Thanksgiving x 3!

Yes, we have three thanksgivings! We started with my family in Springdale. Since there are so many of us we go to a church which is where Riley is playing. It's great because they can run around and there are toys already there. After my family, we go to Jason's dad's in Bella Vista for dinner. Jason's brother and his family come over from Eastern Arkansas. The girls LOVE their cousin Ethan and never eat anything because they are so excited to see him. After dinner we all head to Branson for the weekend with Jason's mom.
This is my brother and his wife Kari. It is extremely difficult to get a picture of my brother without him making some sort of face. (Sorry, Kari. I told you I was posting this:)

This was our first morning in Branson. Jason's mom gets us a condo so the kids get to play together a lot!

On Friday, we went to the Branson Belle. The girls really liked the boat and the show.

Here they are getting ready to ride the boat. Yes, I made those hats! I taught myself to knit and have become obsessed!

On the fourth deck of the ship you can go into the captain's quarters and look out onto the water. It was cold!

That night we went to the lights at the Shepherd of the Hills. We had never done this before and it was great! Santa was in the General Store afterwards.

It was a challenge, but I finally got all four kids in one shot! There are too many of us now to all fit in Papa's lap.

Thanks Nana and Papa for our fun weekend in Branson!

Light the Night

After the Mall Friday night, we headed the the Fayetteville square for Light the Night on Saturday. The weather was great and the girls had so much fun! It was so pretty I think we may have to go back for a Christmas picture.

This is "posing". I am really not sure how to explain.

Regan was so excited about the ponies! She still loves cowboys and did not hesitate. She was so sweet petting her pony and asking what all their names were.

Riley was unsure at first, but jumped on as soon as Regan did. My dad was there to keep her in the saddle.

Here are GiGi and Papa after they finally turned on the lights.

I put this picture last since I have on no makeup and am glowing as white as the lights. If you can't tell, I think they are yelling "Santa Claus!" Also, if you wonder where Jason is for our exciting weekend, he is duck hunting. He is obsessed and not even his sinus infection will keep him from getting up at 3 am to sit in cold water.

Ballerinas and Christmas Parade

Friday night we went to the Christmas tree lighting and parade at the mall. There were ballerinas that performed in the food court and the girls were mesmerized. They loved it. They were so excited that Santa had flown all the way from the North Pole to be there.

This is my mom who they call GiGi. She wanted to be MiMi, but it came out GiGi and stuck.

I am so glad they love each other!

Thanks Aunt Boo Boo and Uncle J!

My sister Holly and brother-in-law Jason took the girls to see Bee Movie last weekend. This was their third movie and they were still so excited. I think they felt cool going with someone besides me and Jason. (To avoid confusion, my sister and I both married a Jason.) The girls LOVE Boo Boo and J! Whenever they use their pretend phone to call someone, they always call Boo Boo. Regan also says that Uncle J is her boyfriend. So, thanks Aunt Boo Boo and Uncle J! WE LOVE YOU!!

Not washable

This is what Regan was doing yesterday when I was starting this blog. Ususally they use washable markers, but this is dry erase. They were doing "school" and when she finished her alphabet she went straight into make-up application. Regan is a very smart girl, but she has her priorities. If I can keep her listening and focused she can write her alphabet. I promise!

Now, Riley doesn't mess around. This picture is from over a month ago when she started writing her name. She can write her name, the alphabet, and can spell phonetically. She has known all her letter sounds for a long time and wants to know how everything is spelled, what it starts with.....etc. Regan's lack of focus gets on her nerves and she corrects her all the time. It's hilarious to listen to their "school" conversations.

Halloween!!

Riley as a cute fairy! She first wanted to be Barbie the Island Princess and we had the costume and everything. The day before Halloween we tried on the costume and she said "it hurt". I had already tried to talk her out of Barbie because I knew it would be itchy. So, we went to Wal-Mart to try and find a witch. Of course there was nothing at all. We actually had all the stuff for a fairy and it worked out great! Although now she says she was the tooth fairy. She did magic all day!

Regan was a cowBOY. Not a cowgirl. She has been "Woody" from Toy Story for a few months, so she had to be a boy. She even got a "Woody" hat from the Disney store. Her shirt was actually mine from when I was 3. It was almost too small, but we squeezed her in. She loves, loves, loves to dress up so this was the best day ever for her. You can't see it in the picture, but she also had a gun. Even today she is walking around the house in her silk pajamas with her cowboy boots.

I wanted to go back and put some other Halloween pictures, so here we are. This is the first year that every thing was more fun than work. They LOVED carving jack-o-lanterns and cooking the seeds. They would not touch the insides, but Regan stirred her pumpkin like cake batter. Riley had to make sure every single seed was cleaned out. We also made marshmallow ghosts and sugar cookies in halloween shapes. It was so much fun!

First Blog

I got the idea to start a blog from a good friend (thanks Catherine!). I think it is such a great way for family to keep up with our girls. Speaking of the girls, Regan and Riley are 3. Yes, they are twins. No, they are not identical. No, one of them is not "evil". They get along GREAT!

This picture is the day Riley (left) lost her first tooth. She was 3 yrs. and 3 mos. and I was not ready for it. She is proud of her missing tooth, but Regan was the one who held it and put it in the tooth fairy pillow.