Oh Christmas Tree!

Since we don't have our Christmas boxes.

Since it's 75 degrees outside in November.

Since things are just not "normal."

And since we're raising princesses...

We let the girls pick out plastic sparkly pink and purple ornaments to decorate a cheap fake tree for our pad!

The amount of time they've spent trimming and re-trimming this little tree has already made it well worth the twenty bucks.

Even if it is kinda Charlie Brown-ish.

Happy Last day of November!

Our little Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving day as a family here in California.

There's no chance I could cook a turkey even half as good as my father (and we recently devoured his holiday spread) so...

We made delicious hors d'oeuvres instead. All day.

We made food, ate food, made more food, and ate more food.

Brie and Apple Tarts~

Click HERE for the recipe!

Individual Macaroni and Cheese pies~

Click HERE for the recipe!

It wasn't turkey and potatoes, but it was a wonderful day :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful.

Home sweet home!

After almost an entire year, I stepped into my parents house last week.

And it was truly sweet. It was a girls trip, and we loved every minute!

Look at these pro travelers on the airplane.

And Uncle Chris was there! Every 5 minutes I spend with my brother makes me 5 minutes cooler and 5 minutes smarter. He introduced me to the "Instagram" app on my iphone. Yet another fun way to share photos with the world...

And it even snowed! And you bet your bottom dollar we threw on our mismatched mittens, hats, and rain boots to make a mini snowman and freeze our red noses off.

But there was cocoa. In santa mugs.

And I talked my dad into cooking Thanksgiving dinner a week early. It was SO good.

I love the expressions in the following photos:

Shot 2, zoomed in on Uncle.

"So, Gramma, you and me, ice cream and story reading after this?"

"You got it, kid."

And the cherry on top of the triple chocolate fudge cake of a weekend that we had? Best friends! Raegan and I got to play with Ava and Candace! It was marvelous. There was coffee, there were hugs and kisses on foreheads, lots of echoing giggles, and plenty of grins. And we miss them.

Oh, and there was music!

The girls stood side by side and performed "Do Re Mi" from the Sound of Music for us.

Bravo ladies, bravo!

What am I supposed to do every day without you?

We'll be back in Washington for Christmas, and I'm counting down the days.

Fire Station!

We're settling in here in Newport Beach, and while daddy's busy during the days, us girls have been checking out our community. I took the girls to the Newport Library last week, and the perky librarian informed us of the Fire station field trip she was planning for this morning. So we went. It was really awesome! She started with a Clifford story book and then we walked next door to take the tour, learn about fire fighting, and climb into the big rig!

When Fire Fighter Adam asked if anybody wanted to try holding the nozzle of the firehose, Anabelle jumped up and down shouting "Meeee!!" and while everybody finished giggling at her cuteness I snapped this shot with Jordan's phone!

We learned a lot today, and came away really grateful for the sacrifices these people make for all of us! A shout out to my Uncle Eric- thank you!

No tricks, All treats!

The Little Mermaid and Cinderella!

We took the girls to an amazing Harvest party last night for Halloween. Nothing scary, just lots of fun! Bouncy houses, candy, friendly costumes, and friends. It was a great night.

We knew we were going to have one princess last night, but every time we got near Anabelle with polyester or taffeta she freaked. Just before I'd completely given up and was headed for her cozy pajamas, it hit me! (I don't sew, and i don't know sewing terms, so bare with me here) I ripped apart the seams of a little well worn Cinderella top we have until I was down to just the front piece. Then I "sewed" it (needle and thread by hand) onto a long sleeve white t-shirt that I found on clearance for $3.50 at Target. It even had little cap sleeves built in. She put it on with a smile and VIOLA! Two princesses.