Cousins!

Last weekend Adam and Kim's little Olivia was in town from Florida.  My Mom and I decided to take the girls in to have some photos taken of them all together- all 3 Granddaughters!  Here are a few of the images.   Olivia was a little wary of the studio and strange situation so we didn't get a lot of smiles.  She is still as adorable as ever and her cousins LOVE her!! 

The Countdown is on!!

It is almost that time....SPRING BREAK!! I don't know who is more excited, me or the girls !?! :-) We are heading to Disney where we will be visiting Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. Since we are driving we are leaving 2 days ahead of our reservation so we can break up the drive and make it somewhat fun!  We made a "chain" like the ones you make at Christmas time and the girls look forward to pulling off a link every day.  Can't wait for that Florida sunshine....especially since more snow is in the forecast this week. :-(

Pallie the Wonder Fish

This post is written in honor of Pallie the Wonder Fish.  Pallie was a Betta Fish picked out at Petco by Allison.  She named him Pallie, we assume, because it rhymed with Allie. :-)  Pallie was a Wonder Fish because the first time I changed his water, I didn't know the water needed to sit out for 24 hours before putting it in the bowl and that it was to be warm.  Poor Pallie floated to the bottom and top of the bowl, on his side and upside down, and did not respond to prods by the net. I assumed he had died but after I did some googling I ended up putting in some warmer water.  Miraculously he came back to life!  This time however, Pallie used up his last life. He hadn't been eating well the past week or so and had been pretty inactive.  Phil and I spent a couple of nights in Chicago while I was at a conference for work (the girls stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's) and when we came home he was at the bottom of the tank, lifeless.  I broke the news to Allison first.  It went like this. "Allison, I'm sorry but I have some really bad news. Pallie died."  She looked at me, considering what she had just been told, and then said, "can we get a new pet, like a puppy?"  She then broke the news to her sister. "Maddie, I have some bad news, Pallie died."  Maddie's response? "Oh."  Glad to know they are resilient!

RIP Pallie
DOB unknown-3/13/11

Yes, we're still here

Wow...I can not believe it has been so long since I last blogged! I kept thinking I needed to write and share but really things have been pretty uneventful.  It's been a long winter and we all have been dealing with the congestion and cough that everyone seems to be dealing with! 

We celebrated Phil's Birthday and the girls enjoyed eating his cake for about a week afterward....I am sharing a picture of Maddie who chose to treat the frosting like lotion. :-) 

Sunday my Mom and I went to see The King's Speech (loved it) so Daddy was on duty and baked brownies with the girls.  Here is a picture of them eating the results! (Yes, Maddie is wearing a bathing suit.  I just got it and she insisted on wearing it- she's a goof.)

We are also counting down to our vacation to Disney World. We'll be leaving in just over 3 weeks and the kids are already picking out which princess dresses they want to bring! Until next time....

Happy Mid-Winter Break!

We have been looking forward to our 4-day weekend...it's always a great break during the long Michigan winter.  Yesterday felt nothing like winter as we hit 50 and the snow started to melt!  After 95+ inches and still 24+ on the ground last week this was met with open arms.  I was even able to do an outside run (which I avoid at all costs during the winter months- I am NOT a fan of cold)!  Today we met our friends Carrie and Logan at the Children's Museum and the kids had a great time.  We did lunch after and it was the perfect start to our break.

Playing around in the mirror

Maddie in the mirror!

Making big bubbles

Making a face with Logan

Brushing teeth at the healthy teeth exhibit

The girls also got to get outside and play in the driveway some- they were very excited to have their bikes and scooters down again! Happy weekend to all. :-)

Valentine Fun!

Tonight I brought the girls to the Family Valentines Party at Allison's school. She was SO excited about it!  They were able to run around with the kids, play games, do crafts and decorate cookies.  It was fun to watch Allie with all of her friends and to watch Maddie join in after a short warm up period. At one point she even went over where they were playing a musical chairs type game and joined in all by herself! HUGE step for my shy little girl. :-)

They had to wear their heart dresses of course!

Decorating Cookies

Cheese!

Game time!

New Do!

Allison got a new haircut today! She has been asking to get her hair cut like Mommy's so after ballet we went to the salon and made it happen. After not having hair for so long (she didn't really have much until age 2), I have always been a little weird about getting her haircut. She had it cut at age 3 for the first time and got it cut again before school started in September. It has always been so thin and fine but has recently started to look/feel a lot thicker.  This led me to believe that just maybe this cut would work. It is a big change but I am SO happy with the results. I think she looks adorable!

Giving sis a hug...

Doesn't she look so proud?