Happy St. Valentines Day!

To my one & only love.

Happy Valentines!

The bowing snowman.

Just showing a little respect.

(It was just too darn cold for him to fall.)

Another Snowstorm!

Snowstorm #2 hit us last week so we decided to make the most of it by playing outside! The medical students got the day off, so Ren & Gabe made a giant snowman, then we all went over to the Hill's apartment and played around some more & had lunch together. We finished off the afternoon with a little Wii competition! (As long as it involves beating the socks off of Brittany or Denzil, I am totally in!)

My first Bat Mitzvah!

I recently started working for a photography company here in New Jersey, who specialize in weddings and have actually been rated the "Best of the Knot" magazine over the past 3 years! And, a little over a week ago they gave me a job to go photograph my first Bat Mitzvah! I was a little worried at first, not knowing what to expect besides a big, glitzy party. I later realized, that these parties are like mini weddings, without a groom. They usually cost an arm and a leg & are to celebrate a young man or woman who is entering adulthood. It was funny being a head taller than almost everyone around me and I will admit, the party did bring me back to my college days when I would go dancing with my girlfriends. And yes, I did try and re-live a couple of those moments, dancing here and there while snapping pictures. In the end, I hope the girl whose Bat Mitzvah it was, enjoyed every minute of it!

(I was hoping to snag me a pair of those glasses..)

To see more pictures from this event, just go here.

Numero One.

Piper's birthday crept up on us this year and before I knew it I had a one year old! Has it really been a year? I still remember sitting in the airport with Lexi Shaeffer, both of us pregnant and tired, coming home from Grenada to have our babies in the states. It wasn't a year ago...was it? Now, I have a little pumpkin head that crawls everywhere and has started making mad faces. ha! (Sorry, we call her pumpkin head.) It seems like Gabe's 1st year was one, long year and Piper's was a snap an' whiz across the room. It was still a wonderful year and falls at a wonderful time! Happy Birthday little one. (sorry this is late, it was Dec 13th.)

The birthday girl.

Ohhh, cake.

All gone.

Umm..

Here are a couple of pictures from before.

2 weeks

2 weeks

1 month

2.5 months

3 months

6 months

9 months

9.5 months

9.5 months

10 months

10.5 months

Happy Birthday little Pip!

My husband, the wise man.

I always knew I married a wise man. I just didn't know he could tie a turban like that.

(Our ward had their Christmas party last Saturday and asked Ren to be

a wise man in the Nativity scene.)

Some furry visitors!

I picked Gabe up from school the other day and noticed her carrying an extra bag with her. I asked her what it was and she lit up as she explained that it was her turn to take home Mrs. Perone bear and Mudge. These happen to be two little, stuffed animals that get to come home with you & enjoy going everywhere with you over the next 4 days. You also get to record what you did with the bear and her little sidekick Mudge, in the included class journal. Needless to say, we had fun with Mrs. Perone bear and Mudge. We took lots of pictures with them the second we got home and took them with us to our "Polar Express Christmas Party" at the Hill's the next morning. P.S. Britt, that party was so much fun!!

Everytime I look at this picture, Gabe seems suddenly
grown up. Where is my 5 year old?
She is growing up way too fast!

Hugs for everyone.

Piper's turn.

All the kiddo's in their scarf's that Brittany made!

Writing letters to Santa with Anna & Mrs. Perone bear!

Radio City Music Hall!

Gabe & Ethan in the Lego Superstore!

The Rockefeller tree, the night before it was to be lit!

A couple of weeks ago, Gabe and I had a special mother, daughter date! We joined Ethan and Brittany out for a night on the town in NYC! We had purchased tickets to the Christmas Spectacular, at the Radio City Music Hall and were more than excited to see the show! It turned out to be so fantastic and something I will definitely take my kids to again! We both loved watching the Rockettes dance and especially the nativity scene at the end, where live animals walked across the stage, including 2 camels! The show flew by and before we knew it the curtain was closing. It was seriously something I will always remember. Thanks Gabe, for being such a fun date! :)

Blood moon-Dec 21 2010

Blood moon-Dec 21 2010, originally uploaded by Casey McDaniel.

Last night around 1:33am, there was a pretty cool Lunar eclipse! The moon changed a deep red at the end of the eclipse and unfortunately, my fingers froze off by 3:15am, so I had to run inside and may have missed the very end of it. But, I am happy that I woke up to see it, even though I did feel a little eerie in the dead of the night, taking pictures of a red moon..all that was missing were the vampires.

The talented Miss Gabe.

Ok, so I think I have the bragging rights to say I believe my daughter has a gift. She has a way with drawing things and portraying movement that seems above her years. I thought it would be fun to scan some of her latest works of art and post them for my family & friends to see! I don't think she'll mind..:)

(Notice who's wearing the head dress)

Fairytale Castle (notice the little dog on the drawbridge)

This was a collage she drew, cut out and glued together

The day after we saw "Tangled" Gabe came home & drew this.

Felix? I love how it almost looks like his little claws
are tearing the paper.

Halloween Ghosts & their graceful jumps

I really think she should illustrate a children's book. I need to look into that..