Disney On Ice

We went down to NC for a fun girls weekend.

 Baby Abby got lots of loves from  Leland and Charly

 Princess Brunch. Suzanne did a great job on the food. We even let them use fancy china.

 All the princesses.

 Nana playing a family jeopardy, then announcing the surprise activity of Disney on Ice.

One of the best parts of the show was watching all their faces.

It was a great show that included the original Disney characters, Cinderella, Princess and the Frog, and Tangled. At the end of the show all the princesses came out.

 

Thanks Nana for a great memory!

Christmas Tree Adventure

When we went to find our Christmas tree, we decided go to part of the farm lot that had the (cheaper) "imperfect" trees left that would soon be cleared. We found a tree that was really full, but was a tad bit lopsided with some gaps.

Everyone took their turn helping cut down the tree. The trunk was huge. We counted 13 rings!

TIMBER!! Chuck was exhausted after cutting through that huge stump.

The tree was so big, it took some work getting it to even fit through the door.

If you look really close on the bottom right picture above, you can see the duct tape holding branches to the trunk. We also used bungee cords, twine, and then had to strategically string the lights in order to keep the branches up and fill the gaps.

Charly's turn to put the star on top.

Grand Illumination

This year we decided to watch the Grand Illumination in downtown Richmond from afar. The last two years we were right in the middle of it all. I really liked this new view point.

We took a picnic dinner, including hot chocolate, and went to the VA War Memorial for a great view of the city skyline. We got there just in the nick of time to watch the city light up. It was fabulous. NO crowds,  literally on two other people on the hill by us.

We briefly walked around the memorial.

Then we headed to the Jefferson Hotel to see the Christmas decorations.

Jumping Bean

Charly likes to jump off of everything. Off the bed, stairs, out of the car, and pretty much anything more than a foot off the ground she wants to jump off of. She can stick the landing pretty much every time.

November Happenings

 Leland came home one afternoon so excited with this "new" game that a friend made for her. She thought it was the coolest thing ever. She was a little shocked when I told her that we used to make them when I was younger too. What do you call it anyway?

 This picture is for my sister, who says that blogs are only for people to brag about the good things, so I decided to take a picture of what my family room often looks like. Toys scattered and a overflowing laundry basket of clothes that need to folded. After I snapped the shot, Leland asks, "Mom, why are you taking a picture of a dirty room? Who wants to see that?"

 We always love when Nana gets to visit. We are so happy she is retired now and we get to see her so much.

We like to play dress up. There is usually only one princess and two super heroes in our house.

 I cooked my very first Thanksgiving dinner and had lots of helpers in the kitchen. My dad, his girlfriend, and my lil sister, Layni came for dinner. I didn't get any good pictures, but the food was delicious and there was enough to probably feed 25 people. Good thing we love leftovers.

 The girls had a dance party after dinner.