Turkey Day

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Aside from how crucial to my faith Christmas and Easter are, I just love the reflective, family time that Thanksgiving brings. This year was no different.
I'm so thankful:
-That our whole family can enjoy each other and celebrate together.
-That our daughters get to experience the love of being with all of their grandparents at once.
-That I can stay home with my kids every day.
-For my amazing husband.
-For God's grace that I don't deserve.
-For the comforts of our home.
-That I have the privilege of raising two little girls.
Well, that's the tip of the iceberg. Here are some photos from our day.

Ryan broke out the new giant airplane that was supposed to be for Christmas :)

Emma making the pumpkin pie

Enjoying attention from Gappy and Papa

The happy host couple

End of a long day

Lila's Thanksgiving Breakfast

Lila was well-represented last week at her Thanksgiving Breakfast at school! I think she was the only one there with all four of her grandparents! It was a nice program and funny to see how "shy" she can be at her school.

"I'm not going to sing - I'll just keep my fingers in my mouth so no one notices."

Radio City

We gave Ryan's parents and the girls an early Christmas present last week .... a trip to see the Christmas Spectacular! We had such a great day. It was cold, but beautiful! We went down to South Street Seaport area because no one had ever been there (except me :) in all of my latest travels). Then we drove uptown. We had pizza for lunch, strolled down to the American Girl Store (of course!), past the tree surrounded by scaffolding, and to our show.
Everyone LOVED it! Lila is quite obsessed with the Rockettes now. We had awesome seats - one row in front of where Santa enters! After the show, Gramma and Papa treated us to a great dinner. My dad was working in the city that day, so he stopped in and met us for coffee at the restaurant.
We were thrilled to be able to share this experience with our family! What an awesome way to kick off the season!

Dreaming...maybe someday....

Rockefeller Center Tree - How they do it!

Awesome final scene!!

Busy Times

We've had Ryan's parents here visiting, which always makes us a little busier - in a fun way. Add to that Emma's birthday, her party, a trip to Radio City, Thanksgiving, and me planning the Women's Christmas Banquet for church again - and it's insane over here!

I'll start with the oldest news and try to move ahead from there.

The rest of Emma's Bday

Her American Girl Party

My Baby is Nine!

How can that be?!
Happy Birthday, Emma Grace!
She's having a great day so far, because she got an American Girl doll - "Ruthie". We're so thankful to have Gramma and Papa visiting us during this Birthday celebration - and we're heading over to Gappy and Grammy's house for dinner tonight. -Lucky girl to be surrounded by such wonderful family on her birthday.




Gramma and Papa gave Emma a beautiful quilt that Gramma made! She been working on this intricate design for a very long time, and it looks so pretty in her room! For those of you that remember - there's the Laura Ashley bridesmaids' dress fabric from our wedding! This quilt is quite the keepsake! Thank you Gramma!

Ballet is Over

Our eight week ballet class is over, and Lila is quite ready to be done. She enjoyed ballet, but has no interest in taking it again in the spring. I'll miss the weekly dose of humility as I quietly, helplessly watch my silly daughter's antics from across the room.

She was actually listening at this moment

Lila didn't mind that her friend Abby needed to scratch her nose...

.....or her ear.....

And, of course, there's always a tutu malfunction with Lila...

Spitbull

There was a cat at our hotel in Florida. He had a collar, but showed up all over the place - at the pool, on the beach, he even snuck in our room one afternoon! Lila LOVED him! She promptly named him "Spitbull". At first we thought she was saying "spitball", but she wouldn't know what that is. We kept asking for clarification, and it was "Spitbull" for sure - like pitbull with an "s" in front of it. On the plane ride home, Lila was whining. When I asked what was wrong, she said, "I mis Spitbull..." Here are some pictures of our vacation pet. Weird!

I Won't Bore You With All of the Details

We got just back from a great vacation in Florida. We went to Longboat Key, a sleepy little town on the gulf coast that we used to visit when I was little. Having no agenda everyday was the biggest treat! The beach, the pool, fishing, shelling, the kayak, the park, the shops.... so many relaxing choices! Here are some highlights:

Beautiful Emma

Personality in Action

Rough Life

"Girls, try not to get sandy before we go to dinner."

Busch Gardens

Awesome Photo Opp.

Look Out for that Jeep!

Gappy and Lila

The Sarasota 20 Screen Multiplex all to ourselves Wednesday before noon.

CLASSIC!

Fishing on the Bay

Digging Holes with Uncle Rob

3 Generations

Possibly our Christmas Card?

The Hot Tub Every Night

Finally Caught A Lizard!

How Relaxing...