Photo Shoot

The girls got to open a very early Christmas gift last night. Their new jammies...so I could torture them while taking many pictures so I could get our Christmas cards mailed away...

 

As usual, I wasn't able to get full cooperation from both, at the same time but they had fun and got a cookie afterwards as a bribe...(I am not above blackmailing or bribing...is that wrong?)

Outside fun!

We were outside all day today!  It was a little cold but the fresh air was great!  Maddie drove around on the Golf Cart for over 3 hours!!!  She can drive that thing better than any other 8 year old, wow, she was sliding around the lawn, counter steering and everything!  We were quite impressed!  Nana went for a drive with her and I'm not sure who ran into the hedges but it was funny!!! 

 

Parties make her sleepy...

Madalynn rarely naps!!  She was SOOOO tired today!!  Birthday parties will do that I guess!  We weren't sure whether to wake her up to get to the Santa Claus Parade we were going to or not.  But thankfully, her not so very quiet sister woke her up after her nap...ha ha ha!!  We made it just in time, it was VERY cold, holy cow!!!  The girls loved it and there was an awesome fireworks display afterwards too!!   We grabbed some supper and took it home where it was warm to eat it!! 

 

Happy Birthday to our BIG 8 Year old!!!!

Today, our little girl is turning 8, which means she is growing up WAY too fast.  It was a P.A. Day at school too, so she got to hang out at home!!  She opened a gift while I made her some yummy Cinnamon rolls...mmmm!!  We ate Breakfast together and opened more gifts!

 

She was so good to let her little sister help too!

 

 She was STOKED for her party which was starting at 4pm.  She had 4 girlfriends coming over to decorate cookies (over 6 dozen were decorated!), we ate dinner, sang "Happy Birthday", ate some cake, the girls played by themselves for most of the night.  Besides the noise at times, we barely noticed they were here!  They were so good!!!

 
We set up shop in the Dining room because there is lots of space and the girls got all snuggled in...They didn't sleep much but they were good and they all had a great time!!!  Maddie had such a blast!!  We cannot believe how fast the years have flown by, we love our BIG 8 year old with all of our hearts!!!

Birthday Wishes...

go out today to our handsome nephew who is turning 6 years young!!!!!  And to our friend Kaylin, who is turning 15 years old!!!  We hope you both have fantastic days!!!  Sending lots of love...xo

A different way to sleep...

sprawled out, guess she was hot!

  (And to think that 8 years ago at this moment, we had yet to meet our beautiful little girl...)

Watching week

For Maddie's dance classes was this week (and next) and she is really enjoying herself.  She gets pretty shy in front of a bunch of strangers and won't smile, she looks so serious.  But when the adults aren't around, she is always smiling, she loves it:)

Together again!!!

*sigh*  Thank heavens because we missed Daddy!  I went and picked him up tonight.  It was so nice to see his face again.  Almost 22 WHOLE days without him around, that was hard.  Thank god for technology though, I do have to say that.  And the girls were both excited to see their favorite guy!  He worked his ass off and we are very proud of him.  We are really looking forward to a few days of hanging out together. 

The stockings were hung...

by the woodstove with care...in hopes that Saint Nick soon would be here.

New Beginnings!

 
 Gramma and Grandpa are getting ready to move into their new house, so we helped them today!  Uncle Donnie, Grandpa and Grandpa's friend were busy building a new shed out back and the roof was getting replaced too, it was a busy day. 

The girls hung out at the new place with Gramma while I made trips back and forth filling the truck as full as I could get it every time!  We all worked very hard, it was quite a productive day.  And we were all starving, so I grabbed McDonald's for the kids and Uncle Donnie and Auntie Kelly grabbed dinner for the adults and we headed back to the house where we could sit and eat.  A bittersweet week I am sure for Gramma and Grandpa as they are selling their family home where their kids grew up...We hope your new home will bring you many warm and happy memories!!  Good Luck!

Polly Pockets

Are everywhere in our living room when Maddie has had time lately!!!  And taking to Daddy on the phone at the same time:)

POTTY TIME!!!!!

We missed once yesterday and hit once but got bored of sitting so stood and finished on the floor.  BUT today, we hit twice and missed once...it's getting better!!!!  YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Where did our baby go?!

Park Time

We usually have time after school before Maddie's dance to play...I love these 2 little beauties.  (Even when the older one mouths me and little Missy is wired...which seems to be more often that not...) 

Our hero

Daddy's been gone now over 2 weeks, the longest all of us have ever been away from each other.  He has been working extremely hard, giving all of his time and energy, cleaning up after Sandy.  And he deals with all kinds of people, the ones who are appreciative and the ones who just aren't.  (We call them names in our house, you can call them what you want:)  So, when they receive thank you letters from the "good" ones, it warms my heart.  And I got to share it with Maddie, which helps her understand what her Daddy is doing and how important he is.  They started in New Hampshire and they received a letter from a family there that they had helped...A few things that were said were "We were and are completely blown away by these amazing men...We are so grateful for the time, effort and genuine good attitude shown by the crew" (Which they named) "and as they drove away 12 hours later, we felt like we had lost our best friend's..."  And this family included many pictures of them and their name etc.  That was awesome...

When I read that letter to Maddie, a great sense of pride washed over me.  My husband (and his crew) are completely self-less and dedicated men who have given up their lives and times with their families to help out others.  And that is one of the many reasons we love him so much!!  We hope he can come home soon because we miss him A LOT!!!!!!

The lights were hung...

on the outside with care...in hopes that Saint Nick soon will be here...!!!!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day today, so Maddie and I got the outside Christmas Lights out and put them all up!!!  Yup, that's right, we took Daddy's favorite job (HA HA HA) away from him!!  When I told him what we did, he said I was "Freaking Awesome!!!"  Although I did save him one part...on the second level above the garage...I was NOT about to stand on the roof on a ladder...We are one step closer to Santa's arrival!!!

The Girl's 1st hockey game!

The girls and I went to watch their cousin, my nephew play hockey today!  And he scored a goal, he is quite a great little team player!  I am so thankful that the girls aren't in any competitive sports (yet!) my heart races and I want to yell and cheer, and well, it wouldn't be good...I'm sure I would also want to hit another parent too...So, for now, I am happy with watching Mason...AWESOME job buddy!!!

 
We stayed, visited and ate dinner.  The girls passed out on the way home...We had a fun day!

Bob and Minnie...

Bob the Builder (me) and Minnie Mouse, built a new cabinet for the girl's playroom today...Minnie is SUCH a good helper!!  She makes me smile.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!!

 I LOVE Christmas!!!  I actually want to decorate now!!!!  (but I'm not sure my Hubby would share my enthusiasm...lol!)  So, Miaya and I wrapped some gifts this morning and I am so looking forward to the big guy coming to our house this year!!

The last supper...

is what Gramma called this because they have sold their house and are moving in a few weeks.  We toasted to those that weren't there and feasted on sooooo much food, wow!!!  As always, Gramma outdid herself in the kitchen!  There was 6 kids in the house and they played SO well together, downstairs and we barely heard from them!  It's always nice to get together and catch up with family.

 

Here comes winter!

There was a light dusting of snow this morning and it continued all day...Bundle up and bring on winter!!!

Good Bye Halloween!!

 Halloween is over for another year ,so my terrific little helper took the decorations down today and I supervised...great deal for me!