Mardi Gras 2012

Our church had a Mardi Gras party for the kids this year....

here's our mask

She was quite proud of this and wore it during the parade where the parents got to throw candy at them, to say she was excited is an understatement{grin}!

I think this picture.....

clearly shows we have PLENTY of American Girl items...it stretches from door to closet covering almost every inch of floor space :) We were "playing" store this night and when Alison was finished setting up the store I could not believe the volume of stuff our AG has!

Swim lessons

It's that time of year again, swim lesson time. We take through the Y and have had nothing but really good experiences. She's doing a wonderful job. She's mastered her backstroke and frontstroke. She just recently starting floating on her back for seconds at a time.

Still have time for photo-ops though :)

Big breath Al....doing her dips...10 in a row!

Floating on her back with a little assistance from Mary

What we've been doing

Well, the one thing we are not doing is playing in the snow...BOO! I am really missing our traditional winter weather around here! Of course we all know that it will get snowy, windy, icy oh long about.....late February when we are ready for warmer temps :)

We recently hit up our Y's Winter Beach Party! Alison played games and had a great evening. These two kids were sports and played games with the younger set. That's Alison swimming through the hula hoop.
We were finally able to work around everyone's schedule and have Christmas with our friends. Here's our group of little mongrols....aren't they adorable! I love every single one of them to absolute pieces. We are so amazingly blessed! Lydia and Alison are both in their gifts from Carla....new jammies....Scooby Doo and Dora, their current favorites!!! And in case anyone needs help, that's Tyler on the left and Carson on the right.
Alison could have held Carson and played with him ALL evening! And he's a little trooper and doesn't mind one bit! Seriously one of the most easy going babies I've ever met.
Smiles from sweet Tyler.
Chris and his girls! Lydia LOVES him!

Christmas Day 2011

Christmas Morning....is there anything better than that excitement, wide-eyed, squeal of your kiddo on Christmas morning...no, I think not :) Alison woke at 3am wondering if Santa had been to our house and I told her it was still very much in the middle of the night and we should try and close our eyes again....she slept until 6:10 and we actually got out of bed at 6:30!

Santa brought this fun Hello Kitty shirt in her stocking
and it matched his other gift perfectly....Two goldfish! We now have "pets" in our home. Alison is ecstatic and loves Goldie and Scott very much! She's a very responsible pet owner, feeds them morning and night and talks to them!
Daddy was excited to get this BSU wall decor for his office!
Both sets of Grandparents and Great Meme came later in the afternoon to spend time with us and enjoy Christmas dinner. We are VERY blessed that they are always willing to travel to our house so Alison can enjoy Christmas at her house, in her pajamas, with her new toys, ALL day long :)
This might be the most beloved gift of Christmas 2011....this is her paint filly from American Girl that Meme and Papa got her. She loves it dearly and has named her Holly!
We were blessed beyond words this holiday season!