Super-Fun Sunday

It was 75 degrees and sunny here today... 75 degrees!! Sunny!! Absolutely GORGEOUS!!

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The weather people say this was a one-time fluke, so after church we made sure to spend as much time outside as possible. We played on our new playset, I gave Cassidy a kitty face with our face painting markers, and we even decided to inflate the bounce house! It was like a mini-party at our house today, only without the cake and balloons.

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Cassidy wore this green dress to church today. To the untrained eye, this dress may look like a simple green jumper. However, it's a special dress and I LOVE it. My Grandma (Mugei) made this dress for me when I was Cassidy's age!

Look at that warm breeze blowing through Campbell's hair. Did I mention that the weather today was PERFECT?!?

We put Campbell in the baby swing on the Step 2 playset.

I couldn't resist this picture, because Cassidy used to spend hours studying straps, too!

Bluebird Gap Farm

We went to Bluebird Gap Farm today, and had a fantastic time looking at all the different animals. There have been alot of baby animals born at the farm in the last few weeks, so we had plenty of hungry mouths to feed! Cassidy chased a group of pheasants or chickens... but since neither Matt nor I have spent much time on a farm, we didn't know exactly what they were.

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We saw all kinds of animals - giant turtles, swans, turkeys, chickens, pheasants, billy goats, horses... There was even a huge playground at the farm!

After lunch, Cassidy and I walked down the street to Mary Grace's house. They played together for a while, and we headed home. It was a nice, relaxing day!!

Spray Painting the Sidewalk

Santa brought Cassidy a Crayola spray paint machine, so we tried it out on the front sidewalk this morning. Our artwork didn't look much like the pictures on the box, but she had fun and that's what counts!!

Merry Christmas!!

We had a wonderful and exhausting day! I was so excited about Santa, I couldn't sleep and was up well before everyone else. I made good use of the time and got our Christmas breakfast ready. We had prepared a great spread of breakfast food for those coming to watch the girls open their gifts... it was delicious!!

This was Cassidy's first real Christmas, and she was SO EXCITED to see that the reindeer has eaten most of the oats she'd left out for them, and Santa finished most of his cookie and milk. Darby left a letter for the girls explaining that she went back to the North Pole with Santa, but she'll be back soon. Darby made sure to mention the good things Cassidy and Campbell have done lately, and even said she felt lucky to have been assigned a house with such good children. She also said the elves are going on a vacation before they start building toys for next year - a cruise to Alaska!

After Cassidy and Campbell had finished opening their gifts, Cassidy noticed a hammer that wasn't one of ours. It was propped against the wall next to the back door, and was beautifully decorated with garland and glitter. That's when she saw the playset in the backyard, and we realized Santa or one of the elves must have accidentally left it behind the night before!

It was a wonderful day!!

Santa's hammer!

Campbell and Maggie

Mama and Papa's first Christmas in their new house!

'Twas The Night Before Christmas...

... and guess what Santa's Helpers put in our yard while Cassidy was having dinner with Mama and Papa?

Shhhhh..... she won't know it's there until tomorrow morning!!

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Backyard before...
... and backyard after (kind of). It was too dark for pictures by the time they were REALLY done.

Santa's Helpers were running late, so I decided to play Olan Mills with Little C

Daddy and Little C watching Santa's Helpers at work!

Sweet Darby

Darby was so sweet this morning... she had gotten into the Play-Doh last night, and spelled out "I Love You" on the girl's table!!

She flies back to the North Pole with Santa tonight. I suspect she'll probably leave the girls a letter before she goes.

Another Great Idea Gone Bad?

Dear sweet little baby Jesus,

Please don't let my child be traumatized when our Elf flies back to the North Pole tomorrow night. We started to remind Cassidy last night that Darby will be going home with Santa on Christmas Eve. She got pretty upset, and really doesn't want Darby to go.

Maybe doing this 4 months after our dog died was a bad idea.

Elf on a Family Portrait

Darby was perched atop the family portrait this morning! Tomorrow morning is her last one with us. Does anyone have ideas for a grand finale?!?

Elf on a Pantry Door

This morning we found Darby sitting inside a mitten hanging on the pantry doorknob. Silly Darby!!

Teddy Bear Tea Party

We went to the Teddy Bear Tea Party with Gramma Kathy this afternoon! It was WONDERFUL... just as great as last year. We decided to take Gramma this year because Daddy felt there wasn't enough testosterone in the room last year. He stayed home with Campbell, and Cassidy got some special one-on-one time with her Gramma Kathy.

Cassidy was so excited to wear the beautiful twirling dress that her friend Kaitlyn had given her. The food was all kid-approved, and Gramma Kathy made sure Cassidy got plenty of sugar, and Gummi Bears, and sugar, and gingerbread cookies, and sugar. There were two violinists playing Christmas music, face painting elves, a balloon artist elf making teddy bear balloons, story time, and Santa was even there!!

Before we left, Cassidy wanted to see the gingerbread house. It's in a large empty room (a gathering area with minimal furniture), so after posing for a few pictures, Cassidy ran a few laps around the room. Lots and lots of sugar...

Cassidy couldn't get enough of the beautiful wooden nativity!

Getting her hand painted. What could it be? It's a......

... snowman!!

Proudly displaying her balloon teddy bear and real teddy bear.

Gramma gave Cassidy some pink Hello Kitty gloves. They were ultra-cool, so she had to put them on IMMEDIATELY... who cares if they match her dress? Who cares if she looks ridiculous?

A Birthday Party for Jesus

We had a birthday party for Jesus during Sunday School this morning!! The kids thought it was great, and it helped drive home the point that Christmas is Jesus's birthday. We even sang "Happy Birthday" and made lots of noise with our noisemakers. So much fun!!

You'll notice in the pictures below that we're not in our usual space. We're in a temporary classroom because the floor in our room has water damage. Our temporary home was our classroom a few years ago, but the old people in the class next door complained every single week that we were too loud. Putting 2 and 3 year-olds next to adults that can barely hear is not a good match, so we offered to move down the hall. We're back because we have no floor.

I'm certain they LOVED our party. Maybe if we make MORE noise, it will inspire the geriatric class to help the trustees repair our floor?

Elf in a Handbasket

We found Darby in the basket where I keep my car keys and sunglasses. Looking at her in the handbasket reminds me of a bumper sticker I once saw. It read, "Where am I going? And why am I in this handbasket?" Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.....

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Elf on a Microwave

We found Darby perched on top of the microwave this morning, watching all the action. Check out the look on Cassidy's face!!

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