Finally!

Finally, I finished the decorating for the season. Here are quick snapshots of the mantle and dining room stars. The mantle has never been decorated like this before. It is really full---but I think I might like it. I tend to love excessive decorating at Christmas. Anyway- I will live with it this holiday. I am not spending any more frustrating minutes, hours, or days trying to make it look different or better. Merry Christmas!!!

Decorating has begun!

I decided to decorate in stages this year instead of one long, stressful day. Olivia and I put up the big tree and her little tree in her room. I set up the Christmas village on the piano. I hung the handmade (by mom) Santa. Michael thinks this Santa is funny looking. He always makes fun of me when I insist on putting it up first. But...it is a holiday tradition. The Christmas season really starts when this Santa arrives. I LOVE it! Olivia also painted decorations on our front windows. Her paintings are so cute that I think we will start doing this every year. It's messy- but the fun is well worth it. So...that leaves: the mantle, wreaths, paper stars, and a few odds and ends to set around. Hopefully, I will have it festive looking by this weekend. If not, oh well. We may decorate all the way until Dec. 25!

Down Memory Lane

Do you remember this Olivia???? Oh how she has grown. The bunny picture just might be the most precious memory of all!

Halloween

Here are some highlights from today's Halloween festivities. Olivia enjoyed dressing up to go to school. She wore her costume all day. The kids went on a parade around the block. Olivia came home with a huge bag of goodies.

Jacob came over for the yearly Halloween photo. It went much better this year. I think Jennifer and I need to coordinate their costumes next year in order to get the perfect shot!

Finally, we all enjoyed trick or treating. Olivia went with Sarah-Kate and Oscar. They went around the whole neighborhood. At first Olivia was timid and worried about which house had a dog, but that passed quickly when she realized how much fun she could have. Everyone thought she played the perfect part of Tinkerbell. At one time she even sounded like her by saying

"I can't walk anymore....BUT.... I CAN FLY!!! Priceless!

FYI-The big blow up decorations were not at my house.

Tinkerbell

This was a trial run on the Halloween costume. Olivia was Tinkerbell! She wore it for the first time this past Sunday for trick your trunk downtown by the courthouse. She looked quite cute when she wasn't knocking people with her glittery wings! Too cute!

Pumpkins

Last night was pumpkin carving night. Olivia actually stuck her hand in the pumpkin and cleaned most of the the gunk out. Amazing! This was quite a change from last year when she would hardly put her little finger inside the pumpkin. Olivia drew on her own face and Michael carved it out for her. Her pumpkin is the baby one in the middle. Michael has the really tall skinny one, and my pumpkin is short and round! We even toasted a few pumpkin seeds for Olivia. Yummy!!!

A Little Halloween Fun

Olivia decorated the house for Halloween. She painted our front windows by the door. It looks cute, and she had a great time doing it.

Auction Quilt

Here are some pictures of the beautiful quilt that my mom made for our Chili Supper Auction. We had all the kids cut their hands from fabric to put on as leaves. It looks spectacular! Thanks Mom!

First Day of School!

Today was Olivia's first day of school as a Pre-K Bear! She was tons more excited than I was on my first day this year. She found her own name hook where she put her book bag. She met a few new friends that joined her class this year. She made a special vest to wear during a parade. She sang Mary Had a Little Lamb with the other students. And....she played. Which is the typical answer to the question- What did you do at school today? All the other infomation on this post was received after multiple specific questions from me! Ohhh!!! What a day!

Soccer

Today was the first day of soccer practice for Olivia and Team Revolution. I think she was more excited about dressing in her soccer gear and having a water break than playing soccer. Our friends loaned us the cleats and shin guards (which are required-thank goodness). Michael and Olivia went out today and picked cool soccer shorts and socks. The practice was very amusing to watch. Olivia did a great job listening to her coach, dribbling the ball, and kind of guarding the goal. She only sat down and picked in the grass two or three times!!! I don't know if we have a soccer champion on our hands----but at least she looked snazzy and had a FUN time!

Holiday World

This post is quite tardy. I have not had enough hours in the day lately. These are pictures from our trip to Holiday World with the Wells' family at the end of the summer. Olivia had a great time. We spent our morning at the park and our afternoon at Splashin Safari. Olivia was not scared of any of the rides at the regular park. She rode the spider, the kiddie dragon coaster, the soaring eagles, the carousel, and drove the cars. We would have ridden more rides but the lines were LONG!!!!

After lunch we visited the water park. Again the lines were very long for the slides so we played at the big bucket park and the wave pool most of the time. However, Olivia, Michael, and I did ride one of the big slides called the Zinga. It is a four person slide with large rafts that takes you down turn and dips. It then spits you into this large toilet bowl things that spins you around into a pool of water. Olivia was really a bit under the height requirement for the ride but managed to slip on anyway. The raft we all rode in had small holes for each person to sit in. By the end of the slide, the only part of Olivia you could see was her feet and hands. Going down the slide she slipped farther and farther into the hole. Her body was kind of shaped like a V by the end of it. Michael (who wasn't much help because he was screaming himself) and I basically held her inside her hole for 3/4 of the ride. Needless to say- she was not the happiest 4 year old when we pulled her out of the raft. All in all though she had a great and TIRING time! Can't wait for next summer.

Glamour Girl

Here is the next page in my scrapbook adventure. I have entitled it Glamour Girl. The page documents the priceless costumes that Olivia modeled during her third year. I really like this page. It is too bad that the picture does not do all the little embellishments justice. However, the few people that even look at this blog can have the opportunity to see this page in real life...therefore they will be able to appreciate its beauty! (:

Bubbles!

I finally finished my third scrapbook page. I had a hard time getting started on this one. I like it, and I think that the blue glitter circles do look like bubbles floating around the page. I showed it to Olivia, and she seemed to think it was cool. It does look better in person...trust me!

Cute Clothes

The Imagination Station in town had a trunk show Friday night at the store. The clothes were sooooooooooooooooooooooo cute. They are all handmade by a wonderully nice mother. She runs the company Trendy Sisters. The clothes are so unique because of the interesting fabric she chooses. I copied a few from her website. You can take a look at all her cute clothes at www.trendysisters.com. (You may have to copy and past this address)

First Trip to the Dentist

Olivia had her very first trip to the dentist yesterday. She was a bit nervous at first, but was a pro by the end. Bridgette showed her all the cleaning tools. She loved the tooth tickler (the polishing brush) and Mr. Sunshine (the lamp above the chair). Bridgette even let her wear star shaped sunglasses so the the lamp wouldn't be too bright. Olivia was also given a ride in the dentist chair- up, down, back, and forth. Dr. Holman counted Olivia's twenty teeth and added her name to the "No Cavity Club." Finally, Bridgette gave her a dry polish to make her teeth sparkle. Olivia was so proud of her bright smile that she even went over to the man in the next chair and smiled really big to show him. She ended the day with a new tooth brush and a toy from the treasure chest. I think that everyone was in love with her by the end of the appointment. A final note: Last night before bed she informed me that she would like to go back to the dentist tomorrow! Imagine that!