Bringing in the New Year...

It's hard to believe that in a a couple hours we will be welcoming in 2018... 2017 went by way too fast.  The Christmas season was wonderful, our time with family in SD even better!  More to come on that in the coming days.

But for now... as we welcome in 2018 Quinn is welcoming in a new (and quite fabulous) look! 

Her new glasses really make her look older and more mature!  

 

Sad Day....

We had every intention of going to see Santa on Saturday.  As in previous years, he was in our neighborhood at the model home, so it was super convenient to see him. 

Quinn announced that she didn't want to go, but would go if no one (ie. MOM) took any pictures of her near Santa.  With those (painstaking) terms agreed upon , we were set to go! Until...

Until... Sullivan announced she no longer wanted to see Santa either.  Break. My. Heart.  I asked her 1,000 times if she was sure.  She said she was.  That means that I think our Santa days are over.  😞

So in lieu of seeing him letters to Santa were a must.  Quinn did this as part of her English class, and Sullivan wrote a note at home.  Here is her sweet note...

This is all just proof that my babies are growing up!

2017 Ornaments

It's that time of year again...time for the annual reveal of Christmas ornaments.  

Here is 2017's collection...

Quinn

Quinn started trumpet this year, and has really taken a liking for it!  She is eager to practice and show off her skills to anyone that will listen (and she is darn good at it too)!

Along with every other child in America, Quinn fell in love with fidget spinners this year.  She owns a few of them, but would probably own a hand full more if we let her!

Sullivan

Sullivan LOVES, LOVES, LOVES her some raviolis.  It is not an understatement in the least bit, if I told you she would eat them for EVERY meal!  That and Salt 'N Vinegar chips.  

Sullivan has really enjoyed painting this year.  She has quite the collection of  painting hung on her wall.  I will have to blog about that in the near future.  Anyway, painting is definitely a passion of hers.

Quinn & Sullivan

Slime.  The bane of my existence! The girls had to have made 10,000 batches of slime this year.  Butter slime, glitter slime, foam slime... you name it, Quinn and Sullivan have made it!

Pooley Family

This year represented the 250th anniversary of Canada.  This is the logo to mark that anniversary.  It was everywhere we went when we took our journey through Canada this summer.  What a great vacation it was!

We added a sweet, fluffy, super adorable new member to the family this fall.  It's hard to believe that she hasn't been with us forever.  How fast she stole our hearts!  

2017's Picture Ornament

 

Another amazing year, another set of memories for the books!  

Pirates in December

Sullivan had a musical performance this evening at school.  Her music teacher is not much into the traditional stand-on-the-risers-and-sing type of guy.  Rather his style is a bit more eclectic. 

That said, their performance tonight was pirate themed. Even down to the handkerchiefs they wore on their heads screamed pirate!  (I couldn't help but think that a grade level outbreak of lice could happen, as these were shared with all of the classes in the third grade. Yikes!)

The songs and dancing and chants (and solos by EACH of the kids) were all great. 

What guts it takes to sing a solo!

Sullivan's favorite was,of course, playing the xylophone.  

Each student selected a pirate name.  Our pirate, Blue Jack Sue, did an amazing job tonight and we couldn't have been any prouder!

Way to Go, Sulla Grace!

The First Snow...

We had the first snowfall of the winter this weekend, and you would have thought the girls hit the jackpot!  It was only 1/2 inch of snow, but the first snowfall is ALWAYS exciting!

Turns out that Quinn and Sullivan were not the only ones that LOVED the snow... Tessa loved it too!  She is a tried and true snow dog!

With the 1/2 inch of snow, Quinn, Sullivan, and Jack gathered up the snow from all the nearby driveways and sidewalks and made themselves a neat, little fort! 

It was nice to see the white snow fly, but I've had my fill for awhile!!

Famous...again!

A few years back, Quinn landed the cover of a national newspaper magazine.  You can check that out here.

Fast forward to last week - and Quinn again made the local newspaper. Our town puts together a weekly circulation highlighting all things local.  

Quinn helped the Sertoma Club last year shop for local children at the holidays.  The article was highlighting the organization and their mission.  

It is pretty cool for her to see herself in the newspaper.   

That opportunity doesn't happen every day!   

Fun in the STL...

We had the best time in St. Louis with the Boyles this weekend.  It never gets old seeing great friends!  I sadly didn't take many pictures.  I guess we were too busy having fun! 

On Saturday, the Boyles' church was hosting a Build-a-Gift event.  The kids are invited to attend and make gifts for their loved ones to give away as Christmas presents.  It was so well organized and both of the girls loved it.  They could never turn down a good craft!

They also spent a great deal of time playing school and playing games.  I love how the four kids get along so well, despite the time that separates them between visits.

Us adults enjoyed the time just as much.  Aside from just hanging out and catching up, we watched the SEC championships where Scott's Georgia Bulldog's pulled off an impressive victory!! Thanks, Scott and Ab for opening up your house to us - as usual, we had the very best time!

Thanksgiving 2017

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year with Nana and Papa.  They were so kind to make the trek all the way back here again after having just been here a few weeks ago for Ryan's birthday.  We were so thankful to be able to celebrate this holiday with family.

It took a village to pull off the meal on Thanksgiving...

Boy, oh boy, it was delicious though....

While Nana and Papa were here, we also went to see Wonder.  The girls had read the book and were dying to see it!  It.was.AMAZING!!!!!  It comes highly recommended if you are looking for a feel good movie.

The girls convinced Nana and Papa to play a few games with them...

We also made it downtown to the Indiana Historical Society.  They have an annual Festival of Trees - with approximately 80 trees decorated with different themes. It truly is a remarkable sight.

This scene was a favorite of mine.... takes me back to a favorite film, A Christmas Story.  Looks like Ryan is admiring that classy looking lamp! Don't get any ideas, Ryan!

It was a great time - and the trees were beautiful! 

Here are the girls' favorite trees.  

I wonder why Sullivan chose the one she did..ha!  

We even got to see Santa while we were there!!

This was a great way to kick off the holiday season and to get us in the Christmas Spirit.  

We are so thankful for all of our friends and family, and for Nana and Papa making the trip out here to make our Thanksgiving extra special!  

It's Beginning....

...to feel a lot like Christmas (around here)!!

I really wish I would have taken some pictures of the girls decorating the tree this weekend, because it is a tradition that Quinn and Sullivan love to do as much as I do!  I LOVE, LOVE this time of year.  Unfortunately we were so knee deep in decorations that we didn't take any pictures.

In order to decorate the trees, Ryan has the tedious task of getting the trees assembled and to make sure the lights work.  Sadly, he had one of those years where the lights didn't cooperate, making his job all that much harder.  Bless him.

As you can see in the background, Tessa is being quite the helper!

After all was decorated, that same great "helper" was the only one willing to pose for a picture in front of the tree.  

Hard to believe that Christmas is 36 days away - a lot to do in the next month!  

Yikes!  

Cheers to 40 Years

As part of Ryan's birthday week celebration, we collected a picture from every year that he has been alive - a little trip down memory lane!  A huge shout out to Nana, as this would not have been possible without her help with those early years!

Hang on tight... here is a look at Ryan through the years.  

Remember, he's old now.  There are A LOT of pictures to look at!  

So many great pictures - so many amazing memories!!