Strikes and Smiles

Last Monday, my Granny came down to spend the day with us. We went out for lunch and Braylee was happy to show Granny her pre-school classroom. The rest of the week was pretty normal...house stuff, gymnastics, work, etc.

Friday, we had dinner with Andre', Mandi, Gabe, and Ella and then went bowling! We have been talking about taking the girls for over a year...even made it into a bowling alley a few weeks ago and it still didn't work out. Needless to say, the girls were full of anticipation and anxious to learn how to bowl. At first, we just let them bowl...no bumpers or ramp. (All of the bumper lanes were full.) Then, they tried out the ramp. Braylee actually got a few spares and a strike with the ramp. Brynna looked so cute jumping up and down in her boots every time her ball knocked over a few pins! :) They are already talking about going back again.

Braylee's first attempt at bowling

Brynna's first thought was to kick it. ;)

Jumping for joy!
So excited to knock over a few pins on her first try!
This cracks me up...Braylee is cheering and Gabe is covering his ears!

I've not been very good about taking pictures lately, so that's all I have to show from our weekend. Our little family went shopping on Saturday. The girls' favorite part was browsing Toys R Us for Christmas ideas. I also picked up a few deals at Gymboree. :) Sunday, we enjoyed a lazy day at home after church and then met up with Alex's family for Uncle Adam's birthday at Bobe's.

Yesterday, I took the girls to the dentist. They asked why his name is "Dr." if he's a dentist. ;) Braylee loves the dentist...she's actually been asking for the last couple of months when it was time to go back. This was Brynna's first time though. She was a good little patient. Both of the girls got "A's" for their dental hygiene. No cavities, but Braylee does have a tooth in the back that is chipped. He noticed it at her last visit but said it's gotten worse, so she'll have it repaired in a few months. As we were getting ready to leave, the dentist asked me if we are planning to have more children. I said, "Yes, at least two more." He said, "Good, because your girls are so sweet." :)
After the dentist, we went to Wal-Mart. Since we had some time to spare, I told the girls we could walk through the toy aisles. When we turned to go down the Barbie aisle, Miss Brynna sighed and said, "This is my faaaavorite aisle!" :)

Today, we went over to see the progress on the new house. They have almost all of the brick done and have started the drywall. Then we had a playdate with Mandy and Emily.
The girls and I were late to gymnastics tonight, but it was for a good reason...we were closing on our house!! We accepted their offer back in August, but it's worked out until now for us to stay here. We've been very thankful for this opportunity, and in God's perfect timing, a rental place has opened up for us just in time! Our friends Shad and Jamie have a place they were renting to some of her family, but they recently bought a house and moved. Shad and Jamie weren't planning to rent it out again, but they are very kind to let us stay there for a few months until our house is finished. So lots of things happening in the next two weeks...Thanksgiving, my sister's baby shower, moving, Alex's birthday, etc.

Big Splash Adventure and Little Scholars

Last weekend, we went to Big Splash Adventure (indoor water park/hotel) with Tim, Krista, and their girls. We purposefully planned this little trip back in July for what we thought would be a "cold and dreary weekend." But, we live in Southern Indiana...should have known better! ;) The weather was gorgeous!!

We arrived Saturday morning, settled into our rooms, and then spent the afternoon at the water park. The girls had a fabulous time...as did the parents! I felt like a kid again going down all of the big slides. We had planned to take family pictures that evening, but West Baden was closed for a private event. We still caught some fun pictures and then went out for dinner. Sunday, we went back to the water park until after lunch time and then headed home after a big pizza feast.

Braylee & Sydney

Mommy & Braylee
Daddy & Brynna
Ready to go to dinner- Braylee, Sydney, Brynna, & Addison
Sunday, Braylee built up enough courage to go on one of the big slides with mom.

Papaw stopped by with belated Halloween treats for the girls that evening.More pictures: complete Big Splash Adventure photo album

Back on their birthdays, I wrote little updates about my girls. I mentioned Braylee's math interest and Brynna's attempts at writing her name. So, last week on the way to gymnastics, Braylee handed this to me in the car and said, "Mom, do these all add up right?" Sure enough, they do. :) (She added the first two numbers and underlined her answer.)

Brynna's recent attempts at writing her name have looked like this:

She wrote all of the letters except the Y, which she just couldn't seem to grasp.

Or like this, where she simply just left the Y out. :)

But finally this week, she put it all together! She was so excited!
She danced around the house and kept saying, "I did it. I did it. I really, really did it!" Too cute!

Giving Daddy a high five and showing him her first signature.

This week, things have been moving right along with the house. They started the brick and insulation, finished the plumbing, added some new details...like the hearth. Braylee noticed the hearth immediately and decided it made a perfect stage. :) The fireplace should be arriving any day so she better enjoy the stage while she can!

Trick or Treat

Saturday, we went trick-or-treating with Abby and her kids again in our new subdivision. Braylee was Little Bo Peep, but her rod didn't last her the entire evening...which left some people asking if she was Little Miss Muffet. ;) Brynna was a ballerina. They both looked super cute and it was nice not having to deal with wings this year!

Lillie, Braylee, Brynna, Karson, & Pierce

Brynna, Braylee, Ella, & Gabe

Sunday, we went to Brent's 1st birthday party after church. He loved the attention and was such a sweet baby. Last night, we went to Abby and Kevin's for Small Group. We laughed and laughed...definitely burned some calories talking with those girls. :) Lindsey asked me if we would just walk over the next time Small Group is at Abby's. I had to think about it for a second b/c it just seemed so quick, but it's true! Since we rotate hosting, it won't be back at Abby's until April I think. Hopefully we'll be all settled in at the new house by then.

Notice Miss Shorty standing on her tip-toes. ;)

Today, Brynna and I ran errands while Braylee was at pre-school. In doing so, Brynna missed her nap. She fell asleep in the car about 5 minutes before we arrived home. I carried her in and put her down in the kitchen. She started pulling her clothes off... the girl LOVES to be in jammies when we are home. She headed off to her room and when I didn't hear anymore noise, I went to investigate. Poor Princess was so exhausted, she didn't even make it to her bed! ;) She opened the pajama drawer and even pulled out a top but didn't make it any farther. She looked so cute!We received very exciting news today!! My sister Tracee is having one boy and one girl! :) They are pretty set on their boy name but not yet sure for their little girl. One of the babies has a choroid plexus cyst like Brynna had, but thankfully, all other body systems look perfect so hopefully it will be gone by her next ultrasound. Her pregnancy is going really smoothly (She might disagree due to the amount of morning sickness and weight gain that comes with having twins!!), and we are praying for more easy months before these little ones arrive!