Bocce Ball

Mike got me a Bocce ball set for Christmas and on Monday we took it outside (only in a place like Vegas can you go play in the snow the day before Christmas and the day after be outside in short sleeves). The girls seem to really like this one too. We're going to try to put a running score log on the blog so pick your favorite player and cheer us on!

Christmas Morning

Christmas Eve Snow

It's become tradition on Christmas Eve morning to head up to Mt. Charleston to enjoy the snow. This year we were lucky to have Lindsey, Brad and Faye come join us. On the first run down the hill, Mike and Rachel cracked the sled. Next it was Ashley and I. The finishing run was Brad and Faye, that added the big hole in the bottom of the sled. We still tried to get it to keep working but not very successfully.

We gave up and built a snowman and made snow angels instead.

cookies and more

We have been baking lots of yummies and the girls have been happy to help. Our list for this year have been:
1. Mounds of pizzelles (and some cannolis)
2. Peanut butter blossoms
3. Candy Cane cookies
4. Peppermint Puffs
5. Rocky Road Fudge
6. Sugar Cookies

And still on the list to come...

7. White Chocolate Popcorn
8. Chocolate Covered Oreos

2011 Gingerbread House

As soon as the house was put together it was being picked to pieces.

What's better than decorating a tree and listening to Christmas Music?

Doing it twice! And not because the kids destroyed it. Mike surprised us on Sunday morning but pulling a 7 1/2 foot artificial tree out of the garage with all the trimmings in my favorite tree colors, blue and silver. We have used our lovely little 3ft tree that Wendy got us our first Christmas we were together for 7 Christmases (7 1/2 if you count half of this month and it's still up, just been moved). We've loved our little tree but I've been yearning for a big tree to be able to put the presents under it instead of around the table it was standing on. We had decided after Christmas this year, but my sweet husband did want us to have to wait. So Saturday he snuck out of the house to do what I thought was looking for gifts and boy was I wrong. Did I shed a tear a two over this lovely gesture? Of course and this is the second time he's made me have tears of joy.

The first was when I got in my car and there was no longer princess music but Christmas music playing. I thought oh Mike must have found the Christmas radio station. The first song ended and the next song had a singer that sounded like the first. Confused I wondering what cd he had found in the house. After the second song, I ejected the cd to find he had bought the Michael Buble Christmas Album and secretly put it in my car. This little gesture still brings me such a wonderful sense of love.

Thank you Mike for making my season bright and full of love! I love you too!

Belliagio Gardens

We go to the Belliagio Gardens every December to see how they have decorated for Christmas. The whole place is made with flowers, even this polar bear.
The polar bear is made up of over 35,000 flowers!

In the center is the ginormous Christmas Tree. Look how little the girls are.And then of course the girls favorite this year was the penguin display.There was over 34 penguins, including 2 hiding in this igloo. One pops out of the top and one out of a side window.Others were sliding down snowbanks, playing hockey and ice skating.

However there was one penguin in particular that was Ashley's favorite to the delight of all of us around her.

"That penguin fall down!"

To read a better description of what this place looks like this time of year check out this review

Ward Christmas Party

The primary kids sang a couple songs are the Christmas Party. Here's a short clip. At the end Rachel turned around and watched the older kids sing. The two little girls on either side of her are her friends from Sunbeams. The one to Rachel's left she was insistent that we sit next to during dinner. And then they ran around and played for the rest of the evening. She has her own circle of friends and a social life is beginning.

After the song, Santa arrived and the girls got to visit with him again.

Rachel explained exactly what she wanted. The barbie doll that comes with 3 puppies and 1 mommy dog. (She asked the first Santa we saw for the same thing. Can you guess what's going to be under the Christmas Tree this year?)

Ashley was telling him that she's 2.

Penguin Preschool

Math: Feed the Penguin

Activity: Can you carry an "egg" on your feet like an Emperor Penguin? Answer- NO.

Science: Will it slide on ice?

This then just turned into an ice rink for the My Little Ponies

Art: Potato Print Penguins

Game: Iceberg Hop

Rachel's favorite part was learning how mommy penguins pre-chew a chick's food. She called me back into her room one evening after tucking her in and showed me with her Lamby how babies eat. The girls are still waddling around, feeding the baby penguin, jumping on icebergs, and playing with the frozen "pond". They have found a new favorite animal.

Remind me, where do we live again?

Me: Girls, what are you doing?
Rachel: I'm teaching Ashley how to surf.
Ashley: Yeah!
Rachel: First, you put one foot here and your other foot goes here.

