Thanksgiving Staycation!

This year we stayed home for Thanksgiving break and all of the Goolden family came to us!  We had a full house and lots of fun!  The weather was unseasonably warm so the girls had some outdoor fun / backyard games.  We also did some painting, made crafts, played dance revolution along with some other indoor games, and of course, playtime wouldn't be complete for this generation of little girls without some Anna and Elsa dress-up!  Here's a peak at some of the fun we captured!

 Dance-Dance Revolution!

Second front tooth came out
on Thanksgiving Day!

 Stealing some time with daddy!

Cider Mimosa's

Backyard Fun / Outdoor Games

 The first day the Hooley's and Perrin's arrived we went to Grammie and Pa's for a visit.  The girls wanted to play in the hot tub which we didn't plan for.  They are so little, we agreed to some splashing around in their undies.  For those of you who know my parents, their hot tub is in the back of their heated garage.  Strange, I know, it must be a north country thing....  Anyway, Claire was so excited she stripped down only to have to dress back up in her winter coat and boots.  She insisted on bringing some dolls out to the garage with her.  When I asked 'Claire, do you want me to hold those for you so you can run like a Cheetah' she said no.  I said 'won't your legs get cold?' and her response was one I may never forget.  She replied in the most serious sense, 'no, and you can't judge someone by what they wear'.  Oh.My.Glory!  She actually was listening to our conversation on the way to school the other day!  To have a four-year old say that when they are dressed like this was JUST.PRICELESS.

Dance party in the house!

On Friday evening the dad's all stayed home so mom and daughters could have some time together.  We had dinner at the Cactus Grill & Cantina followed by a few drinks at the Riverview.  It has literally been like a decade since the 5 of us had some distraction free time with one another and we enjoyed each others company.

 

'Let it go!'

Uncle Dan likes to hand out french fry money when he sees all of the nieces and for this visit it turned into Dollar Tree money.  Stella used her $6 (which included her $1 from the tooth fairy!) and did her own shopping.  She was such a big girl, and while I wasn't willing to explain tax to her, I gave her the extra coins she needed and she was so excited to be able to buy 6 things, since usually mommy only lets her pick 2.

Hulabaloo!

 Poor Claire was so off her schedule while we had house guests.  Here she's having dinner about an hour later than everyone else because she put herself down for a nap at 5:30 pm.

The night prior she came out at 10:30 pm from playing with her cousins and said 'Mom, when are you making dinner?'.  She proceeded to insist I make her 'chicken  noodles with carrots' because she 'wants what I want'.  Her short melt-down resulted in her passing out!












We made some owl crafts because Haley loves owls and since it's so close to Christmas this activity was timely.

Window Crafts

Trying out a homemade
body scrub recipe

We were so happy to have family visit for the holiday.  We always wish our time together would last longer.  To alleviate some of the sadness the day they left we did some special activities and started our holiday shopping.













Last weekend our fall gymnastics and ballet & tap classes ended for the semester.  Stella's in-class showing for dance was being held the same time as Claire's gymnastics class so we asked for special permission to have Claire attend gymnastics with Stella during her class.  Claire fit right in and did a great job with the big kid stretches and showing off what she's been learning.  Stella did awesome at her dance class and was really able to follow along with her teachers to the two choreographed pieces they performed for family.

Also last week, Stella helped make dinner one night, and both girls eagerly volunteered to help wash the dishes!  We'll take the help while it's offered!

To round out this blog post, we are so proud to share news about Claire being chosen as one of 3 students of the quarter from her class.  Claire was chosen for 'outstanding character' because she 'always pays attention, is eager to learn, shares with her classmates, and always raises her hand'.  We must say pre-k is definitely helping Claire learn and grow and we couldn't be happier!

What are mom and dad doing in the cafeteria?

with Miss Viau and classmates at the
student of the quarter ceremony

Sweet November

This weekend we celebrated grandma's 60th birthday with a surprise party!  The girls had a great time opening presents with her and taking many photos with guests using the photo booth app and props we brought along for entertainment!



Some days after school we are all just spent!  Here the girls are chilling with the tablet, watching silly videos.


 Stella helping with the dishes one night after dinner!  It was her first attempt at washing and it went pretty well!








We also had a sleepover with Caroline, Caleb, and Esme.  On Sunday morning we enjoyed a nature walk around the corner from our house.  We had no idea there was a trail in the woods but Caleb stumbled across it and it was great taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather!





On our walk we stopped by the river and the girls were throwing sticks in and watching the current carry them away.  Unfortunately one of Stella's brand new mittens from Aunt MJ ended up in the river too!  Caleb ran along the river and was luckily able to fish it out.  There were a lot of tears but Caleb saved the day!

 Tea party fun!

 Claire simply can't resist playing in the dirt, ever!

 Stella wasn't feeling that great two weeks ago on Sunday morning so she stayed home while Mommy and Claire went to church.  Claire-bear was such a good girl at children's church!

 On the 7th we had a free evening so we ventured out to Appleton Arena for an SLU Men's hockey game.  It was the girls first game and they enjoyed it, especially the snacks!









The girls love to watch shows together - here they are relaxing on the floor with the tablet.

 We have dance shows frequently.  This time in our jammies/undies!

 We spent some time this fall cleaning out the extra room in our upstairs.  We've transformed this into our 'quiet room', where we can play games and read stories - but not leave anything behind!  It's been nice to utilize this space after being here for 5 years and not really using it much!

Claire-Bear walking Sammy with Miss Julie!  Some afternoons on our way home from Julie's after school it will be time to walk the dog.  This afternoon when we made it to our house Claire wanted to keep going with Miss Julie!  So glad she loves being with her :)