Happy Easter!

Daddy/Daughter Dance

On Friday, Ellie woke up so excited ! It was the day of the Daddy-Daughter Dance at school. We had rolled her hair in curlers the night before, so she had the added bonus of going to school already looking like a princess ! I helped decorate the gym at school during the day, then that afternoon, we painted Ellie's fingers and fixed her hair and got her special dress on. Daddy picked her up at the front door, just like a real date and Ellie was just about ready to explode from excitement !!
receiving her corsage of white roses
erady to go and dance the night away !

My Daddy, my Hero !
She came home with a blister on one foot, but with a huge smile and lots of great memories of a night out with her special guy !

My Two Front Teeth

Ellie finally lost her second front tooth !! It was so loose it was sticking straight out, but she refused to let us pull it. Then one day she went to school and her teacher told her it was time and she returned home with the tooth in a little treasure chest and a certificate for losing her tooth at school !
The next step to growing into a big girl !!!

Christmas Memories

Twas the night before Christmas and the excitement could barely be contained ! The kids opened their gifts from one another before going to bed, the only night of the year that they can't wait to go up to bed. Ellie said she wanted to sleep up in Sam's room with him so that she could hear when Santa and Rudolph landed on the roof. All 4 of them slept up in Sam's room together.When they woke up Christmas morning, they all found that Santa had brought exactly what they wanted the most.....

The thing Ellie wanted the most for Christmas was a Unicorn Pillow Pet. How priceless was the look on her face when she opened her wish.
Bethany got a new digital camera that she had wanted for a long time, a Nikon Coolpix in the color purple !
Sam received an XBOX360 with games !
A new texter in the family -- Felicia with her new phone.
This was the kids reaction to finding out they received a trampoline from their grandparents for Christmas !!!

Steve got a new coffee maker! And, yes, Santa visited me as well, but I was the one who took all the pictures, so....

Baking Cookies

Ellie was the only one this year who wanted to help me with the cut out cookies. She donned her apron and hat and set to work rolling and cutting like a pro.
Choosing just the right shapes....

The decorating took the longest time, but her finished products were a masterpiece !

Snow Day !!

Our first snow day of the year brought us only a little snow, but it gave us our holiday break from school 2 days early and the kids spent the whole day outdoors ! Except for cute Ellie, who was out for less than an hour, then came inside with her friend Katherine for hot chocloate and cookies and an indoor playdate.
The neighborhood gals all squealed when I brought out the camera, but then kept wanting me to take more and more photos !
Bethany and Felicia pose on their way down the hill.

Oh what fun it is to ride... !

Hollister has a Birthday !

Last weekend we celebrated Hollister's 2nd birthday. So, in dog years, he's now as old as Bethany. Great, another teeenager in the house, lol ! We sang happy Birthday and had treats and presents for him. The kids had a lot of fun doing this for our lovable pet.
One of Hollister's birthday gifts was a jacket, as my little doggie shivers in the cold in the winter.
I baked Hollister his own batch of Doggie cookies. (and in case you are wondering, yes, Sam actually tried one just to see how they would taste.)Better tasting for dogs, I gather.

We celebrated with cake !