Day 23

The day before the day before Christmas... hanging out with the Grinch.

Breakfast with Santa

A family tradition that dates back to when Casey and I were kids... breakfast with Santa. This year we went to a performance put on by the Billings Dance Studio at the downtown Hilton. It was a very cute show, and it was definitely for a good cause. The breakfast + show was a benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. There was a silent auction going on during the breakfast buffet and one of the items up for bid was a cute puppy! The girls were freaking out, and I was thinking, "How much trouble could I get into? I'll just bid a small amount." However, the bid was already up to $550!! {Gulp! I knew I would get into trouble for that!!} Thank goodness for Mom... she convinced the girls the dog would have long hair when it got older and wouldn't be as cute.

The girls were in awe of the dancing and singing. The had great seats and I'm not sure they ever blinked!

After the show we took the girls to sit on Santa's lap for a picture. Natalie, Alison, and Merilyn didn't hesitate. They jumped right up and starting smiling. Charlotte, however, was NOT impressed. And Johnna wouldn't even come near the big guy.

It was such a fun afternoon. I love watching my girls around this time of year... such joy and magic!

Kicking off Christmas Vacation...

Joy is...

...Finding these on my camera.

Merilyn's Christmas Program

Travis surprised Merilyn (he was able to sneak away from work for a couple of hours...) and she announced to everyone, "My Daddy could make it!" She sang her little heart out... we were so proud of her!

Thanksgiving Project

We got the idea from this blog post... the first step was to make the cookies in the shape of turkeys (we had to really improvise here!), and then frost them.

The next step was to add eyes, a beak and the gobble-thing. (Ali has informed me that it's called a "waddle".)

They may not look anything like the ones on her blog, but we were mighty proud of our work. :) Happy Thanksgiving!

Seattle

I just discovered some pictures on the camera I keep in my purse... guess I need to check it more often! We all drove up to Seattle for my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary party. The girls couldn't wait for the band to hurry up and get started... and then the dancing began! They danced, and danced, and danced...

Ali, Merilyn, Johnna, & Natalie with my cousin's kiddos; Maggie & Marcus

The next day we took the girls to the Seattle Aquarium, and then to lunch at Ivar's. It was a fun little getaway!

Halloween 2010

Featuring Merilyn Grace as Minnie Mouse...


And Alison Marie as Super Girl.

Travis & Grandma Sandy took the girls out this year, but Merilyn ended up coming back fairly quickly. Everything was just too scary for her, she said, "There are wolves out there!" She was more than happy to help me answer the door and hand out candy.

Disney on Ice

Travis and I bought tickets to Disney on Ice back in August, knowing the girls would love it. It had all of their favorites; the princesses, Alice in Wonderland, Buzz and Woody... it was a well kept secret!

Alison: I was surprised to find out that Mommy and Daddy were taking me and Merilyn to the Disney on Ice show. I loved it so much! I loved all of the characters, but my favorites were Snow White, Jasmine, Alice in Wonderland, and Cinderella. I loved the part when the Mad Hatter skated under the party table at the very beginning because it looked very cool. Mickey Mouse and all of the characters were very surprised to see him do that!

Merilyn: I saw the sign first to figure out where we were going! I got excited when I saw the Mickey sign. I liked sitting on Daddy's lap watching. Daddy was so excited because he wanted to see the show! My favorite was the Christmas Mickey and when Jessie skated out of the presents. The witch from Snow White tried to give Mickey Mouse an apple. He asked me if he should eat the apple, and I said "Noooo!!"

Pumpkin Patch

It was Meri's turn to go to the Pumpkin Patch with her preschool. She was super excited! Of course, I signed Trav up to go along as a parent chaperone. (He's such a great sport!) Her favorite part was feeding the "aminals" and the big slide. Although the pigs were very stinky... she advised all of her friends to plug their noses.

Meri told me that she picked out "a small pumpkin, not a big one." She was happy to take her Daddy through the corn maze, and he was impressed with how quickly she made it through.

As you can see from the photos, it was a beautiful day... a great day for a preschool field trip to the pumpkin patch.

No Training Wheels!

Travis took the training wheels off Ali's bike the other night (we weren't sure how long it was going to take her to get the hang of it) and it turned out to be not long at all!! Travis showed her how to kick off, and walked behind her so he could grab her if she started to fall. It took only about three "lessons" for her to catch on. Now, that's all she wants to do. (Unfortunately, the rain has started...)