santa visit

what sweet little children waiting to see santa.

uh-oh...maybe the line was a bit long.

because some people started making silly faces.

awww...one little girl is still acting sweet.

finally...our turn. the boys were up first.

then it was the big girls turn.

then that sweet baby.

ummm...i'm thinking she isn't in LOVE with that man in red.

yep. i'd say she saved her "silly" face for the group picture. teehee....

ice skating...again

we had a chance to head back to the rink again...

this time with a very special guest...daddy!

b was his normal pro skating self...and mommy, well she opted out this time. ;)

it was a great way to spend saturday morning with the bigs.

and what is THAT, you ask?! why...a friend snickers of course (a first for our family)! miss vivian is mad because she thought i wasn't going to share...

trust me...find someone to share with...even though it is delicious, one bite is plenty!!

winter break

i'm not sure who was more excited about winter break. me or my children...to start it off on the right foot we had our favorite dinner. snacky plate!

we have had so much fun doing absolutely nothing...

like playing dress up...

or having friends over to play

or just sleeping late and watching movies.

oh yeah frannie is having the time of her life with BOTH brother and sister home.

i guess that IS something to cheer AND text about!! ;)

school party

these are some of vivian's best school buddies. you might even say they are the three musketeers of sorts.

so i'm sure you can imagine their excitment when it was time for their first big class party.

i feel so blessed to be able to be v's homeroom mom...and am looking forward to many more fabulous school parties in the future. :)

tis the season

just because i case you didn't get your card....merry merry christmas from our family to yours! :)

elfie lilac flash day.

just like when children are naughty, apparently full names are needed for naughty elves as well. so you can imagine my surprise when i heard vivian scream elfie's full name. uh-oh...somebody is not happy...

oooohhhhh...BAAAAD elf!!

but wait...says little frannie...it was just a celebration of how happy he was that we have all been good little girls and boys.

well that make for a much happier crew!! :)

and to all...

a good night! ;)

the nutcracker

today was such a special day. it was something i have been looking forward to for quite sometime....

after a beautiful lunch at e's bistro (seriously folks, check it out. it is delicious!!),

where we were joined by the beautiful aunt kaylynn.

we headed to the robinson to see the arkansas ballet's presentation of the nutcracker.

when i was a little girl this was an annual traditon....and SUCH a big deal.

it was exciting to carry on the tradition.

and can you believe we added a new tradition?! having our picture made with clara and cast. how exciting!! :)

lego my saturday

hmmmm....what to do on this gorgeous saturday??? i KNOW...go to the clinton libray and see the "art of the brick" exhibit.

nathan sawaya is the artist and i must admit it was really very cool.

trust me...even this one liked it (regardless of what this picture says!).

the boys thought it was funny to mimic some of the legomen. here bauer is trying to "take my head off".

and clif is lifting the dark cloud...

my favorite though, might be vivian playing peekaboo with this guy

she, of course, loved the kitten.

there were also lots of other cool things. a story book coming to life...

multiple skulls.

mt. rushmore.

and last but not least...a razorback.

since we were there we decided to check out the rest of the library. the oval office was a hit.

and vivian got right to work in the cabinet room.

but sweet frances was a bit bored....at first the zipper held her attention. fascinating.

but then i caught her doing this and i knew it was time to head to the park.

however, we did get one last picture by one of the cool trees before we were off to our next destination...