Princess Hops-a-Lot

AKA Princess Poops-a-lot! For a few days it looked like we had a new pet rabbit. The neighbor girls came over one morning and asked if we had seen this rabbit before. Nope, not us. But we did have a small pet cage (for Emily's future guinnea pig) so we put up signs and waited for an anxious owner to show up. It took almost a week, but Princess was finally reunited with her owner. In the meantime, the girls and the neighbors had a great time playing with, holding and spoiling (with many, many carrot snacks) a very friendly rabbit.

Merry Christmas!

No Christmas season would be complete without a trip to see the big man himself. Emily asked for an MP3 player and Claire wanted a toy box with her name on it.

We spent Christmas Eve in Thousand Oaks with Jenn's side of the family. The girls got new PJs and lots of time with Grandma Holly and their cousin.
We drove home late Christmas Eve so we could be home for Christmas morning. For once, Emily was up bright and early and Claire slept in. We waited and waited for Claire (there didn't seem to be a good reason to make a grumpy Claire later in the day) but finally around 8:30 Sleeping Beauty woke up. Around 8:31 this picture was taken:

And by 9:00 this one:

The girls had a blast tearing into everything. We spent the rest of the day checking everything out. Daddy used his birthday present and deep fried a turkey for our dinner.

Ice Skating

At a mall near Grandma Holly and Papa Rich's house, they make a (very) small skating rink. We've made it a tradition for the last few years to get over there during the holidays. Claire is a little unsteady on her feet still but she loves holding hands and giving it her all. Emily is good at staying on her feet all by herself, but she just loves to have company and hold hands anyway.

Christmas came early this year!

Christmas came a little early for the girls this year. Mommy and Daddy decided to upgrade the backyard swing set. We found a really nice one on eBay and won the auction! Thanks to both sets of grandparents for actually buying it!!! Daddy and Papa John took an entire day dismantling it from its former home. Papa John spent a week sanding and painting it until it looked new again. Today they reassembled it in our back yard! It didn't take long for the girls and their friend next door to move in to the clubhouse. I see lots of picnics under the clubhouse this spring!

Thanks Grandma and Papa!