Thanksgiving

We are so extremely thankful that Nana and Papa chose to come spend Thanksgiving with us this year.  It was quite the departure from our usual trip back to SD, but it was a wonderful weekend.

I had a couple of amazing helpers that were eager to bake pies and prepare the food.

We enjoyed a fabulous meal with all the fixins'.  A huge shout out to my master helpers and to Nana,  who was the Thanksgiving chef extraordinaire.

We managed to sprinkle in a few other activities while Nana and Papa were here.  

Quinn was SO SO SO excited to shop on Black Friday. (She is her Auntie Mer's child through and through - except for the minor fact that she came out of me!)  So us ladies obliged Quinn and did a little bit of shopping - nothing crazy.

We toured the Lilly House - former home to Eli Lilly.  It was decorated beautifully for Christmas.  Outside the Lilly house, there was this very unique, very cool looking tree made of toys.

We went for some delicious ice cream...

We also went to the Pacers basketball game...

While all of those activities were amazing, the very best part of the weekend was just spending time with Nana and Papa.  We are truly blessed to have them in our lives.

Sullivan's #3...

It took forever and a day for Sullivan to lose her first tooth.  She was nearly one of the last in her class to lose a tooth.  Shortly thereafter, tooth #2 popped out.  

Now it appears as though they are popping out like crazy.  Sullivan Grace lost tooth #3 this weekend, and another one is on its way very soon!

Isn't that the cutest smile in the world!?

The Tooth Fairy visited last night, and left a sweet $2 reward folded in the shape of a dress with a gold Sacajawea coin as the head.  

The Tooth Fairy also wrote a little note and is hoping that Sullivan pulls out her other wiggly front tooth in the next couple of weeks.  She so desperately wants to hear Sullivan sing, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!" (And so do I!)

The Cutest Thing...

You can't beat a good friendship - the kind of friendship that mirrors more of a sibling quality than friendship.  That friendship was apparent this afternoon.

Jack came to the door after school  asking to play with Sullivan.  I explained that she only had a short bit to play before we had to pick Quinn up at school.  So off she went to play outside for as many minutes as she could soak in.

When it was time to call her in, I stepped outside and saw the sweetest thing...

This picture, sadly, doesn't do it justice.  Sullivan was riding on the back of the tricycle pedaled by Jack.  They were deep in conversation and having the best time.

I couldn't resist taking a close up.  The two of them so happy. So content.  So comfortable riding a WAY to small tricycle up and down the block together.

That is true friendship.  

School Pictures...

Here is this year's edition of the girls' school pictures.  

As usual, they are incredibly fabulous and the girls look stunning.

Quinn - 5th grade

Sullivan - 2nd grade

We've Got the Itch...

It's beginning to feel a lot like....

CHRISTMAS!!!!!

That's right, y'all.  We've got the Christmas itch around here.  The girls started to decorate their trees in their room last weekend, and I will most likely be following suit this weekend.

I can hardly wait.  

'Tis the Season to be Jolly (and jolly we are)!

Superhero Powers

A short while back, Sullivan's school had a 'superhero day' as a school spirit event.  They were told to wear their favorite superhero costume or clothes, or if they would prefer, create their own superhero.

I kind of spaced the whole day really.  It didn't make my radar of things that needed to be attended to.  Until.  Until the morning of the 'superhero' day comes and my sweet 7 year old asks what she is wearing for said event. 

Um.  (long pause)   Well.  (sigh)  I'm not sure.  (ugh)

I would have loved to go into her closet, or any closet in my house for that matter, and pull out something superhero-ish.  But being that my girls aren't a fan of that genre, we were not in luck.

So I pulled out my creativity skills, and we came up with:

Cupcake Girl...

We turned her apron into a cape and made a cupcake to go on her wand.

What is Cupcake Girl's superhero powers? 

Spreading sweetness to everyone, of course. 

But Sullivan already had that one in the bag before she became Cupcake Girl.

Sweet thing!

Sullivan couldn't have been more thrilled with the costume.  Crisis averted.  Thank goodness!

Randomness...

Just a bit of randomness coming to you from the past couple of weeks!

These besties can't seem to get enough of each other.  They are forever asking for a sleepover or to get together.  You gotta love a good friendship.

Quinn went to Maddy's cross country race a while back.  

I was told that Quinn made the very best cheerleader.  

A short while ago, heaven arrived for Quinn and Sullivan.  They had been asking for awhile to go to the library and apply for their own library card  Well for this reason or that, it never happened.  Finally, the day arrived when we were able to fulfill that wish.  

Heaven. Absolute bliss.  A dream come true.

And the check-out machine at the end wasn't half bad either!

It's been awhile since Sullivan has given us a crazy sleeping position.  It used to be second nature to see her in all sorts of goofy positions.  So it took me off guard when I walked in and saw her like this.

And finally, Ryan and I attended Quinn's conference a week or so ago.  As a side note, it went fabulous and her teacher only had positive things to say about her.  We couldn't be more proud of her accomplishments - both academically but as a friend and a person of good character too!

As we walked through the halls, I noticed that there was a post-it note randomly hanging on someone's locker.  Intrigued, I walked closer to take a look at what it said.

It says, "You're really smart!  Have a nice day!"

Instantly, I knew it was Quinn's handwriting.  I told Ryan that it was Quinn's handwriting, but he wasn't so sure that she had written the note.  So... when we got home from her conference we verified with Quinn and sure enough, it was her writing!

Apparently, she just wrote a note to another classmate as a random act of kindness.

Melt.my.heart!

Quite the Field Trip...

Because Quinn earned a certain dollar amount during her fall fundraiser at school, she was invited to go on a special field trip last week.  She was able to go to Lucas Oil Field, home of the Indianapolis Colts, to tour the facility.

Quinn and her classmates had plenty of photo opportunities on this field trip. 

Maddy and Quinn in the press box....

In the locker room, next to Andrew Luck's locker...

Meeting a couple of cheerleaders...

And of course, posing on the field itself...

Quinn had an amazing time at Lucas Oil.  How could you not when you are surrounded by so many cool things??  So thankful for my dear friend who sent me all these pictures so that we can remember this field trip for years to come!  

Halloween 2016

I don't know what life was like in your neck of the woods for Halloween, but it was ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS here in Indiana.  The weather was such a blessing, as the past couple years have been less than favorable.

This year's costumes brought us this sweet donut....

And this adorable gumball machine....

They were not a costume pair this year which at first kind of saddened me.  Because who doesn't like a matching costume?!  But I quickly got over it when I saw how stinkin' cute they both were!

Quinn had some tough decisions to make this year.  She was invited to go trick or treating with her friend in their neighborhood.  She really wanted to go with Maddy, but she really also wanted to trick or treat in our neighborhood.  Maddy trick or treating in our neighborhood wasn't an option due to some other factors.  So after a little contemplation, she decided to politely decline her friend's invitation so that she could go with her sister and our neighbor, Jack!  Don't let Quinn fool you - she does love her sister quite a bit!

Maddy was sweet enough to swing by our house quickly before the festivities started so that they could see each other in costume!

Here is the whole gang... my two girls plus Maddy and her siblings.

Quinn, Sullivan and Jack had the best time together going throughout the neighborhood.  They certainly were not alone - as evidenced by the 100+ trick or treaters that stopped by our house!

Hope your Halloween was as happy as ours!