Snowman

As a gift we got a "Build Your Own Snowman Kit". I thought it was so cute. I didn't realize that it meant the I had to be the one to build the snowman. On Sunday church was cancelled do to the windy and snowy conditions. Lilly was going crazy just hanging out inside all day so we decided to let her play in the snow. She then reminded me about the kit we had received. The problem is that Ryan was sick. So I had to build the snowman. Lilly and I ended up having a ton of fun and freezing together.

We build our snowmen on our little porch so the neighborhood kids don't knock it down. Lilly also likes to open the door and say hi to him throughout the day!

Santa

We made it to see Santa on Saturday. The girls were both very excited!

Kate ended up backing out. Lilly still had fun but she was a little nervous at the same time.

She told Santa that she wanted a violin for Christmas. He told her to be a good girl and to be happy with whatever she gets. Lilly has been trying really hard to be a good girl. I hope that does not all go out the window after Christmas.

Lilly's little friends

The other morning I decided to try and get all the germs out of our house. No one likes being sick for Christmas. This included washing all of Lilly's little friends. I guess I did not realize how much these stuffed animals mean to Lilly. She helped me gather them up and put them in the wash. Then she said that they wanted her to stay near and watch them. So that is just what she did!

She was so happy to have all her friends safe and sound again!

Happy Eating!

This Thanksgiving we loaded up the family wagon and drove the 11 hours to Pittsburgh. Ryan's brother Richy and his family leave in Pittsburgh. We love visiting them and Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has some of the best food. This was definitely an indulgent week.

The girls did so good the whole ride there. (Maybe it helped that for days I have been telling them that we were going to be in the car all day. It made it sound really fun. )

The morning before we left the girls were so excited. As soon as we hit the rode to pick Ryan up from school the girls were out.

We did not make it to Pittsburgh until midnight and we were exhausted.

The next day we went to the fabolus Oakmont Bakery!

The jacked up turkey sandwich.

This was my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner. It has a layer of cheesecake and a layer of chocolate cake. It was to die for!

The girls got turkey cupcakes.

Wednesday night the kids helped to make the brine for the turkey.

Of course Thanksgiving morning we watched the Thanksgiving day parade. The kids were so inspired by it they had their own parade.

Then there was the howling in the smoke as Uncle Richy smoked our turkey.

Lilly just loved holding my new niece Wren. She could not get enough of her.

This was a FABULOUS turkey. I loved the flavor and how moist it was.

Ryan made his heavenly green bean casserole.

We also had a baked stuffed brie.

With the help of Grandma Joy the kids made these turkeys.

Lilly and her cousin Linus!

Richy took Ryan and Linus to a Pittsburgh Penguin Hockey game. They were third row in the corner. They had a blast!

Gotta love Christmas lights!

We were honored to attend the blessing of Wren Elizabeth McAffee.

What a fabulous time we had. We only wish that we lived closer to family so we could see them more often.