Happy Thanksgiving!

Alright sorry for the delay there were technical difficulties, we had to get a new blog site because I had too many picture. I did not want to delete any nor did I want to pay money to upgrade so here is the new blog site address so visit this one from now on.

http://piecesofuscrystalandevan.blogspot.com

We hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday with family and friends. We had a marvelous time! It has been 7 years since we have celebrated Thanksgiving with extended family so it was very special for us. Although traveling was a pain, there was a lot of traffic and got stuck in it a lot, but it was all worth it and we were happy to make it safetly to our destinations. We left Wednesday and got to Tennessee to Dave and Becky's around 1am, we spent Thanksgiving eating, relaxing, and visiting with family and friends. Thursday evening Evan, Dave, and I did some black Friday shopping and then Friday morning we all went out to do some shopping. Evan's grandparents were there as well so it was very nice to spend time with them, we don't get the opportunity to see them much. Saturday Evan, Dave, and I went for a long hike up a mountain. It was 5 miles up and then 5 miles down! It was hard work but all worth it, the view was great and I'm glad I can say I accomplished that. Auntie Becky kept the girls all day, and grandma and grandpa left to return home. Sunday we left after brunch around 11am, we spent the entire day driving but it felt good to do nothing but sit after a previous day of hiking. We all had a wonderful holiday weekend with family!

Happy Shopping

A picnic with daddy, or so what daddy calls a picnic, eating Mcdonalds outside. :o) They love it!

Swinging in the park!

Last day to play outside, Ella vs. Evan. Ella did win once!

The girls and I went to Creekside to feed the duck!

Eva is throwing food, I would have got more pics but there was a huge swan that was coming right for us so I told the girls to run and then they were scared. Oops! That thing really could have eaten Eva for sure!

The girls had ballet class at a moms house for a moms club play date.

Ella laying with Izzy; her favorite puppy!

The girls and their best friends.

Daddy watched them a lot this weekend so they spent a lot of time hiking, playing, and eating at the park.

We also took advantage of the last of the nice weather and had fires both Saturday and Sunday nights.

Daddy took Ella to the pet store and she held this adorable Scottie.


We had a wonderful week; we kept busy thats for sure. We went to storytime, fed the ducks, played with our friends in multiple playdates. Ballet class was a fun way to change a playdate. As you can see Ella is still in love with dogs, its never going away I don't think. This weekend the girls spent a lot a time with daddy! Saturday I slept and then went shopping with my friend Andrea and then Sunday I helped Jenna, my best friend, move into her 1st home. So Monday I thought would be a great time to spend time together but Eva was crabby bc she still has been waking up before 7 (since the time-change) so she's ready for a nap by 12. Evan took Ella to eat pizza hut buffet and then they hung out for awhile, went to the bookstore, and the pet store. I had some time to myself which I could get used too! I certainly got a lot accomplished. We are excited to decorate the house for Christmas and start watching Christmas movies. This is our favorite time of the year! We also are looking forward to spending time in Tennessee over Thanksgiving. This is our first Thanksgiving in Ohio with family so we are so excited! The girls also miss their auntie and uncle. Hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy.

Happy Halloween

Carving our pumpkins, Eva HATED the squishy feeling of the pumpkin guts, she even gagged when she got some on her hands. We all got a kick out of it!

Ella and daddy's team, They carved bubble puppy. At least his teammate stood by him!

We watched a friends baby; this is Sammy's brother Drew. They love him.

They are all watching tv.

Our first snow! The girls HAD to go outside which lasted about 5 minutes. If only getting dressed and ready was easy.

Ready for trick or treating.

Daddy took them and mommy stayed home in the warm house handing candy out. :o)

Ella's school party; I volunteered so Eva could participate also!

Eva's a mummy!

Left is bubble puppy; Evan and Ella's and right is Blue from Blue's Clues; Eva and mine.

Cutest pic ever! Clearly they were very excited about all there candy!

Daddy took the girls to the park Saturday morning while mommy slept.

The girls playing in the leaves.

The girls and daddy playing the tackle game, the love it but they get dirty like boys because they're rolling around in the grass and dirt. :o(

Ella posed all by herself for a picture.

This is Eva's posing.

The girls and their puppies.

 

daddy and the girls watching Zookeeper.

We have had a wonderul week with Halloween activities taking up a lot of our time. First of all our cousin Mike was here visiting on Sunday and Monday so it was nice to hang out with family. I offered to watch a friends kids so she could have some free time, the girls had fun with her 2 girls and it was a fun playdate for us. Wednesday was Ella's halloween party as well as trick or treat, so we had a busy day with no nap for Eva. She did NOT last long trick or treating; she was exhausted, it was cold, and she wanted to eat the candy asap. :o) So my quiet time of handing out candy only lasted about 15 min. Those quiet moments are always treasured! We tried to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible as we know now that it gets dark earlier and is cold, blah! Well the girls have not adjusted well to the time change, Eva is up a little before 7 every morning which is way too early for mommy. I hope she soon will catch up. We are looking forward to our trip to Tennessee for Thanksgiving, otherwise we are just keeping busy by doing things around the house and holiday festivities.

