Myrtle Beach Vacation

Well, we've become regular visitors to Myrtle Beach and we absolutely love it there! Thanks to Tutu Winnie, we enjoyed yet another fabulous trip. We were fortunate enough to stay with Tutu and Mr. Walter for nearly 2 weeks. Kevin joined us for 4 days of the trip but had to go back to for the second session of graduate classes. We enjoyed fabulous weather - an occasional storm but nothing that would spoil our fun! We spent lots of time at the beach. Both girls enjoy it but Sydney truly loves the beach. She could spend the whole day jumping waves, riding her boogy board, building castles, looking for shells, and even just sitting in the water.

Broadway at the Beach is another favorite part of our trip. Sydney had planned to go there since last year's visit so she could build a bear. She saved her money just for this trip! We visited Broadway several times while we were there. The best part of trip was that we were able to catch up with an on-line friend that I've known for more than 7 years but never met who lives in Myrtle Beach! Our girls got along so well and had a great time riding the rides. We wish we could have played longer!!!

Kate and Syd riding the teacups!

This is Kate preparing for a trip on the bungy bouncer! We thought for sure she'd hate it but she loved it and wanted to do it again. When we went the next day, they got her in all the ropes and it started to rain, so she had to get off. When we tried another day, she refused! She was seriously mad that they made her get off. Oh well! That's our Kate! Sydney was quite proud of herself for learning to do frips on the bungy this year. Below are videos of Sydney's very first flip and Katelyn's very first bounce!

We really did have a super trip to Myrtle Beach and we can't wait to go again! Thanks again, Tutu and Mr. Walter!!!

Visiting the Easter Bunny!

We waited until Good Friday to visit the Easter Bunny but it was totally worth the wait! Katelyn was thrilled to see him! We arrived at the mall early, thinking there would be a line. As luck would have it, no one else got the "be there early" message because we were first in line! We got to see the Easter Bunny come down the elevator. At that point, Katelyn began jumping up and down and saying to the small group of other children who had arrived, "You ready to see the Easter Bunny?" It was super cute! Both girls were thrilled to be first to meet him - not having to wait led to great photos! They also liked the pretzel sticks they got at the nearby store! Kevin and I were thrilled that we'd come a bit early, as by the time we'd finished getting our pretzels and were heading home, the line was about 20 families long!

Circus Fun

As usual, the coming of Spring bring a trip to the circus! This has truly become one of our favorite family traditions. This year, we were lucky enough to have Ms. Jen join us with her neighbor, so it was even more fun.

Before the circus begins, we always enjoy the pre-show, where the kids can try on the costumes and see the performers up close. Sydney and Katelyn enjoyed a "ride on a horse".

As you can see from the photo, Katelyn's favorite part of the circus is the popcorn!

My favorite part is seeing the elephants!

Snow Day!

It is March and we finally get real snow. I just figured out when the last day of the school year would be!!! I'm not complaining - it was a great snow day. I followed a full day of cheerleading on Sunday so we were a little tired anyway. And, Kate started with a runny nose so I could just keep her home. I didn't want to take her out for very long so Kevin took Sydney out for a bit this morning before he left for work. I bundled Kate up and he took her out for just a few minutes this morning.

Sydney walking through the snow!

A sledding "accident" - too much laughing can actually make a sled flip over!

The deal is Kate gets to ride back up the hill and Syd has to pull her! Both of them love it!

Kate likes to pick up the snow and try to make snowballs but it always gets stuck to her mittens.

Thanks to Ms. Debbie for the passing along Emily's old snow suit! It fits Katelyn perfectly!

"Please! One more last time!!!"

Teddy has always been our snow loving dog! Sydney took this photo!

After Kevin came home, we took the girls out again for a few trips up and down the hill along with some snow angel making!

Snow days are great!

Dora the Explorer!

Well, Katelyn and I took in the Dora the Explorer show at the Hippodrome! Kately in a huge Dora fan. So, I decided this would be the perfect show for the two of us to see together. If you don't know about Dora, she is "little girl" who goes on adventures. In this case, we had to help her find her teddy bear in the City of Lost Toys. Katelyn's favorite part of the show (and every episode she watches on TV) is yelling at Swiper, the fox who is always trying to steal Dora's stuff! Seriously, Katelyn has always had a thing about knowing the owner of things so it is no surprise that she enjoys yelling "Swiper, No Swiping! Swiper, No Swiping! Swiper, No Swiping!" She's as bossy as they come and, if someone is taking something, she's the one to put them in their place. Maybe she'll pursue law enforsement! If you look carefully at the photo of her, you'll notice the black eye she received at daycare on Thursday when another little boy swung around and hit her with a toy. Clearly, she's tough enough for law enforsement! An injury like this would have set Sydney back for weeks - Katelyn barely mentioned it other than to tell me about that "Bad Boy Gavin" who got her in the eye!

