Valentine's Day

Maddie had a lot of fun at pre-school giving & receiving valentines (and candy, natch).
The girls were excited to open their cards on Valentine's Day. 

 

 

Christmas at G&G Hoehne's

After going through the gifts at our house, we got all dressed & headed over to Grandma & Grandpa Hoehne's to open gifts there & have our usual Christmas morning breakfast...yum.  I'm hungry for date bread just typing this...

She can hardly stand waiting any longer.

Sam decided she didn't have time to get dressed & wore her pajamas over...

Jewelry...ah, teaching her at such a young age.

Can you say "new favorite dress"?

BATH TOYS! BATH TOYS!

The big gift at the end...a scooter!

Christmas Eve & Morning at our house

On Christmas Eve, we spent some time at Grandma & Grandpa Hoehne's with the family...then back home to get the girls in bed so Santa would come by.

All dressed up for the party!

Christmas goodies for Santa...plus some strawberry milk...yum!

Putting out the stockings...hoping they'll be full in the morning...

Christmas morning!  Yay, Santa came...he came!  That's the refurbished dollhouse in the background under the blanket...it was a big hit.

Tearing into it...Maddie was excited to get her Easy Bake oven.

Giving the new fleece a hug...soft!

Not to be outdone, Maddie hugs her fleece.

Sam took a flying seat to try out her new couch.

Maddie has been begging for a cat, and since I'm allergic, it's not happening (not anytime soon).  So, we thought she'd be super excited to get this "Fur Real" kitty.  It moves, meows & purrs when you pet it.  It was a hit.

Christmas in Iowa

We spent our Christmas time with Papa & Margaret in snowy Adel, Iowa early.  Sledding, feeding & petting the neighbor horses, seeing Santa, and of course, opening presents all made for a good time.  And this year it wasn't us that ended up in a ditch!

The girls getting pulled behind the tractor for a fun ride!

Papa Bob & Sam taking a quick ride down the hill.

Maddie with Santa doing his mall duty in Des Moines.  Sam wasn't feeling it, so we don't have a picture of her with this jolly guy.

You know, I'm not sure the girls are ever so well-behaved as when they have a boat-load of presents waiting to be opened!  They got spoiled as usual!

Halloween 2009

I started the day trying to track down a place that still had some pumpkins left.  The night before apparently we were too late for 2 crates at Kroger's that arrived that evening!  So, after about 7 calls, I found someplace that said they had some.  So while Amy & Maddie were at tumbling, Sam and I went for the pumpkin.  They literally had 4 left.  I grabbed the best one and after Maddie drew up a face, we carved it up.

Got Maddie this Princess Jasmine outfit for her birthday and she just loved it.  Slight freak out just before we visited the family when there was a tear in the tulle in the middle of the outfit and Amy's stitching job didn't work.  Dad came to the rescue with super glue & scotch tape!

Sam used one of Maddie's old costumes...the lady bug.  She enjoyed getting into it and everything, so that made it easier, cause when she doesn't want to do something, believe me, she lets you know.

So, we went & saw some grand-parents & great-grandmas and then hit the trick-or-treating on our block.  It was a warm day, but when the sun went down, it got rather cool.  Sam kept saying that she was tired, but wouldn't take me up on my offer to go home with her right then! :)
They had a blast, and we ended up with a big bag full of candy. 

4th of July 2009

I promised Maddie that she could be in the 4th of July parade in West Peoria with my work that is in it every year. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperative and no where near what is normally is in July. It rained the entire parade and it was not warm. She was a trooper and her friend Savannah joined us too. The girls hung in there for most of the parade before getting back on the bus. So, here we are wet and in our ponchos! Better luck next year!

Father's Day 2009

Got some great gifts from my family today, including these flowers, which I'm sure Maddie pushed for! :)


















We spent the afternoon at my parents house...decorating cookies, eating BBQ chicken, and taking some time to cool off in the pool...what a great time!

Mother's Day...

Had a nice day on Mother's Day...cookout at my parents. The girls enjoyed getting all dolled up in the their dresses.