Happy Christmas

Our Christmas celebration started out on Christmas Eve.  We loaded up the car, you would think we were going to be gone for weeks with the number of bags we had, and headed over to Nana and Papa's house.  We were able to just relax and hang out until it was church time.  We went to church early and then had a feast with Shay, Derrick, Grace and Nana and Papa.  After we stuffed ourselves we opened presents.  Molly was beyond excited.  After everything had been opened she started doing snow angels amongst all the wrapping paper.  All the kids got new pajamas from Nana and all wanted to wear them.  We made a quick change and then prepared a plate of cookies for Santa since Nana had told him to come by and fill the stockings. 













Then we headed home.  At home we made sure to set out our own plate of cookies, chocolate milk (Molly insisted), and some carrots.  We also set out the reindeer food both girls had brought home from school. 

The girls made it to after 7 o'clock Christmas Day.  They had smiles from ear to ear and were so excited.  We opened stockings then took a little break for breakfast.  They couldn't eat fast enough...then wanted to see what was wrapped under our tree.  We loaded up the car again, not as much stuff this time.  We made a stop at Nana and Papa's again and sure enough the stockings there were filled and there were even a few things left under the tree. 



Later Christmas day we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  There were so many yummy snacks to fill up on and cousins to play with.  The girls got every thing they had requested on their list and more.  We are so lucky to be surrounded by all the people we love.  Everyone was happy and healthy!

Christmas with Friends

Early last week the Ensign's made it over for a pre-Christmas celebration.  Since Chrissy was hosting for days in a row they came to our house.  We made our usual homemade pizza, chatted while the kids ran around, and then exchanged ornaments the kids all picked out for each other.  It is absolutely the most fun that we are so close by each other!!

SNOW!!

You can absolutely tell that Maggie was born in the winter.  She is obsessed with the snow and would stay outside all day if you let her.  Molly likes the idea, but as soon as her wrists get wet she is done.  They have had some fun enjoying the snow we have gotten so far!

Maggie's 7th Birthday

A few weeks back we celebrated Maggie's 7th birthday.  The day started out with a request for pancakes for breakfast which we turned into a cake tower to start off the celebration.  Maggie wanted to see the new movie Frozen.  There was an early showing so we all headed to the theater and we were home before lunch.  The movie was great and both girls have been singing all of the songs ever since.  We hung out the rest of the day and then went to the Blackstone, Maggie's request again, for dinner.  Can't believe she is already 7, time flies!!

 

Molly's Preschool Christmas Show

Molly has been singing these songs for weeks in preparation for her Christmas show at preschool.  Today was the day of her "performance."  She has been so excited.  We arrived on time, she was set to be a shepherd.  I had a feeling things might go this way...when we got into her classroom and she saw what she was supposed to wear she nearly lost it.  The excitement faded...just a little, then she got to pick a purple bandana and her mood improved.  She was beaming when she got to lead ALL the performers onto the stage!  It was fun to watch (same show as when Maggie attended).  They sang songs and told the story of when Jesus was born.

 

A trip to the North Pole...

Since moving to Oswego there was one event I know we wanted to try out and Chrissy would not let us miss, the Santa Train put on by the Oswego Park District.  We have tried to get tickets in years past, but they have been sold out.  I was able to order them the day they were available this year!  We got home as fast as we could Friday after school.  Thankfully I had a frozen batch of chili that Andy warmed up so by the time I was home we could all sit down and eat.  We all chowed and then we layered and bundled to make sure our trip was a warm one.  We joined the Ensign's and the Langel's minus Sawyer.  While we waited for our trolley there were some activities for the kids to do to pass the time.  It was long before it was our turn.  We boarded the trolley and headed out.  Along the way they read the Polar Express.  Once we arrived all the kids headed straight towards the reindeer.  Then it was Santa's tent.  Molly requested a jewelry box and Maggie requested an art set.  There was another heated tent with hot chocolate and cookies.  After that we all went on an elf hunt using flashlights to find the elves in the forest.  That's when it started to get cold.  It wasn't long before a trolley arrived and we headed home.  Well worth the wait, so much fun to go with friends and another holiday tradition to add to our list!

 

Maggie's Birthday Party

Last weekend Maggie had her friend birthday party.  She was set on doing gingerbread houses.  We invited Lucas, the first person on her list, and then the girls in her class.  They came over Saturday afternoon.  We played a few games, decorated gingerbread houses, had cupcakes, opened presents and in a whirlwind it was done!  She had so, so much fun and got a lot of great things to keep her active now that winter is upon us!

