Getting Ready for Christmas

I've been starting to make Christmas shopping lists and for some reason I am having a hard time figuring out what the heck to get our kids for Christmas.

There is one gift I am super excited about though - this gift I made for Brookie this weekend:

How adorable are these???!!!
I was so excited when I found the idea online and even more excited when they turned out cute, and even MOST excited that they only cost about $5. Triple win.

Now I just want to find a cute box/bag to store them in.
I'm just in love with these two-inch princess dolls.
I hope Brookie loves them too!

The Perfect Snow Ball

Thanksgiving 2011

This year we had Thanksgiving dinner at our house with my brother Brian, our cousins Meghan & Cassandra, and Cassandra's friend Scott. It was very nice to have family over to eat and celebrate with us.

Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday. I love being with family, relaxing, eating yummy food, and being together. One of my favorite things to do is cook food for people I love, so I loved being able to host this year. Plus, it's always good to be able to practice cooking a turkey for a small group of easy-to-please college students. :)

This year, we are thankful for:
Dave:: the temple and that we can be together forever as a family.
Megan:: to be a mom to such awesome kids and wife to an amazing husband. also, thankful for Dave's job and how hard he works to provide for our family.
Katie:: her family, friends, and school.
McKenna:: that we have yummy food.
Brooke:: Mom and Dad and Katie and McKenna and baby brother in Mom's tummy.

McKenna's Thanksgiving Recipes

One of my favorite things that happens at the preschool we go to, is the Thanksgiving Recipe Book the teacher puts together every year. She asks the kids questions about how to prepare a turkey, etc. and shares it with the parents. They are so adorable and so hilarious.

Here's what McKenna said:

If you were in charge of the menu for Thanksgiving dinner, what would you eat?
Turkey, Salami, Crackers and cheese, carrots, and we drink water and milk.

What would you have for dessert?
Treat. All ya want.

If your mother had you cook the turkey, what would your recipe for the perfect turkey be?
First, I would make sure that mom wanted me to do this. Then, get a little salt and pepper, go to Macy's and get some saucing. Get some sweet honey and put it all over the turkey and you need some garlic, we love garlic. And put it in a pan and put in in a oven. Like lots lots hot. For 25 minutes. And then put it on the stove to cool and then you can eat it.

Which store would you buy the turkey at?
Macy's

How much would it cost?
Like 50 dollars.

What's the best thing that your mother cooks for you?
Turkey!

Gymnastics

We tried gymnastics this year through our city's Park & Rec.
The class was for 4-6 year olds so Katie & McKenna were in the same class. It turned out Katie's good friend was in the class too! That was a bonus.

The girls loved going twice a week for a few weeks. They loved being able to try the balance beams, uneven bars, and other jumping & tumbling they got to do.

McKenna had a little difficulty staying focused. She was more likely found by the drinking fountain or hiding somewhere in the gym then involved in the activity, but that's ok. She still had fun.

Even though the class size was a little bigger than we would prefer, we will most likely be doing this again next year. It was fun to do something other than soccer and swimming. And the girls LOVED wearing leotards and getting a real medal. :)

The Girls

First Snow

Our first snow of the year came during the first weekend in November.

It was Sunday morning - the day of Daylight Savings.

As soon as the girls woke up they ran downstairs, put on their snow clothes, and headed out in the backyard to play in the snow. The whole 1/2 inch that we got. :) And it was a good thing they did, because all the snow had melted by the time we got home from church.

10 minutes later they were back inside by the fire to warm up, then to the kitchen for hot chocolate and toast.

A perfect way to start a snowy morning.

October 2011: Halloween

28 week pumpkin:

October 2011: Trip to Boston

We were so lucky to spend a whole week back in Boston this October.
We kept very busy while we were there!

Saturday:
::After a long day of flying, we arrived in Boston at 11:00 pm. The girls were rockstars on the planes. I think they did better than Mom & Dad.

Sunday:
::Church at the Weston 2 Ward.
::Family dinner at my parents house. It was so fun to be together with everyone! The girls were in heaven playing with so many cousins - two of which they were meeting for the first time. Mom made one of my favorite meals, BBQ brisket. Yum!

Monday:
::Salem. In the 18 years that I lived in MA, I managed to never visit Salem. Not even on a school fieldtrip. I was excited to go. Even though we didn't get much of the witchy-ness of Salem, it was fun being together and the kids had a blast walking around town and playing at the park.



::Monday night was guys' night out. They went to dinner at Five Guys and went to the movies to see Real Steel - the robot boxing movie. They had a great time.

Tuesday:
::Apple picking at Tougos Farm. I loved the scenic drive on the way! The kids loved picking apples, playing on the park, and feeding the goats.



Wednesday:
::Grandma & Grandpa took the girls to see Peter Pan in the city. It was a wonderful production and everyone had a blast!

::Wednesday night we were able to visit with one of my best friends from high school Bridget and her family. She has the most adorable little boy. It was so fun to see them.

Thursday:
::Thursday morning we got to go to Sofia's preschool Halloween parade. It was fun to be there to support her, see all the kids in costume, and Katie got to read all the kids a story. She was pretty excited about that.

::Grandma threw an impromptu Halloween party for the girls after the preschool party. They sang songs, balanced pumpkins on their head, played Hot Potato, made a jack-o-lantern craft, and a ghost craft.
::Thursday afternoon Dave took the girls went over to my sister's house to play with cousins for the evening, while Jen & I went out to Cheesecake Factory for some sister time. It was so fun to be with her, like always. I wish we lived closer and could hang out all the time!

Friday:
::In the morning Staci and her four kids came over to play. It was so nice to have some playtime with them. The kids got along great and had so much fun playing while the moms had fun chatting.
::Grandma took our girls shopping for some Christmas shoes. It was a special treat and they were thrilled about their shiny new shoes.
::Friday afternoon we all went for a walk around Cutler Pond. I absolutely love being outside - especially in New England. Even though it was pretty chilly, it was a beautiful walk. The girls felt like they were in an enchanted forest. We walked around the pond holding hands and sharing memories. It was so much fun.





::Friday night the adults got a date night. We went to dinner at Sweet Basil in Needham Center. It was delicious! I was glad I was able to have some more time with my family before leaving the next day.

Saturday:
::Another long day of flying. Again, the girls were amazing. They have grown to be pretty darn good little travellers.

We had such a wonderful trip. It always feels like there's more to do and more people to see than time available. We loved every second of our vacation and loved being able to see everyone.