Getaway

We took a nice weekend getaway to Richmond, Charlottesville and Montpelier for Presidents Day.  It was fun to spend time with 'Dude and Lissa' and savor the fact we have family close by. We were able to attend church with them and even got front row seats to watching an arrest right in front of the church building. Ah Richmond, there is never a dull moment. The girls LOVED swimming with their Aunt and Uncle and just enjoyed some time away with family. 

  It was also great to drive through the countryside.  I know I have probably said this before, but there is nothing like the fresh air of the country to do soothe the soul.  We stopped in the town of Charlottesville and loved all the colonial homes with old shutters.  There is a pizza place called Christen's in town that is our absolute favorite.  They serve authentic pizza that is the best I've had.  You can get anything from asparagus pizza to avocado or pesto artichoke. Mmmmm. Makes me hungry just thinking about it.  I honestly can't decide which is my favorite.  It would be worth a 2 hour drive just to go eat pizza there. 

Our last stop was drive through Montpelier where President James Madison lived and developed the ideas of the Constitution.  It was a beautiful area rich with farmland, forests and historic buildings.  What made it even more fun was it started to snow while we were there.  Since we haven't had much snow this year, the girls were excited.  The snow almost felt like the West with big fluffy flakes swirling around.  The perfect touch to our small getaway.  

(We forgot our camera memory card so the i-phone pulled through for us.)

I love sunsets in the country.

James Madisons Home

Saturday Night Swim, the highlight of the trip for sure.  

What could be better than Dude, Lissa and a pool?!

Our little duck.

Luvie

It's official, Kate has a 'luvie.' 

This little girl can have alligator tears streaming down her face and you put this blankie in her hands and everything changes.  I love watching her get excited when we will pull it out of the wash. She'll start shaking her hands, giggling and toddle as fast as she can to it.  Many times her feet can't keep up with her pace and she tumbles toward it. 

I love it.  

Everyone needs some little piece of comfort and for Kate it's her blankie.  I must confess my comfort is possibly my hidden stash of chocolate. 

Traveler

The other day I found Abby walking around the house with high heels, several bags packed and her baby doll dangling off the front of her stroller.  I asked her what she was doing and she quickly replied, "I'm going to Utah." She then strolled around the house and stopped at the couch to load onto the 'plane' for take-off.  Abby obviously loves to visit her grandparents on both sides and associates Utah with the West in general.  I see her do this quite often and it's fun to watch her 'travel.'  I must say that she depicts the journey very well from the loads of bags, to the baby dangling off the front of the stroller.  Pretty accurate depiction of the whole event if you ask me, except for the high heels.

Valentine's 2012

  Happy Valentine's Day!

 The holiday of LOVE.

  It was cute to watch the girls get so excited about the holiday this year.  We did the traditional sugar cookies and had a candle light dinner.  Brett even broke out the record player while we ate and the girls danced to the music.  Good memories.

The girls set out paper hearts with messages for Daddy, but Kate ate quite a few of them before he got home.  He had fun reading what was left of them and it made the girls loved it.

We attempted to get some pictures of the girls for Valentine's Day.  I had seen some photo shoots with a lollipop and thought that would be cute. We did have a lot of fun, but  I am learning that I really shouldn't take pictures involving food in the dessert category. (ha!) We had a sticky mess, the suckers broke, and I really didn't get many pictures. Ah well, no matter. The girls had a great time so we just enjoyed the moment and had a good time, though I quickly hid the lollipops afterwords. They didn't need any more sugar after some licks on those suckers.

This face says it all.

Abby's Valentine

About a month ago, Abby came home from church with an announcement.  She approached me in the kitchen stating very confidently,

 "Mommy, I need to ask Daddy a question.  

I need to ask him if it's OK if I marry Jonah in the temple when I'm big."

Apparently my consent wasn't needed, but Daddy's was important. After that statement, I obviously didn't hesitate to send her straight to Dad to get a response.  

Abby has had a crush on Jonah basically ever since they began Nursery together at church.  Both of them seem to get that little shy, half smile when they see each other. I'm sure you all remember your first crush. You see them, maybe start to blush a bit and can't quite look them in the eye. Well, that's your classic situation with these two. It's pretty cute to watch.  

 Jonah was able to visit for a bit today and play.  While they were digging through toys, I glanced over just at the right time to catch him planting a small quick, kiss on Abby's cheek. It was funny to watch him react to what he did.  He looked puzzled, shaking his head like, "What did I just do?". I have to admit that it was sweet. Abby turned a slightly darker shade of pink and tried to pretend it didn't happen, not knowing what to think of it. Ahhh...young love.  

I guess you could say Abby has a little Valentine.

Jonah wouldn't open his eyes for any of the pictures.  These two are hilarious together.

Strawberry Jam

There is nothing like fresh strawberry jam on toasted bread. Mmmmm.  

When we saw that strawberries were on sale last week, there was no question we were going to make freezer jam.  Every time I make jam I am always blown away with how much sugar it requires in the recipe. Yikes.  No wonder we love it so much. Abby saw me making it and wanted to join in the fun.  We had a good time mashing strawberries and pouring mounds of sugar into the bowl.  

Abby was feeling so 'big' to wear her apron and make jam. She is into calling herself a 'big girl' right now.  I frequently get the phrase: "Mommy, I'm a big girl now because...(and a reason follows.)"  

My baby is growing up.