We do live in Vegas, a dry desert with no ocean near it, right? Where do they come up with this?

Santa Visit

They were so cute. Rachel held Ashley's hand and there were no tears! They both talked to him and told him what Rachel wanted for Christmas. Afterward, Ashley said that "Rachel help me be brave."

Sorry

Just a note to anyone who is reading this blog lately and if you have noticed all the spelling and grammar issues in it, I apologize. Please don't hold it against me and I'm sorry if it's painful to read. I'll try to be better and not rush through them, but no promises this month as I just try to keep up.

Happy Birthday Me

I turned 29! Oh my one more year until 3-0. I'm going to be my mother's age; I'm getting old. But that's not until next year. For now, I have one more good year left in my 20's and my family started it out great!

Mike stayed home from football and we went to a breakfast buffet. I took Rachel to a bowling party and just had to sit there and cheer the kids on, very relaxing compared to the last couple of parties (Rachel's and Ashley's). The girls took a nap and then they made me a present and then when shopping for a present with daddy. We picked up some pizza and after we ate, it was ice cream cake time. Ice cream cake is my favorite type of birthday cake, preferably Carvel, but Dairy Queen is making it's way to the top with the fudge layer in it and since it's within walking distance that's what we got: a M&M Blizzard Cake.

Then it was time for presents. You wouldn't know by the pile of gifts that it was just Mike and the girls. The girls made me beaded rings and a bracelet. I also got a banana tree, a new "waterfall"-scented candle, hot cocoa Christmas mugs and finally a chocolate melting pot. And now I'm craving chocolate covered peanuts. That may have been dangerous to buy me. I finished the night of by relaxing, a birthday doesn't get much better when you have no expectations. I may have to have no expectations next year!

Family Theme Preschool

We learned all about families and how their are many types. We made our own family tree with an apple representing each of member in our family. If you look closely you will see 5 apples. The included Duchess.

We used little people to count the number of people in different families and compared the size of them.

Rachel drew a picture and told me about it. She had been asked to draw a picture of doing something fun as a family. I don't know if you can read the story but it's a picture of towers made out of the blocks. When asked where the family was she said that I was off of the page to the right taking a picture and that the rest of them were of the page to the left

Storytime with Grandma Wendy and Papa Keith

11-27-11

Pics of the girls

Our babysitter decided to have a photo shoot with the girls when we were out one night. I'm just seeing these; it's a good thing Rachel's sitting beside me or I wouldn't have known what they were.

Deck the Halls

I love Christmas! And the best part are the decorations and house looking all festive, or maybe the Christmas music. Hmmm.... it's best when it's both. So today instead of braving the stores and shopping we turned on the music and decorated the house including the tree!

Thanksgiving Tradition

We've started a new tradition for Thanksgiving and that's our Thankful tree. The girls loved it!

Birthday - Preschool

The week of Rachel's birthday we learned about birthday and why we celebrate them. We graphed how many people have a birthday in each month. Played with balloons (the girls tried unsuccessfully to blow them up and had more fun having me blow them up and them letting them fly all over the room as the air let out). Baked cupcakes. And let the girls make their own playdough cupcakes. They even wrapped a "present" that they had daddy unwrap that night.

Backyard Family Campout?

Oh what a night! Daddy came home and immediately got to work. It was one of our cooler nights so I actually had to dress the girls warmly for the night. Daddy helped fix one the tents that I didn't have a clue how to put the raincover on and he had many little hands and feet ready to help him.

For dinner we had hot dogs roasted over the fire and smores for desert. (pictures end here)

We had sometime to kill before bed so let the girls play with the flashlight and showed them how to use it to make shadow puppets. Then we played candyland and dominoes. Then back to the house to brush teeth and get ready for bed. Back out to the tents (we didn't have a tent big enough for all of us, nor did Mike and I want to go to sleep at 7pm) put the girls in theres and after an hour of trying to get them to stop playing and sleep we gave up and sent them to bed in the house were asleep in no time.

Nov. 11th

Camping- Preschool

In preparation of the family backyard campout Mike would like to have I themed the girls preschool around camping. We set up a tent in the house, tried out the new sleeping bags, made a campfire, read some books, used marshmallows on a graph to see how much equipment we had (based on rolling a die), put together the correct oar to boat, fished by placing the right color m&m on a fish(for Rachel it was mixing colors), learned to use a ruler by measuring fish, but mostly just played in the tent and got ready for Daddy to come home.