best. Christmas. ever.

I could go on and on about our Holidays and the fun we have had. Ky sang in her first school concert, and we were all impressed that she actually sang! Ty gave her some flowers, and you could tell it was a very special night for her. We made a gingerbread house that fell apart and gingerbread men that looked more like a crime scene than Christmas cookies. We counted down the days each night on our calendar, drank cocoa, and ate my Mom's AMAZING danish. I was especially excited for this year since the first half of this year was so rough for us, and also because the girls are finally old enough to really BELIEVE. We left out cookies and milk for Santa, and some oats and carrots for Rudolph and friends. After a long night of furniture rearranging and tent construction after they fell asleep we were woken up at 1:30, 1:45, 3:30, and 5:30 by Kyrie alerting us that Santa had been here. We kept telling her that when the sun came up we could open presents, so at 7 am I found her on her bed starring out the window waiting for dawn. It was such a special day, with lots of surprises, hugs, and very loud screaming.

Introducing...

Adalene Harriett Thomas

born 12/10/10 at 3:18 EST

6 lb 3 oz

19 inches

Congratulations Hanna and Charles! She is adorable, and the girls can't wait to meet their new "cousinbaby!"

The Traditon

I love this picture. Not only because the girls are playing so cute together, but because they decorated the tree this year all by themselves. Ty and I set it up, but the ornaments and trimmings were all them. I adore that our tree looks like a patchwork quilt. Each year it is tradition in Ty's family that his Mom picks out a special ornament for each of us. I fell in love with her idea, so I also pick out a significant ornament that will remind us each of the past year. We have first Christmases, preschool creations, reminders of special things (like the year I got Stitch, since listening to that soundtrack was the only way to get Ky to stop moving long enough for me to get to sleep when I was pregnant with her.) Each one holds a story. This year Ky will be adding Iron Man, and Savvy a My Little Pony - so much like their personalities. Someday, when the girls are grown I plan to give them a special box full of memories to put on their first tree, complete with the stories that they can share with their kids.

First Snow

We woke up this morning and it was freezing cold! The storm had knocked out our power and there was a foot of snow outside. It took hours for our power to come back on, and as luck would have it, it happened as soon as Ty hooked up our microwave to our generator so we could have a hot lunch. He was not amused.

It took a couple hours of pestering, but the girls finally convinced Ty to take them outside to build Savvy's first snowman. It turned out pretty good, and they were so excited for us to take a picture and put it on the computer for everyone to see. I was happy because my job is to stay in where it was warm and make hot cocoa while watching from the window.

Ri-dic-o-lous!

We took the girls to the opening weekend of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. We loved it and of course everyone thought that the girls were the cutest thing ever in their outfits. Ty even took them outside and let them pick a "wand" from our apple tree. I think they turned out better than any we could have bought, and much more special. Their new favorite game is pointing their wands at each other and shouting "Ridiculous!" Ty and I are quite proud to have passed on our love of the books with them. We are still only half way through reading book 5, but as Savvy puts it "Harry is pretty much like my favorite guy."

Halloween

Today was the girls Halloween parties at school. In case you couldn't tell Savvy is a ballerina and Ky is a bat. They had lots of fun, but they really wish Saturday would get here a bit faster.

Halloween Lanterns

A big thanks to my mom for this awesome idea! She even sent home almost all the stuff we needed to make them. :) The girls decided to make pumpkin ones for their teachers, and the set for home started out as a ghost, a pumpkin, and a monster. However, the girls wanted the ghost to have candy corns on it and they gave the monster a mummy-like make-over. They are still very Halloween like though.

The pumpkins with "happy faces" are for Savvy's teachers, and the ones with "spooky faces" are for Ky's teachers. They look really cute with those little battery operated LED candles inside.

Spooky House

The girls were anxious to show off the "Spooky" gingerbread house they made. So I told them I would put pictures on the computer for everyone to see.

Savvy is getting big too...

This isn't the best picture, but Savvy wanted to let everyone know she got her ears pierced too. She decided on her own that she was ready, and that she would be brave. She picked the same earrings that Ky had, so we got lucky they were born in the same month since they were birthstones. :)

Kyrie is growing up!

Can you find what is new in this picture? Kyrie decided today that she wanted her ears pierced. After begging both Tyler and I, we gave in to her request. She was one tough cookie, especially where they did them one at a time. We had a few tears, but she has been all smiles since she saw herself in the mirror. She picked out a pair of studs in her birthstone ~ doesn't she look like a princess? Savvy decided against getting hers done after watching Ky, but maybe next year.

