The girls and I enjoyed one of our Christmas gifts today. We went to the afternoon show of BalletMet's Nutcraker. It was a fun way to kick off the girls winter break. This was their first time seeing the big ballet and they were very impressed by the special effects, costumes and the incredible sets. I think they are the perfect ages to enjoy the show and appreciate all of the hard work that a show like that takes.
We had a magical day!

Before we headed off to see the show I had Mike snap a few picture us in our festive attire.

A quick photo before we went into the theater for the show. Those were nice smiles considering we had just walked 2 blocks and it was about 25 degrees outside.

After the show I took the girls over to the main branch of the library to see the winter train display. I had seen it last year while I was there to pick up my sisters gift. I knew that they would get a kick out of it. We also picked up a few books for Paige so she could do some reading over winter break.

Paige snapped this picture of Megan. They each had a point and shoot camera and they had a ball snapping photos.

It was my idea to pose Oliver and Scout in the flowers for their portrait.

Her new earrings match her pretty green coat perfectly!


I love this areal view taken from the stairway.

I think Megan took this picture of me waving to her as she stood on the staircase above the trains.

Megan was sporting her fancy handbag that Mimi got her a few years ago. She always gets lots of complements when she carries it.

Jasper and Murphy posed for their portrait too.

The weekend is only half over and we have been busy. Friday after school let out for winter break I took the girls to get their haircuts. Their bangs were getting a little long and Megan wanted her hair bobbed a bit. Miss. Melinda did an awesome job as always and the girls were thrilled to have shiny pretty hair.

This afternoon we picked up Paige's best friend, Brittany on our way to the mall and Aunt Deb met us there. You may think we were just doing a little last minute Christmas shopping but the real reason was to get Paige's ears pierced as part of her Christmas present. After Megan had hers done for her 9th b.day last summer Paige decided to get her ears pierced as well. I told her she had to wait for a special occasion so she decided that Christmas would be the best time.

The last picture of Paige's perfect hole free ear!

When Megan had her ears done they had two gals pierce them at the same time but with Paige they did them one at a time. Lucky for Paige she had her Aunt Deb and her best friend Brittany to hold her hands.

It's Paige with pierced ears!

Admiring her new tiny emerald green (her birthstone) earrings that she will wear for at least the next 8 weeks!

The girls were being mannequins at the Justice store. At first Brittany and Megan were standing there and Paige was waiting to see what the other customers would do before she finally joined them. Silly girls they are easily entertained.

I know these are a few weeks late but I still wanted to share our Thanksgiving pictures. Although we didn't have a huge gathering the food and good company were more than enough to make a memorable meal. Bigger is not always better.

Megan is a great little veggie chopper!

Megan helping her dad open the wine. She was intrigued by the cork puller now if I could only get her intrigued with a sponge so she could clean the toothpaste out of her bathroom sink!

Paige looking a little too sweet!

This is a good candid shot of Aunt Deb.

Megan setting up her elf's little house so they could be in the dining room for Thanksgiving. Jasper the elf and his little dog Murphy came down from the North Pole for their annual visit.

Please note the camera angles..I managed to take a picture of Mike without making it look like his nose was on fire. Just saying sometimes you have to adjust the angle.

This one is for Carole a.k.a. Mimi...all of us girls were sporting our aprons. Thanks for helping us to look so stylish while we were cooking!

Happy Turkey day from the sassy apron wearing turkey girls!

Mike had a good day of fishing the day before Thanksgiving. It was a rain/sleet mix with a temp in the low to mid 30's. State stocked 810 trout into a local 42 acer lake.


Good - 14 1/2 " 1.3 lbs Rainbow Trout




Better - 18 1/2 " 2.5 lbs Rainbow Trout



Best - 24" 6 lbs Rainbow Trout

J

U

M

P

for joy!

If this doesn't make you smile (even on a Monday) then it's hopeless.
Enjoy your day!

Getting Carried Away...

The other day when I was putting these pictures on the computer Mike said "gee how many pictures did you take?" He probably thinks I get carried away, but it's so easy to snap pictures when the subject is this darn cute and her expressions change so fast. I just want to stop time for a while and remember these lovely days of 9 and 12. I remember my sister saying as her kids have grown (Cody and Chelsea are 23 and 26 now) that she enjoys each age and stage as much as the others. I am just at a great place with my girls. They are so charming, funny, sweet and full of positive energy. I really enjoy hanging out with them and they seem to enjoy my company too and I know it's not always going to be like that.
Another reason I love snapping her photo is that she is a willing subject and that wasn't always the case when she was a toddler.

Sometimes when I am looking at Megan's face I catch a glimpse of my dad's ornery smile the one you see after he says "gotcha" when he has played a trick on you. When I get a shot of her with that sparkle in her eyes then I know I have caught her "Reil" smile.

I have been hearing "your girls are so beautiful" for 12 years now. I always say thank you...and think well all kids are beautiful. But sometimes when I see my kids I think "wow how did I have such pretty kids?" or when someone tells me they look like me I always think "yeah they resemble be but they are so much prettier." I have always thought of myself as more on the cute side than the pretty side. I always take it as a compliment when people tell me that they look like me because I think they are beautiful...of course I am their mom so I am probably a little prejudice.