NIna visits, Part II

Can I just tell you how awesome it is to see Ethan daily? And that he has grown SOOOO much. And that he is the politest ever?

But, this post is the second part of the Nina visit. You will have to wait to hear about Ethan when I get around to downloading those pictures and posting about him. So, ha!


Every year, Jana has made ornaments of the kids' hand prints. Since she was here, this year was no exception. First, it was Julia's turn.

I was so thinking she would want nothing to do with her hands being painted, but she totally proved me wrong. She loved it!


Then we pried Ebeth away from the tv and made her get her hand painted.

Me thinks that her hands will soon be too big to turn into an ornament. :(

Julia enviously watched Elisbeth make ornaments and begged to have her hand painted again.


We decided to go the Garden of the Gods while it was still semi-bearable outside.

Julia? Not too keen on the idea of being outside.

So she made her Nina carry her.




Then we went to the Chick-Fil-A right next to Garden of the Gods where I have a friend who works there as the publicity manager type person. They were having a Polar Express playdate. The conductor was going to be there to read the story, there was hot chocolate, crafts and Mini the Cow. Julia LOVED the cow and said "cow" for the first time.






The last full day that Jana was here, it had snowed quite a bit the night before. I needed to shovel the driveway and sidewalks, so I bundled the girls up and we went out to play.
Someone (and I'm not naming names) does not like snow.

Or anything having anything to do with coldness.

Someone else (again, not naming names) is the SLOWEST CHILD TO GET READY ALIVE. I'm just saying.

But, she's an excellent helper when I have to shovel and she really does do a good job.




The girls loved having their Nina visit and next time she comes, they're really hoping she'll bring their Papa as well. Cause he was greatly missed.

They're coming! They're coming!!

Tomorrow Kyle, Matt and Ethan will be coming to visit us through New Year's! We are most excited and the girls can barely contain themselves.

Then I will get to squeeze this guy! (Who looks far too grown-up in this picture, if you ask me...)


And maybe we can get a new picture of the three of them.



Of course, this summer there will have to be an even newer picture when Ethan's little brother arrives. :) We should be expecting his arrival around June 1st!

Nina Visits Part I

As you may remember, Jana surprised Elisabeth by coming to visit us the Sunday before Christmas. Because the trip was kind of last minute, we didn't really have anything planned. Just kind of a go-with-the-flow trip.

The weather was beautiful during the day on Monday, so we went to the park.
There was swinging.

And climbing.


And making cute faces.


And leisurely hanging out at the end of the slide.

Elisabeth was a monkey and wouldn't let me take her picture.

But, I managed to get a few.




Then we headed home because I had found out that the zoo was having a special night time extravaganza...



Winter WildLand!!!!

The zoo is open from 5:30-8:30PM and has Christmas lights throughout the zoo with special activities like making gifts for the animals and getting to see Santa and Mrs. Claus. Plus, and this is the bestest part, they had a military price that was only $4.00 per person! So, we totally went!

Our first stop, as always, was the giraffes.



Then we found a snake to pet.

The large cats were all awake and active, which made me the happiest Virginia in the world!!!

We saw a gecko.


And Julia fell in love with this scorpion (because she is a weird, weird girl).



Mrs. Claus stopped by to take a picture with us.




Oh my goodness, we had so much fun. It was cold, but the wind wasn't terrible so we weren't freezing. The girls loved it, and even though we didn't get home until 9:15 and ate a very, very late dinner, it was totally worth the trip!!!!