Pie Baking at Aunt Jenny's House

Last week while my family was all together for Thanksgiving, we had all the girls at Aunt Jenny's house for the day to bake pies. The day started off with the domestic diva (that's what her apron said anyway...) Jenny making both apple and key-lime pies! Not sure if we had made the mimosas yet....they were needed at some point!

Amanda kept the little girls occupied with a cookie-making project.

Baby Maddie and Uncle Jason

A hug from Grammy!

It always turns into a dance party!!

Still happy after a full day of playing and baking pies!

The day is finished with Grace and Megan officially declaring it "movie" time.

Crazy Fun Art Day at Aunt Laura's House

As I sit and put this together, my youngest sister Liz is back in New Hampshire after a week-long visit. I am the oldest sister of three and we each have two girls. This, along with our mom, adds up to 10 women...yikes! The first day of the visit, we planned lots of art activities which turned into a gigantic dance party towards the end of the day! Our kids were inseparable the entire time! While we made sure to plan some fun activities for the week, but left lots of room for just catchin' up! Thank heavens for my nieces Amanda and Emily (Jenny's girls who live here locally). They were a huge help, and enjoyed loving the little girls with lots of hugs throughout the day.

It's been 5 months since the cousins last saw each other.....much too long! There were some big hugs to start the day!

Placecards for Grandma's Thanksgiving table. Each kid was put in charge of doing finger print turkeys....with them pooping out after just one because their hands got dirty - go figure??

Amanda and Mikey finishing up on the placecards....did we miss anyone?

Decorated turkey cookies...sure to be a hit!

Emily being sweet to baby Maddie

Dance train...time for a break from "crazy art day"!

The Cousins, loving being together! (Amanda, Maddie, Emily, Olivia, Grace and Megan)

The Day ended with Amanda and Mikey chillin' out in front of the tv.....tired from all those kids!

The Other Reason I Love Sundays.....

Robert and I take the girls to the library on Sundays. All of us take our time choosing what we want, and we're sure to sit a while and read to the kids. Grace has gotten so good at reading that she likes to pick books and read them to us now! We always leave with a huge bag of books for the week.

I was a reader as a kid, and so was Robert. As adults we both love books and carve out time to read - both on our own and with the girls. We hope all this time spent in libraries and bookstores encourages Grace and Olivia to grow up loving books and reading!

Grace & Olivia on Donut Sunday

Sunday is My Favorite Day of the Week

I love Sundays. I love that the kids call the day “donut Sunday” and get up from bed blurry-eyed, warm and sweet smelling asking when it’s time to go get donuts. Many many Sunday mornings they go in their pajamas…..so excited to press their noses up against the glass and pick out a sprinkled one or a cinnamon twist to take home. The donut lady has fallen in love with my girls, and with each Sunday visit she loads them up with a free donut for every one that is purchased. Robert grumbles about how this can’t possibly be good for them, and they cheer with glee as we drive away from the donut shop. Olivia usually has hers eaten by the time we hit the driveway, with chocolate left circling her mouth as a dead give-away as to where we have been.

Sometimes in the car on the way home on a Thursday, or while playing on Saturday afternoon I hear Grace and Olivia talking about donut Sunday and which ones they are going to choose when Sunday finally arrives. I smile to myself, wanting to hold onto these little bits of their childhood, and how magical these small things mean to them.

Getting Started...

This past summer, my friend Haley inspired me with her fantastic family blog. I found myself looking forward to her next entry, and laughing at the goings-on of her and her funny 3 kids! I kept thinking about my own family and how far away some of them are…our friends back in San Francisco and Robert’s brother and wife in the military. There had to be a better way to continue the connection to friends and family other than the occasional email and holiday card.

I dabbled for weeks, adding a picture, changing the font of the title, wondering what to write. I keep going back to sites I love and admiring their commitment to add a new entry and to keep their “followers” updated.

My hope is that our loved ones can share a snapshot of our lives, however faraway or down the street they may be. I often want time to stand still while I savor Grace and Olivia. I want to remember every little funny thing they say, or how they looked when they dressed themselves for school.

Is this my ticket to an added layer of memories that my camera alone can not provide?