A Visit With The Nelsons

It had been WAYYYYY too long since we had seen the Nelsons!
We made the trek down south to do some much needed catching up!

The "catching up" also involved Christmas gifts for the girls!! :)

Annalise LOVES her Cabbage Patch Kid! (It did take her some time to get used to NOT calling it a "SOUR Patch Kid"....like Avery's soccer team name! :) )  And she LOVED it when Auntie Robin went upstairs and pulled out all of her old Cabbage Patch Kids from the '80's!

Avery was THRILLED with her new American girl pajamas!  For both the doll AND her!!!!

These girls just ADORE their Auntie Robin and Uncle Geoff....

.....AND Abbey and Chewy. (Annalise spent the two days chasing Chewy everywhere she could....and I still never managed to get a picture of them! :) )

We had a great visit!!!!  Such fun for us all!!

If they only lived closer and we could see them more often!!!

We love our Nelsons! :)



Peelin' Garlic

Yes, it's true.  Given ANY other task, Annalise would readily choose to peel garlic.
I'm not sure how we created this garlic peeling monster.  I think I just needed a job for her to do one night while cooking dinner.  BUT....we truly have created a monster.  She BEGS to peel garlic for dinner every night.  When the meal doesn't contain garlic....well....."how about I peel some garlic for tomorrow?" she'll ask.

This kid could go pro.

And really....how could you say no to her????? :)

Valentines

So this was the first year Annalise had to write Valentine cards to her friends at preschool.
At first she had a hard time understanding the concept.  Then....she FULLY understood that....she gives one to them....they give one to her. :)  AWESOME!!!!

She picked them out....Barbie for the girls, Kung Fu Panda for the boys.  Then we compromised.  She decided that writing her WHOLE name would just take wayyyyyyyy to long, so how about she write the "A" and I finish her name.  Hmmmm.....well.....instead of taking WEEKS to finish the Valentines, I agreed.  And I think she actually had more fun doing them then she had anticipated!!! :)

And Avery.....well.....she just went after her list!!!!  Took her about the same amount of time as Annalise and I working as a team!!!   Yay Avery!!!

Happy Valentine's Day Friends!!!

Me N' My Guy Red Carpet Ball

Avery talked her Daddy into taking her to a Valentine's Ball.
I guess "talked in to" is pretty loose.  She asked her Dad to take her and he melted in the palm of her hand!!! :)  The two of them had a very grown-up evening!!!

He took her to dinner at a FANCY restaurant.  She was very quick to point out that she was the ONLY kid in the restaurant except for a tiny baby!! :)  Then....they were off to the Leopold Hotel Ballroom in Bellingham for the "BALL".   They did some dancing and  had their picture taken.

After the "BALL", they hit Dairy Queen for dessert! :)

Avery was BEAMING when she got home.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Daddy and daugher date night!!!!

Snow Day #3

How do we spend our time on the third snow day?
When the temperature is 11 degrees and the winds are blowing at 35-40mph?

First we braid our hair.....

Then we do some princess airbrush art projects.....

Hmmmm.....wonder what tomorrow will bring???? :)

Snow Day!!

Oh how we love the snow days!!!!!

BRACES!!!!!

Avery is THRILLED!!!!!

She has been waiting and waiting and the day finally arrived!!!!

At her last regular appointment she asked the dentist if there was anything she could do about closing the gap in her front teeth. The dentist said SURE! (cha-ching $$$$$!) 

Mark and I talked about it with Avery and could see how much she really wanted them. 

She's a pretty confident little girl, but her gap is one thing she has some insecurities around.

She picked out the bright ORANGE and GREEN bands.

Love this smile......

Happy new braces day Avery!!!!