A Very Merry Christmas Eve!!!

Last photo of our friend Merry before she heads back to the North Pole with Santa. The girls are always so sad to see her go. We enjoy her silliness while she is here.

We had a great few days starting Friday celebrating with the Brown's in Dane. Our 1st Christmas without Grandpa Larry & he was definitely missed. CeCe had a candle lit the entire day that she said represented Larry. We laughed that he was very fragrant! The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins & opening presents together. Wish I could say the same about the ride home but I cannot! The snow complicated our ride home & turned what is normally a 2 1/2 hour ride into a 5 1/2 hour drive. No fun, I am pretty sure I had my first ever panic attack.

Thankfully Gary got us home safe & sound. Whew!

This morning {xmas eve} we woke up & headed straight to the movie theater in our Packer gear to see the movie Sing at 9am. Best time ever to see a movie, the theater was dead and only 1/4 full. The girls loved the movie, it has become such a fun tradition. After watching the game at our house we went to church & then over to Katie & Mike's for our Christmas Eve gathering.

The girls looked so cute all dressed up with their hair curled. The curling wand has gotten a lot of use in our house lately. Great St. Nick gift from Aunt Katie. We tried to get a shot of the 4 of them together, Maeve & Sloane were twins! Of course Sloane wanted nothing to do with the photo.

 We had a great night together just visiting, eating & drinking. The kids consumed their body weight in kiddie cocktails which made them so happy. They spent the majority of the night in the basement on Sloane's new trampoline & taking silly photos together. Always interesting to look back at the photos when they are done.

They took a few pics of the adults as well...

Now all are snuggled in their beds sleeping hoping that Santa will arrive soon. We tracked him before bed & he was in Nashville. We also set out a few cookies for Santa & threw 9 carrots in the front lawn... one for each of the reindeer. {Maeve's idea per her conversation with Santa on Tuesday eve}

Time for bed, lots of fun to be had tomorrow! We have 3 very excited little girls. xoxoxo

Tonight the girls had a very special visit with Santa. No lines to wait in, just 20 minutes with the three of them & Santa. So special for the three of them. The girls know that Santa has a lot of helpers that help out at the malls & other places, but this was special in that they got a visit with the real Santa. The visit itself was free but I chose to pay for all the photos from the session.

I just love them all so much. So precious.

Of course they had a lot of questions for Santa & he was happy to answer. He even shared with the girls that our elf Merry was with another family before she started coming to our house. They found that very interesting. He told them that she did silly things at the other house too.

She's a goofy little elf.

They looked at a story together & then had a chance to visit with Santa individually to tell them what they had on their lists this year.

 I enjoyed watching them all interact with him so much. I could see the belief in Marin's eyes. Santa even knew that my cousin Aaron caught him on a deer camera years ago, which just floored Marin. She could not wait to talk to Aaron about it.

 Margaux just smiled the entire time & giggled. So typical, but she loved it.

Even with the static hair! haha

And Maeve was just precious. She couldn't wait to ask Santa his favorite color & smiled ear to ear when he told her it is red of course. He also told Maeve that his reindeer start to get hungry around the time he gets to our house & that they would appreciate it if she would leave a snack for them. I will forever remember this visit & cherish the photos of the girls. They are all so darn cute in their pjs!

So magical & fun for us all. Thankful they all enjoyed it so much & understood how special it was for them. Looking forward to making a photo book for us to enjoy every Christmas with the photos. xoxo

2016 Christmas Lists!

I snapped a pic of all three lists before the two big girls sent them to the North Pole with

Merry our elf this weekend.

Marin's list... this is page 1 of 3!!! She says they are all just suggestions & she knows she is not getting it all... haha!

 Marg's list which has been re-written about 7 times because she is so serious about it.

She is too funny.

 And Maeve's list that she wrote with her 4th grade pal at school. She also had a list at home but she does not like it because she says it is too sloppy & no one can read it. So she prefers this one written by her buddy. Love that she only asked for two things!

Fingers crossed they get what they wish for! All three of them better stop fighting or they'll get nothing! Sisterly love... xoxo

Christmas Concert Week!

Happy to say that everyone is healthy {as of now} and all three chicks were able to attend their concerts. Marin had a little anxiety this week because so  many kids are sick. She really did not want to miss her concert for the 2nd year in a row.

Maeve's concert was Monday night. I had a holiday dress picked out for her & she refused to wear it. She insisted that she wear her Annie dress. It is not the cleanest dress since she lives in it & loves to play in it as well... although I didn't feel like a fight. So the Annie dress it was & she couldn't have been happier. She did so great & we loved watching her sing her heart out on stage. She takes her singing very seriously.

She is on the top row, 4th in from the right.

I always love the kindergarten concerts. They are all still so little & just adorable.

She was so happy to pose with some of her friends after the concert during the cookie social.