Putt-Putt

We finally found a car! We did have to go to another state to pick it up, but it was worth it. (Thanks again Hope for letting us crash at your house and both Heather and Hope for a wonderful playdate and lunch!) We ended up with a silver 2005 Honda Pilot, which Savvy has already named "Putt-Putt." So, welcome to the family Putt-Putt, and may "Jeep-Jeep" rest in peace.

The last 5 months...

Yes, I have been a slacker. Yes, I have picked up on the subtle and not-so-subtle "update your blog" hints. Since Ty lost his job in January, we have been spending a lot of time together as a family and just enjoying the girls. I wouldn't say the job loss has been a good thing, but it has brought us closer as a family, and for that I am grateful. I know to some it may seem that we have disappeared from the radar, but I assure you we are here - healthy and happy.

So what have we been up to the last 5 months, you ask? Well, if you really want to know - read on...

First up, we went to Disneyland. We found a killer online deal and literally decided to go about two hours before we left. We made it into a road trip - stopping in Vegas each way to break up the drive. The girls LOVED the fountians at the Bellagio, and the fun rooms we stayed in (New York, New York on the way and the Luxor on the way home.) The girls were great in the car, and we had some fun rest stops along the way. However, Disneyland was definately a dream come true. The girls were awesome - we didn't even have to rent a stroller. The girls got to meet a lot of characters and they LOVED the rides. Ky especially loved Splash Mountian (which she called "log") and Savvy's favorite was the Teacups. Ty and I loved watching the girls faces and the Monte Cristo sandwiches. Since Blogger is not friendly when I try to upload a lot of pictures - you can see them by clicking HERE.

Second, Ky's test scores came in and she is going to be moved into a "diagnostic kindergarten" next year. This is good news - she knows almost all her letters, colors, and shapes! However, we still are facing some counting, vocabulary, and speech issues. So, it is kindergarten - just with a smaller class size and a speech therapist. Savvy will be moving to the four day a week preschool program next year - she is so excited since she is a little social butterfly. I am also working on another summer preschool program, so hopefully the 2010-2011 school year will be the best yet! The girls have been asking for karate, ballet, and swimming lessons... we'll have to look into that as well.

Third, Ty and I were able to get away for a night without the kids - we went with Misha (one of my best friends) to see the Runaways. I think we all agreed it was beyond brilliant. We made it into an entire weekend of fun - we took the girls to Nicklecade, went cosmic bowling, and I got a tattoo. It was something I have wanted to do for a really long time and Ty helped design it - which was extremely special to me. The design was inspired by the book Breaking Dawn and the girls. It is on my back and reads "plus que ma propre vie" with two stars under it. The quote translates from french into "more than my own life" and the stars represent the girls. If you want to see it - there is a photo HERE.

Fourth, Ty got into a car accident. Luckily, he was fine and he was the only one in the Jeep. Some idiot turned into him while he was going through a light. The girls were very sad though - they wanted the "Jeep-Jeep to go to the doctor and get a BIG band-aid." Sadly, it was totalled. Luckily, we had rental insurance - so we are riding around in a brand new 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee for a month while we find a new car. We are hoping to get a Honda Pilot, but it's proving harder than expected to find one. There are pictures of the Jeep post-accident are HERE.

Fifth, we were lucky enough to have Ty's little brother Garet and his girlfriend Ingrid come out for spring break. Ty went with them snowboarding and we did a bunch of fun stuff together. The girls especially liked going to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D and eating at the Mayan. The visit was way too short - hopefully they come out again soon!

Sixth, we went to the Nelson family reunion in Georgia. Ty's parents and siblings were all there for a fun-filled week on the lake. We went boating, tubing, fishing, and played all sorts of games. The girls both went on the tube with Daddy (Savvy went once and was "done", but Ky could have lived in the water.) They both also caught fish - although they were a bit sad that they had to put them back. Ky posed for a picture with hers, but Savvy was scared of her catfish. The girls were very good at putting on shows and entertaining everyone. We had a great time seeing everyone again and relaxing on the lake. The girls especially liked their new cousin Emmie. It was the first time they had met her and she is a cutie! The girls got so spoiled by their Grandparents and the Powells - we actually had to borrow extra luggage just to get home. All the fun was captured in pictures that you can find HERE.

I am aware that I missed adding Christmas and Easter to the list - they were both oodles of fun, but I can't seem to find our pictures of them at the moment. So anyway, we are around and enjoying life. Ty is still looking for a job, but he has several promising leads and hopefully he will be employed soon. The girls are set to graduate from preschool later this month, and I am working on catching up on the house. So lookey-there... blog updated!