Birthday festivities

The girls' birthdays came around with some fun festivities this year.  The Saturday after Thanksgiving we had a bowling party for them at Circle Bowl.  They turned 7 and 11 with galactic bowling (loud music and lights) and several friends. 

Here's the birthday table with t-shirts for signing and bowling pins full of drink!

Cute bowling wrap by Jacob's mom for Emma:

Daddy and Emma bowl:

  

Emma bowls with Nannie Kim and Mr. Richard

Katie and her friends:

Emma and her friends:

Emma and Nannie Kim:

Aiden and Jacob fight for Emma's affections:

Emma with Jacob and Addy:

Katie and her friends dance while they bowl:

Mama and her baby Emma:

The birthday girls have Happy Birthday sung to them:

Dancing the Hokey Pokey:

Emma and Jacob:

The cake:

Blowing out the birthday candles:

Katie and Daddy play games with our tokens - Daddy hit 500 tickets!

So the next weekend - the day of their actually birthday - which also happened to be the day of the SEC championship with LSU and Georgia, we ran between activities and managed to squeeze in some birthday time for the girls.  Here we are at home after "Breakfast with Santa" at school and Nutcracker ballet practice and watching the game with friends, having some time to open presents with the girls:

Katie and her new camera:

Emma and her new American Doll.  This is one of the look alike dolls, and Emma has named her Kendra:

Katie's new ballet pendant:

Katie and her gifts:

Emma and Kendra:

Thanksgiving 2011

So having a week off for Thanksgiving was a welcome break for these hard working teachers / coach.  Mark's schedule keeps us all pretty busy in one way or another, so the girls and I love having him to ourselves every now and then.

That first Saturday we were off, after Katie finished Nutcracker ballet practice, we headed to Vicksburg to visit with Mark's mom who lives in a nursing home in Tallulah (and there are no hotels in Tallulah!)

Here we are waiting for lunch with Grandma:

Too cute, my Emma!

Mark and his mom visit:

Emma couldn't wait for Aunt Denise (Mark's sister) to get there:

After lunch we posed for a few family photos:

After we got home that Monday, we hung around the house and then went to Nannie Kim's for Thanksgiving lunch.  These are my two nephews, Jason and Chad, with Chad's girlfriend:

Daddy and Katie at lunch:

Katie and Nannie Kim:

Emmma and Nannie Kim:

Playing some guitar after lunch with Mr. Richard:

So my coworkers have turned me onto Pinterest, and I am now obsessed with the crafts and activities on this website / ap.  I have a list about a mile long of things I want to do with the girls on this site.  Over the holidays we made homemade sidewalk paint (just as good as the kind I have bought at the Broadmoor craft fair).  Its just water, cornstarch and food coloring, and it stays on the cement for ever (in a good way - it washes off with water, it just looks very 'vibrant' on the driveway).

Here's our paint:

Here are the girls painting: 

Sorry I didn't get any close ups of their art work, but I'm sure we'll do this again over our 3 week Christmas break!  (woo-hoo!)

Jovi, also enjoyed the weather!

Jackette Dance Camp

Emma participated in our Jackette dance team clinic a few Sunday afternoons ago.  She loves it and is totally enamored of a few of our dancers.  Here is the first grade group practicing their dance:

Practicing her dance some more:

Then each age group performed their dance for the parents. 

I love this sassy pose.  (Who does she remind you of.....?)

Then all the groups did one dance:

Emma's first grade group and her teachers.  She had a great time.

LSU vs. Western Kentucky

So we traded out our Arkansas tickets (smart move, huh?) for Western Kentucky tickets so that we could take the girls to a game.  (Now, understand our logic was not in the quality of the game, but which game we might be able to leave early in case the girls got testy).  Any hoo, we met up with Miss Julie and her friends to do a little bit of tailgating. 

We wer there about 5 minutes and the world's cutest nephew showed up, Jason:

Emma shows Dr. Carlton how to Wop:

Awww!  Look how sweet they look?

Katie and Emma decided to roll down the hill by CEBA (not that it was gigantic or anything... city girls!):

Love this photo - they do like each other every now and then:

Now this is more like it:

Cheering for their tigers:

The team comes running in... Geaux Tigers!

Me and my girls:

My sweetie:

Not sure why we did this, but I have come to LOL at this picture:

Miss Julie came to visit us late in the game:

It was a lot of fun, and we love taking them to one game a year.  They are growing up to be proper southern girls!

Halloween 2011

So it was Halloween time in the Willows again this year, and as usual, it was crazy crowded.  (I wish my neighborhood carded for this event!)  The girls looks precious this year, and I finally convinced Katie to wear one of her dance costumes that we pay so dearly for.  Here she is in her "We Go Together" tap costume from the recital:

Emma in her witch costume (If I had a nickel for every variation of a witch costume I have bought over the years....)

The girls with Mr. Norman's granddaughter, Kayleigh.  (he's our neighbor)

The girls walking down the road.  Funny story... I took one other picture like this, but it didn't make the blog b/c  Emma was picking at her bum!  (I think the skirt bugged her the whole night... or maybe it was just a wedgie!)

Making a pitstop at the house to drop off some candy before we start the 2nd leg of our journey:

Earlier that week we visited the infamous "blow up guy" down the road:

 Its so scary... Ahhhh!

Awwww!  Now who's favorite float was this one?



My child can make the craziest faces!