Eliza's 9th Bday

My baby turned 9! We had fun doing a few things that Eliza wished for her birthday:

We went out to eat at Applebee's. This child loves to go out to eat :). It is a seldom treat.

Her second wish was to have a party with her friends. We decided to do the Luau theme. The girls had a blast doing their hawaiin names, making leis and flower headbands, and watching a movie. This age, though, definitely made for a wild party. I felt like I was at a rock concert!

Photo shoot

Making their leis

The flower shop for headbands

Blowing out the candles

My volcanic creation

Eliza's last birthday wish came as quite a surprise a week later...Eliza's cousin Chris let her have his DS. He figured now that he was becoming a dad, it was time to let go :). Eliza's was overjoyed since she had been asking for one for several years now and was always told no.

Hard to believe another year has already past. My children are growing up to quickly!

Anna's big debut

The long awaited moment arrived this weekend. Anna played one of the lead roles, Princess Jasmine, in her middle school play, "Aladdin, Jr". I still remember the day she called me from school to tell me she got the lead role. She has been on cloud nine ever since that day and has loved every minute of the process leading up to the big show.

Disgruntled at Sultan's law to marry a prince

On the magic carpet

The proposal

The final scene

The final call

One of Anna's friends who came to see the play. So special.

Anna with her costars

New Year's Eve

We sure did make the most of the end of the year celebrating. We started Thursday evening going over to a ward gathering complete with food, great friends, and a competitive foozball tournament.

On Friday, Chris & Christie joined us for a fun walkabout to Longwood Gardens. We enjoyed seeing the beautiful lights, flowers, and a fabulous firework show.

Julia spent her evening dancing 70's style at a church youth dance. She had quite a blast with her friends.

After Longwood, the rest of us headed back to the house for a fun evening of guitar hero, blokus, and feasting on homemade chocolate cake to bring in the New Year.

I hope this year we are blessed once again with good health, continued employment, and even more fun with friends and family. I know Heavenly Father definitely blessed us this year!

Christmas

This year was a very quiet Christmas for us. We decided not to go anywhere...but enjoy our time at home. With the last two months being a blur with traveling and family visiting, I definitely wanted to stick around the house.

The morning was fun with sleeping in, eating a leisurely breakfast of cinnamon rolls, and then opening gifts. Here's a few fun pics of the girl's opening gifts:

Anna's motto, "Imagine"

Eliza still loves her Webkinz!

Where Julia wants to go to college

The latest Geronimo book

Seeing if Dad knows his Seinfeld trivia

Stocking Stuffers

Julia's new outfit

First Chair

Julia was so excited when she got first chair for the French horn section last month. Here she is at the Christmas concert this week.

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving we were blessed to have several family members visit. My mom was with us the whole month. I helped her close up her house in Maine and then on Nov 5th we drove back to Philly so she could be with us for the holiday before she made her big move to Florida.

Austin's sister and boys also came down to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with us and stay for a couple of days. Eliza and Anna loved the playful company!

Justin, Heather, & Logan

The meal was delicious...despite the fact that I hate to cook. Thank goodness my Mom was here to prep the turkey :). We also feasted on homemade stuffing, cranberry sauce, mash potatoes, sweet potatoes with maple syrup, and rolls. Yum!!

Mom & Anna

Austin & Heather

On Friday, Austin actually agreed to do Black Friday with me. He saw this laptop for $200 and was gung-ho to stand in line at 3am. I wanted to go at my normal 6am, but he was in the spirit. So while he stood in his line, I headed over to several stores to return things and buy them for the cheaper price. Worked out well for me. I actually walked away with money :). It was perfect timing, because we both finished about the same time. I liked the divide and conquer thing!

To finish off the weekend, my sister Bev and her husband flew in Sunday afternoon and enjoyed a "turkey casserole" prepared by Julia. They flew in to help my mom drive the rest of the way to Florida and get her unpacked down there, before scooping her off to Idaho to enjoy Christmas with them. We loved having them, even though it was a very short visit!

When Mom's away, the cat will play!

Sometimes I find incriminating photos on my camera...such as these.

Our outdoor only cat, soaking up some r&r on the couch. You can tell he is thoroughly enjoying it. Definitely would not happen if I were home!