Getting Bowled Over

We went bowling as a family.  It was really fun!  Hannah was getting really good.  Chad beat us all, but some of his points included shots made by using the bumpers, but I won't mention that! Haha!  Grace ran over the foul line once and slipped and fell twice.  She didn't make that mistake again!  Clara just crawled around and kept trying to crawl out to the pins.  It was a little crazy, but a lot of fun.  I love when we get to do things all together!

Living in the Mission Field

One thing that we have really loved about living here in Virginia is the opportunity we have to get to know the missionaries. 

We have a set of sister missionaries assigned to our ward, Sister Skousen and Sister Kuta.  The girls love them.  We get to feed them once a month, give them rides, and when Sandy hit, they spent the day at our house emailing family, eating and playing games with us. 

Sister Skousen was just transferred and they came over to say good-bye to us.  We will miss her, but know that the people in her new area will definitely be blessed to have her!  We are also excited to get to know the new sister missionary. 

Last Minute Thanksgiving

Because Clara was still sick with croup we had to skip out on Thanksgiving dinner with some friends.  We had to throw together a last minute Thanksgiving dinner at home.  That means Stove Top Stuffing, powdered mash potatoes, and those microwave pouches that have turkey slices and gravy.  Most things were made in the microwave!  I did make a few things to make it special.

Pumpkin Pancakes with buttermilk syrup.  Yummy!

Chad and the girls played outside while I slaved (sarcasm) away in the kitchen.  The weather was so nice they didn't even need coats or sweaters.

Hannah and I made a delicious appetizer!  It was mini fillo cups filled with melted brie cheese and topped with dried cranberries and pecans mixed with honey.  So easy and so,so yummy!

 Being goofballs at dinner.  Our dinner was good, but nothing special except for my homemade cranberry sauce.  Everyone said what they were thankful for.  Hannah listed everything starting from birth!  Grace said she was thankful for "not peeing in my underwear at Grandma's house."  Notice in the picture of Chad his scruff.  He and his buddies decided to not shave all Thanksgiving break.  He has now decided he is going to keep growing it until Christmas!  Not my favorite!

I made a rustic pear tart for dessert.  It looked impressive, but tasted pretty much just like apple pie.  I am not a huge fan of pie and apple is my least favorite, so I was a little disappointed.  Chad and the girls liked it though!

That night we played some festive games that Hannah had created.  It was a low-key (slightly boring) holiday.  Hopefully next year we will be able to spend it with friends or family!

Grace Turns 3!

Gracie Lou turned 3 last week.  Since her actual birthday landed on Thanksgiving this year, we decided to celebrate it a few days early.  To say she was excited would be an understatement!  She told everyone we saw or passed that it was her birthday.

Grace decided she wanted a Build-A-Bear for her birthday.  The closest store was in a town an hour away so we decided to make a whole day of it.  Our fist stop was Build-A-Bear!  Grace was hoping for a kangaroo, but had to settle for a bunny.  She was so excited to make it and pick out the clothes.  She picked out some super sparkly clothes and named it Rabbit.

After Build-A-Bear we checked out the rest of the mall and played at the play area they had there.  Please notice the cop in the background.  Seconds after taking this picture I was told by him that I am not allowed to take pictures in the mall.  Oops!

Next we headed to Red Robin for some lunch.  We let them know it was Grace's birthday.  She was so funny when they brought her an ice cream sundae and sang to her.  She had the biggest smile the whole time.

When we got home we had to make a quick change and head to dance.  We drove all the way there and then found out it was closed that week for Thanksgiving, somehow I missed the memo!  So we drove back home and Grace opened her presents.

After presents we had cake.  Hannah helped me decorate it and I think it turned out pretty cute!  Grace loved it!

Grace had a great birthday and we loved spending it with her.  Grace is one of a kind.  She lives life to the fullest and feels her emotions to the extreme.  When she is happy, she is over the moon and when she is mad, it is the end of the world!  She is so funny and smart and creative.  She makes me want to throw her out the window on a daily basis, but then does or says something so funny or cute that it makes me laugh. 

She's our Grace!

This poor little girl was not feeling well and she just got worse and worse and the day went on.  After a terrible nights sleep for both of us, I took her to the Dr and found out she had croup.  Poor little girl!  She is feeling much better now!

The Whole Tooth

After blood (Hannah's), sweat (mine-I was holding her down like a MMA fighter), tears (Hannah and Clara's-Hannah would cry out and then Clara would start crying), and a broken nail (mine-that sucker didn't want to come out) Hannah finally lost her first top tooth!  She was pretty excited!  I just can't get over how cute she looks with it missing.  Every time she talks I can't help but smile.  What a cutie!

You are My Sunshine

After leaving the market we went to the Arboretum at JMU.  It is a beautiful place and the weather was perfect! 

We purchased some yuimmy kettle corn at the market so we sat outside and munched on it.  Hannah said it was like being at a movie theatre and watching a movie about the earth.

Clara kept trying to sneak back and steal the bag of popcorn!

Proof that we really do exist!

 There was a huge hill that the girls kept rolling down.

It was such a beautiful afternoon!  Also that is a lot of pink!

To Market, To Market

We visited a local Mennonite market last week.  It was a very cool place.  We were impressed even before we went inside!

It is impossible to get all three girls looking at the camera!

They had two huge windmills on either side of the building.

There was a large fish pond FULL of fish!  They all came swimming over to us.  We were sad we didn't have anytbhing to fgeed them!

Inside you are greeeted by a lifesize horse and buggy.  Grace wanted to get in the buggy so much!

There were tons of really cool shops.  We really want to take our parents here whenever they come to visit.  They had beautiful quilts and handmade funiture.  They even had a toy store!  The store had some really cool old-fashioned toys and lots of hand-made things.

 There was a whole western store.  With hats and clothes and all things cowboy!

One of my favorite stores was the canning store.  They had over 100 different flavors of jams, jellies, preserves, butters, and pie fillings.  The best part was the free samples!

The three girls sitting in the Papa Bear Chair, the Mama Bear Chair, and the Baby Bear Chair