Happy Valentine's Day

Halloween Highlights

I'm a bit behind in posting about Halloween. Here are the highlights.

Thankfully, it was a beautiful, warm day. We enjoyed a very tasty brunch. I requested pumpkin pancakes that I saw on The Kitchen Sink Recipes. They were deeelicious. I hope they become a regular brunch item.

The girls drew the design they wanted on their pumpkins.

D lined the driveway with scary (not cute!) ghosts she made out of white cardstock. (Aren't they cute, though?!)

Then the guts came out of the pumpkins.

Then the carving began.

The girls then decided to make a haunted house upstairs. They took through groups of three at a time. My sister, brother-in-law and I went together. It was really well done. Random screaming, dark rooms with flashlight play on the walls. The best part was when we were led into a dark room and once we adjusted our eyes, we saw this scary body under the covers.

We had delicious chili for dinner and then the girls got ready. M was a sorcerer and D was Alice in Wonderland. D's friend was the Cheshire Cat. Very cute. They came back with gobs and gobs of candy. A lot of full size candy bars! Because of D's allergy, she enjoyed some of her nut free candy and M tried Rolos for the first time and loved it. I snagged a box of Mike and Ike's and took home a bunch of the nut candy.

I also got a picture of the girls with both sets of grandparents. I always wished I had this picture with my grandparents.

I wish that we could have celebrated with my brother and his family too. My nephew was a ghost pirate and my youngest niece was the little mermaid. I saw both costumes when I was visiting them a few weeks ago. They both looked awesome in their costumes.

A very happy Halloween had by all.

Easter

We spent Easter at my parent's house. We had a lovely time. Below is a selection of photos from the day. We Skyped with my brother and his family, but no photo of that. It was fun to see and talk with them. My nephew has no two front teeth! Isn't Skyping the best?

An egg hunt in the backyard. Where o' where are they? No snow to hinder the looking.

Tons of picture taking and taking pictures of the picture takers.

Finding out what goodies are in the eggs. This year, lipgloss, hair pretties, erasers and money!

A delicious meal. We're not much of a ham family, so turkey it is.

The requisite self-portrait photo. I see you D!

A bit of sidewalk chalk hang man. Yes, you are a sassy chick. :)

A spring day is not complete without playing some four square. My goal before summer starts is to find the best four square ball ever! We need one like what I used as a kid. None of this small, hardly any bounce nonsense.

Waiting to get into the four square game. I see you there too, D.

Hmm, the ball got stuck.

But my brother-in-law rescued it and we resumed play.

The time always goes by so quickly. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.

Holiday Highlights

The last few years have been different from previous years in terms of how and where I celebrate Christmas. For someone that doesn't like change, I'm trying to adjust gracefully. I had a wonderful time with my parents at my place on Christmas Eve, at my sister's house on Christmas Day and at my brother's house for several days following Christmas. I thought it would be fun to share the highlights from the holiday.

1) Making Grandma's cinnamon rolls with my Mom. I remember making these as a child and I wanted to bring the tradition back. They were delicious and surprisingly easy to make!

2) Attending an actual midnight mass. We had a hard time finding parking after the snowstorm dumped 5 inches of snow, but once inside, it was beautiful and warm. We listened to the choir sing hymns prior to the mass. It was lovely.

3) Playing with Ds new cash register machine. I loved playing store as a kid and this cash register brings it to a whole new level. It comes with a credit card!

3) Having a flight on time the day after a snowstorm and a failed terrorist attack.

4) Sharing laughs, playing games, and opening gifts.

5) Going sledding. I was the picture taker. I didn't actually partake in the sledding, but my bro, nephew and niece had a blast!

6) Watching the cousins play together. They are four of the coolest people I know. Love them!

7) Seeing Up in the Air. Loved this movie and loved going with my family. Hard to go wrong with George Clooney.

8) Giving gifts. I love making homemade gifts and this year was no different. I made little notebooks, which I think turned out really cute. Great for making lists or drawing or coloring. I also made my parents a scrap page from our trip to D.C.

Thank you to my family for being such great hosts during our holiday celebrations! The food, drink and merriment was wonderful and won't soon be forgotten. Miss you all already!