Let it snow ...

We got about 2 feet of snow this past weekend. That's A LOT of snow! Our dining room door opens out, so it's very stuck - we wont' be using our deck for a very long time.


Can you see the very tall, skinny wall of snow on the railing - it started to melt, and just suddenly froze, so now we have waves.



Danielle LOVES being outside in the snow.

So, are you wondering why our car is the only one that doesn't have 2 feet of snow on it? Well, we decided to take a trip down to Williamsburg. Saturday we decided to brave the snow storm and come home. It started out fine. We drove slow and made it about 10 miles from our exit. Then all of a sudden, traffic stopped. We waited, and waited, and waited. 8 hours later we finally made it home! (It turns out there was an accident at our exit that took forever to get cleared.) We hope we never, ever have to be in the car for 12 1/2 hours straight again!

Our Williamsburg trip was fun (not worth the trip home, but fun nonetheless).

Danielle needed a little help throwing her penny into the fountain.

Rebekah and Samantha are trying to warm their back sides by the fire.

We even got to see Santa while we were there. Of course, Danielle is still terrified of anyone in costume. She didn't even want to make eye contact (if I don't look at him, he won't be there).

Grandpa and Grandma

Here are a few pictures from Grandpa and Grandma James' visit. We had such a fun, relaxing visit over Thanksgiving. Gary's turkey turned out better than ever! So good! His secret tip: a few pieces of bacon on top.


We also enjoyed the pies. When Samantha saw Grandma's plate she said, "Grandma, you're going to get a tummy ache."

The girls' favorite day was of course playing at Chuck-e-cheese and then picking out a toy at the store. Can we say "spoiled" ...

Laundry

Danielle has come up with a new use for our laundry basket.

Shopping with kids

It's always a fun experience shopping with the whole family.

Riding (I mean, shopping) at Ikea and testing the music selection at Costco ...

Halloween

We had so much fun trick-or-treating on Halloween. So glad the girls were feeling much better by then. Danielle did great trick-or-treating with Grampy's help. She loved her lady bug costume, carrying around her bucket of candy, and trying to keep up with the big kids. Too cute!

No Swine Flu ...

But we have plenty of other germs at our house. Rebekah has pneumonia, and Samantha has bronchitis! I've been to the doctors twice and the pharmacy 3 times in the last 24 hours.

Last night Samantha was up coughing and wheezing. She said, "I'm breathing like Darth Vader." But then she re-assured us, "Don't worry. I won't throw up in your new bed." Very thoughtful.

Free ride

Danielle getting a ride from Samantha. Funny girls. I love all the autumn leaves that now cover our back yard.

We Miss Daddy

Gary has been out of town this week, and we sure miss him. A few times a day (at least)Samantha will say, "I really love Daddy" - Samantha is Daddy's best buddy.

Today we took a little trip to the National Zoo. Here's Danielle showing me the zebras. Fun!

Happy Birthday, Sonny

Thursday we had a birthday party for (believe it or not) Rebekah's Webkin, Sonny. The girls sure love their Webkinz, and they have to be reminded that stuffed animals are not real.

Look, no training wheels!

Rebekah wanted her training wheels taken off. So Daddy and Rebekah went out Saturday to practice, and she got it. She's so excited to ride around the neighborhood with her friends!

Home Sweet Home

Some of our favorite house projects:

Gary has worked hard improving the yard over the past few years (and other improvements to the outside of the house). Before ...


And After ...


We love our red couch downstairs:

And I had fun making a bulletin board out of an old window frame:

And we're enjoying our deck more since we had it re-finished. The girls want to make sure everyone knows it's now "cocoa brown" - they're still trying to figure out how the splinters have disappeared.

We love our little town house; however, the girls would love to have more of a yard some day. Rebekah keeps asking, "When are we going to live in a house that's not stuck to other houses?"

Reunion

It was so good to get together with my former (not old) college roommate, Debbie. We had a nice morning at Mount Vernon. Her family is adorable!

School days

Rebekah loves when we sing, "School days, school days, Dear old Golden Rule days, Reading and writing and 'rithmetic, All to the sound of a hickory stick"

Both girls were so excited for school to start. Rebekah loves 2nd grade with the new teacher, Mrs. Eckert. She was the first one in her class to get a treat because of good behavior.

And Samantha really likes her pre-K class. She wasn't even nervous at all. She has grown up so much over the summer.

Rise and shout, the Cougars are OUt!

BYU - 14 OU - 13 ... Need we say more?

Summer fun

It's hard to believe summer is almost over. The girls will miss the pool. Rebekah has turned into a great swimmer. We call her our little mermaid.



Danielle's new favorite thing to do: turn on the television, grab the remote control, and sit on the couch watching t.v. (She doesn't sit still for too long.)


We love Daddy!

We love our beautiful girls ...

But we're not prejudice at all.

Utah trip

We had such a great time in St. George, Utah visiting Grandpa and Grandma and Aunt Kathy and the cousins. It's hard to tell who had the most fun - us or the kids? Here are a few pics from the trip.

We had lots of fun at the community pools.

We had a fun picnic in Pine Valley one day. The kids even put on a play for us.

Our trip to Provo was the best. While visiting the Bean Science Museum we got to touch a few live animals, including a Python.

Visiting with Uncle Lee and Aunt Cheryl and more cousins in Provo. Too fun!

Horsing around.

Danielle loved being with her cousins - they were so great with her, and she loved the constant attention. (I wish I'd gotten pictures of Christopher and Julian with Danielle.)

Time with Grandpa and Grandma and Aunt Kathy.

Danielle giving kisses to Lulu. Very sweet.

It was such a fun, relaxing trip. The two weeks went by way too fast! We miss our grandparents and our cousins already!