A Very Special Visit on NYE

On Christmas Day, we were planning on having Grandma, Casey and Great Grandma Irene with us for dinner, but because of all the sickness they decided to be on the safe side and come up when we were better. While the change of plans was disappointing in the moment, it made for a special New Year's Eve for all of us. Grandma and Grandma Irene came up that afternoon.

All of my Grandma's visits are lots of fun and special, but this time was extra special because my Grandma (Grandma Irene) was up visiting from Georgia and it was her first time at our house. We hadn't seen her in a couple of years. It was great to spend time with her and watch the girls get to know her some more.  

We exchanged Christmas gifts for a bit. The girls ooo'd and aaah'd over their new Melissa and Doug mailbox, stamp set and outfits, while Grandma modeled her new scarf for us. After we played post office for a bit and Oliver fell in love with Grandma Irene, Grandma took us all out to lunch at Joe's Crab Shack where we sat for a while and really enjoyed being together.

posing in their new dresses from Nana

their "excited because Grandma is coming" faces

Ella helping Grandma Irene open her gift.

Grandma modeling her new scarf.

Ella loving on Grandma and admiring her necklace.

crazy girls.

checking out the crab with Grandma Irene

four generations

the girls

Grandma meeting Ollie

After our sweet visit, Grandma and Grandma Irene headed home. We were anything but hungry after our seafood feast. The girls were pretty sleepy by the time we got home. Our original plans for the night were family game night and appetizers, but with sleepy girls and full bellies, we decided to bump up the celebrations and toast the new year at seven. The girls really didn't know any differently. They were just really excited to taste bubbly ("spicy") grape juice. They felt special. We found a fun New Year's Countdown and then toasted to 2015. We all started the year with the rest we needed; the girls in bed at a good time, while Joe and I relaxed together with a Netflix marathon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IjWc0iKELc

2014 in review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3n3qoEmB9Q

Here's to another year and all that it brings, but mostly here's to a good God who knows each day before it comes to be. I pray that this year we would continue to learn what it means to find our hope in Him and grow closer to Jesus. We are blessed beyond what we could ever hope for. Cheers to many more special memories and moments in 2015!

A Belated Christmas Celebration

Chrissy and Terry came for a visit when we were all healthy again. It had been more than a year since we had seen each other. Our visit was long overdue, especially because we hadn't seen Chrissy since she started growing a baby! There's something so special about watching friends you have known since you were 13 get married and have babies. The girls were really intrigued by Chrissy's baby belly! Abby even got to feel little "hamsteak" kick.  Ella kept offering things (like cheese and crackers) to Chrissy and saying it was for her and her baby. The kids were spoiled by Chrissy's fun gift giving, while I had my first auntie experience giving gifts to Chrissy and Terry's little guy who we are excited to meet in March. Thanks for making the trip guys!

Christmas in NJ 2014

A couple days after Christmas, we headed to NJ to celebrate Christmas at Grammy and G-Diddy's house. It was nice to be out of the house on a sunny day even if it was for a long car ride. We had been in the house for too many days! Grammy had lunch ready for us when we got there. Uncle Tommy, Uncle Brad, Aunt Alex and Aunt Cyncy were all there when arrived. The weather was even unseasonably warm, so we spent some time playing outside after lunch.

When we all headed into the living room to exchange gifts, we found a surprise hanging with the stockings. Grammy takes her role very seriously. She got stockings for her fur-grandbabies this year! Oliver is a pretty spoiled pup. Lite Brite, little animals, Operation, Frozen gear, pretty outfits and a new accordion were a few of the fun gifts the girls enjoyed playing with the throughout of the afternoon with each family member. We hung out and played all day. We even had "Happy Time" (also known as Happy Hour) with lots of hor d'oeuvres, which is one of Abby's favorite parts of being at Grammy's house.

Lite Brite with Aunt Cyncy

excited girls

animals with Uncle Tommy

G-Diddy and Aunt Cyncy

Lincoln Logs with Daddy

Uncle love

Ollie fit right inside of his stocking. :)

Abby's accordion

Abby and Aunt Alex

On Sunday morning, we got all dressed and ready for the special surprise Grammy and G-Diddy had planned for the girls. One of our special Christmas gifts were tickets to see Frozen on Ice together. The girls had no idea, even though Abby kept asking me why I brought their Elsa and Anna dresses with us on this trip. 

As we drove up to the arena, we tried to point out some clues to see if the girls would catch on as they started to see lots of little girls wearing icy blue Elsa dresses. They still had no idea, but decided to put on their Frozen dresses since it seemed like the thing to do.

When the girls saw the big ice rink, they realized we were going to see a show, but neither guessed all of the magical goodness that was about to begin.

The girls weren't the only ones enjoying every minute of the show. It was captivating. 

Let it go!

popcorn and Olaf sno-cones

It was really fun to see a grand finale of Disney characters at the end.

Thank you Grammy and G-Diddy for a special experience that we will never forget.

With all that fun and excitement, Joe and Oliver had the right idea for the rest of the afternoon.

Later that night, we went out to dinner at a Hibachi restaurant. It was the girl's first time, so we weren't sure what they would think of the interactive experience, but they LOVED it. Ok, Ella wasn't really sure what to make of the giant fire that blew up in front of her (as you can see from her face in the pictures below), but she was pretty captivated by the rest of the experience. Abby was especially engaged with the chef and even participated as he squirted water in people's mouths. The best part of it all is that Abby seriously ate her dinner and the best part is she did it with chopsticks. My girl has gotten pretty opinionated when it comes to food lately, but it turns out Asian cuisine (mainly anything that resembles sesame chicken or chicken with a sweet and sour sauce) is her jam right now. She  loves it and requests it any chance she gets.

 

After our fun dinner, we went back to the house and dug into Grammy's beautiful cookie platter for dessert. Abby asked me if she could use my phone camera (all by herself) to get a picture of the pretty cookies, so she could show everyone. Is my little foodie ready for Instagram already?

I love these crazies.