Thanksgiving 2015

I have loved having the whole week of Thanksgiving off. (Next year we'll be back to only a few days.) I took the girls to Merilyn's conference Monday morning (she's a rockstar!) and then we hopped in Grammy and Mike's car to ride with them to Sisters. We stayed the night in the Best Western in Sisters... and we loved it. The girls thought the llamas right outside our room were hilarious!

The next day we continued the journey to Black Butte, hoping that the house would be ready. (It wasn't.) So back to Sisters we went for lunch and shopping. When we finally got settled in the Black Butte house, all was well. :)

It had snowed just before we got there, so the girls were more than happy to spend every day playing in it. I just love being in Black Butte during the snowy season. So pretty!

The girls spent hours sledding up and down the golf course. They were cold, wet, and extremely happy. Even Lucy enjoyed sniffing around and exploring through the drifts.

Can you find Lucy? :)

Travis had to work at the beginning of the week, and drove up a few days later. Once he got there, he and Greg got outside many times to help push the girls down the hill... that was a cause of some major screaming... and laughter!

We were so happy that it was cold enough for the snow to stick around... and the ice!

Each night was clear and cold... and SO beautiful!

When the girls weren't playing in the snow, they were busy inside... coloring, working on puzzles with Grammy, watching movies, and playing Chinese Checkers.

Meri is working on the fabulous Thanksgiving glasses.

Thanksgiving Dinner: There is always so much food!

Travis is ready to fill up with the delicious feast!

Happy Thanksgiving!

First Day of School - September

August 31, 2015 (This seemed SO dang early!)

Third Grade - Merilyn was so excited! (No surprise, really!) Her outfit was hung up, ready to go, and when her alarm went off, she was up and happy!

Seventh Grade - Alison was very nervous and excited for her first day of 7th grade... although it was a lot easier since she's gone through it one time already. :) She had her outfit picked out way before the first day (and had memorized her locker combination), but mostly Alison was overjoyed to finally not be the youngest in the school. lol!

Mer's Birthday - September 2015

Ali was very into decorating for Mer's birthday this year! 

She is excited to be 9 years old!

Of course, the morning started with donuts from Daddy, and a couple of gifts.

Over the years, the birthday celebrations have become known as the "actual" birthday and the "friend" birthday.

The Friend birthday was at our house with several girls from her class for a Monster High Birthday party. They watched the Monster High movie --- played Pin the Bow on the Skull (the slogan or trademark for Monster High.) They also played Monster High dolls, (Mer has a million of them) and of course cake and presents.

The girls loved our game! :)

The actual birthday was at Olive Garden - again! :) Gramma, Mikey, Grandma Sandy and Cord were able to come along and help celebrate.

Halloween 2015

October 2015

Mer's costume ideas changed several times before Halloween and, in fact, a couple of nights before going out, it changed yet again. This time to a scarecrow. Fortunately, we could make that work with what we had at home.

Ali knew she was going to be a zombie, but originally thought she was going to be a zombie volleyball player. We couldn't figure out how to to make that work without her being freezing cold (and ruining her volleyball uniform!) So she decided to be a zombie teenager instead.

I think they both turned out pretty great!

Daddy took them out for a little while, but it RAINED so much and so hard, it was short lived.

It was CRAZY!! The girls were soaked through! There were a few neighbors that were actually surprised to see anyone out in the weather!

Volleyball 2015

Ali participated in a volleyball camp this summer put on by the Oregon City High School volleyball players. So fun! It was just the boost of confidence she needed for her 7th grade season.

Her playing ability and confidence has grown by leaps and bounds since last year... it was so fun to watch!

Ali was on the same team with a couple of her best friends, so it was even more fun for her this year. She's already planning for next year... :) Go Ali!

Disneyland June 2015

Every time we go to Disneyland I tell the girls, "This is the last time we're coming here!" And yet, somehow they get me back. This time it was to meet Trav's dad, Ken, his wife, Karen, and their granddaughter, Marisa. Karen and Marisa had never been to Disneyland, so it was a necessary trip. :) Trav's brother, Ross, was able to to squeeze in a couple of days between work shifts, too! The girls were SO excited to have all of these people with them.

We decided to try something different this year... we drove down with our trailer and camped there. (Ken, Karen, and Marisa flew in and stayed at the hotel across the street from Disneyland, and Ross stayed with us.) The campground was pretty nice, although we were only there to shower and sleep!

Ali's favorite things were getting to see Grandma and Grandpa, Marisa and Ross. She loved being able to show Marisa and Grandma everything for the first time. Her favorite ride was the Cars ride... although we stood in line for almost two hours!!

Meri's favorite part was... everything! She especially liked the fact that Uncle Ross and Marisa were with us this time. She liked all of the rides; she even tried the giant roller coaster with Daddy! (That pretty much gave Mommy a heart attack!)

We met Ken and Karen at their hotel each morning and walked to the park. I think we covered every inch of that place! (Except the Peter Pan ride... it was closed for renovations.) The rides that we went on the most were: Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean.

One of the mornings we had breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen. The food is always amazing, and the girls got to meet a bunch of characters.

On the last night we were in the park we stayed to watch the Light Parade and show. It was so cool when they were playing "Let it Go" and it started snowing! I thought the girls were going to all flip! :) It was such a fun way to kick off the summer! It was even more special that we got to introduce our favorite place to Karen and Marisa for the first time. :) 

Mer's Dance Recital

Mer had been taking dance lessons once a week since January. Because she started later, she was feeling a little behind, so she started taking private lessons once a week also. Oh my... those lessons really paid off! She looked fantastic on stage!

Her expressions, her smile, her moves... she looked like she was having SO much fun. It made it fun to watch!

It was pretty special that we also got to see Johnna and Natalie dance.

Mer Mer loved that Gramma came to watch, and brought her flowers!

Mer loved her dance teacher, MaKayla.