This year the holidays came alive and it was most especially apparent at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Celebrating the holidays is so much more fun with two three year olds! This season, we have good memories about teaching our girls about being thankful and serving. The girls joined us in several opportunities to serve in our community and we plan on making that a family priority. Aubrey and Avery get so excited when the Christmas Angel flies down from Heaven and rewards them for good behavior, most particularly serving or doing something extra sweet for sister, friends, mommy or daddy. The girls went Christmas caroling in the neighborhood with our Community Group and they had fun learning new songs. Their favorite continues to be "Silent Night," although Avery now asks for "Away in the Manger" when she gets tucked into bed. One of MY favorite songs to listen to this season is the girls singing Christmas songs all by themselves. You should hear the octaves they can hit with "Silent Night!" One song that has been in our repertoire since October is the "Let It Go" song from the movie Frozen. Unfortunately, none of us know too many words so it gets repetitive pretty quickly! However, there is nothing better than having two little princesses (Aubrey is Anna and Avery is Elsa) dancing around the house singing "Let it go, let it go, let it go!"
Christmas was so much fun. The girls asked for "Frozen" from Santa. Aubrey most especially wanted an Anna doll and Avery an Elsa doll. The excitement on their faces when they opened up their gifts was priceless, especially after opening the Frozen dolls. Other memorable gifts are a teepee, kinetic sand, hairdresser set, and vacuum (they love being just like momma!). They definitely enjoyed their day and I can't wait or the upcoming years as it will continue to get more exciting.
Of course the girls were also spoiled from both grandparents and all their aunts and uncles. They are so lucky to have so many people that love them and get to spend so much time with them.
In other amazing news, we have two potty trained girls! Whoooo hooo!
November 2014:
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| They make me smile every time I see them:) |
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| Polar Express night: Enjoying hot chocolate while watching Polar Express movie. |
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| Daddy's birthday night. |
Thanksgiving 2014:
Thanksgiving this year was super relaxing and fun! We joined our friends Liz and Gavin for their Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time enjoying this holiday with friends. The girls loved all the food and playing with their twin friends, but one of their favorite things to do was jumping in the bounce house (no surprise!).
December 2014:
Christmas Visit with Grandma, Poppy, Aunt Aimee and Uncle Israel:
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| Happy Birthday Grandma! |
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| Such cheesy smiles, but pure delight! Celebrating Grandma's birthday at the Cheesecake Factory. |
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| During this visit, we celebrated Aimee by throwing her a baby shower! It was so much fun. |
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| It's a dark picture because we were enjoying the annual Christmas parade. The girls love all the fun. |
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| Grandma and Poppy |
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| Grandma and Poppy reading the yearly photo book 2014. |
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| Aimee and Israel browsing their photo book. |
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| Christmas dinner with Grandma, Poppy, Aunt Aimee and Uncle Israel. |
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| I see a little Poppy in Aubrey. |
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| Grandma found Princess Elsa dresses: two happy campers! |
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| Four people smiling at the camera at the same time = difficult! Aubrey and Avery love their Aunt and Uncle! |
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| Scooters--these kids are on the move...ALL of the time! |
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| Gingerbread house making with grandma. |
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| The littles sneaking in some treats! |
December Vacation: Yogi Bear Camp Grounds:
Ever since we went to Yogi Bear camp grounds for vacation in October, the girls pretend to go on vacation all the time. They really enjoyed themselves and we decided to treat ourselves to another weekend. It was a hit! We had a cabin that slept 10 and all four of us slept in 1 bed (yes we had 3 empty beds but I wouldn't trade the snuggles for the world!). We had lots of fun including decorating Christmas cookies, drinking hot chocolate, riding the train, playing miniature golf, visiting Santa and eating smores. It wouldn't be a camping trip without smores! Avery was very brave and talked to Santa and hugged him; Aubrey was able to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas with a little help from daddy. Next year I think will be the year that they might sit on his lap! Both girls asked for anything Frozen. Santa visited our cabin and brought a Frozen puzzles-the girls were so excited.
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| Posing with Boo Boo Bear. |
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| Their first mini-golf experience. Boy, daddy is trusting! |
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| Hole in one--yeah right! |
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| This is how we play mini golf! |
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| Avery got to say "ALL ABOARD" in the megaphone! |
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| Daddy helping Avery icing cookies. |
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| Needs more sprinkles don't you think?! |
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| Look who was brave enough to talk to Santa..Yay! |
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| What a cute kid! |
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| Daddy with Aubrey as she talks with Santa. |
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| Hot chocolate is always better with daddy.
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Outing to the Christmas Train:
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| Look who was brave and sat on Mrs. Claus lap?! |
Christmas Eve Eve Church Service:
Every year we attend our Christmas Eve Eve church service. It is one of those traditions that reminds me of Christmas. We are so lucky to have a church that we love and that our girls love to learn and play at as well.
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| Eating Frozen Christmas cookies at church. The kids decorated them and then went to town! |
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2014:
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| Setting out Christmas cookies for Santa. The girls had a lot of fun making them earlier in the day. |
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| Santa needs some milk for his cookies. |
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| Santa visited! |
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| Aubrey liked opening presents in the teepee. |
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| Working on a Frozen puzzle together. |
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| One of their favorite presents! |
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| Opening their Frozen dolls, Anna and Elsa. |
Annual Christmas Date Night with Aimee and Israel:
One of our yearly traditions is to go out to a new and fancy restaurant for Christmas, together as couples. What a great time with family all the while enjoying some fabulous food!
A special visit from my very best friend Liz, her husband Ron and sweet daughter Kate:
Liz is my best friend since grade school. It's amazing that life has taken us on two journeys, far apart, yet our friendship continues to outlive the distance. Liz is one of those friends that I'm so very thankful for having in my life. She is a gem and I hope that we can have more visits in the future.
The girls were so excited about Kate playing and sleeping over. Liz got the girls sleepover pajamas, which were just too cute! Unfortunately, Aubrey was pretty sick during the visit, but we were able to capture a few smiles (maybe not all at the same time, but close enough!). It was so nice to spend time with Liz's husband Ron too, Jay and him have a lot in common.
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| At the park, three girls swinging while daddies push and mommies catch up! |
Christmas visit with Nana and Grandpa 2014:
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| Enjoying their new Frozen sleeping bags and pillows. |
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| Always a good time for a story with Grandpa. |
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| Little princesses opening up a suitcase full of presents. |
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| Nana reading a new book to Avery. |
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| So many presents, so much love! |
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| Roller Coaster by Nana and Grandpa. |
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| They love doing this over and over again. |
A Special Treat: 2014 Photo Book:
