From one extreme to the next

The girls didn't have school last Friday so they were really able to enjoy our 1 inch snowfall.  They loved every minute of it.

Lovely weather

It's January 9th and it was a whopping 70 degrees outside today!  I took Lilly and Summer to a playground this afternoon for an hour before Sophia got home from school.  It's supposed to be nice through the weekend.  YAY!!!!!!!!!!!

On December 10th it was in the 80s!  It was so warm the girls felt the need to wear their bathing suits out in the front yard to play.  

Hello from Sadie

Christmas Town

We took the girls to Chstimas Town at Busch Gardens during winter break. Sophia loves the rides.  Lilly still only likes the really slow baby rides.  Even the tram is a little scary for her.

We took a break for a while to grab some dinner in the Germany area and saw a great holiday musical.  The girls were in awe at all the singing and dancing going on around them. 

They wore their new hats that Uncle Rob and Aunt Christina got for them.  Those hats kept them so warm. 

Christmas in Virginia Beach

My Aunt Carole came to visit us for Christmas this year.  We had a great time.  She arrived on the Sunday before Christmas and stayed through Thursday.  We shopped til we dropped....especially the day after Christmas in the pouring rain, but it was fun!  I ended up finding the perfect rain coat...inspired by the downpour.

One evening we took the girls to Hung Club Farm for their Winter Wonderland Adventure.  The girls had an ok time.  I think it was less fun for them than I originally thought.  They mostly wanted to play on the playground (which they have open all year round).  They didn't really care much for the holiday lights and Santa's Workshop displays.  We ended the night be roasting a few marshmallows on the open fire.  We all came home in need of a shower because the smell of the firepit lingered in our clothes and our hair - and Lillys coat was ooey gooey with smeared marshmallow.  Aunt Carole had the brilliant idea of putting the coat in the freezer and then when it was completely frozen she whittled away at the marshmallow and IT ALL CAME OFF!  Yay.   

The girls sang with their choir during the 5pm church service at our church on Christmas Eve. Anut Carole got to see them in their robes and their green dresses.

We spent a quiet Christmas at home.  It was perfect.  The girls absolutely flipped over everything Mom/Dad, Santa, Aunt Carole, Uncle Mike, Uncle Rob, etc...... got for them.  The girls seriously screamed in joy at every gift.   Our tree was definitely decorated with tons of presents.  We were very blessed.  

Santa brought Lilly an American Girl doll.  She wanted McKenna, the 2012 girl of the year.

Santa brought Sophia a karaoke machine which she is obsessed with still.  She's turning into a big kid.  She loves music.  Will made her a mix CD and she listens to it over and over.  She loves to sing along with Justin Beiber.  She's totally into him and told me just yesterday that she wants to get a poster of him to hang in her room.  When I told Will he scowled....NO WAY!























Thanks Aunt Christina and Uncle Rob!

I love this face 

Christmas with Nana and Poppy

Will and I attended his holiday party in San Fransisco in mid-December while my parents watched the girls.  They arrived on a Tuesday afternoon just in time to walk with me and Lilly to the bus stop.  Sophia was giddy with excitement when she jumped off the bus.

On Wednesday morning I gave my parents the quick run-down of how our mornings usually run like a well-oiled machine (yeah, right!) and we all managed to get out the door on time.  I was just hoping they were paying attention because they were going to do it by themselves on Thursday and Friday!

Lilly's school holiday show was on Wednesday morning so we all got to watch her "not sing".  She smiled quite a bit, but I didn't get any pictures.  Mine are all dark and mostly blurry, but a lot of them would have been really cute if I had a better camera.  I think I was using my phone for these.

 
 I left on Wednesday after lunch and arrive in San Fran. around 8 pm (pacific time).  The hotel was very nice and was in the downtown area. It was within walking distance of tons of boutique shops, an indoor mall, and tons at least two dozen Starbucks.

I explored a while on Thursday by myself while Will went to work for the morning. 

The party was a tad over the top - in a good way.  There were drinks and appetizers for a good hour before we sat down to our choice of beef or chicken.  If you can't already guess, Will picked the beef.  I opted for chicken.  Both meals were superb.

After dinner the CEO and other two founders gave away recognition awards.  They literally handed out small statue awards that look just like the B in their logo.(Notice the "bean" shape.)  Will received the MVP award (Most Valuable Programmer).  He coined them the "Beanie Awards".  So, Will officially has a Beanie.  Woo hoo!

 

Our flight was cancelled on Friday morning, but Will worked some magic and soon we were on a flight back to the good old state of Virginia.

We celebrated Christmas with my parents on Saturday morning.  Sophia got an Easy Bake Oven which she loves and Lilly got a Princess and the Popstar Castle Bedroom Combo thingy.  She loves it.  They also love the new coloring books and books that Nana brought with her. 

I heard about Sophia and Lilly's time with Nana and Poppy from all of them....so it was just like I never skipped a beat in their lives.  It's amazing how much I actually missed them -- the minute I got to San Fran I was terribly homesick for the two of them.

Click here to see all of our Christmas photos.

Nana and Poppy went to Sophia's school every day to have lunch with her.  Believe me, that really spoiled her.  Either Will or I still go to Sophia's school every Friday for lunch.  It's Will's turn this week....

Nana and Poppy and the girls also took a walk every evening and checked out the Christmas lights on our street.

They decorated Christmas cookies.

They had a fashion show.

Sounds like they had a ton on fun.

It was very nice to see my parents and come home to some lovely surprises too.  My dad fixed two broken drawer handles for me and also replace the stove light bulbs.  Thanks, Dad!  

Happy New Year

I still need to go back and publish a few blog entries about the last couple of weeks, but for now I just wanted to log on and wish everyone a happy new year!

The girls both lasted until the ball dropped on new year's eve and then we quickly ushered them home and into bed. Next year we'll put them in their pajamas before we go to the neighbor's house.

I asked Sophia her favorite part of winter break.  And believe me, there are many things to choose from...and her answer:  STAYING UP UNTIL MIDNIGHT!  I guess that's what a 6 year old brain thinks like.