Quincy figured out the swinging monkey bars today...

...and we couldn't be more proud of her !

Christmas Part 2--Back Home

We came home from Savannah the day after Christmas.  Since we had left the majority of the girl's presents at home they had another merry day upon our return.

Opening up our gifts from the girls----it was soooo wonderful!  They made our gifts at school and they were a total surprise to us!

  

 

  

The girls received their first legitimate (i.e., non-Hello Kitty) piece of jewelry---a Pandora bracelet with a Christmas tree charm.  They both also received their first real jewelry box (from Santa)---beautiful white boxes with pink velvet interiors with a ballerina that spins to the tune of the Nutcracker.  Every little girl eventually gets one, right?

...and a new jigsaw puzzle....

...and dress-up clothes (Ellie:  A Super Hero and a Pirate---she does not do Princess at all.  Quincy:  Everything Princess---she does not do Super Heros or Pirates). 

  

...and an awesome new game (Thanks Kali!).

  

  

...and then curled up for the night in their new sleeping bags....

Christmas Part 1--Savannah

One of the houses in Judy's neighborhood does a c.r.a.z.y. Christmas display every year with a zillion lights, every possible imaginable blow-up Christmas display, hot cocoa and cookies for the kids, and Mr. and Mrs. Clause hanging out in rocking chairs in front of their garage (?) for photos.  Naturally we took advantage of it....

Cousin Ryan and Ellie...

Cousin Patrick and Q...

...and a trip to Judy's wouldn't be complete without a trip to the dock to go fishing....

Random Photos from December

Ellie's hair is getting long enough for pig-tails....it needs to be long enough for a bun by May....

Snitch, our Elf, is back after an 11-month vacation...

The girls went to see Santa....he conveniently stopped by my friend's clubhouse to read a book. 

  

...and the days are slowly getting marked off the Advent calendar....

Heading to Savannah....Merry Christmas!

Happy Pre-Thanksgiving!

I think I want to open a bakery when I retire.  Or win the lottery.  Which ever comes first.

Some Colonial fashions....

 

 

 

Ellie's Thanksgiving Play

Ellie's Kindergarten class put on a Thanksgiving play about the experiences of the Pilgrims between leaving England until the first Thanksgiving.  Ellie was asked to be one of the three narrators---and she did an AWESOME job!   Above is the one-minute-long "Ellie-only" edited version of the five minute long play.  I think it's obvious that little Ellie-bean no longer has a shy bone in her body!

Halloweeeeeeeen............

Happy Halloween! 

The night started with a super fun party at my friend Julie's house.  She made the best, most creative spread of spooky treats---including "Bloody Maley Mix" (non-alcoholic!).  The girls LOVED it!!!!

 

Ellie and Quincy went as flowers this year---Ellie was a sunflower and Quincy was a rose.

 

  

 

 

Their first house of the evening....

....and their first treat!

One of the houses was a little scary so Ellie did that one solo....

...but they all thought the Wolfman was a friendly little puppy....

I don't have a clue who/what this was but it was cute so I snapped a photo.....

 Last up was the super-spooky cemetary...but since the girls have no idea what a cemetary is they weren't fazed at all!

The girls were sooo tired by the time we got back home they fell asleep on the stairs while Tim and I were taking the dogs out and unpacking the car.  This was the best year ever for Halloween!