Happy Thanksgiving...

From Our Four Little Turkeys!

Elleanor... 

Ainsley...

Emerson...

Abigail...

Gosh, they were so cute!  

Time flies...my babies have grown up so fast...and I feel old! :-)

Hope you have a blessed day with family and friends!

Random Friday Photos

Tonight the girls enjoyed "Movie Night" in the family room!  They have been asking to have a movie night with popcorn - just like Daddy used to create for them - and it just so happened that a new Barbie movie was playing on t.v. tonight!

Elleanor and Ainsley's school had a Veteran's Day assembly.  Ainsley's class was in charge of the presentation and asked for each student to bring in a photo of a veteran who was a family member or friend.

Going back a couple of weeks, the students were allowed to dress up as a saint for their All Saints' Day Mass on November 1st.  It was completely optional, so Ainsley decided against it and at the last minute, Elleanor decided she wanted to participate.  Here is what she came up with (all on her own) at 8:30 the night before.  She was convinced that she looked just like Mary!

First time trying to do two braids just like her friends at school...although I had to remind her that her hair is not that long!

And finally...what the youngest does while her sisters are at school all day!  Such talent! :-)

Emerson's Thanksgiving Celebration

Emerson's preschool had their Thanksgiving celebration today!  She wore an Indian headdress and made a Pilgrim hat for us to wear.  

Ainsley had stayed home from school after having been out sick for the past few days.  She just needed one more day of rest, so she was able to join us, too!

They had lots of delicious food to eat, but the girls' favorite - by far - was the pumpkin pie!

Happy Early Thanksgiving!

Our Animal Lover(s)

We have known for quite some time about Emerson's obsession with animals.  She LOVES all animals and plays with them night and day.  They are, by far, her favorite toys!  

Her favorite animal varies from day to day, but I have no doubt in my mind that she will have a career that involves some type of work with animals one day.  (I shudder to think, as animals are not my thing - at all!)

She has recently corralled Abigail onto her animal bandwagon and they happily (usually) play animals together on a daily basis.  

Lining up to march one - by - one...

The other afternoon they asked if they could use the cereal and cracker boxes from the pantry.  I thought they were going to play grocery store but they had an even better idea...

They created a zoo for their animals and the boxes acted as cages!  Hard to see from the picture, but there are animals in there among the boxes!

I am thinking that Santa may be researching zoo/farm/barn ideas as gifts for Emerson and Abigail this year! :-)

Halloween 2012

Happy Halloween from...

our little butterfly,

our curious cat, 

MEOW!

 

our *I can't wait to enforce the rules* policewoman,

and our lovable and brave SuperGirl!

Handcuffing the rule breakers...

 

Sorting and counting their loot...

We had a GREAT night trick-or-treating through the neighborhood but we missed Joe A LOT!  

Next year, Daddy....they are all yours! :-)

Pumpkin Carving 2012

Reason #572 as to why I miss Joe:  Carving Pumpkins....

I had put off carving pumpkins with the kids as long as possible as I was hoping they might *forget* that it is something we do around Halloween or that they might want to paint them this year....No such luck!

I really, really dislike carving pumpkins...the smell, the feel, the slime, the mess...just not my thing.  But, the girls have been asking me since this weekend, so nothing like leaving it to the last minute!

They all had to add a little paint to their pumpkin decor since I had brought up the idea of painting earlier...

Our 'go big or go home' eldest pumpkin picker! :-)

Ainsley thought she might want to decorate her pumpkin with marker instead of carving...then changed her mind once she saw her sisters' carved pumpkins!

I did the best I could - but cannot wait for those skilled surgeon hands to carve the pumpkins next year!

Scenes from Germany - Day Two

We got up this morning and had a delicious breakfast at Edelweiss.  If I ever make it back to Germany - I am coming back to this place for sure!  We then took a leisurely drive to Bavaria - a state in Germany - where we were going to spend our day.

When we arrived in Bavaria, we bought tickets to tour two different castles.  One was called Hohenschwangau and the other Neuschwanstein.  They were both castles to King Maximilian II and his son, King Ludwig II.  Before I came here, I had no interest in this history whatsoever, but as I toured both of these castles, it amazed me that the original furniture, architecture, paintings and artifacts are still standing and in pristine condition since the 1800's!

They did not allow you to take many pictures inside the castles, but the artwork, colors, ornamentation and little, distinct details blew me away!  So, so amazing to have this piece of history right in front of me!

Views from the top of Hohenschwangau...Ludwig's childhood home...

His outdoor fountain...

After we left Hohenschwangau, we had to hike 30 minutes up a hill to reach King Ludwig's adult home.  We had a little snack when we reached the top before the tour began...

This was a bridge called "Mary's Bridge" that was across from King Ludwig's adult home.  It was very high up and we ended up walking to it after our tour.  This photo is taken from outside the castle looking across.

At the end of the tour, we were able to photograph the kitchen.  HUGE!  So, so big for one person.  It took King Ludwig four years to build this home and he only lived in a little over 170 days before he died at the age of 41.  No one has lived in it since and any construction that was still being done before he died ceased immediately.  Again, I was just completely amazed that this kitchen had all the original details from so long ago...

Starting to walk out on "Mary's Bridge" - but I could not make it as it was too high up.  I am not too fond of heights and the wooden boards were creaking and shaking...

View from the bridge back to the castle..

They call Neuschwanstein "Cinderella's Castle" as Walt Disney designed Cinderella's castle after much of Neuschwanstein.  It was apparent after taking the tour as we could see many things that reminded us of details we have seen at Disneyland.

We had a four hour drive back to Joe's apartment...didn't take us too long, though, as you can see below.  Thank goodness for the Autobahn!

All packed and ready for tomorrow's adventure - Paris!