The Grinch

On the way to church Sunday morning, Mia and Lily started talking about Halloween and what they wanted to dress up as.  Mia said she wants to be The Grinch.  This was our conversation.

M: Will you go tomorrow and get me a grinch costume to wear?
A: I'm sorry Mia but I don't know where to get one.
M: At the store.
A: What store?
M: At the Mommy Goes and Gets Mia a Grinch Costume store.
A: (laughing really hard to myself): That sounds like a great store, but I don't know where it is.
M: (straight-faced serious): It's next to Publix.

Where does she come up with this???

Happy Birthday to Me

Happy birthday to me!  After work today, I had a meeting at church, so our family actually celebrated last night.  When I came home from work, the girls jumped out and yelled "surprise!"  Not only was it a clean house (thank you Liz!), but they had decorated the windows, fireplace mantel and kitchen table with birthday items; this was definitely a fun surprise!  I also got to open a few presents which was fun.  The girls had each made me a card and a craft project.  It may sound silly, but I always love the little projects they make for me.  Liz had also taken them shopping where they picked a present.  Mia picked up a bag of Jelly Beans (and then immediately asked for some after I unwrapped them!), and Lily picked out a package of cute stamps that you put on toast.  We love toast, so that will be fun; one says "I love you" and one has "smile!"  Liz also gave me a gift certificate for a pedicure which will be used within a day or two of the end of tax season, yea!  Ryan gave me a 3D video of a Kenny Chesney concert; he is one of my favorite performers, so I cannot wait to see this.  Also, we are going to a silent auction to benefit Lily's school next week, and I have my eye on a couple of items, so part of my present will be to bid on those.  I'll be honest, it's always fun to get birthday presents!

After this celebration, we went to Figo for dinner.  This is one of our favorite restaurants, and once again, it was wonderful.  Love that place.  After dinner, we returned home to have strawberry petit fors for dessert. Delicious is an understatement.  What a fun celebration!

Today, Mom brought our favorite Chinese take-out up to the office for lunch which was a fun treat.  She and Dad also gave me a beautiful new purse as a gift; thank you!  We enjoyed petit fors from McEntyres for dessert that the office staff bought.  Are you seeing a pattern in what I like to eat?  I can't hide it!  After work, I headed up to church for my meeting, and I was surprised by cupcakes and singing there.  When I got home this evening, I was greeted by a beautiful bouquet of tulips from David and Jan; they are already beautiful as bulbs, but I can't wait to see how gorgeous they will be when they open up in another day or two.  The day was also fun as I received many phone calls, text messages and Facebook notes from family and friends.  Thanks to everyone who reached and said happy birthday!  This was a wonderful birthday.  I look forward to what the next year holds in store for me!

Weekend Visitors

We were so excited to have David and Jan (aka, Grandpops and Grandma Jan) come down from Chicago to visit last weekend!  We always have a great time with them, so we couldn't wait for them to arrive.  The girls were besides themselves when we told them they were coming; they couldn't wait!  They treated the four of us to dinner at Veni, Vidi, Vici on Friday night which was both a great time to catch up and delicious.  This was also Mia's first time to go to an "adult" place for dinner; she did very well, especially considering we were there almost two hours enjoying our time together.  This is where Ryan and Lily go for Daddy Daughter's dates, so she handled it very well.  What a great evening!  Here's a picture of the girls outside by the big sign.

On Saturday, David and Jan met Ryan and the girls at the zoo while I went to work.  It was a beautiful day, and they all enjoyed the time outside.  I think the girls enjoyed showing off all the animals, and I know they enjoyed playing on the playground for a little while.  As they were walking out, Grandpops and Grandma Jan kindly offered to stop in the gift shop and purchase a little something to remember the day.  The girls were thrilled!  They each picked out a little wind-up toy (Mia choose a ladybug while Lily went with a butterfly), and they have had all sorts of fun with those.  They also picked out a stuffed animal.  Mia picked a beautiful rainbow tree frog, and Lily picked an otter.  She has fallen for the otter.  "Olly" is with her everywhere now.  She sleeps with her, brings her in the car, plays with her and generally loves on her.  She has already said that next week when she is servant of the day, she is going to bring Olly because the share topic is bringing whatever they want to talk about.  She can't wait.  Thank you both for these gifts that the girls are loving!

After the zoo, it was time for lunch and then head back for a nap; I'm pretty sure Grandpops squeezed one in at the hotel too!  Saturday evening, David and Jan, my mom and dad and the Henderson family came over to have dinner and visit.  It was a great time.  The four grandparents loved watching the kids eat and play together, the four kids were happy to be with their friends and the four parents were glad the kids had playmates so we could enjoy some adult conversation!  We went super simple with chili and cornbread (plus an appetizer from the Hendersons and a dessert from Grandma Jan - thank you!), but it was yummy.  Best of all though was the time spent being with one another.  This was a fantastic evening.

After dinner, it was bedtime, so the Hendersons headed on home, and we snapped this picture of the girls with David and Jan and my parents.  What a great way to end a fun weekend with special visitors!  We certainly hope they will come back again very soon!

All Sorts of Miscellaneous Pictures

With work being incredibly busy right now, I only have a few miscellaneous pictures from the last month.  Here you go!

Meme is staying over at Mom and Dad's house for a little bit while she recovers from an illness.  We went to see her one afternoon which everyone enjoyed.  The girls adore Meme, and she always loves to visit with them too.  The girls love to show off their latest songs and knowledge for her!

Granny sent down from Tennessee a huge package of dress-up jewelry for the girls.  They have had a blast playing with it!  Thank you Granny!

 Lily's sweet friend Jilly made this card for her one day.  I thought it was precious and wanted to include it here.  Lily has made some great friends at school.  They are kind to one another, and they are always making little cards for one another.  Such sweeties!

 Lily is learning to read and is doing a great job.  Mrs. Worrell gave her this award though because of how well she behaves during their reading groups.  I love seeing this new skill!

 Snow White after having a strawberry popcycle for dessert.

 After about 11 years, we broke down and bought a new tv for the living room; it's awesome and we love it.  It has a 3-D feature which is just fun.  We had the Hendersons over for dinner one night, and this is a picture of all the kids trying out the glasses while watching "How To Train Your Dragon" which is one of Mia's favorite movies.  Fun times!

Happy (very belated) Valentine's Day

Wow!  So apparently, I haven't uploaded the (few) pictures from our camera in awhile!  Whoops.  Anyway, this is to remind us about our fun Valentine's Day dinner.  The girls were greeted on Valentine's morning to a couple of little surprises at the table: new books, new Belle DVD, new water bottles and cards.  They were thrilled to start the day with gifts!

The girls love Valentine's Day, so Ryan and I left work early so we could all enjoy a fun evening together.  We made a little dinner and ate it picnic-style in our living room while watching their new Belle movie.  For dinner, we made heart-shaped quesadillas, heart-shaped cheesy bites, strawberries and jello cut-out to spell love.  The girls thought this was great!  It's amazing what a little bit of creativity can do for them.

We also gave them tickets to the circus as a present, but we didn't tell them until later in the week.  This was a wonderful little celebration!