Christmas 2012



We were so happy that we were able to spend Christmas with my mom this year, the girls had such a wonderful time playing with Grandma and were so sad to see her go.  We went to church on Christmas Eve and watched Ella as an angel in the program.  She did such a great job!!  Then we came home, had dinner and began the activities to get ready for the big night :)

 

 

Daddy read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' to the girls,

 

we sprinkled reindeer food (and checked the sky for Santa),

 

and we got Santa's milk and cookies ready!

 

He came!!!

We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Halloween



Our little witches had a great time on Halloween :)  Both would have been happy with the first piece of candy and were so excited to get candy by the bucketful.  Since we would have either had stomachaches or cavities if we ate all of it, we told Ella about the local dentist who was offering $1 per pound. She was all for it and we are very proud of her!  The dentist then sends all of the candy to the troops--way to go Ella!!  She got to choose the pieces that she really wanted and then we took the rest after school today.  6 pounds!  Yikes :)

 

 

Thomas Sumter Academy

We love Ella's school, she is getting to do so many more things than a Kindergartner usually gets to do. The varsity cheerleaders ran a mini-cheerleading camp and taught the girls several cheers and a dance and they were able to perform at the pep rally and during halftime at the football game. She was also chosen to be the Homecoming Flower Girl and was on the field to give the bouquet to the Homecoming Queen when she was crowned. We may not miss many things about Sumter, SC when we move on, but we will miss the school so much. Go Generals!!

 

Kindergarten

Ella in Kindergarten, no way...she cannot be old enough!  Well, as much as I wanted her to stay home with me, she went to Kindergarten and had a blast :)  It was raining so we couldn't get the pictures I had planned but she was so excited to go and there were no tears from anyone.  Caroline was pretty bored without big sister to play with, I think it may be the biggest adjustment for her.  Ella was smiling when she came out to the car after school and was excited for day 2.  It's going to be a great year :)

It is hard to tell from the expression in this picture, but Caroline also loved Kindergarten and did NOT want to leave!

Such a big girl :)

Summer, so far...

Once again, it has been way too long between updates.  Here is a bit of an update on our last few weeks:
Ella's Preschool Graduation
A wonderful year at a great school!  Ella had a blast at Chestnut Memorial Preschool and learned SO much.  She really came out of her shell and is very ready for Kindergarten!  The whole school came together to sing a song about friends at the end and of course I cried!!

Move to Sumter, South Carolina

Our year in Virginia flew by and it was time to move on.  Brian was very ready to have a 'real' job and is glad to be busy again.  We love our new house--we have a pool!!  Not a whole lot to do in Sumter so until school starts, the pool is our saving grace with the girls.  When we are bored we head to the backyard!







Family Vacation to Myrtle Beach

Being in Sumter has a few perks--close proximity to places we want to travel to!  We spent 4 days in Myrtle Beach and everyone had a blast.  We stayed at a great resort with beach access and a water park.  We spent each morning at the beach and then headed to the water park until lunch time.  We would head to the room for lunch, naps/rest, and head out for play time and dinner.  We went to the Aquarium, played putt-putt, and shopped til we nearly dropped (which doesn't take long with Brian and 2 children along).  A great family vacation :)





Busy, Busy, Busy

I have once again let the blog slip...we have been busy with soccer 2-3 times each week, a promotion to Major and a Father-Daughter Ball. 

Ella is quite the soccer player!  She is finally getting the idea of it and realizes that it isn't going to hurt anyone's feelings if she steals the ball from them :)  She has made contact more and more in each game and maybe by the end of the season will have a goal to brag about!  She runs and smiles the whole game and that is what matters :)  GO ELLA GO!!

 

Ella and her best bud, Olivia

Brian was promoted to Major last week and the girls were super excited to be presented with flowers and balloons at the ceremony.  I got quite a nice bouquet as well :)  We are very proud of all of his hard work and cannot wait to continue the adventures with him!

Brian and Ella got to spend a wonderful evening together at the Father-Daughter Princess Ball on the base and I know a little girl who is not going to forget it for a long time.  Brian had to drag her off the dance floor :) 

Five Years Old

We still cannot believe that our little girl is 5-years old...but we had the celebrations to prove it! Unfortunately her birthday invloved a 6 hour car ride back from visiting South Carolina, but she had lots of presents waiting to make up for it. The next day was the big party complete with a bouncy slide and gymnastics (jumping into the foam pit was the highlight for all the kids)!!

She is now the owner of 2 American Girl dolls (thank you Cousin Kendall!)

Happy Birthday Princess :) We love you!