Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving has come and gone in a blur.  Our trip to Nebraska was filled with good food, fun activities, football, and volleyball.  Because we had nice weather in Nebraska, it's only natural that our girls wanted to spend most their time inside at an ice rink.  Nana and Papa gave the girls some new ice skates for Christmas and they wasted no time trying them out.  Throw in a ferris wheel,  silly string, bowling, a lip balm project, and you've got some relaxation.

Brunch with friends    ----    Happy to shovel in November

Como sunrise

Working on words... part 2

We had a post 5 years ago of Nina working on her words and it's crazy to see how she's grown now that she's working on reading words.  She and a few other students work with an extra reading teacher a few times a week, and this week her homework is to learn 70 sight words.  She has been eager to practice, has made good strides, and we love watching our firstborn read more and more.

It was wonderful luck that Ben's school put on Mary Poppins as the fall musical.  The girls came with us to the matinee show and we had a splendid time.  The girls got to talk to the cast afterward and later Vivian was crying because the show was over.  When we told her that we could watch some of the movie that night she sobbed, "but the movie won't be as good!"  The warm November has sadly ended and the snow has arrived.

Supermoon   ----   Wearing Purple in honor of Uncle Mike

Lioness waking up lazy husband   ----   Visiting Santa's reindeer

 

Meeting Prince (the new baby giraffe)

Warm Halloween

Dumbo & Shopkins Cupcake  -  The Governor telling Pip he has watched Dumbo 10,000 times

Last trick-or-treat with Miles & Seth   ---  Pumpkin Fun

The weather in Minnesota has been crazy warm and we've taking advantage with extra walks, biking, park trips, raking, and trying things like tennis.  When inside, the girls have really taken to Polly Pocket.  They have played with the mini, foot-piercing figurines for hours and even occasionally bring them to parks.  Nina is reading more and more and we're proud to see all she's doing in school.  Pip is still sad to go to school most days, but talks about all the fun things she does and surprises us with some knowledge she picks up here and there.  She has asked to be called Vivian now, but the adjustment is taking us a while, and some days she is more forgiving than others.