And How Was Your Saturday?

Apparently, Elleanor has not enjoyed hers so much!

Joe created a special email account for Elleanor before he left so that she could write to him anytime she wanted and he could send her special notes, as well.  He actually did this for all the girls, but Elleanor is the only one who uses it because she knows how.

I just read an email that she sent to Joe an hour ago...

Elleanor Lynch	2:30 PM (1 hour ago)
to me

Dear Daddy,
it's a hard time hear!!!!!!!
from number 1
Elleanor

Sent from my iPad

Apparently, she has not enjoyed some of the plans I had scheduled for us to do together today...

Cleaning out, washing and organizing the garage...

and 

Washing and scrubbing down the patio furniture!

So sorry, Elle Belle!  It's no picnic for Mommy, either!  We REALLY miss you, Daddy! :-)

A few photos of my work crew...

Elleanor did not want Emerson in first picture as she did not do much in the way of helping.  She wanted to make sure that Daddy knew Emerson was too busy playing with her toy animals! :-)

 

But I insisted that Joe would want to see all four of his girls!

Maybe tomorrow will be more fun!

Bowling Beauties

Last weekend we had another visitor - my very good friend, Becky!  She is a speech pathologist and came down for a conference on Friday and Saturday...and then decided to stay a few extra days to visit!

I met Becky right before I graduated college and we have been great friends ever since.  No matter the distance or life circumstance, we always pick up right where we left off...a true friend!  She and her husband, Kevin, are also Emerson's godparents!

We spent a lot of time just visiting and playing with the kids and decided to take them on a little adventure - bowling!

Ainsley was the most timid at the start but quickly warmed up!

There was a lot of dancing and twirling on the slippery bowling floor...good thing we wore our pretty dresses for our bowling date! :-)

Action shot!

They really cheered each other on and helped each other out!

Look who won...the person with the ONLY strike AND spare - AINSLEY!  Big sister was not too happy about that! :-)  Abigail came in second place - with a little help from Mommy!

Thank-You, Daddy!

Joe sent the girls a care package on September 11th and it finally arrived today!  The main reason for the package was to send Abigail her birthday gift but he included individual notes and German chocolate bars for the other three girls!

They were SO excited to get mail from Daddy and read his letters!  Ainsley even cried when I read her letter aloud.  They miss you SO much, Joe!  The chocolate had to go in the refrigerator as it was quite soft and melted, but they have something to look forward to tomorrow!

Abigail LOVED her singing card...although I think it was meant for an adult...the phrase "too many drinks" didn't phase her one bit! :-)  I am sure there aren't too many singing cards available in Germany!

She proudly clutched her "German baby doll" all night long and tucked it in next to her tonight.

You did good, babe!  It was JUST what they needed!  XOXO

Going On A Bear Hunt

Emerson's preschool teacher had to stop me this morning to tell me about an event that happened yesterday.

The class has been learning a song called "Going On A Bear Hunt."  They sang it together during the day.

When it was over, Emerson raised her hand and said, "When we find the bear we are going to shoot it in it's head and kill it...'cause that's what my daddy does!"

Hmmm, Daddy....maybe it's time for a new hobby?!

Abigail's 3rd Birthday! - Part Two

After opening presents and playing for a bit, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese for the real birthday celebration to begin!  The girls LOVE going there - and truth be told, so do I!  :-)  Thank-you, Papa, for going with the flow that day!

Abigail spent most of her tokens on rides instead of games...

The ticket blaster was a big hit!  It was only $1.00 per child so we let them all try it out.  Emerson declined as she didn't want the wind blowing in her face, but Abigail was all for it!  You can tell she is a bit timid at first until she got the hang of it.

After spending a few hours (and a few dollars!) at Chuck E. Cheese, it was time to come home and finish off the day with chocolate cupcakes!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Abigail!  

We love you so much and look forward to watching what this next year has in store for you!  

Feeling the Love

Today I was really feeling loved as I received two surprise packages on my doorstep!

Feeling the love all the way from Germany!

Feeling the love from "Spoke-land"!  These are for the girls, too! :-)

Yummy, delicious cookies!  These will not last long in our house!

Thank-you!  Thank-you!  Thank-you!  You all made our day!

XO XO XO

Abigail's 3rd Birthday! - Part One

Abigail turned THREE on Sunday!

We spent the evening before reminiscing about her 'birth' day and what each of the girls remember about that day.  Surprisingly, they remembered quite a bit about the hospital and coming to meet her for the first time...including eating pizza and having Daddy walk them around the hospital!

We woke up on Sunday morning and got ready to go to Church.  A few snapshots of the birthday girl before we left...

After Church, we headed to Target as Abigail received three birthday dollars and they were burning a hole in her pocket! :-)  She had a blast shopping in the dollar section for princess accessories and munching on popcorn and slurpees!

Her sisters also had a few dollars to spend and chose these cute spectacles!  They want to wear glassses so bad and thought they looked so smart!

After we put the cupcakes in the oven, it was time to open presents!  Thank-you to the aunties, uncles, cousins and grandparents for spoiling Abigail!

Elleanor wrote her the nicest birthday note and wanted to read it out loud to the birthday girl!

Princess slippers from her cousins!  She wears them around day and night!

A puzzle with her name on it and a 'DREAM LIGHT'!  She has been eyeing this gift after watching all the commercials on tv!

Her most favorite gift...her sparkly TOMS!  Her sisters were quite envious! :-)  She wears them proudly!

A dress-up kit from Mommy and Daddy...

I think there was a common theme among the gifts this year...shoes!!

So many cute dresses...

Her most favorite princess...

She had a wonderful beginning to her birthday celebration!

Up next, a visit to one of her favorite places to play!