Annual Halloween Party

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

 So its a bit early  but we had our annual spooky bash on the only available weekend night this month!  So what's the next best thing to going to Disneyworld?  DRESSING like you are a PIECE of Disneyworld.  These costumes are not nearly as exciting without the girls....soon though.  They have a birthday party, trunk or treat, and trick or treating coming soon.  When I first put on this costume I had both my girls under my spell. Everything I said to them got the response, "Yes, Snow White!"  Lizzie was so excited to introduce Snow White to all her cats and toys.

 This year the living room transformed into a spider nightmare.

 The front room was a graveyard/ pumpkin patch.

 We had a good turn out and always pretty funny to see what people dress up as.

 These spider truffles were my favorite dessert brought by a friend.

 Can't have a party without slimy bog balls and rat poop!

 Oh, and pumpkin vomit... I mean guacamole.

 I voted for these guys to be SCARIEST costume.  (this was actually a joke as they are Romney supporters)

The kitchen became the sick science lab complete with our poor patient lying in the bed above the counter and the many mason jars full of creepy items...

 Erin won scariest costume with her zipper face.

 Kim won funniest with her baby bursting from her belly to get some candy.

 The girls can't wait for Halloween!!  They are so sugared up already.

L J and Kitties

 Lizzie and Julie always make me smile.  They're so stinkin cute its impossible to not smile around them.  Granted, sometimes I have to suppress my smiles to discipline them. Deep down I am smiling inside though because even when they are very naughty little girls they are even more innocent to the core.

 These girls are best friends and worst enemies.  It changes every five minutes or so.  But is you ask Lizzie who her best friend is she'll say, "Julie!" If you ask Julie she'll say, "Lizzie!"  And for the most part its true.  Being nice to your sister is our number one learning priority these days.  I wasn't surprised at all to hear from an older 11 year old that Lizzie had stood up and prayed in front of the whole Primary to "Bless us to be nice to our sisters."  

 The girls consider each other to be their best friends but they each have a favorite cat that is their "baby."  They dress them, bathe them, and put them down for naps.

 We all had a lot of fun with these matching outfits.  :)

Now, there is a special story behind Lizzie and her cat, Meow.  Meow has been her favorite all her life until she left her at Target one day and when we went back to get her she had disappeared.  She was heart broken.  Until, this last month my Mom came to visit and we all went to the Puyallup fair.  As we stopped by the Ty stuffed animal section we found Meow!  She had visited the "beauty parlor" and was just as Lizzie remembered. She actually teared up when she saw her.  The lady at the store informed us she had made a special trip back to her house that morning for this cat and that she was discontinued and one of a kind! Since then its been like Meow never left...for good or for bad.  (Lets just say that Meow has a very high pitched voice and she talks alot.)   

Little Lady Bug Shower

Kim had her baby!  I don't have any pictures of the baby yet but I do have some of the shower.  I had a lot of fun planning this with Erin and Mary. Baby girls are the best!  

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We had a lady bug photo booth for some picture mementos, lady bug cupcakes, lady bug chocolate covered pretzels," lady bugs on a log"....lets just say there was a lot of lady bugs!

I don't think I have ever seen anyone get as many gifts at a baby shower as Kim did- lucky gal and lucky baby!

Kim has been looking forward to having kids for so long I am so happy for her now that her time is here!

Hawaii

This summer Dave and I had the opportunity to attend his dental assistant's wedding in Hawaii!  We spent a full week of alone time (absolutely kid free) and relived our honeymoon!  Right after we landed we spotted a beautiful rainbow and it was definitely a good beginning to the vacation.  It was raining a bit the day of the wedding (the only day of rain! : / )  so I couldnt pull my camera out but it was a sweet ceremony.  

The following days we just lounged on the beaches and the pool/hot tub area.  Alot of time was spent sitting and reading!  Then, one of the nights there the previous owner of Dave's practice and his wife invited us out to join them at the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a.  Now say it 3 times fast!  This was the absolute nicest restaurant I've ever been to. The food was like art and I had my first taste of caviar.  It was food perfection. And if you know me you know I was in heaven...

