Let it snow!

The girls got to play out in the snow!

The first time we went out, it was for the first snow last week and the girls wanted to go out even though we didn't have snow "apparel" out yet. Alaina just adores the snow and the first day, Cami thought it was pretty cool too.

The second snow - well, Cami's just not so sure. She LOVES to look at it and hold little teeny balls of it in her hand, but beyond that - she just cries and tries to get to the sidewalk! :)

Here are some pictures of the fun.

Cami was excited to come inside after the fun and was playing peek-a-boo with the door.

I really think Alaina just likes to play in the snow because she thinks she gets hot chocolate when she comes inside every time! :)

I hate snow. Really. I hate being cold. Is it spring yet?!!!!!

Last week in review :)

So, last week was CRAZY! Alaina had Nutcracker rehearsal every night from 5:30 to 7:30 or later and then a 7pm performance Friday and a 2pm and 7pm performance on Saturday. It was a tiring week for Alaina, even though she loved it - being with the "big ballerinas" and wearing make-up and seeing all the beautiful costumes. But let me say again, it was a tiring week for Alaina. A week later, we're still recuperating!

It was well worth it! :)

We so enjoyed watching Alaina perform in the Nutcracker! She was so sweet - her little mouse head was so big (as seen below) and it didn't get pinned in very well, so it was falling off and she was trying so hard to not mess with it. She was just grinning from ear to ear and was really off in her own little world the whole performance.

As an angel, she was "squinting" (her word) into the crowd trying to find us. She's so dramatic. This was right up her alley.

I used to think she was ballet crazy before the Nutcracker - now I know! She told me (so dramatically and seriously) the other day on the way to school that she just can't think of anything else now and just keeps "remembering the Nutcracker in my head all the time! Mommy, I just keep dancing it in my head!"

What have we transformed her into?!?!?!

Advent

The girls opened a special early Christmas gift this weekend from their Great Aunt Laura and Great Uncle George. They actually received the gift over Thanksgiving, but couldn't open it until Dec. 1st.

It was a beautiful Advent calendar! The girls both love it. My Aunt Laura made it for the girls and it is so sweet! We've wanted to get an Advent calendar for a couple years now because Adam's mom has one that Alaina really enjoys. So when Aunt Laura asked if that would be a good gift, I said YES!!!

The first day Alaina got to chose a "marker" and place it on the calendar, and the next day Cami did. We'll alternate days until Christmas. Both of the girls are really excited and I'm looking forward to talking to them about Christmas and the birth of Jesus.

We have a crazy week coming up - Alaina's going to be in the Nutcracker this next weekend so she has rehearsal each night this week for 2+ hours in the evening. She will be a baby mouse and an angel in the Nutcracker. She's excited and so are we. She keeps pretending to be scared (truly, pretending in every sense of the word - the girl is SO dramatic!) and then laughs and then goes back to pretend crying and nervousness. She's a nut!

We also have been under some "renovation" in our home - a new kitchen! Adam and some friends (Brian Shaffer and Scott Rodgers) have been putting tons of time into our kitchen over the last 2+ weeks and we're almost done! Here are a few pictures of the progress...

Before:

After demo:

After fixing demo:

Getting closer:

I'll post a few pictures of the final results. It's truly amazing how different my kitchen in already! It's actually a kitchen with purpose now! I can USE it effectively and there's ROOM in it with cabinet space and counter tops!!! Thanks so much to Adam, Brian and Scott!!! Now you can all come to dinner and see my new kitchen. It's beautiful. :)