Cheerleading!

Cheerleading sesson continues! In the last two weekends, we've competed in Richmond and Delaware. Not exactly right around the corner but too bad either! In Richmond, our girls took 3rd place - which increased our bid to Final Destinations (the US Nationals) so our cost for the trip will be less! And, the girls were totally excited, as it really was their best finish in really tough competition! They've been promised a pizza party and, I don't know about everyone else, but Sydney is counting the days until Ms. Gerry makes that happen!!! On Sunday, our girls took 1st in Delaware. Don't get too excited - we were the only people in the division! But, Sydney was thrilled as she got to go up with several other girls and get the trophy. She's waited all year to do this and it is BIG deal to her!

Many of you have asked about the "cheerleader hair" so I posted a photo of her in perm rod hair and a picture after. Yes, it takes me at least an hour to roll it! I'm getting quicker but you can only go so fast. And, yes, I have to roll it the night before, blow dry it super dry, and take it out just before we get to competition! And, yes, Sydney doesn't mind - well, not too much! I think some of the magic has worn off a bit. The sitting for an hour or more isn't exactly fun. Saturday competitions are the hardest because I have to roll her hair after Friday night practice so we're all exhausted by the it is over. But, she sleeps on it without a problem and likes the bouncy curls.

In curlers in the car on the way to Richmond!

After curlers at the competition!

Sydney posing at the Delaware competition.

I have yet to figure out how families manage to have several children in several activities. Most of the time, Kevin stays home with Kate and I take Syd to competition. Honestly, cheerleading competitions aren't that exciting for a 2 year old! But, we took her this weekend to Delaware, knowing it was a short competition so she wouldn't be there THAT long! She watches for a while but she can only last so long without wanting to run around, dance, chase her sister, have a snack, and generally cause trouble! She tries to be good; it just isn't easy! So, here she is not being the best spectator!

Katelyn not really enjoying cheerleading!

Yes, she still sucks her thumb. We're working on it!

I'll keep you posted as to how the rest of the season goes!

Happy Birthday, Sydney!

Sydney's 6th birthday has come and gone with all the excitement that birthdays usually involve at our house. We celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese this year - Sydney has always loved it there so we finally just caved in and had her party there! Honestly, we barely saw her the entire time. She just ran all over with her friends. But, she had a great time and that's what matters. Here are a few photos.

I still can't really believe that I have a 6 year old. I mean, can I seriously be that old??? Can she seriously be that old??? Where did the time go??? As I have said to many people, the days are so long sometimes. There are so many things to do that the I feel consumed by the list of tasks that must get done. Then, I realize that 6 years have gone by and can't even believe it. The days might be long but the years seem so short! So, if you'll all allow me to gush a bit about my girl, I'm going to tell you 6of things I love about my 6 year old.

1. She thinks of others! She considers other people's feelings, ask about other people, tries to take care of people. She's kind to people and always wants to do things to make others feel loved!

2. She's funny. She makes me laugh everyday with something she says, including calling her sister an "evil genius" today! Someone told me that she never laughed so much as she had since she'd had her children. Sydney and Katelyn bring such laughter into my life that I can't imagine what it was like before we had them! (Well, I do remember I slept more but I laughed less so I guess it balances out!)

3. She's creative. She's constantly making something, creating a project, dance move, show, something. While the mess makes me totally crazy, I love that she's likes to express herself in so many ways.

4. She's respectful of others! If there is anything Kevin is, it is respectful of other people. (I try but he's better!) When I see that in her, I know she's inherited one of his best qualities and that makes me happy and proud! Other adults notice that she's respectful of everyone - children and adults. She already knows that how you treat people matters and for that I am so grateful.

5. She does her best. There is no doubt she's smart. (For my teacher friends - she did great on DIBELS!) But, let's be honest here - she's no super star athlete. However, no matter what she does, she tries her very best. What more can a parent ask for?

6. She's a great big sister! Katelyn isn't exactly the easiest gal to get along with some days. (She's getting there but they don't call it the "terrible two's" for nothing!) And, even though I know Sydney feels like Katelyn wins sometimes by default because she's the baby, she always looks out for her. She celebrates her accomplishments (like going on the potty or riding her tricycle) as if they were her own. She is always willing to help her out, kiss her good night, make her a special surprise, whatever because she loves her little sister. Being an only child, I am totally amazed at that bond and I love Sydney loves Katelyn so much!

