Merry Christmas!

After opening a few presents at home...

We gathered our things and headed over to Gramma's for breakfast and more presents! 

The highlight of the day was opening a present from Grammy that had a clue in it... a clue that began a treasure hunt. The first clue led to another clue, which led to a second present; American Doll brushes, and a clue. (Hmmm...) The girls were led to the bathroom where they found American Girl outfits, and, of course, another clue. As you can see in the next photo, Ali and Natalie were starting to get an idea about what they were going to find.

Can you see Johnna holding her hands over her ears? There was quite a bit of screaming going on.

Ali was one happy girl!

For the Christmas dinner, everyone was responsible for making a dish to bring to the table. Mer was in charge of rolls, and Johnna was in charge of the green salad.

We all worked together to make a delicious Christmas dinner with all of our favorites. Ali's favorite: cranberry jello salad, Mer's: the rolls and butter. I love the turkey and mashed potatoes. :) Trav had to work, so we put together a plate for him to have later.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

After celebrating with Greg for his 40th birthday, we went up to deliver cookies to Dad's headstone. :) He always loved cookies... and the girls love leaving them so he can "share them with the deer". In fact, the deer were hanging around when we got there!

From there we went to Grandma Sandy's for dinner, presents, and a card game: "What Would You Do?" Ali loved it! When we got home Daddy and the girls made Krispy treats for Santa, and set carrots out for the reindeer.

I almost forgot! Merilyn had to get four shots on Christmas Eve morning before Greg's party. She was a little behind in her immunizations... but she was a trooper! No tears!

Breakfast with Santa

It is always such fun to watch the dancers, eat a yummy breakfast, and of course, meet Santa. 

Ali asked for an American Doll, and Mer asked for a Monster High Doll. 

We had a great day! And... we "won" a fun day at Bullwinkle's in the silent auction. Trav and Ali kept running to the auction tables to make sure we were the last name signed up on the list. They may have also signed mom's name to a few items... :) 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving 2012

Mer's all ready to head to the Salty's on the Columbia.

What a great day! We joined Mike and Mom for an amazing brunch/lunch buffet at Salty's. Yum!! Always a treat. The girls especially love the chocolate fondue. {In fact, I'm pretty sure that all Meri ate was strawberries and chocolate.}

There's so much that I'm thankful for, and these two are at the top of that list. :) I'm a blessed mama.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween 2012

Starring Alison Marie as "Alice in Wonderland", and Merilyn Grace as "Frannie K. Stein". {A Monster High character, in case you didn't know :) ...}

I must be getting old and senile... Halloween really snuck up on me this year. I don't know what happened {life and such??} but we were scrambling at the last minute for costumes. Both of the costumes came with wigs, but due to wardrobe malfunctions, they weren't working tonight. 

The cousins came for pizza and trick-or-treating... the holiday wouldn't be complete without them! :)

 Natalie (the Wicked Witch) & Alison

Ali, Meri, and "Dorothy" aka Charlotte. {Although, if you ask Charlotte, she was "Dorpy".}

It had been raining all day. so we went out armed with umbrellas. However, we ended up not needing them! Yay! We had a good time, but it was a pretty early night for us since Halloween was a school night this year. Whose idea was that?!?

Happy Birthday Merilyn!

Our baby turned 6 this year! 

We celebrated with a few family and friends at Kellogg Bowl. Fun, fun!! :) Everyone took their bowling scores very seriously... even Charlotte got into it! Add in pizza and rainbow cupcakes, and you've got yourself a pretty good party!

Luke and Ryan... Our best buddies since Ali and Ryan were born!

I love you, Sweet Girl!

Meri, Charlotte and Johnna... Our cousins are never far! :)

The First Day of School

{I'm chuckling to myself that I am writing about the first day of school... and it's almost Christmas Vacation!}

Alison started 4th grade this year! What?!! She is an old pro at school now... it helps that she had a couple of best buddies in her class and they've been hearing great things about the teacher. I'm so grateful that Trav gets to be there for these moments.

The kindys were on a staggered start, so Mer started a few days later. After three years of pre-school, the first day of kindergarten was a BIG deal. She has been ready for this day for a long time! She was pretty annoyed with me for wanting to take pictures... She had things to do and people to meet!!

I'm so proud of my girls. :)