Tale as Old as Time...

If you haven't seen Disney's smash hit broadway musical Beauty & The Beast... you should!

Avrey & I were very lucky to be able to join our friends Brittni, Svea, and Aunt Ann (and a bunch of her wonderful friends) to enjoy it together.

Avrey got all dressed up for the occasion. She wanted her hair done just like Belle's (Um - I tried my best okay...) and she wanted to wear the new dress Granny bought her for Christmas (even though it is more of a 'dress-up' dress than evening wear - I decided WHY NOT???) I have to admit she looked adorable!
Aunt Ann treated all of us to dinner at the Alaska Glacier Brewhouse before the big show - we sure do LOVE that lady! It was Avrey's first fancy dinner at a nice restaurant and she did very well. She loved her cheese pizza and ate almost every bite.
(Above is a photo of Aunt Ann and her friend Diane)

At the show Avrey and Svea had a lot of fun together! The danced in the lobby, sang along to the songs, and both liked 'Belle' the best! I think the girls really enjoyed the magic of the moment.
The set and the stage (although this photo does not do them justice) were magnificent. As were the characters in the show! Surprisingly, my favorite character was Gaston. I was not expecting this as I detest the character Gaston in the Disney movie but in this show... the actor who played Gaston did an outstanding job.
A few days after the show, Avrey drew a picture for me on my classroom easel. Can you guess who it is?
Yep... Belle is on the left and Gaston is on the right! I lover her attention to detail such as Belle's blue dress, and Gaston's red shirt and black pony tail!

Sooooooo... of course, we had to go watch Beauty & The Beast 3D in the movie theatre next. It was stunning! The color and the 3D effects really brought the story to life.

While we were at the theatre, Avrey made some new friends...
I guess I know what movie we will be going to see next.

What fun experiences for Avrey and I - ones I will always cherish!

Christmas in Canada 2011

We traveled to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to spend some much anticipated time with the Matthews crew on December 23rd and celebrate the holiday season.

We had a short layover in Seattle but the girls found a fun way to pass the time. Avrey & Quynn just love the play center in the SEATAC airport.
Avrey also got her photo with Santa and one of his busy elves just before we boarded the plane to Edmonton!
When we arrived in Canada we were very surprised... there was NO SNOW!
BUT we were super happy to see all the smiling faces of our cousins, uncles, aunts, and of course, grandma & grandpa!
In the photo above (left to right): Jena, Quynn (on grandpa's knee), Harper & Levi (on grandma's knee), Maggie (the tall one), and Keeleigh. Up front: Jesse (in the red chair) and Avrey.

Grandma was able to find matching red, white, and black outfits for all the grandkids - just too cute!
On Christmas morning we opened up gifts.
Avrey was ecstatic that she got a new barbie with fairy wings.
Quynn immediately started playing with her new picnic basket.

On Boxing Day (December 26th) the greatest gift of the holiday season arrived... a new baby cousin named Briggs Robert. Now there are three grandsons and six granddaughters for grandma and grandpa to love!
We visited Briggs and his mommy and daddy in the hospital only hours after he made his big arrival. He smelled so wonderful and felt so soft.
His mommy and daddy were very happy!
Pretty soon though, it was time to go back to grandma & grandpa's house.

The girls put on their new pajamas grandma bought them for Christmas.
On the last day of our visit we all went skating.
We got bundled up and had a blast!
Uncle Ben bought special skates for Avrey at Canadian Tire so she could use them and still keep her warm boots on.
It was sure fun spending time with our crazy cousins.
We had such a wonderful visit and can't wait to go back this summer!

Christmas at Lemon Tree Preschool

We went as a family with Avrey to her preschool Christmas party.
Once again Avrey decorated a Christmas cookie.
Once again Quynn ate a Christmas cookie.
Avrey was very BRAVE and she sat on Santa's lap. Afterward she said to me, "Well Mom - Avrey does rhyme with bravery!"
Daddy took the photos at the party so he isn't in any of them but it a was a fun event for all of us. We got to meet Avrey's preschool friends and spend time together as a family.

Campbell Chrismtas 2011

We had Christmas with the Campbells a little early this year. We missed spending time with Uncle Danny (he stayed in Chicago) & Uncle Kevin (he was en route to Anchorage) but enjoyed being with the family that was there. We got all dressed up and headed over to Grammy & Pop Pop's for coconut cake, sorbet, a little gift giving and a lot of receiving (we were very SPOILED).
Grammy bought the girls adorable Hannah Anderson dresses for the occasion.
Avrey got a blue doodle bear (look toward the back of the photo). She was so excited! She wrote a letter to Santa in early December asking him to please consider giving her one.
Quynn got a new Elmo toy called 'Elmo rocks'. This Elmo toy is amazing and literaly does 'rock'. He can play the tambourine, drums, and sing.
Daddy got something new for the bathroom! POOR SANTA...
The best thing about the holiday season is being with those you love and we are so thankful we were able to do so.

Christmas Cookie Decorating

We got together with good friends (Tristan, Jossie, Svea, & Haven) and decorated Christmas cookies.
The older girls created some beautiful cookies.
Tristan and Quynn ate the cookies.
Whether eating or decorating... everyone had fun!