Well, I could truly go on and on but I'll stop gushing (and crying) right there! Happy 6th Birthday Sydney! I love you more every day!

Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve???

As I've already mentioned, our December was filled with sickness and Christmas Eve was no exception. When I got the email from Robyn on December 23rd saying she was having emergency dental surgery, it just seemed like it was time to surrender! So, I emailed Amy, we talked, and just decided it was better if we canceled the Christmas Eve celebration. We decided we would just celebrate together on New Year's Eve. Honestly, I can't imagine having gotten together on Christmas Eve - we just weren't in good shape. But, without our festivities, Christmas just wasn't Christmas. We've celebrated Christmas Eve together every year since 1989. One year we celebrated together a different day but it just wasn't the same so we went back to Christmas Eve. We started in 11th grade at Robyn's house. (Do you remember how icy it was one night coming out of Robyn's old house??? And it was crazy cold that year!) We started with us, our moms, and the younger sisters. We have added boyfriends who became our husbands (did they ever really have a choice about it?), and 6 girls between the three of us. When people ask me about my Christmas Eve plans, I absolutely love to tell them about our tradition and most can't believe I still keep in such close contact with my high school friends. I tell them that they aren't just my high school friends; they're family! Having no siblings and really very little family, I've always felt exceptionally blessed to have been able to create an extended family with such wonderful people! I hope they know how important they are in our lives!

So, our Christmas Eve celebrations were postponed until New Year's Eve. No making reindeer food like usual - we'll get back to doing that next year! This year, we made fondue instead! This has become a mini New Year's traditions - we make fondue and celebrate the new year at 8:00 pm. This year, we were a little late - I think we celebrated at about 8:30 pm but, since this was our Christmas Eve celebration, we had to exchange presents. In order to celebrate early, we set the clocks ahead so the older girls won't realize that it isn't midnight (At least they didn't until they got to the car and read the clock out there. Robyn - I told you she'd see it!) This year, it was far too cold to bang pots and pans outside. But, thanks to hats and noise makers, we had plenty of fun celebrating inside. While it wasn't Christmas Eve, it certainly was lots of fun!

Happy New Year!!!

Christmas Eve and Day

So, we were at a bit of a loss on what to do on Christmas Eve. With our usual holiday plans canceled, Sydney having strep, and I managed to get the stomach virus, we weren't exactly in peak condition! We had thought we go to our favorite Japanese restaurant but even that seemed like too much effort! Instead, we made a trip to see the Lights on the Bay. It was beautiful and a perfect Christmas Eve trip. Katelyn was so excited to see the lights and Sydney always thinks it is a great event, since she gets to get out of her booster seat. When we finished, we were all hungry and there wasn't much open at 7 pm on Christmas Eve. So, we wound up eating dinner at Denny's. Not exactly a tradition we think we'll continue but Kevin and I both agreed that it we fun. And, it really isn't about where we ate as much as that we were together and that we had fun. The girls were a hit at Denny's!

We we got home, the girls quickly got their baths and put on their special Christmas pj's. Then, we set off to make our reindeer food. It consists of oatmeal, carrots, raisins, and colored sprinkles (so the reindeer can see it). Then, we sprinkled in on the lawn - thankfully, it was a warm evening! We went back inside to put out the cookies and milk for Santa. You'll notice Santa used Daddy's new Ravens glass that he received from a co-worker. We decided Santa could be a Ravens fan! Then, we hung our stockings, sang Christmas carols around the tree (that was Sydney's idea - does it get any more Norman Rockwell???), read our stories by the tree, and went off to bed so Santa could come. It took Sydney quite some time to fall asleep but she did drift off before Santa arrived.

On Christmas morning, the girls awoke to find Santa had delivered some wonderful things. You'll see in the picture that Sydney is playing with Pop and Swap Polly Pockets, which were definitely the thing she asked for most often. Katelyn got lots of fun things for her play kitchen and her baby dolls, which are her absolute favorite toys right now.

We visited with family on Christmas day. The picture below shows the girls and their cousins - Carter (our token male in the middle), Madison (top right) and Reagan (bottom right). The girls are always thrilled to spend the day with everyone. Being with family really is the best part of the day so we were thankful that everyone was well enough and had been on antibiotics long enough to be in the clear for the visit!

Christmas was wonderful this year. And, while we'd like to be healthier next year, we have so much to be grateful for that complaining about the minor stuff seems almost silly. Every Christmas reminds me how fortunate we are to have each other and that all I really want for Christmas is to be together again next year!

Merry Christmas to All!