The girls and I met our friends Michelle, Bela, and Baby Maya this afternoon. The girls played in the children's play structure at the mall while the mommies chatted. After the kids were good and sweaty {they ran and played like kids that have been cooped up for 2 weeks!!} we moved to Starbucks for a treat.

{Of course, Merilyn would not stand still for a picture.}

From there, the girls and I met our friend Liz for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. {One of Ali's favorite's because she can get a cheese pizza without the sauce!} After dinner we headed to Macy's to spend our gift cards, and then to Barnes & Noble for some book time. It was a full afternoon/evening! It was so nice to be able to have mobility and catch up with friends.

The girls & I were going a bit stir crazy yesterday, so we decided to load up in the Honda {Trav still had the Pathfinder} to met Mom & Casey at Sunshine for pizza. It turned out to be no big deal to drive - other than our driveway - & it was so nice to get out & drive.

Today is a wet & dreary day, so we're laying low... staying in our pj's & doing a lot of reading. The only "big plans" we have is to watch a movie & make popcorn. It's interesting... now that I have my car back & I can get out... I'm content to snuggle in with the girls.

Here Comes the Rain!

It's hard to believe that we went from Arctic temperatures and snow to rain so quickly. It was pretty stormy last night... it was rainy and very windy. {As you can see from the deck chair.}

Today the girls have been very busy playing with their new toys. Anything that wasn't opened yesterday was definitely taken out of the box today! They've been so busy playing that they have been getting along pretty well. {Which is somewhat amazing considering we've been together 24/7 for two weeks!} I can always tell when Ali has gotten bored with her activity, though. It usually sounds like Merilyn squawking, yelling, or crying.



The girls have been having a ball with their maze of tunnels & tents. It cracks me up how static-filled their hair gets and how it doesn't bother them one bit!!

Merry Christmas!

On Christmas Eve we were able to get out thanks to our 4-wheel drive & a husband who gets a complete thrill driving in this kind of weather. I think our daughters will follow their daddy's footsteps... as we headed down our street {with a bit of sliding} I hear, "Yea! We made it!" from the back seat. I turned around & saw both girls with huge smiles & their arms up like they were on a roller coaster!

We celebrated Greg's birthday lunch at Stanford's. Trav & I shared an interesting dessert... a "bag of doughnuts". They were hot - fresh out of the oven with cinnamon & sugar. It came with a side of chocolate for dipping. They were a lot like little elephant ears & completely yummy!

We spent Christmas Eve with Trav's mom & cousin. It was a very low-key evening with great food & family. Jamie, Kurt, & Kelly gave the girls some great jingle bells. They proceeded to sing the song "Jingle Bells" with Meri keeping the beat! {Travis thinks she'll be in a band some day... he couldn't believe how great her rhythm was!}

Later we went over to my mom's for the night. Ali put out cookies for Santa & carrots for the reindeer, and it was at this point I realized that I forgot our camera at Jamie & Kurt's. Argh!! Fortunately, I come from a family of picture-taker-scrapbookers, so my mom had a camera charged & ready to go. We put the girls to bed {after chasing, running, & playing with cousin Kelly} & fell asleep immediately... even as excited as they were!

Christmas Day was whirlwind of great things. The girls were so excited to see all that Santa had left! Ali was eager to open one present after the next, while Meri would open one & want to play for awhile before moving on. Casey & her family came for a delicious brunch, more presents, & stockings. After every gift had been opened & the tattered remains of Christmas paper had been gathered up, it was time to check out the new toys, movies, & books. The cousins played all day with the new toys! Almost everything was opened and tested. After naps & more movies, we settled in for another fabulous meal. {Thank goodness for stretchy pants!} The day was great, but the best gift was being together with my family.

Snow!

These were a couple of photos from a week ago. Since then we've had more snow, freezing rain, and more snow. This shows what we woke up to today:


Of course, the only thing on TV is "Storm Watch" and "Arctic Blast" news. There are camera shots from every road and freeway... so we can see that it's still snowing and driving is difficult. Imagine that!

I'm definitely going to be sorry when it's time to go back to school... for many reasons... one of which is I've already started my bad habit of staying up way too late every night!! But, it's the only true quiet time I have! I've finally pulled out pictures from our California trip a couple of years ago. {It's never too late, right?} If I keep this up, maybe I'll finally get caught up!

Here is one of the photos from the trip. The girls are so little! It's amazing how time flies. Notice we're wearing shorts and look warm? {Or really hot and sweaty!} It's a little strange to be working on summer pictures while listening to continuous Christmas music and watching snow pile up outside.