Merry Christmas!!

Randy was so excited to get the girls this train table.  I must say, I never knew trains were so fun (we have 3 girls--trains haven't been a part of our lives 'till now).

Lucy is our little sweeper.  She's alway pulling out the spare broom to help me in the kitchen-so Santa brought her one she can wield a little easier. (Can you see the yarn draped across the window?  It was wrapped around a helicopter--part of the train set that crashed in the Christmas tree-- and draped around the room, leading upstairs to to the train table.)

I was surprised they wanted to open their stocking stuff first!

Doritos are such a treat at our house :)

This year we cut down our own tree (pictures to follow) and the girls were so excited to decorate it.  They couldn't wait for me to get the lights on.  They started ornamenting it with toys and necklaces and anything they could get their hands on.  They were so proud of their work.

Looking for the perfect Christmas tree, there was a lot of this:

and this:

It took us FOREVER, but we did finally find the perfect one.

 For us, one of the highlights was watching the new videos of the nativity over and over again.  It seemed to remind us of the reality that Christ was born in Bethlehem, and think about what it must have been like for those who experienced it firsthand. We hope you all had a Merry Christmas!! 

Family Pictures

Our friend Brittany Nair (who took our pictures last fall) took our family pictures this year.  The photo shoot was short as we got rained out, but after seeing the pictures we decided we didn't need to go out again (to my great pleasure).  These were taken at a park next to Perryville Point at the top of the Chesapeake Bay; here are some of my favorites:

Which is your favorite?

Great news

but we'll get to that later.  My pictures are out of order. --I feel like I post so seldom that I have to relearn things quite often.  I know I could fix this, but I'm not going to. 

Did I mention that I LOVE the fall.   I think I did in that last post.  But I'll say it again.  "I LOVE FALL!!"

So much has happened this month I'll just list what we did and then you can browse the pictures at your leisure.

First, my sister Jane and niece Kate came for a fun visit.

We did a lot together, including a hike to Turkey Point Light house (pictured)

and a trip on the metro (giggle) to DC to the National History of Natural Sciences Museum (not pictured)

There, we saw the Hope Diamond among other gems and jewels. {I thought it would be bigger :| }

Also, Kate held a millipede! (wish I had a picture)

It was so fun to have them!  We missed them as soon as they were gone.

On Columbus Day we went on a hike in Susquehanna State Park

Grandma Griffiths came for a visit next

And here's the great news I know you've been waiting for:  While she was here

 WE CAUGHT THE GROUNDHOG!!!

Randy had a stare down with him.

I learned how to mow the lawn on the riding mower! (hilarious, but that's another story.--I'll just say that it wasn't built for someone 5' tall.)

We brought Grandma with us to a few soccer games and story time at the library, then to top off our week, we went to Milburn Orchards and had a great time petting and feeding the animals, playing in the sandbox and on the playground.  We went on a fun hayride, had lunch and picked out pumpkins.  

Lucy warmed right up and figured out how to say gramma by the end of her stay.

Again, we missed her as soon as she left.

Next comes Halloween --even though it's been here for a week already. We've been dressed up for different things this week no less than 3 times.

It's been a good month!  Can't wait for what is in store next month!!

I love Autumn.

Boo!!

Did it scare you?  'Cause it sure scared me when I found it on our deck in the middle of it's HUGE web.  (That is a stink bug it caught.)

Happy October!!!

I love the fall.

{despite this and the other four(4) we found later that day}

She was carrying around her booster seat like this for a while.

 It wasn't until she asked for spoons that it dawned on me what she was doing.

Here's our newest arrangement.  Randy made a new desk for us.  I love it! 

{And you should just try that drawer. It slides beautifully!!}

This fall Anne started soccer.  This was taken at her first official game.

{We yell too much, but we're really trying to tone it down}

And this pretty much sums up the game:

Notice, I have 2 separate proofs that she was more concerned about her jersey being tucked in just right than where the ball is.

Good times!!  I just love soccer in the fall!

{Especially with Anne and the fam}

I love it when she smiles for the camera.

When we made room for the dishwasher, we had to take out some cabinets which we decided to make into our kitchen island. We put on some breadboard, trim, and a counter top. Then we painted it. Now all we need are a couple of stools.

I cut my hair off.

The day of the earthquake I took the girls hiking in Fair Hill. We didn't feel a thing and when Randy called I was clueless.

That weekend the hurricane hit. We had a slumber party in the basement. The girls slept in their tents with tons of toys. It was a fun party. The storm didn't do any damage at our place. Randy and I were in the front room as the storm was beginning to pick up--about 10:30 pm -- when we heard a loud cracking noise. Turns out our neighbor across the street lost his remaining 2 bradford pear trees. Sad, they were beautiful! He knew they were on the way out though.

Here is the disturber of the peace at work.

Anne is rather particular about some (all) things.

One of them is her bed. It must be PERFECTLY made or there will be ranting and raving.

Anne went to kindergarten!!

She got on the bus like a champ! (Yeah, just drop her off at the bus stop on her first day of school EVER and hope all goes well. It was a little nerve racking for me.) And she had a great day. That night she told me, "There are some things I don't like at school. But mostly I like school!" I asked her what she didn't like and she said she didn't like it when the other kid sprayed water from the sink and soaked her new shirt. Then she made sure we would take her to the bus stop again tomorrow.

This past weekend was the Rubber Duckie Regatta. A big huge rubber duck race near the bay. There were all kinds of booths at the park and one was Bob's Critters. Randy was loving it and eventually, so was Anne. There were all kinds of things from Turtles and frogs to scorpions and pythons. Anne really loved holding the geckos and she also held one of the snakes. (yick!!)

The sad thing is, my girls start screaming and shaking and running to hide when they see a cute puppy frolicking anywhere near them. Perhaps they just prefer the creatures that can't move so fast.