Happy New Year and beyond!

Well Christmas and New Year's have come and gone and Spring Break is right around the corner. Amazing how time flies! We have had major computer issues since returning home in January which has resulted in the purchase of a brand new computer. Yeah! I can finally download pictures and update our blog again. I hope I can remember what we have done over the last 3 months. This is going to be a bit challenging....


We had a great time in Chicago with tons of great family time and plenty of snow. Alex couldn't wait to get outside and play in it and had a great time trying to catch the snow in her mouth. Rory enjoyed it some but didn't really want to spend too much time in the cold. It might have had something to do with the fact she was always wearing a skirt and her poor legs probably got cold!

With so much snow we did get to have a ton of sledding fun and brave Alex even went down the hill by herself! The hardest part was trying to carry a bundled up child up the hill while dragging the sled. Somehow we forgot to build a snowman this year. I am not sure how that happened but I hope we can make up for it next year.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were a success as always and the girls got EVERYTHING they could have ever possibly wanted. It took us weeks when we returned home to figure out how to rearrange and make room for all of the new stuff. Alex received a number of board games this year which we have spent countless hours playing and it has turned in to a fun Friday night family activity. Rory has succeeded in wearing just about all of her new princess outfits at the same time!

New Years Eve continues to evolve as the kids get older. We have been celebrating with the same families for about 10 years but this year the kids far out numbered the adults. It is always fun to see the kids of friends we have known forever start to grow up and change.

Our return trip home was uneventful, just as we like it! But, once we arrived home the craziness began! We jumped right back into our routine with school for Pat and the kids and our busy social calendar!

As a special surprise for the girls I took them to see Disney on Ice in January. The show featured Cars, The Little Mermaid, Tinkerbell, and the Lion King. Alex and Rory loved every second of the show (except perhaps the Lion King) and are still telling people about it. Shhh...don't tell them....they are going again in April!

We have made a few visits to the Phoenix Zoo in the last couple months and Alex has grown very fond of the Stingrays. She had so many questions about them and loved trying to pet them. Alex even found a Zoo Keeper to help her and answer all of her questions. It was so cute watching Alex and the Zoo Keeping having a conversation and working together to pet the Stingrays. Rory's favorite part of the zoo might be the maps! It was so funny watching her "read" the map, with which she actually did a pretty good job. You should have seen the people stopping to watch little Rory reading her map. I think she amused a number of people that day!

In February we purchased a Wii videogame system. The girls have loved playing Wii fit which is an exercise/balance game. Alex is getting pretty good at some of the games and looks cute trying. Rory just looks cute trying! And yes she is dressed up as a butterfly :)

Rory had her first playdate at a friend’s house without Mom this month. I was very nervous about it but Rory had no problem and was off playing as soon as we walked into their house. What a big girls she is becoming. Meanwhile Alex and I went on a field trip with her school to see the play "Peter and the Wolf". The show was cute but the theater was a little dark and scary for Alex. All of the kids had a great time playing afterward.

Alex also started her horseback riding lessons! So far she has completed two lessons and I am already amazed at what she can do. She is able to start, stop and turn the horse without assistance. She told Dad "you just have to give the horse a little kick to get it started". The horse they started her with is named "Tinkerbell", fitting isn't it? She is really hoping to ride Cookie next week. 

We were all lucky enough to be able to celebrate Bill's birthday with him this year.  We had a great time playing at Gigi and Baba's house and then a yummy lunch together.  

Alex and Rory participated in a Trike-a-thon with our MOMS Club. We helped to support Singleton Moms, a local organization that assists single parents while they fight cancer. Our organization raised about $600 with this event and the kids had a great time!