Celebrating Lia's Gotcha Day

Lia enjoys arts and crafts so we decided to take the girls to the Crayola Factory yesterday.   We were all so excited to see this crazy, unusual yellow building smack in the middle of downtown Easton, PA.  Before we went in the building, we just had to stand by our favorite crayon color!

   What a fun place to visit!  We started at the top floor and worked our way down.  The biggest hit of the day was to make your own wrapper for a crayon...Lia and Rosie got to pick a crayon and then think of unusual names for it.  (Reminds me of the fun Benjamin Moore paint colors that instantly makes you smile)!  Lia named her purple crayon (of course), and then Rosie got a great idea to make a celebratory crayon for Lia, "Lia's Gotcha Day".  It actually has the date on it too!  The girls started to make crayons for each other then!!!

We also went to "Color Magic" and colored in a fairy coloring page.  Keith scanned the fairy onto a computer and then we chose the option of selfie as a background.  The girls loved seeing their own fairy come alive and fly around them!

They also made a coloring page of themselves with a rock and roll background.  It definitely was a magical place for them to be! Somehow we escaped spending a ton of money at the gift shop by buying a few extra special crayons.  The gift shop itself was an experience of creativity too.  Ok, I know I sound like a commercial, but this place was rocking it for our girls!  (Btw, if you are a teacher, you can get in for free...I found this out too late, but I'm glad I can pass this on to you, in case you are a teacher). 

 This morning, Rosie graciously told Lia that it's still her Gotcha Day, giving her permission to celebrate some more.  The bottom line here is that we have thankfulness in our hearts that Lia is our precious daughter!  God bless you Lia!  

Wishing Rosie Many Rosy Tomorrows!

  

We had a family party for Rosie, and she beamed throughout the night.  The best part was to be celebrating with our friends and family.

Rosie blew one candle out at a time, carefully!

Lia definitely had a back up plan.  We have her kid party this weekend, and Rosie's so excited!

We Whisk You a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Yes, I did put the flour on their faces...

And our runner up photos that didn't make it...but I do love! It sure is funny how they chose to work together on a little piece of dough! Hysterical! 

And this photo cracks me up, you know why...those tools are looking like, eh, a Three Stooges pre-event.  The looks on their faces leave lots of room for interpretation; especially Rosie's face.  

Notice the clips of our rigged up back drop.  We actually had a ladder on one side and a string on the other side, attached to the drapery rod.  

And this Christmas/New Year's post would not be complete without this photo of the girls' "Real Santa" as they tell me.  

Here they are today, thrilled that I'm finally letting them eat candy! The week before Christmas, Rosie and Lia had made these gingerbread houses at school.  Keith volunteered in both classes.  (BTW, he's loving retirement!).

These were Keith's favorite photos for our year in review...

The Catskill Mountain Train, Martha's Vineyard, and a Yankees game...

From our family to yours, Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Happy Birthday Lia!

Lia's favorite TV show is Wild Kratts on PBS Kids, so we just had to have a Wild Kratts party this year!  She was especially excited about her Wild Kratt's tortuga cake that Keith put together.  Lia and I put the toy figurines around the cake.  On the big dining room table, I made a zebra tablecloth. I also made the banner. Rosie helped me shop for presents. I picked up 20 animal print balloons and squeezed them into the Jeep! The girls were so full of joy when I brought them in the house.  Rosie kept asking "How many more minutes?" and Lia was getting anxious! The anticipation was so much fun!!!

 It was pouring rain when the guests came, but we had such a great time. The highlight of the night was when Uncle Tim sang the Wild Kratts theme song; Lia was hysterical to think that her Uncle was so hip! It was so special to have our family and friends share this special day with us.  

Stay tuned for more photos to come!

Happy 6th Gotcha Day Lia!

This was 6 years ago...this was a moment that took our breath away.  I remember going through a revolving door of the hotel to meet Lia, and feeling that my heart was going to explode.  My heart was so overwhelmed.  What a beautiful journey we have been on.

Today, Lia decided that she wanted to celebrate by getting a manicure with Rosie.  The girls were both so excited!

We went out to dinner to one of her favorite restaurants; a Thai restaurant in Rhinebeck.  

Check out those pretty fingernails with flowers on the ring fingers!

Finnish Coils, Brass Rings and Bimini Games

Last week, we took the ferry over to Martha's Vineyard. We usually go every year.  Nothing changes on the island but we always do find new adventures!

On the spur of the moment, we decided to skip lunch at the Black Dog Tavern, and instead grab a sandwich and then spend an afternoon on the Black Dog's Alabama.  It's a tall ship that is used to teach kids about sailing; all hands on!  The girls learned how to hoist a sail and make a Finnish coil.  Of course, I loved seeing everyone work together, and work hard, so that the rewards could be reaped.  (A great lesson on cleaning up the house, haha!)

The finished Finnish coil will have 3 layers of coiled circles when these sailors are done...

Yes, that is Rosie in "the dog house"!  It has a bed inside.  Rosie loved being in there.

The sister ship, Shenandoah caught up to us and sailed right along side.  The crew members were so excited, since this rarely happens. 

Keith happened to be wearing his black dog shirt from 2014, and one of the crew had on the same color shirt...watch out Keith, that might mean that you have to stay on the Alabama for the summer...

We went to Flying Horses and Rosie got the brass ring 2 times!  Rosie was so surprised!

Swinging on the Black Dog dock...

Hanging out on Harborview's porch overlooking the Edgartown Lighthouse...

and having fun with mommy on Menemsha's beach.  

One evening, we also were lucky enough to catch some "Back Door Donuts" and then ate them in their bakery.

    The biggest hit was the bimini ring board at our favorite restaurant, Among the Flowers. (That's the board to the right of Lia's head.  It has a hook on it, and the tree branch has a string with a ring attached. You've got the idea now!).   The girls got really good at it and spent a lot of time playing with it.  We had a "3 try" rule that somehow went very smoothly.  The girls are very close, and are best friends, so they have gotten very good at sharing.  

    The busride to Aquinnah is unbelievable, with gorgeous views and much anticipation.  Since we stay in Edgartown, it's a long trip from one end of the island to the other.  Every bus driver that we've ever had usually speeds out there for some reason.  The windy, hilly road at the end of the ride is so memorable, and we hold on to not fall off the seats.  As always, we took the annual corny lighthouse family shot and then went to the beach.  Out of all the beaches on the island, I love visiting "Gayhead" the best.  The beach is so beautiful, and I'm constantly in awe of the clay cliffs.  It ranks up there with fireflies and rainbows...totally magical.

On the last day, it poured as we were leaving. (Last year, the same thing happened. I actually was scared to go on the ferry!)  It almost felt like a good reason that we should just stay one more day...

Christmas Time is Here!

We started the season with a trip to the North Pole on the Polar Express.  As the train pulled out of the station, the conductor punched words in their tickets!  The girls were in total disbelief throughout the trip. It was such a magical time.  

The girls just are so excited to see Santa!  He does look rather tired, doesn't he? Or done in with all the kids that sat on his lap...

I love how Santa is looking so cautiously at Rosie; I think he's onto her game...

Lia and Rosie often hold hands.   They are very close and have such a good time with each other.

It's been like having twins.

 If they were asked, these 2 would love to volunteer and help Santa on Christmas Eve night...they've lately been so helpful around the house!  

Uncle Tim bought the girls their dresses.  We are going to spend Christmas Eve at his house with my family. The drive is only an hour away but it's going to be the longest hour of traveling for them!  He always celebrates in grand style.   They are so looking forward to it.  It will be a very exciting evening!  

Merry Christmas!