Happy October Birthday Mama!

Beautiful birthday flowers from dad & the girls

Happy Birthday Mama!

The best birthday view; cake and our sweet girls

Mama enjoyed a very fun birthday this year doing all her favorite October activities surrounded by the best people she knows; the fam! Being 38 weeks pregnant with baby boy somewhat limited the amount of walking I was able to do, but we still managed to fulfill my birthday request of visiting a pumpkin patch and decorating for Halloween. October is my favorite time of year, although the weather is still very warm here in the Sacramento Valley and we were sweating at the pumpkin patch. Despite the heat, we all had a fantastic time and took lots of photos (stay tuned for another post to come). Dad and the girls spoiled mama with beautiful flowers, a special birthday cake and helped deck out the house for Halloween. After the house was Halloween ready, the girls enjoyed creating a haunted gingerbread house and lighting candles to get into the spooky October spirit. We sat and told stories by candlelight and discussed how excited we all are for baby brother to arrive. We sure hope he gets here before Halloween, so we can dress him up and he can enjoy his very first holiday!

Early Halloween fun creating a haunted gingerbread house

Basking in candlelight after decorating for Halloween

LOVE these October flowers

Happy Fouth of July 2015!

Fourth of July festivities 2015

Cuties all ready for fireworks

Hanging out with Nana & Papa

Smoke bomb fun

Alina's first sparkler of 2015

Such a joy to watch the girls play

Happy Fourth of July 2015! We enjoyed a very fun and festive display on our court this year. The grandparents joined us along with some close friends and the kids thoroughly enjoyed lighting up the night sky with sparklers and fireworks. The biggest hit each year have been the smoke bombs. They love the colors and running through the vibrant smoke filled air (whilst plugging their noses and laughing hysterically of course). Later in the evening, once the fireworks were exhausted, they moved on to glow stick dancing and we had to drag them inside by the end of the night. It was a very fun holiday and so nice to be able to enjoy all this just right outside our front door, no crowds or traveling involved. We're certainly loving these lazy summer weekends.

Elise with her super sparkler XXL

Sparkler fun

Alina with her super sparkler XXL

Firework display

Glow stick dance parties are a must

Elise has got the moves

Alina's got the twirls down pat

End of a fun evening. Happy 4th 2015!

Happy Easter 2015!

Easter egg hunt fun 2015

Pretty painted Easter eggs

The girls enjoyed their fried egg bunny rabbits

The look of egg discovery

The hunt kept them very entertained

The girls were very excited about their Easter egg hunt this year. The morning began with fried egg bunny rabbits, and a special note from the Easter Bunny telling them that the egg hunt was a team effort this year, so basically two eggs in each hiding spot. Even Mr. Bunny is aware that sisters can always improve upon their sharing skills - Hah! While the girls found PLENTY of eggs and goodies, I think their favorite part was the cute fluffy toy chicks they got. The Easter sugar goodness should last them well until the next big holiday. Happy Easter 2015!

The BIG Easter baskets goods

In sync with their Easter finds

The bunny left plenty of treats along with fuzzy chicks

Look who found the Easter Bunny's special basket

Enjoying the bounty of Easter goodies

Early Easter Fun

Cute cousins with the Easter Bunny 2015

These five are the sweetest little pals. The girls love spending time with their cousins and enjoyed getting to meet the Easter Bunny and hunt for eggs together. It's been a joy watching them grow and develop sweet little friendships over the years. When these five are together the laughter and smiles seem endless!

Little pals after their Easter egg hunt

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2015

Mischievous little Irish gal, Alina!

Well, I must admit that I feel so behind on holidays and blogging these days. We are in the thick of  full-time work plus raising kids and, like most parents know, it's a 24/7 job and most weekends and weeknights leave little time for much else. The birthday parties, school and extracurricular activities, plus just trying to find time to see old friends and family is certainly a juggling act. I had all these fantastic ideas and activities for St. Patrick's Day, but being a busy work weekday most didn't quite pan out and that sneaky leprechaun just barely made it on St. Patty's evening to hide some of his gold for the girls to find. They enjoyed the hunt, and mom forgot her camera...go figure. Alina happily donned some cute shamrock antennas and posed for a couple photos. Afterwards, it was the quick routine of bath and bedtime for the girls. 

Although, I will say that I did make Elise's day at school by packing her a festive green avocado egg salad sandwich, she loved showing off her green meal to her classmates. Elise was also on cloud nine this past week because she was selected as Super Kid of the week at school. She got to bring in a special poster to share with her class and wore a superhero cape all week! This is the equivalent of the Superbowl of the school year for kids. They are so excited to be Super Kid, it's preferable to finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow really.

Proud Elise posing with her Kindergarten Super Kid poster

Happy Valentine's Day 2015!

Elise Valentine Love

Valentine's hand heart tree art, flowers and goodies

Alina Valentine Love - she made us this cute frame!

Make no mistakes about it, they love being spoiled

I love you - Happy Valentine's Day 2015!

Happy New Year, Party Time, Excellent 2015!

Getting our party on to ring in the New Year 2015

Our New Year countdown to midnight cookies...yum

Hat decorating, tinsel and confetti fun

Mom goofing around

Sippin' sparkling cider, they look far too sophisticated here

Balloon, tinsel & confetti heaven

Ain't no party like a New Year party because a New Year party don't stop! Momma decided that the girls were in need of a super fun New Years Eve party to ring in 2015, complete with balloons, noise makers, party hat decorating, sparkling cider and massive amounts of tinsel and confetti (Dollar Tree shout out). The girls had the time of their lives plus getting the go ahead to stay up way past their bedtime was pretty much a dream come true. They also got to have fun with Gramps & Grams who partied right along with us...bless their hearts for making it midnight hah :) Raising four kids sure takes the wind out of your sails. We are slowly learning just how valuable our sleep really is!

The biggest hit of the night was the tinsel. I swear these girls thought it was the most entertaining thing ever invented; they threw it up in the air, rolled around in it, coated the entire floor and house in it. As for staying up until midnight, Elise had absolutely no problem whatsoever. That girl has been a night owl since the womb, so it should come as no surprise that she duked it out like a champ. Alina, on the other hand, was begging to go to sleep by 11:00pm and proceeded to crawl into her bed and do just that. She was woken up by fireworks set off right before midnight, causing her to run from her bedroom into our arms just in time to countdown with us...let's just say she was not a happy camper, but technically she made it! I think we've started a new tradition for New Years Eve, because the girls were raving about the party the following day and saying how they cannot wait until our next one. Success! Goodbye 2014 and Happy New Year 2015!

Grams & Gramps were party animals!

These two were giggling all night long

Playing Ipad with Grandma

Alina showing off her sparkles

It's raining tinsel

They made it! Happy New Year 2015!!