Christmas

I am sorry I am so slow at posting all our Christmas Pics. Daniel got me Photo shop Elements and I couldn't help but play with the pics before posting. Here are some of the best.

Christmas Eve...pajamas! (I decided on Friday before Christmas that the girls needed pajamas so a made them that day. Eliza is a little short but she loved her 'pretty dress.')
Christmas Morning...treats! (Whenever we would ask Eliza what she wanted Santa to bring the answer was always...TREATS!)My Family Gift Exchange...Jessica had us! She made our family matching pajamas and made the girls each a doll with matching pajamas too.Eliza was thrilled to get another 'pretty dress' and Liesel twirled and twirled with her new baby!The BIG Gift...the dollhouse. We gave the girls a dollhouse for Christmas this year. They love the parts that make noise as you can see from the picture below. Eliza really enjoys moving the people from room to room and playing house. Liesel however wants to climb in the house or sit on the furniture. She gets a little frustrated when she doesn't fit.Our Family Gift Exchange...Daniel had me (of course). He made me this great shelf to go in our entry to hang coats and keys on. He did it all by himself and I think it turned out great!
I had Daniel. I made him a scrapbook "What we love about Dad!" I think it turned out pretty good.
The girls had each other and they made themselves matching sweaters. Look for a picture soon.

Other Gifts...Dolls from Gma Nancy...Shirts from Great-Gma Patsy...aprons from Gma Jones...and a great big box of fun from Papa Tom.
Thanks everyone for your great gifts. We had a wonderful Christmas!

Christmas Dresses

Since today was 'Christmas Sunday' the girls got to wear their new Christmas dresses from Grandma Nancy. The only way we could get Eliza to eat her breakfast this morning was to show her her 'pretty dress' and tell her she had to eat if she wanted to wear it to Church. When she got it on she twirled and twirled and couldn't wait to show her babysitter Kaia when we got to church. Liesel loved her dress too but some how got the front decorative bow untied and I can't quite figure out how to fix it. Sigh. The dresses were a huge hit though. Thanks again Grandma Nancy.

Snow

It snowed here yesterday and boy have we loved it. Eliza opened the front door and stuck her finger in the snow and had to run and show me. When I told her to eat it her eyes lit up and she ran to get more. All treats at our house come in measuring cups and snow is no exception.
Who knew snow could be as much fun in the house as out.
Happy Winter Everyone!

Our Gingerbread House

This Christmas we made a paper chain of the days left until Christmas and on each day there is some fun activity to do to celebrate. Yesterday's activity was decorating a gingerbread house. Eliza was a huge help and loved every minute. Liesel's favorite part was when Eliza opened the bag of 'treats' and candy went flying everywhere. Liesel was walking around and crawling underneath the table from that point on.
By the time we were done the roof was starting to sag under all the weight and the whole thing fell apart right after these pictures.
Oh well, at least we tried. Next year we decided we will hot glue the house together and use the icing as decoration. Just a hit for anyone still planning on building their own this year.

Oh Christmas Tree...

Tonight we decorated our Christmas Tree for family home evening. Isn't it beautiful?We were going to go cut one down like we have done in the past but being 7 1/2 months pregnant and having two kids that probably wouldn't walk more than 30 feet in snow, we opted for the 10 minute drive to Home Depot and the 8 ft noble fur.
I told Eliza that we would put lights on the tree when dad got home from work today. So as soon as she heard his car pull into the garage she was out the door and in his arms saying "Lights on Christmas tree daddy?"
The girls loved plugging the lights in and seeing them light up. Liesel would laugh every time. And they loved the balls and candy canes. We learned right away that shatter proof ornaments are a brilliant invention and that anything edible needs to be at least 4 ft off the ground. It was a great night. Merry Christmas everyone! We hope you have a marvelous holiday season!

Thanksgiving

We had a marvelous Thanksgiving. Daniel's parents, brother Andrew, and sister Laurel with her husband Dane all came to visit for the week. The girls couldn't get enough of all of them. We started the party on Saturday night with the Colorado College hockey game. Eliza and Liesel ate nearly that whole tub of popcorn and Eliza kept asking for a hockey game the whole week.

Swimming was another big hit. It took Liesel a few minutes to warm up to the idea but after a quick bob around the pool with grandma, we could hardly keep her above water.
Eliza seemed to like the sidelines just like her mom.
And of course Thanksgiving dinner was a smashing success complete with the place settings my friend Rachel help me make.
Here's to all of our blessings!
Thank you family for your sacrifice and effort to be here with us. We will cherish the memories.