 We then spent more time at the beaches, pools, and hot tub.  More reading.  I've never had so much time to  hear myself think.  Having kids around is always exciting but my quiet moments are rare.  I savoured it.

Hawaii is just beautiful.  Paradise.

 We did some scuba diving and the wonders of the sea never cease to amaze and intrigue me.

 One of the days we rented a Harley and toured the entire island.  My favorite memory that day was stopping by a little shop run by an older Hawaiin lady.  She sells homemade banana bread from the banana trees on her property.  She sits you down on a lawn chair facing the hills and water, tells you some Hawaiian folk lore, and stuffs you full of this delicious bread.

Huge Thank you to Grammy and Papa for watching the girls that week!  It was a week I won't soon forget.  By the end though, we were missing the girls so bad and couldn't wait to get them back!  (Hearing yourself think is over rated after too long.)

Tea Party

 Lizzie was invited to an adorable tea party/ birthday party.  She loved it!  She was so excited to dress up in her tea party best including gloves, hat, and fancy beads.  She dined on crumpets and mini flower shaped peanut butter jelly sandwiches. It was all a very cute sight to behold.  

All the little girls dined at a rose garden and had a blast. Lizzie is loving the fun of dressing up these days for sure.  Happy birthday to her little friend Brooke!

Julie is 2!

Julie is 2 years old! There were extra cousins in town so it was an extra large birthday party!  We had a family dinner followed by cake, ice cream, and presents!  I made a "Mimi" cake because Julie is obsessed with that stuffed cat!  The look on her face was price less when I showed her the cake.  She yelled,"Mimi!!!!" 

 

Our Sunday family dinners are always the best, and this day was no exception.  It was extra special to have Stephanie and her kids there too!

It was such a treat to finally get to meet sweet baby Anna!  She was a cutie for sure!

Julie got alot of fun presents including a trampoline from Grammy and Papa!!  Evy drew her a cute little picture (she's quite the little artist)

Now that Julie is two her little personality is definitely in full bloom.  I hope I never forget all the little details of my little baby so I better write them down to be sure!

If I had one word to describe Julie it'd be Sweet.
This girl is sweet and so full of love.  She is known around our house for sharing everything.  Even when its her last morsel of candy.  Even when its something that her and Lizzie have been fighting over and its awarded to her. Its usually a matter of minutes before she hands it to Lizzie and says, "Here ya go!"  She sure looks up to her big sister too.  Today she spontaneously hugged her big sis and said, "I love you Lizzie!"
Now that being said, she likes to get her sisters goat too and she's a professional.
The other day Lizzie made a big deal at dinner about not wanting her food so Dave said "thats fine" and passed it to Julie.  Liz yelled, "No I don't want Julie to have it!!"  So Julie responds by not only devouring her big sister's food but makes really loud and fake munching/eating noises (kinda like cookie monster). That REALLY got Lizzie's goat.  Dave and I were rolling on the floor (terrible of us huh?)

Favorite color: pink
Favorite song: Mr. Moon
Favorite book:  Are You My Mother?
Favorite word/phrase: Mimi?
Favorite activity:  ABC game on computer

She is still a Momma's girl but definitely has her Daddy's girl moments too. She's a great cuddler.

Everywhere I go people are always commenting on how beautiful she is.  Its funny to watch people respond to seeing her at the grocery store, etc, often gasping at how big and blue her eyes are and saying things like, "Oh what long eye lashes!"  I always agree because I think she's pretty cute too :)

Potty Trained!

Now this is definitely a picture to show her future husband.  Not embarrassing at all :)  
This is a late announcement but Julie is OFFICIALLY potty trained! It all went down before her 2nd birthday, too.  We have certainly had our ups and downs but she's a real pro now- Go Juju! Did I mention she learned how to read too? Jk.  She does like to mimic her Mom by glancing through the pages of books and magazines.  :)