Ali's Birthday

Somehow, this girl turned 12. I know I've said this before, but it's crazy how fast the time goes. It seems just like yesterday this young lady was a little, chubby toddler standing at the window waiting for Daddy to come home from work. :)

She took a few friends to Bullwinkle's for a day of fun and adventure!! :) We started with pizza and sundaes... and then the kids put on their bracelets and hit the rides and games. (Stomachs full of pizza and ice cream shouldn't be a problem, right?!)

 All of the gang in front of the lazer tag room.

Mer and Johnna enjoyed all of the rides as well. :)

On the night of her *real* birthday, Alison picked Canton Grill for her restaurant. She said she'd been craving rice and shrimp. Her biggest and best present was the iPhone from Grammy. (And approved by Daddy, of course!)

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Christmas Morning 2014

We started at home with the four of us opening a few presents. Then it was on to Aunt Casey's for more presents, games, and dinner.

Mer loved her present for Ali... a gift card wrapped up in a great big box! She was giggling the whole time Ali unwrapped each level of tissue paper!

After dinner, it was on to Gramma's scavenger hunt around the house. Each stop was a clue with a fun present for each girl.

Another special Christmas with our family. 

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve Morning: We celebrated Greg's birthday and built gingerbread houses at Gramma's house.

This is serious work!

In the middle of gingerbread house construction we stopped to sing to Greg.

Happy Birthday Greg!

The finished products:

Krayon Kids - Christmas Play

The Krayon Kids Theater was putting on a Christmas play (musical) that I thought my girls would like, so mom and I got tickets... and Little Miss Charlotte got to come along too.

It was such a cute show... Merilyn and Charlotte loved it! Ali enjoyed it, but since it was a surprise and we didn't tell her where we were going, she was less enthusiastic. (Note to self: Let Ali in on the surprises...)

Olaf was there!

The girls with Olaf, Elsa, and Anna.

Merilyn and Charlotte got their picture taken with the cast of the show, and of course, with Santa!

After the show there were all kinds of crafts and activities for the kids to do. The girls made several ornaments and Christmas crafts. There was also milk and cookies with Mrs. Claus! Everything was so cute! I was very happy that we decided to come to this production... even with a pre-teen that wasn't super chipper. :)

Civil War 2014

We got a sound beating... not a surprise. :) But, still a fun excuse to get together and eat.

Halloween 2014

All of the cousins together for a photo shoot. After this, Gramma took them to Salty's for brunch. Any kids dressed in costume were half price. :) Later, all of the girls went trick-or-treating around Casey and Greg's neighborhood for a couple of hours. After that, Ali and Meri took a few laps around our neighborhood as well. It was a good night!

 Merilyn - Pinky Pie (from My Little Pony)

 Alison - 80's Girl