Thanksgiving and Pizza

Thanksgiving was a little different than I am used to this year.  My cousin got married the weekend before which required family to travel down to Missouri.  Therefore, getting back into the car to travel again was more of a hassle.  We split time between my parents house and Andy's parents house.  We headed over to have some snacks and just hang out.  Then, in the later afternoon, we headed over to Andy's parents house.  Everyone was there which is always fun, especially for the girls because they get to hang with their cousins.  To be honest, its kind of nice for the grown-ups too because the kids entertain each other and we actually get to have some adult conversation.  We stuffed ourselves, did our Christmas name drawing, celebrated St. Nicholas day, and celebrated Maggie's birthday.  We jammed a lot into one day, but the entire family was there and December is such a crazy month it would have been tough to coordinate something again before Christmas.

Keeping some tradition alive, we did have Friday after Thanksgiving pizza, on a much, much smaller scale.  Being that NO out of town family was there it was definitely low key, but not something we could miss.  We were joined by the Ensign's as is tradition and the kids helped Papa make some pizza before he handed over the job to Andy and Derrick!

 

 

 Not exactly sure what was going on here, but I was not the photographer for this one!

Although it was different, it was still a time to spend together as family.  We are all healthy and happy and so thankful to have each other!

Naperville Marathon

As soon as it was announced Andy and his brother knew they wanted to tackle the challenge of the Naperville Marathon.  They both set out to train and train they did.  Chris ended up with a bum knee so had to sit this race out, which left Andy with an even bigger cheering crowd.  The girls and I were able to see him twice, about half way through the race and right towards the end.  Maggie said we should have gotten him a gift for all those miles he ran.  We didn't, but we were really proud of him.  He was excited too, he improved from last year's Chicago Marathon and ended in a time of 3 hours and 41 minutes. 

 

 

Pumpkin Carving and Halloween

We did all the necessary preparations to get ready for this year's Halloween.  One of many included pumpkin carving.  This happens to be one of the girls favorites.  They love digging out the "guts" and then separating them to gather up all the seeds for toasting.  Maggie had a plan for her face and drew it right on.  Molly knew what she wanted, but needed a little assistance with getting the shapes just right.  The big test was when we lit them up and they looked great. 

 

Both girls had Halloween parties and parades at school so they were able to dress up in their costumes.  This year the weather didn't exactly cooperate, but it didn't stop anyone around here from trick-or-treating.  The weather cleared up for a bit so we made around the houses on our end of the street.  We were joined by Chrissy, Lucas, and Layla and then the wind picked up and the rain followed shortly after.  They had to head back for some extra layers.  Andy and I switched places and he took the girls down to the Ensign's to trick-or-treat that way.  When the time had come to head home they both were excited to sort and sample some of their treats!

Fall 2013

Here I am again lumping all of our events into one post.  I looked at the pictures I needed to include and realized once again I am behind.  The fall is always busy with Andy coaching, then you add both girls doing soccer this year and the weekends just fly by.  We are squeezing in our regular fall activities in between all the other things we have going on...all fun...but definitely a little chaotic!  Since my last post Maggie has lost two more teeth for a total of three teeth in two weeks and one more is on its way out.  We have made it to the apple orchard, played lots of soccer and picked out our pumpkins to carve.  Enjoy the pictures!

Maggie Lost a Tooth

Maggie's top two teeth are more and more loose each day.  We thought it was strange that the top ones were loose before the bottom but didn't really think twice about it, the bottom ones were on their way, we could wiggle them a little bit.  Earlier this week Maggie was finishing a snack after school, pretzels.  She said one got stuck between her bottom teeth and her tooth really hurt.  She had gotten the pretzel out and it had made the bottom tooth really wiggly.  Well today that bottom tooth fell out at school.  Maggie had to go down to the nurse to get a little case and she is beyond excited for the Tooth Fairy to pay a visit to our house!  I think she is going to be toothless here in the next few weeks because those top teeth don't have much more to hang onto!

 

Molly's First Day of Preschool

Today I dropped Molly off at Little Blessings as a first time preschooler.  I didn't actually drop her off at her preschool class.  Molly is going to the before and after school extended care that Little Blessings now offers.  I dropped her off and she basically sent me on my way, I think I might have even said to her...just one more hug...please.  Another milestone hit, another reminder how they grow up much too fast.  Since Molly is there all day she basically only recapped the afternoon for us.  Her favorite part was lunch and playing outside.  She is excited to get to spend a little time with Lili tomorrow!