Pumpkin Patch

A baby Alpaca at the pumpkin patch!

The girls in the corn maze. They loved running through and trying to find their way to the end.

Go Mom Go!

Ella on the tire horse swing.

The girls getting the pumpkins ready for carving!

We had a pretty quiet week last week. The weather was beautiful- in the 80s several days, so we had picnics outside and visited a pumpkin patch on Wednesday evening. There were lots of animals and activities for the girls, so they had a good time and we stayed until the place closed down for the night. On Thursday we carved our jack-o-lanterns for Halloween. The girls helped with cleaning them out and a little with the carving. However, Eva was not too impressed with the slimy insides and seeds- she actually gagged the only time she touched them! Shockingly, both girls wanted a jack-o-lantern of a puppy, so we got patterns and attempted to carve them. We forgot to take pictures of them, so we'll include some next week with the pics from Halloween. On Saturday, it really cooled off and has been raining ever since, so we weren't able to do much outside. We met some friends out for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen on Sat night and went to visit some dogs on Sunday (several Vizsla's- a breed that we had never seen but may be interested in if we decide to get a dog sometime soon). We haven't been up to too much this week, but Ella has her school Halloween party tomorrow (Wed) and then trick or treating tomorrow night. Hope everyone else has a fun and exciting Halloween!

Fall Fun

The girls at the pumpkin patch!

The girls getting their caricature drawn; they sat still the entire time.

The girls riding a camel at the Circleville pumpkin show.

Eva in her big girl seat!

Eva got to go to school with Ella on Friday; she loved it!

It was a rainy day so the girls and I decided to bake a rainbow cake that we turned into tasty pumpkin cake-pops.

Daddy took the girls downtown to register Ella for her 1st race Saturday morning, while I slept for a short 1.5 hours before meeting them.

Ella played hockey at the running expo.

The girls said hi to Stinger the Columbuis Blue Jackets hockey mascot.

Ella stretching before her (.015 miles) race.

Ella patiently waiting for the race to start.

She was waving to daddy and running, very talented!

Ella and her medal. She was very proud!

Ella was showing the clown her medal.

The girls went to a Halloween party Saturday evening with Aunt Becky and Uncle David. Evan and I went to a movie. We all had fun! Ella, of course, is a Dalmation and Eva is a witch.

It was cold so the girls had to really bundle! Auntie and Uncle said they didn't once complain of being cold so we did a good job.

                                           

Sunday we went hiking in the hocking hills!

Eva and I waving to daddy!

This hike was called fat women's sqeeze, we all fit! ;o)

The girls posing for a picture

Ella got her 4th haircut and didn't cry or make a fuss at all. She got 3 inches off but its still beatifully long.

We had a wonderful week last week. Stayed super busy and had lots of fall fun. Monday was the day it rained so we baked and watched movies. Tuesday we went to storytime at the library which was excellent. We hadn't been there in forever so the girls thoughly enjoyed it. That evening Ella practiced her running for the big race. Wednesday we cleaned the house in anticipation for Aunt and uncles arrival. Thursday I watched my friends boys but it was more like a playdate for the girls so it worked out great. Thursday evening we went to the Circleville Pumpkin show and had tons of fun. The girls saw giant pumpkins, got their caticature drawn, saw the largest pumpkin pie ever, rode some rides, and rode a camel. That was the 1st of the fall fun for us and we all loved it. We look forward to this time of year every year, as there is so much to do around here. Friday we relaxed again from a late evening and the girls and I all went to school. I volunteered in Ella's class so Eva got to come too. I just know I could never be a teacher, not enough patience:o) However, I do like to see how Ella behaves around her classmates and teachers. Saturday Evan took the girls to get donuts and to go downtown to register Ella for the race while I took a cat nap. Dave and Becky arrived at 11, we met Evan and the girls downtown and wished Ella good luck on her race. She was pumped because there was a lot of kids and clowns there. She did great running! After that we came home to rest a little before getting their costumes on and heading over to our town's Halloween party. We loved being able to know the girls were in good hands while Evan and I were enjoying drinks and a movie. We all had fun! Sunday was spent hiking in the Hocking Hills, we thought we would enjoy a beautiful fall day outside. We all had fun! Dave and Becky left Monday morning around 10 and it was sad to see them leave so soon. We know though that we will be spending Thanksgiving with them so it won't be long before we are together again. We would love to thank them again for everything they did for us, we are so thankful to have them close to us.