for the deals & sales & of course only Barbie was on sale. What can ya do? They love them :o)

Beach with Big Brother Xavier

Finally we ALL got to go to the beach! Even Chef Daddy who rarely gets to go to Nonni's! Of course, being his usual giving self, he did do some things around the house while he was there, too...But we had time to go have fun at the beach & in the pool!

Ava & Sofia love spending time with their big brother Xavier & he has just as much fun playing with them! He's 10 years older than they are, but he really gets back to being a carefree child when he's with them. It's awesome to see. They built (and destroyed) many sandcastles, but really enjoyed building a dam that kept getting hit by "big" waves! It was a lot of fun & a day I am truly grateful for. I mean, I'm grateful for all these days, but this was one that will live in the memory banks for a really, really long time.

Oh - I forgot - they did turn 4 in August & I haven't posted birthday pictures yet, but I will next post.

What a difference a month makes!

It's official. Ava now loves the beach as much as Sofia! She did start out wearing those beach shoes, but then she wanted to take them off like Sofia :o) Unfortunately this was the one & only time in August that we've gone to the beach, but I might try again this weekend if it's not too chilly.

They liked bringing water back to add to the moat that I built around our sandcastles. They actually liked acting like monsters & destroying the sandcastles even more than that, though!

We've been having a great summer walking Bella to the "beach" at the end of our street (the unnamed beach with the rusty pipe that we do not swim at!), reading at the library, playing every and any type of game - already established or made up by my very creative and imaginative girls - and baking banana bread and cookies.

My Little Mermaids!

July...

July picture! Now I'm only one month behind!!
Ava doesn't like sand between her toes & spent most of the time on the beach towel...but I managed to convince her it would be loads of fun to bury her feet in the sand. She actually didn't mind that, but as soon as she was unburied she asked me to carry her to the water so she could rinse her feet! She definitely prefers Nonni's pool! I'll get more pictures up when I've got a little more time...

Pictures from June

Activities in June with friends

Okay, so I'm a little behind in the blogging...This is a tough gig! Here are a couple pictures with friends from June. Since then, we've mostly been swimming in Nonni's pool! I'll choose some of those pictures I took & put them up soon. I'm telling you, I have 2 little mermaids who LOVE to swim! You'll see :o) But first, a trip to the zoo with Zack & Sarah & a trip to Mystic Aquarium with Ethan, Tristan & Xavier...but the only picture was taken when Ava, Sofia & Tristan enjoyed their ice cream!!
I'm having trouble uploading pictures, though, so you'll have to wait for pictures...

A couple weeks later in May we got ready to go to see Nonni & Brigitte! They wore their special "Little Lady" t-shirts brought back especially for them from Japan :o) Again, when they say "Cheese" they really put A LOT of effort into it!! And of course we had to go to the "better beach" at Nonni's!! They love the water just like their mommy.

So as you can see, rusty pipes don't exactly invite bathing suits & swimming, but we still have fun throwing rocks in the water & exploring & looking out at the boats. This "beach that we never ever swim at" is at the end of our street & is fun to walk to.