A Special birthday

Mima turned 87 this spring and the girls made cards to tell her how special she is. We enjoyed celebrating this milestone with her this year. I am so thankful that my girls are getting the opportunity to know their great grandmothers. I can remember mine and love watching the two generations interact. Happy happy birthday Mima!!

Superheroes

The girls are into superheroes these days. Here we have their versions of Wolverine and Wanda. I am not even sure who Wanda is but she is a part of the X-men. They can tell you anything you want to know about the Marvel comics superheroes. Superman and his DC comics counterparts are not as popular around this house. I am learning a little about these things the more they learn.

Easter festivities

Sleepy Sadie

BIG NEWS!!

I realize that it has been a year since I last blogged but it has been a very busy one. We found out around last Thanksgiving that we were expecting our third precious baby in July! Everyone was so so excited to be adding one last Sanders child to the mix, at least on this branch of the family tree. There were lots of preparations to be made. We did not expect to have to purchase new items this go 'round. A new crib and car seat were in the plans. I also worked as a playschool teacher in the spring and all of this just took all of the energy I had which wasn't much. By the time the girls were out of school we were all very anxious to meet our new baby who was due on July 11.

Shady Rest farm

This year we got to look for Christmas trees with Grammy and Pa but our sweet baby Ava and her mommy and daddy also came along. We had a lot of trees to hunt for and everyone found the one they wanted to take home. Savanna has fun carrying the long measuring stick and Sadie likes to play hide and seek. The trees on the mountain were so tall that we found one that we topped off for our house. It was full at the bottom and fit in our living room wonderfully! We always have fun decorating when we get home.

Turkey Day

Thanksgiving seems like such a long time ago! This year (or better yet, last year) the girls wanted to dress as Native Americans. I tried to get Savana to wear a pilgrim costume I wore when I was younger but she preferred her paper bag vest and Indian headress. Sadie made her headress at school so all we had to do was complete her costume. Needless to say, the costumes didn't last long past this shot but they worked hard on them.

The Big Apple

 Mommy's birthday field trip was with the family to New York City. What an exciting way to spend her birthday weekend. Our flight up was delayed but we made time to visit M&M world before a LATE bedtime. The next day we were off to explore the big city. We checked out the Central Park zoo and Central Park itself, where we found this Alice in Wonderland statue. It was fun to climb!

The next day we took the Staten Island Ferry across to catch a view of the Statue of Liberty. WOW! Here she is in the background from Battery Park. On this day we also explored Chinatown and Times Square. That ferris wheel in Toys R Us was so much fun!

Quirky and Fun-loving

Our sweet Sadie bug just turned 3 years old. She is growing up way too fast for my liking. I know that EVERYONE says this but I really feel it with my second born. She is so easy going (most of the time) and easy to please that I feel like time is flying by with her. Drawing is the favorite past time at our house and her favorite thing recently has been to draw smiley faces. What a perfect party theme! She designed her thank you note cards. Planning our parties is as much fun as the parties themselves.

The Windy City

We were so excited to get away without children in October. Noah had a class in Chicago and I love to tag along. It has become a trend (and a joke) that we vacation with the marathoners. We were in Disney World for their marathon in January 2010. The weekend we visited was the weekend of the Chicago Marathon. I was excited to get in on the action by watching the first several finishers cross the finish line. It was all the talk around town that weekend and our hotel was close to the start/finish lines so we were fairly knowledgable by race day. Not being a runner, I can only watch in admiration as these people push themselves to run such distances. The signs of support were awesome! People were cheering on everyone and providing encouragement along the way. The morning was a good life lesson as well! My goal on this trip was to explore different neighborhoods. This is what makes a big city so appealing to me. Success!!! I visited Chinatown, Obama's Hyde Park, Greektown, and accidentally, a little piece of the "hood". Oops! We agreed that this was our best visit to Chicago yet. Can't wait for the next class!

Beach bound, AGAIN

I LOVE the beach! Anytime of year you don't have to twist my arm to spend time listening to the ocean, looking for dolphins, and playing in the sand. This place brings me peace. We don't need an excuse but this time we had one. We had to stop on our way down and back home to love on our newest family member, Ava. She is better known as baby Ava at our house and the girls were as smitten as I was. Even Noah couldn't wait to hold her. I thought it would be a while before I was Aunt Carrie but I love my new alias. We spent the weekend at Emerald Isle seeing beautiful sunrises, visiting the aquarium, and the Seafood Festival. Our stay at the festival was just long enough for Noah and I to get our seafood festival lunch. It was way crowded and not much fun while trying to keep up with 2 short ones. The boat show was the biggest hit for the girls. Savanna has even chosen the "perfect" boat for her. 

The Fair

The girls enjoy going to the Davidson County fair with Nana and Poppy. Each fall we head over for good food, rides, and games. The weather almost didn't cooperate this year but it worked out perfectly. We learned that roller coasters are more fun for Savanna but Sadie enjoys the swinging rides. The hot air balloons were the big hit this year with the absence of the big slide. Savanna also likes the big ferris wheel. She starts looking for it as we enter town. Thank you Poppy for braving that TALL ride. We also had to have a picture of the girls with their "Nanny goat" as we passed through the animal barn. Sorry mom! It makes for a long night and we were probably late for school the next day but fun memories are so worth a couple of minutes of tardiness.