Mrs. Claus and The Tale of Two Girls.

Today the girls and I went swimming at the Y and then shopping at the mall.  We had a great time spritzing on perfumes and eating See's Candies.  They are at an age that these outings are becoming more fun and less work.  Sidney was dressed to the nines in her sun hat, over the shoulder homemade crocheted purse, tie-died capris and perfectly coordinating top.  I find it quite hilarious when Kendall calls her out on her attire.  Seriously Miss Kendall, not too much room to judge. 

We definitely stumbled across a golden opportunity.  Sidney is STILL terrified of Santa.  She will not even look his direction when we pass by the Santa area at the mall.  Today we walked by while he was "at the North Pole" according to Sidney.  Instead, Mrs. Claus was reading stories to the kids.  I was amazed that there were only about 5 kids sitting around to listen.  We found an area of rug and parked ourselves for a few stories.  After a bit, Sidney started crying.  Apparently, she was worried that Santa was going to come back.  Yes, this is what I would classify as an irrational fear.  However, Mrs. Claus took notice.  I quickly explained that Sidney was not a fan of the whole Santa thing.  Mrs. Claus was awesome.  She asked if Sidney wanted to come up and take a picture with her instead.  Photo opportunity!  It was awesome. 

After we left Mrs. Claus, we headed for the car.  On our way out, we saw Santa coming back from the "North Pole".  He decided to stop by the play area to say hello to the kids.  Sidney kept a safe distance away, while Kendall ran up to have a chat.  She got two hugs and two high-fives.  Wouldn't you know it...I could not get my camera out fast enough. 

Kevin came across a picture of the girls sledding last year.  He said it was one of his favorites as it shows each of their unique personalities. 

Kendall: eyes wide open, taking the world by storm.
Sidney:  eyes glued shut, not ready to see what is ahead of her.

The Best Halloween Yet.

Our church had a Halloween party this year.  We took the girls and had a fantastic time.  We ate hot dogs and lemonade before diving into the fun.  It was like an indoor carnival with games, jump houses and treats galore.

 

Is that a slingshot in Kendall's hand? 

The girls thought they were in Disneyland.  They could not believe they saw Snow White.  They were a bit shy about asking for a picture.

The girls participated in the cake walk.  We had made a couple of cakes to take to the party. 

We spotted one of our cakes leaving that night and asked for a picture.  Can you spot the real Jack-O-Lantern?

The girls wore themselves out in the bounce houses then sat down to check out all of their loot.

On the way home Kevin took them by the spooky house in our neighborhood.  They had to walk through a tunnel to get to the door.  Sidney made it about halfway through.  A nearby coffin opened then slammed shut.  She came flying out of the tunnel.  Kendall proceeded down the path.  A goblin told her that if she wanted some candy she had to ring the doorbell.  After ringing the doorbell, she was rewarded with a "whole Kit Kat".  Once she got her treat and started to leave, a masked monster came out from the corner to scare her.  Kendall screamed at the top of her lungs, then hung out for a few minutes to talk with the monster.  Go figure!

I loved the indoor party this year.  The girls had a great time and it was fun to actually enjoy all of the costumes, rather than see everyone in the dark all bundled up. 

Let the Fall Projects Begin!

The girls had been begging to play in the leaves, so Kevin took them to the park a few weeks ago.  They had a blast throwing leaves everywhere.

Kevin raked up a big mountain of leaves for them to hide in.

Now that the weather has started to cool, the indoor projects have begun.  We painted our dining room.  I love the colors!

 

Then we painted the sun room.  We both were not sure about this color at first.  It has grown on us quite quickly.  We find ourselves sitting in the sun room just to enjoy the bright colors. 

  

Now the tough decision is what to paint next?