Christmas #1

Our Christmas weekend of fun started on Saturday with a celebration with Jeremy's side of the family.  We shared great food, laughs together, and opening gifts.  We also really enjoyed a few rounds of Family Feud, which Audrey was surprisingly good at for only seven years old! :)  Audrey and Kate also enjoyed hanging out with Great-aunt Nancy's dog.  Compared to Sadie, this dog was an angel, so Kate gave her stamp of approval.  The girls again received some wonderful gifts, so thank you to all!

Merry Christmas #1! :)

We always love seeing Duh!

Living Nativity

On Wednesday at religious education, our little group of first graders (plus one preschooler) pulled off a pretty amazing living nativity scene.  With all the holiday excitement, we were a little skeptical this excited group was going to be able to stand still for ten minutes.  In the end, we were so proud of how the group did.  Minus Kate playing with her gift, there wasn't any wiggling for ten solid minutes.  It was amazing!

We were short on boys in the class for the actual night, so Kate was cast as a king.  She was so distraught that we told her she could be one of the three "Queens".  That seemed to make her feel better.

Little Audrey was SO excited when she was cast as Mary.  She brought Easton, her baby from home, to play the role of Baby Jesus.  I was so proud that nerves didn't overtake Mary, and it was pretty amazing how she stared at the little baby for those ten solid minutes.

We even had to have a female Joseph!

Winter Concert

Last Monday, Audrey participated in the school's winter vocal concert.  It was such a beautiful/adorable concert, and Audrey did so well.  She had a moment of panic where she wondered about everyone staring at her, but when the concert actually arrived, she did wonderfully.  She borrowed a fancy bracelet of mine to help her dress up, and we had to hurry home to wash her hair in order for her to wear it down and curly.  There is something so beautiful about listening to all the young voices singing together.  Way to go, Audrey!

Once again, a little sister also had to dress up.  Poor Kate, though.  She did NOT want to wear the white sweater because she thought her sleeveless dress would be warm enough.  Almost at the beginning of the concert, her sweater dropped beneath the bleachers, and from then on, Kate couldn't think about anything else but her sweater.  Poor Jeremy needed a drink when he got home!

One of Audrey's friends from school!

Kate's Interview

Here are Kate's answers from her five-year-old interview:

Favorite Food: Mac and Cheese
Foods I Don’t Like: Lettuce
Favorite Thing to Learn: Painting
Favorite Color: Orange
Best Friend: Kainen
Favorite Game to Play: Go Fish!
Favorite Books to Read: Bear Snores On
Favorite TV Show: Butterbeans Cafe
Favorite Holiday: Christmas
Things I Do Well: Coloring
Favorite Place to Go: Air FX
Favorite Thing to Do With Family:  Play
Favorite Thing about House:  That we can live in it
Favorite Thing to do Outside: Ride my bike
Favorite Chore: Schedule Helper (Job at school)
Least Favorite Chore:  Scrubbing the floors...it takes FOREVER!
Favorite Song:  Wishy Washy Washer Woman (Song from school)
When I Grow Up I Want to Be a: Tooth Fairy
Place I Want to Visit:  Geeka and Grandma’s House
Favorite Part of Each Day:  Going to school
Favorite Drink:  Lemonade
Favorite Sport or Activity to Play:  Hide and seek
Something New I Want to Learn How to Do:  Skate on ice
Best Part of Your Family:  I love them.

Happy Birthday, Kate!

Happy 5th Birthday to our sweet Kate!  How can it be that you are going to start kindergarten soon?  We reflected a lot today on your birth story, your favorites as a baby, and our cozy winter days in 2013.  It does NOT seem like it has been five years.  You get sweeter as each day goes by!  You have marched into this whole preschool thing with a ton of confidence and have blossomed socially and academically.  You do keep us on our toes, as you're definitely more bold than your cautious older sister. 

Inside of you beats a loving, kind, and sweet heart, and we love watching you dance your way through life.  You are our little ballerina, and we love you SO much, Kate Evelyn!  We wish you the best year yet!

Kate chose ice cream as her treat for the day, as we have already celebrated birthdays with cupcakes and cake.  A gummy worm custard sundae was perfect on this surprisingly warm December day!

Disney on Ice

For their birthdays, the girls were given tickets to Disney's Frozen on Ice, which was taking place in the Quad Cities.  On a very rainy, dreary December Saturday, we drove down to Moline and had a wonderful time watching the ice fill up with the girls' favorite characters.  They were amazed at everything, and even Jeremy admitted he thought the show was neat.  Everything was fun and went very smoothly!  Thank you, Kirstin and Courtney!

Jeremy was APPALLED when he found out how much these slushies cost.
 I told him part of the cost was the collector's cup. :)

Carriage Rides

Last weekend we traveled up to Elkader to take part in "Shop Small Saturday".  Not only did we have good luck at the cute stores, we were also able to visit with Santa AND get horse-drawn carriage rides.  It was such a fun experience for the girls, one I know that Audrey especially will be able to remember.  To top it all off, we were able to eat lunch at Johnson's, which allowed Audrey to get unlimited pickles and black olives at the salad bar.  What a perfect day! :)

No pictures of Kate with Santa this year.  She refused.  Audrey surprised us all by hopping right up on his lap and talking to him!  You never know what that girl!