Merry Christmas

Our first Christmas in Pennsylvania has been very nice. We went to mass last night and then the girls opened one gift with Christmas jammies in them. We also took this month and did a lot of activities as a family using our advent calendar. 

 Ready for Christmas Eve mass

Brynn opening her first present of the morning...

Libby opening her first one...

Playing on the "piano"

Brynn's turn

Girly Legos

Brynn with her Rapunzel Build a Bear

Libby with her Merida (Brave) Build a Bear

This month I put activities in about half of the days of the Advent calendar. The other half were candy. We baked cookies and delivered them to friends. We went to Chocolate World and saw the house they make out of Chocolate. The girls visited Santa at Hershey Park. One night we drove around and looked at Christmas lights. We had a few family games nights and nights to watch Christmas movies. Last night we read "Twas The Night Before Christmas". We also read about Jesus' birth in the Bible.There's probably a few more that I'm forgetting but I really enjoyed the activities and I think the girls did too. We just really tried to make some new traditions and memories this year. I hope we succeed.

Girl Scouts

Libby got all her Girl Scout pins and badges thus far tonight. She was so proud of herself.

She had to say the Girl Scout Promise in front of everyone all by herself. She didn't need a bit of help from the scout troop leader.

Daddy got to give her the pin.

Libby and her buddy. These two are going to be trouble. They just sat through the entire ceremony and giggled. Oh boy.

Well, I now have a ton of badges to take care of putting on her vest. I'd better get my sewing box out....

All about Libby

Libby lost both of her front teeth within about a week of each other. She is talking with a lisp now. It's so cute and funny.

Mike took Libby to learn how to hit golf balls. She did pretty decent for her first try. Her balls didn't go too far but she did hit them. She said that she had fun.

Eight years

Today is our eighth wedding anniversary. It seems like a lifetime ago and minutes ago all at the same time. When we met, I didn't even know I was looking for him. Once I figured it out, I knew I was not letting go. I have been truly blessed to marry such a great man. He is my best friend. It seems though, eight years ago, that I had no idea what I was getting into. I stood up at the alter and promised to stick it out with him in sickness and health, for richer or poorer, and in good times and bad. I meant it then and still mean it now. But standing there all those years ago, I had no idea what exactly it all was going to mean for us. We have been through a lot together. Our history is what makes us who we are. The good. The bad. The ugly. The indifferent. The exciting. The mundane. Our intellectual conversations and debates have fueled me and inspired me. His work ethic has helped me to develop a stronger one of my own. My need for planning has helped him be more prompt. We've been through some big stressors recently of losing jobs, finding new ones, moving to a new area of the country and through it all, I have never doubted that we are going through all of this together. He is my rock and I suspect that I am his. I know people say this all the time and it sounds trite but I love him more today than when we met because of what we've gone through and what I know we are capable of going through in the future - together. He is my teammate and most vocal supporter and I love him for it. Here's to many more years of happiness, trials, joy, and sadness. I wouldn't want to go through it with anyone else.

Halloween 2012

We've had a lot of costume opportunities this month. Hershey Park does a Halloween event and the kids can trick or treat in costume. Our local Bob Evans had something for kids dining in costume. The girls were invited to a costume birthday party too. So needless to say, one of their grandmothers sent a few costumes and they have come in handy. I have a feeling that Brynn will be wearing costumes for the next few weeks.

Brynn - Goldfish

Libby - Chiquita Banana or Carmen Miranda (you choose)

Libby - mermaid

Brynn - flower princess

Brynn - she said she was a princess but I was calling her a bird

Libby - 80's Rocker

October in PA

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit for my birthday. We had a good time with them.

We went and picked our own pumpkins out of the field.

The girls insisted on a pink sparkly pumpkin.

We melted crayons on top of this one.

Monogrammed one...

Libby has started Girl Scouts. She's a Daisy. Grandma brought up my old Girl Scout stuff and the girls played with it. I was a Girl Scout from first through fifth grade. I hope Libby sticks with it for awhile too. 

COLOR!

We went to Washington D.C. this weekend and walked in the Color Run. We also spent the afternoon at the Smithsonian Museum of American History the day before the run.

The girls liked seeing Kermit the Frog.

Brynn was mad because I tried to make her take her picture with Libby not because of Kermit.

All clean before the race.

VERY colorful after the race!

A few months ago, I posted that we had a new house motto. We used Pete the Cat and his motto as our team inspiration. Pete has new white shoes and steps in a variety of colorful objects that change his shoe color but he doesn't cry. He just keeps walking along and singing his song because it's all good.

Day Trip

We went on a day trip today to a place called Lake Tobias. It's about an hour away from our house. It's a zoo/petting zoo/safari tour. The Tobias family acquired various animals as pets (coyote, bison, bob cats, etc) in the 1960's. They had so many friends and family that wanted to see the animals that they opened it to the public. We went with our friends that we went camping with a few weeks ago.

All the girls looking at a black bear.

Libby and Brynn looking at some fish.

Checking out the tigers.

Free range chickens

Petting zoo

On the safari tour - the cattle, deer, elks, and other animals came right up to the bus. Libby and her friend were checking out some of these guys.

Silly Brynn

Asian water buffalo

some type of Asian deer - I can't remember what they were called

The Zedonk Brothers - a zebra/donkey mix (like a mule but with zebra instead of horse)

Check out the white bison. Also you can see one of the buses. We rode on one like that. It's a school bus with the top cut off.