Playdate With Justus at Big Al's

The girls met up with their friend Justus for an afternoon of bowling, lunch, and arcade games! Justus is an old preschool friend and even though he's in a different kindergarten class this year, the girls still see him on the playground during recess. 

The three of them had fun taking some photo booth pics too!

Christmas 2013

We are lucky to have family close by so we can spend time with everyone during the holidays. We spent Christmas Eve with the Rufeners eating dinner, singing carols, and opening presents. 

The girls love their fancy cash register!

On Christmas morning, the girls were excited to discover new bikes next to the tree!

Lauren holding up the LEGO Friends Heartlake Pet Salon that she has wanted for the longest time.

Emily was similarly excited to receive the Heartlake City Pool set. 

 Aunty Carol and Uncle Joe always send the best gifts from Hawaii!

We had the Yaps and Kisors over for Christmas Day brunch and more present exchanging. 

Stuffeez from MAWS and DD! 

Kali helping Emily open her gift. 

 Cousin Kay showing Lauren her gift... a huge beanbag!

From left to right: Emily, Kay, Kali, and Lauren playing store. 

In the afternoon, the girls tried out their new bikes. Emily loves to ride fast!

Lauren carefully trying out her new bike. 

The day after Christmas we went to the Grotto with the Rufeners. 

Our family photo at the Grotto. The lights were beautiful!

December Trip to Bend

We went on a long weekend getaway to Bend last week... we could see the Three Sisters mountains from our hotel room. 

We ate breakfast each day at the hotel restaurant. On the first morning, Emily ordered chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream and a side of bacon. Some of the whipped cream got on the bacon... Emily picked it up and said, "Bacon with whipped cream?!? I guess sometimes dreams really do come true!"

We did a little bit of skiing, although the snow and conditions were not ideal. The girls are able to ride the chair life and they skied down some green runs. In this photo, their instructor is on the very right... Lauren is next to him and Emily is behind Lauren slightly further up the hill. 

 Girls relaxing in their hotel bedroom before taking a dip in the pool.

Emily (left) and Lauren (right) preparing to go ice skating for the first time.

Learning to skate!

A wintertime family photo!

Gingerbread Houses

Lauren (left) and Emily (right) had so much fun decorating gingerbread houses this year! I assisted with the frosting, but the decor was completely designed by them. They have been learning a lot about patterns in kindergarten and it shows!

Front of the houses... Lauren's is on the left and Emily's is on the right. 

Side of the houses. 

 

Other side of the houses. 

Back of the houses. So cute! 

Christmas Tree Hunt

We went to Sleigh Bells to hunt for our tree this year... the girls thought this small one was the cutest!

We ended up getting this Noble Fir.

The girls hung most of the ornaments this year, and the tree looks fabulous!

Santa and His Elves

Emily and Lauren chatting with Santa Claus. The girls said they asked for Lego sets for Christmas this year.  

The official photo!

Emily posing as an Oregon duck elf for a school fundraiser. 

Lauren's Oregon duck elf photo. Go ducks! :)

Home Visit With Mrs. Bickley

The girls' kindergarten teacher Mrs. Bickley came over for a home visit this past week and it was such a treat! Mrs. Bickley visits each of her students at their house once during the school year, and she said it's one of her favorite parts of her job. Here she is playing games with Lauren (left) and Emily (right). 

Reading a story together... the girls chose the book Corduroy. 

A photo in front of our Christmas tree. The girls really enjoyed their special time with Mrs. Bickley!

Party Time

The girls had a fun time celebrating their friend Caden's birthday at John's Incredible Pizza!

Lauren presenting her gift to Caden. 

From left to right: Lauren, Caden, and Emily. 

Bumper cars! Lauren picked out the pink one and Emily picked out the purple one. 

This was definitely one of the favorite rides!

Emily riding a virtual roller coaster with another friend/classmate named Aaron. 

Aaron and Emily racing motorcycles while Lauren drives a race car. 

We also celebrated our friend Kai's 2nd birthday! He had fun opening his presents. 

From left to right: Gavin, Emily, Kai, and Lauren.

Lauren's Adventures With Honu

Honu the sea turtle is the girls' kindergarten class pet... each week he gets to visit a different student's house and go on adventures with them. Lauren was so excited when her turn came to host Honu for a week!

Honu went with the girls to their swimming lesson. 

Honu celebrated Thanksgiving with us.

Playing at the park with Honu!

Lauren sitting with Honu.

Honu also came along on a family hike with the Rufeners!

Honu has a scrapbook filled with photos from his adventures with all of the students. We had a fun time making our pages!