Last night {Thursday} it was the big girls turn. Margaux's concert was 1st at 5:30pm. Margaux tried on two dresses before we left & the were both way too big. So she wore last years dress. Still fits perfectly. Love our tiny little Marg & she looked adorable. She was right in front with one of her besties, Sophie. Margaux is also a very serious singer! So into it!

Afterwards, back to another cookie social & more photos with friends.

It is so fun to see them all in their holiday dresses looking so fancy.

Definitely a fun night for all the kids. Since there was an awkward time frame in-between the two concerts we stayed and watched our 3rd grade friends as well! Then it was time for Marin's concert at 7:30. Marin's dress also didn't fit. Apparently we did a terrible job preparing for these concerts. Thankfully we had one of her friend Estelle's dresses here for her to borrow & it worked out great. She looked so pretty. She is definitely growing up.. makes me sad. Last night was her last elementary concert. {Insert my sad face} Marin rocked it. She really enjoys singing but is far less serious. Smile on her face the entire time. She also got to play the bells during one of the songs. She did great!

 Then on to cookie social #3 and more photos.

Very fun evening but by 8:30 we had 3 very tired little chicks. We headed home & put them all to bed. Now today we are prepping for a big snow storm. We are supposed to get up to 14 inches & the girls are soooooo excited. 8 days til Christmas! xoxo

Green Bay Packer Sunday & cookie making day yesterday.

The girls helped cut out the cookies & once they were all baked we decorated and decorated and decorated! There were a lot of cookies.

We had a house full too! Katie, Sloane, Amy, Addy & the Veraghens were here to decorate as well. Big ole' decorating party & it was so fun! The kids really took their time & tried to make them look professional. I was impressed!

 I had to sweep the floor so many times because the bottoms of our feet were picking up sprinkles. They were everywhere. Sloane decorated a few cookies, although she liked the frosting the most. The kids got a kick out of watching her decorate with her cute little apron on.

Now we eat cookies...there are way too many. We'll need to share with friends & family.

Good thing they look so wonderful! xoxo

Our calendar is officially crazy these days. The weeks are filled with religion classes for the girls, basketball practice/games, dance practice, etc. Our kids schedules rule the evenings! We made time for a little fun the past few nights. Thursday night we got together at my friend Jay's parents house for dinner with some high school friends. Jay, his wife Ashleigh and their son Oakes are in town for a few days visiting from Vancouver.

So many kiddos in the group. Gary stayed back with Margaux so she could go to dance practice. The other two chicks had a blast with all the kiddos playing in their indoor basketball court. Their house was one of our favorite hang outs back in the day because of the court. Fun to see all our kiddos playing in it now, years later. They had a blast!

Friday night I had some of my girlfriends over for a girls night. Lots of great food, drinks and laughs with this bunch. I am really feeling like I need a nap today but that is not happening... off to Marin's basketball tournament!

Busy, busy, busy. It's our new normal, especially during this time of the year with all the holiday happenings. The month of December is already going by way too fast... but we're enjoying every minute of it. xoxo

1st snow of the season!

These two couldn't wait to get outside. They were busy making snow angels on the deck & shoveling the little bits of snow. It accumulated to be more than what you see in the picture but melted the next day. More snow coming next week & then REALLY cold temps ahead as well, so the snow should be here to stay very soon! xoxo

Today was the 2016 Holiday Parade in our town. Grandpa Jerry let the girls walk in the parade with him and the rest of the fire department. The big girls were all about it, but Maeve chose to stay with mom and dad to watch the parade.

This years parade theme was Toyland so the fire department did a Lego float.

It turned out great!

They were so proud...

Maeve posed for the pics & then we headed to our spot to watch the parade.

Katie, Mike and Sloane joined us as well.

About a 1/2 hour in the girls came walking by handing out candy with big smiles on their faces.

The weather was great! Would have been nice to have snow, but that isn't coming until tomorrow. Loving this time of year! xoxo

Last night was a fun one for our big girls. We went to see Parmalee in concert. They are a country group with a lot of fun songs on the radio that the girls love. I bought the tickets a few weeks ago & offered it to all three girls. Marg & Marin accepted right away & were thrilled. Maeve happily declined & chose to have a date night with Daddy. They had dinner together & went to see the Trolls movie. She was so excited, it was adorable. So the bigs, Katie & our friends Kristin and Estelle headed to the concert after having dinner together.

We had general admission tickets so we got there early to make sure we got a good spot for the girls. Arriving early was key, we scored front row spots. Directly in front of the stage with a short barricade separating us from the stage. We could not have gotten any closer & the girls were very excited. Estelle & Margaux's first concert!

 Aren't they the cutest little girls you've ever seen? They were basically the only kids at the concert. I saw one other girl that was a bit older than Marin. We had so much fun together singing & dancing, their smiles were priceless. So darn cute in their little flannels, hair curled & a little makeup! They felt pretty special.

