2019 Ornaments...

I love, love, love looking for ornaments for the girls.  I start early in the season trying to find the right ones.  Sometimes I'm successful, other times not.  Here are 2019's ornaments...

Quinn

Quinn has a love for all things F.R.I.E.N.D.S - along with every other teenage girl in America.  She has made her way through all the seasons and is currently rewatching some of her favorite episodes.  This ornament reflects her infatuation with this TV show this year.

This ornament was a labor of love for me, but one that I really, really enjoyed making!  This represents her yellow hydro flask that is covered in stickers.  All the stickers on this hydro flask represent some love or interest of hers this year - in true VSCO (shhh we don't say that word around here) fashion.  

Sullivan 

Sullivan's TV infatuation this year was The Middle.  Together, as a family, we have been watching the (hilarious) TV show.  But Sullivan is ALWAYS the one asking, "Can we watch another The Middle?"  Now that we have made it through all the seasons, she is going back to the beginning and watching them all over again.  This ornament was made by me, given that there doesn't appear to be any The Middle ornaments out there on the market.  Come on, crafty people, get on the ball.  

Sullivan's other ornament this year is Forky - from Toy Story 4.  She LOVES this new movie, and finds Forky absolutely hilarious.  

Quinn and Sullivan

This sand pail signifies their first time making it to the ocean.  We traveled to Florida this past spring break and really enjoyed our time at Clearwater Beach.

On that same trip, we made it over to Orlando to visit our dear friends, Minnie and Mickey.  The girls were dying to try the Mickey ice cream bars before we went to Disney.  And while the girls only gave the ice cream bars a "mhhhh" after trying them, we couldn't help but use that as our Disney ornament this year.  

Aside from that trip, we also took a major trip to Alaska this summer on our very first cruise.  It wouldn't be right if we didn't recognize that AMAZING trip with an ornament!

Finally, another huge trip occurred this fall when we traveled all over New England and visited so many National Parks and historic sites.  This ornament was a great find at one of our stops, as the girls collect stamps for their NP passport books at every stop we go to.  

Ryan

It wouldn't be right if Ryan didn't get an ornament as well.  Everyone that has been to our house knows of the terribly pesky pet that we have living underground in our backyard.  While we haven't given this mole a name yet, except for some choice, colorful names, he has eaten up a lot of Ryan's time, energy, and beautiful yard!  To say that the mole is a source of frustration would be an understatement.  

So this ornament (while it isn't a great quality photo) shows a typical mole house above ground, but when you look at the underside of the ornament, you see a cozy mole family living underground!  A perfect ornament for Ryan's pesky friend.  

2019 Photo Ornaments...

A Little Bit of This and That...

The holiday season has gotten away from us and I have failed to keep up with the comings and goings.  Here is a little bit of randomness from the last couple of weeks.

Grandma Jane came through Indy a couple of weeks ago on her way back to SD.   She was only able to stay overnight, but it didn't stop us from getting some game time in...

McDonald's fries... a great love of the girls.  It  has become tradition to stop by McDonald's after a dentist appointment to treat the girls for healthy teeth.  I know it is so wrong to eat junk after the dentist, but they taste oh so good.

Sullivan is never one to turn down a good game.  As part of the 12 days of Christmas that Auntie Mer and Uncle Matt sent the girls this year, Sullivan and I got a few dozen rounds of Christmas Spot It in. The girl is good.  No holding back, no letting her win.  She can hold her own!

Tessa has gotten into the Christmas spirit - donning a fancy sparkly bow.  She is so hard on herself... she told us she thinks it makes her look fat.  Little does she know, it is the 4,209 pounds of fur that she has.

We took care of that fur problem with a great haircut.  Now she is too pooped to poop with the stress of the haircut.  Either that or she thinks she owns our new bed!

My dear friend, Cynthia, served as our surrogate family while we lived in Nashville.  Quinn spent many nights with Cynthia and her family so Ryan and I could catch our breath.  She held and will always hold a special place in our hearts.  So it was a sweet moment when I got a text from Cynthia a couple weeks back to hear that she welcomed her 3rd granddaughter into the world.  And that sweet granddaughter has a very familiar name... Audra!  💖 Welcome to the world, Audra!

Sullivan has enjoyed so quality time with her good friend, Maddy.  She attended Maddy's dance recital last weekend and had a blast seeing her friend dance!

We also got a good deal of snow this week, which has produced some prettiness outside.  It has also produced some opportunities to get outside and play in the snow!

As I post this, I realize that there are not a ton of pictures of Q in the mix.  It is getting harder and harder to convince her to take part in pictures!  Plus I am beginning to feel like we are sometimes ships in the night.

With Christmas around the corner, this Santa wants to say, "Ho Ho Ho..." and "Merry Christmas" to you all...

Winter Concert...

Quinn had her winter band concert last night, and the band surely did not disappoint.  There were 3 different bands that played, each performing a mix of traditional and holiday numbers.

It is always difficult to see Quinn in the crowd of band members.  You might have to squint to see her, but there is proof that she was there...

Quinn did a wonderful job and sounded terrific.  We couldn't be more proud of her!  

If you want to hear Quinn's Symphonic Band pieces, you can watch the videos below...

Flying Tigers

Christmas Pipes

Polar Express

Christkindlmarkt...

Last year we fell upon the Christkindlmarkt in Carmel.  It is a small outdoor village of shops, food vendors, ice skating and more celebrating the German traditions of Christmas.  We loved it so much that it was on our list of holiday must-dos this year.

We, along with half of Indy, went this past weekend.  And while the crowds were big, it wasn't horrible.  It probably added to the holiday spirit.

We walked around the shops, got our yearly mug, and sampled some of the goods.  Who can turn up some gourmet hot chocolate and a peppermint and chocolate crepe?!  Yum!

Fun times had by us... can't wait to do it again next year!

'Tis the Season...

The Christmas season brings many favorites and many traditions.  Puzzling is always a favorite this time of year.  Uncle Matt is the master puzzler and always has a puzzle ready for us to do.  

This year we got a jump start on the puzzling though - thanks to Uncle and Auntie who sent the girls a couple of puzzles in the mail.  The girls wasted no time opening those up and getting started.

In a wee short hours, this puzzle was complete....and this one was a fun one to do!

Now we are on to completing Quinn's puzzle, which is proving to be a bit tougher than the first. 

But watch out, Uncle Matt.  We've got a start to the puzzling and we are on a roll.  Can't wait to puzzle with you next week!

The Gingerbread Man....

Everyone that knows Sulla knows that she loves a good project.  She might get that from her mama!  😉 That said, Sullivan concocted the idea to have a gingerbread house decorating contest for our family.  When the idea was born inside her head, she was set to see it to fruition. And what a great idea it was!  

So the contest took place last night...everyone in their prospective corners to ensure no peeking and stealing of ideas.  

The results, after the time expired, were pretty colorful.

Ryan's...

Audra's... 

Quinn's... 

Sullivan's ...

We each (secretly) voted for a winner, and in the end, the winner was...

Yep.  That's right.  "Mr. I Don't Want to Decorate This Thing" came out victorious.  I guess that makes him our true Gingerbread Man.  While the ladies came up short, we still had a mighty good time! 

Time will tell if he will be able to defend his championship next year!