Our Night Without Dad

Tuesday night Daniel has school from 4:30 until 10pm; so it is just the girls and me hanging out all night. Our survival mechanism for today was a popcorn/movie party after nap time and then a quick trip to Wendy's for dinner. The girls loved it. Of course we had to watch Toy Story because Buzz is probably the coolest Space Ranger around. At least he is the only one we know.

Trunk-or-Treat

Saturday night was our ward Trunk-or-Treat activity and the girls loved it. I made Eliza a snowman costume because she loves the song "Once there was a snowman." Liesel was the bee that Eliza was last year. I was a little worried that a hand-me-down costume wouldn't be that exciting but Liesel stole the show. From her cute waddle that wiggled the bee stinger to her iron grip on her candy pumpkin, there weren't very many adults who didn't stop and stare. Luckily Eliza's desire for adult attention only lasted long enough to get the next candy wrapper off. It was a great night.

And of course we couldn't celebrate anything with out a visit from our great friend Nancy. She brought the girls each a cup full of stickers and treats. What a way to win us all over!
Happy Halloween to all of you! We hope yours' is just as fun!

Some Random Pics

Last Saturday we went to the park and it was beautiful 80 degree (or so it felt) weather. So we got some more practice with the camera.

Then on Sunday morning, we woke up to snow. It is beginning to look a lot like winter around here.

Cookies Anyone?

Yesterday we went to my friend, Julianna's, house
to decorate Halloween cookies. Icing the cookies was okay, but the candy to go on top was
out of this world!

A Birthday Surprise

I celebrated my 25th birthday on Monday and it was a great one. Daniel pulled out all the stops to make it one of the best. In the three years we have been married, it has been hard for him to really surprise me with anything...mostly because I am so observant and nosey. But he did it this year. He let me sleep in and made me breakfast and gave me the laminator he had hidden in the garage...all of which I knew about. Then the surprise came at lunch. A brand new digital Canon Rebel XT camera. What a gift and what a surprise. You can't get a husband any better than mine!


Here is my favorite shot so far with my new camera.
Oh the possibilities!

Tagged

Here is my response to Emily's tag....Thanks for the fun!

FIVE THINGS I WAS DOING 10 YEARS AGO:
1. Celebrating my 15th birthday and secretly wishing I was 16 and able to date.
2. Sitting on the bench at the basketball games (I was the alternate for the other center who was a whole foot taller than me)
3. Hanging out with my two best friends Debbie and Shayla (actually I think that we met Shayla that year...what a great friend!)
4. Hanging out at my friend Debbie's house...hoping to catch the eye of her older brother
5. Singing and dancing and loving every minute with my sisters. Memories I will never forget

FIVE THINGS ON MY TO DO LIST TODAY:
1. Finish Eliza's snowman costume
2. Fold the laundry (from last Monday's washing...sigh)
3. Clean up the boxes of baby clothes that Eliza unloaded
4. Mail some belated birthday cards...I've had them for weeks...ugh
5. Sleep in...he he...that never gets checked off for some reason

FIVE THINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE A MILLIONAIRE:
1. Go on a vacation...anywhere...just Daniel and me
2. Buy new sheets for our bed
3. Re-due the baby room
4. Shop...shop...shop...for scrapbook supplies that is
5. Buy Daniel a new suit and the girls a new wardrobe (a maybe and new maternity dress)

FIVE THINGS I'LL NEVER WEAR AGAIN:
1. The clown costume my dad always talked us into wearing
2. My favorite yellow sweater when I was 5...I chewed the sleeves to pieces
3. My black and white Madrigal shirt from high school show choir
4. My sophomore prom dress...yickes...for some reason I didn't look very good in pick after that
5. Probably my wedding dress...I'll never be that skinny again...but it is so beautiful

MY FIVE FAVORITE TOYS:
1. Paper cutter
2. Camera
3. Sewing Machine
4. Tombo (scrap adhesive)
5. My van

FIVE PEOPLE TO TAG:
1. Rachel
2. Britney
3. Holly
4. Chris
5. Heather

Tag You're It...hope you have fun!

Photo Shoot

Since the girls got new dresses for the wedding. I couldn't help but want to take their pictures. Eliza was a little tricky but Liesel just loved the camera. Here is what I got.