Merry Christmas!!

Lillie had another GREAT Christmas!  She very much enjoyed every gift sent from near and far, so thank you very much!!  We had so much fun, we didn't take a TON of pictures, but enough to give you a good idea of the day.  Plus I'm hoping the videos we took turned out!!  Take a look!

"I LOVE Christmas!!"

"A Cake Making Playdoh set!  AWESOME!"

Extra large Hershey Kisses!  YUM!

AHHHH, a Princess Tea Set!

A Hello Kitty Activity Coloring book

My Way Toothbrush - An electric toothbrush complete with stickers to decorate the handle!

Last year it was Rapunzel, this year, Ariel.  We just couldn't resist!


A Merry Okee Microphone so I can sound like an elf while I sing!

Next week he'll be performing downtown, Folks!

Thanks Nana and Papa! 

Then it was off to play for a little while.  Making butterfly stickers with jewels, to put on my NEW...

That's right, All, I got a new Princess bike.  Woohoo!!!  Oh, and don't forget to check out my new light up sneakers!

Here's Ariel on her new bike, in her new pj's and tennies.

 And last, but not least, if any of you have spoken to us recently, via Skype or Facetime, you would have been introduced to the newest member of our family, Laura.  Lillie's FAVORITE present this year...a stuffed dog!!

Merry Christmas All!!

Almost Caught Up!

Right after Thanksgiving (which, by the way, was delish and festive and fun, but no pictures to prove it, sorry!), we had the honor of being invited to a special lighting ceremony at the temple visitor's center.  Each year, the church organizes a lighting ceremony before it opens to the public.  The first night, ambassadors from around the world are invited and a general authority usually comes to speak.  The second night, all the stake presidents and their families from the surrounding area are invited with all the staff of the ambassadors.  There's a short fireside-type program, then they turn on the amazing set of over 500,000 lights!  Along with the lights, there are Christmas trees scattered throughout the visitor's center, each one decorated by a different stake in the area.

Here's the Suitland Stake tree.

Here's a sample of Lillie trying her hand at taking pictures.  We need to work a little on the focusing.

I may be a bit bias, but the BEST part of the evening was when they called all the children to come to the front to sing a few songs with the Washington DC Choir.  Where's Waldo...I mean Lillie??

Stunned, but cute, right?!?!

Here's Lillie with some of her friends we saw there, from the stake.

How's THAT for a pose!!  Nice shot Daddy...ha ha

Yes, she looks tired or iritated or something, but I promise I wasn't pinching her!  HONEST! ha ha

Did I mention over 500,000 lights!!

We are a Hap-py Fa-mi-ly!



It's ALL About the Glasses

Let me give some background.  EVERY time we go to a store where they sell glasses (and I'm not talking Lens Crafters or anything, I mean Office Depot and Walmart where there are little turnstiles with ANY type of glasses!), Lillie takes a minute to try some on.  So, while looking for Halloween costumes, we found some pretty snazzy costume glasses that she LOVED.  So with her new "glasses" and her newest obsession with electronics, this is what we get...

"Shhhh!  She's concentrating"

"Oh yes, that's right.  Let me write that up."

"Hold on, I need to proofread that!"

A hard day of work in her office!

LONG Overdue!!

So without going into TOO much detail...we had technical difficulties and thought we had lost some pictures we had taken.  Well, to our surprise (and delight!), we "fixed" everything and voila, we have pictures again!!  So, without further ado, we present...well, you'll see.  Happy Halloween!

It's Mulan, of course!

The pose of choice, obviously!

There's the smile!

Ready for anything!

Off to trick-or-treat

At the neighbors, with the neighborhood boys.

Seriously, can you get any cuter!!!???!

Daddy's desk at work

Lillie gave daddy this snow man for Christmas, and daddy decided to put it on his desk.

On Saturday, Lillie went to a birthday party for twin girls that are friends from DC.  The theme was an Animal Safari.  The day started out with some Model Magic and the kids could make any animal they wanted

 Lillie decided to go with her present favorite animal...the butterfly.

 Then it was off to play an animal game, loaded with props, some charades slash pictionary, and a lot of fun.  Notice the creature in black and white to the right of Lillie.  That was one of the birthday twins.  There was a professional face painter hired for the party.  Lillie usually NEVER likes face painting of any kind.  Mainly because it often gets her itchy and she worries about her eczema.  BUT....

 Look who took the plunge!!  It's the Asian Tigress!  Seriously, how cute can she be!!

 After asking for a mirror and trying to see her reflection in the tv, refrigerator, and anything she found shiny (I'm totally not exaggerating!), we went out for a little pinata fun!

 Go Tigress!!

 It was a very fun party, where Lillie got a soft clay butterfly, a book, "Bread and Jam for Frances", some treats, a cheese pizza lunch, lots of play time, and a makeover that lasted until she took a bath that night!

 "GRRRRR!"

 And of course, look who had to get involved!!!  Daddy Tiger!  ha ha

The County Fair...Woohoo!!

Well, it was sort of a woohoo. A smaller fair came into town at the beginning of the month, but we told Lillie to hold off until the big county fair came. The whole county closes school for a day during the fair - FUN, huh??!! Anyway, she agreed and waited. Well, the week of the fair was not the greatest weather! It pretty much rained the whole time. So on the night we planned to go, we packed our umbrellas and, slightly grudgingly, drove to the fair. On the way, we told Lillie that if it rained too hard, we would need to leave early. Well, as luck would have it, it rained the whole time we were there...ugh! Not too hard, and barely a drizzle at times, but we tried to have fun anyway. It's a good thing that all the rides Lillie wanted to go on were covered!

The first stop, however, was the lion's den! Lillie was NOT that happy, but I had to get a shot of the cool white tiger!

Then after some great carnival food (the best pit beef sandwiches EVER!), it was on to the rides! Carousel first...twice in a row.

Then Mr. Alligator took Lillie for a ride.

Lillie couldn't pass up the speed boats!

Then we ended with the all important ferris wheel.

Blurry, I KNOW! Just remember...rain, umbrella, moving object.

"I'm DONE!" Not really. Lillie loved every minute of the fair. I know through pictures it doesn't seem like a lot, but Lillie rode many of those rides twice and sometimes THREE times! We ended with some freshly squeezed lemonade, cotton candy, and some fried pickles! YUM! (I know, one goes a little crazy with the food choices at the fair!). Lillie would have stayed all night, if she could. But alas, we headed home with a full belly and some great memories.

So it's been a little while, and a few things have taken place since.  First of all, with some MAJOR help from a friend, I tried my hand at making a dress for Lillie.  True to form, we didn't follow a pattern completely.  In fact, we used the top pattern from a dress, a different skirt pattern, some made up stuff here and there, a few snips, and tucks, and voila...here it is!

 I can see all the flubs along the way, but Lillie loves it, and that's all that matters.  The circle skirt gives a BIG twirl, which you know earned BIG points from Lillie!  Happy Twirling, Baby!