This adorable guy opened for Parmalee, his name was Sammy Arriaga. He sang a whole bunch of cover songs that the girls knew {lots of Justin Bieber!!!} & it was great for them to sing along. They even got to meet him after wards. We told them he'll be famous someday, they were star struck. We bought his cd & he signed photos for the girls.

Once Sammy finished it was time for Parmalee. Right as they came out onto the stage one of the security guards reached over the barricade & grabbed the girls to bring them over to the stage side. How nice was that?! Margaux was a bit shy & didn't want to go over so she stayed with me. But Marin & Estelle had the time of their lives. They were the only people up there {aside from camera crew & security}, the band could see them singing along to the music & they were just smiling at the girls from the stage while performing.

The band made their night when they threw them guitar pics. Such a fun experience for them. I just love all the photos from the evening. So glad we decided to take them.

So close to the stage & so fun. Awesome memories for the girls. The adults had fun too, it was a great concert. Helped being so close to the stage too! Time to get ready for the parade this morning... pics to come! xoxo

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

There are definitely many reasons for us all to be thankful & blessed this year.  We are very fortunate.

 We had a busy day full of cooking & family yesterday. We hosted both my family & the Browns. It is always nice for them all to be together & for the girls to have their cousins here. I didn't take a single photo all day... I hate when that happens & I think of it after the fact. Regardless we had a great day together & are all very thankful for our families and friends. It was a low key day & exactly what we all enjoy... just being together. I love this time of year and all the traditions that come along with it. Looking forward to the next few weeks! Bring on the holidays! xoxo

Today was Maeve's kindergarten feast at school. Both bigs really enjoyed the feast when they were in kindergarten, so Maeve was really looking forward to it. 

Each kindergarten family sent in food/treats/drinks to share with all of the kinder classes. Always soooo much food to choose from, probably why the kids enjoy it so much!

Maeve insisted on wearing our "thankful" shirt. Good choice Maeve!

Here she is with her friends/classmates Kendall, Eddie & Avi.

Each student made a place mat & they sat in rows on the floor with tablecloths. Tons of plates full of food in front of them. I swear they probably didn't need dinner that night, there was a crazy amount of food to choose from. Anything from string cheese, crackers, bread, cookies, pumpkin pie, beef sticks, jello, etc. I was so happy to be there to join in on the fun.

Each class also took turns singing a Thanksgiving/Turkey song. They were all adorable. Maeve's class sang a cute song about a turkey not wanting to be eaten on Thanksgiving. Kindergarten is so fun, I am sad that Maeve is our last kinder. I will need to attend events with Sloane!!! xoxo

We spent tonight at school for Science Night. Always one of the girls favorite events at school. The high school chemistry club puts on a really fun presentation with many fun experiments. Afterwards the kids got to visit stations & do experiments on their own.

Maeve's favorite was the slime making station. This will be staying in the kitchen when we get home!

Margaux ran around to all the stations with her friends. They loved the ice cream station the most.

Marin also loved the ice cream station but this pic was taken at the balloon station.

Very fun for the girls with their friends. We'll look forward to this again next year!

A week after the kids enjoyed their holiday, it was the adults turn to have some Halloween fun! Our friends/neighbors hosted their annual Halloween party with a 70's theme this year. To change it up from the hippie 70's we decided {along with Wendy & Travis} to go as late 70 year olds. So funny & we had so much fun playing the part all night.

 Gary owned the dance floor with his cane. Dancing all night long!

 With one pair of our hippie friends...

Great times... We borrowed the canes/walker from my grandparents {who had them due to a hip/knee replacement} and the clothes were Wendy's grandparents from long ago. The dresses didn't even have tags because her grandmother made all her own clothes. Made us all laugh the entire night faking hard hearing & not walking so well. While talking about the costumes earlier this week, my aunt kindly reminded me that 70's really isn't that old anymore... she is correct, but we sure had fun acting like we were old. xoxo

Happy Halloween!!! 

The girls had so much fun yesterday. They each got to wear their costumes to school since the holiday fell on a school day. The classrooms had small celebrations & Maeve's even had a costume parade. Super cute.

This year we had Pizza, Princess Leia & Cupcake Shopkin

All three of them chose their own costumes & they are so fitting for the three of them and their personalities. Margaux's wig just kills me.. so stinkin funny!

Once they got home from school, it was time for a quick snack & then Trick or Treat with friends. 

The big two went out with friends this year & Gary/myself went with Maeve & the other neighborhood littles. Here is Marg & her Star Wars buddies...

They were so cute together! Marin & her friends were adorable as well. They were gone for hours & came home with so much candy!

Maeve's group didn't make it as far before they got cold, but they still got a huge bag of candy. Maeve was of course afraid of all the scary masks so she skipped quite a few houses!

I was freezing myself. I really was encouraging Maeve to wrap it up so I could get inside & warm up!! I could not believe how much candy they had. We bagged up a whole lot of it to send to the Troops. We definitely don't need it in our house. Way more than we should be eating, but the kids love it. Such a fun day! Now time to get the decorations down & get ready for Christmas!!!