Happy Holidays!

It seems that yet again I got behind on my blogging! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our family! Before Thanksgiving dinner we spent some time with Jay's grandmother "Grandmommy." The girls love going over to her house and seeing all of her Christmas decorations, especially her nativity scene outside her house! Lucy Anne liked riding the camel to see baby Jesus! So cute!The day after Thanksgiving Mom and I had a "tiny" plan of hitting the shops, which of course did not happen because Mom had this fantantic idea of traveling to the mountains to find that "perfect tree!" What a great plan it was! It was so much fun traveling up to the mountains to the Christmas Tree Farm to find our tree! Luckily I was able to convince my sister that she must join in on the adventure with her kiddos! Loading the crew up!

Party Time in the Bailey Bus!

Finally we reached the Tree Farm!

It was very cold, but we came up with some creative warm and cozy outfits with anything and everything we could find in the car!Jay says we are good to go!The girls enjoyed not only dressing up the tree, but they even picked out some Christmas attire to wear while they decorated! Ella chose a dress that is 3 sizes to small for her!

Lucy trying to find the perfect "spot" for her ornament!

And last but not least we had another BIG day around here as you can see below......

Lucy Anne gets a Bob!!

Oh my goodness when I was handed her ponytail I felt a few puddles in my eyes!!

My precious little Lucy Anne! You are adorable!

After I wake up after my 12 hour night shift I most likely find the girls in mismatched outfits that have been hand picked by themselves. Their outfits are usually a combination of both fall and summer attire! Their hair is in knots and their feet are black, but the smile on their face is a constant reminder of the most important thing to put on each and every day! Thank you Jay for always giving the girls a wonderful adventure and a fun-filled day! All the leaves their Daddy raked for them to play in!

Go Ella!!

How high can you jump?

Yeah Lucy!

We Love you Daddy!

Today Lucy Anne had her Thanksgiving Program at preschool! This was the first year the girls were not together and it was so odd with Lucy just being there! However, it was a very special day with just LucyAnne and she did WONDERFUL! I was so surprised at how well she sang her songs and even did the coordinating hand motions! So sweet! She was the cutest little turkey I had ever seen!

Lucy Anne singing her songs!

Our little Turkey

After the program Lucy and I headed back to the house and started decorating for the holidays. I just can't help myself! As soon as I hear Christmas songs on the radio that means I am allowed to start decorating! It is so much fun to decorate with the girls and Lucy was so excited that she was my only "helper" today, being since Ella was still at school. I think Jay was a little shocked when he came home to Christmasville!

The stockings are up!

Lucy Anne worked very hard on her Pink Tree for her room!

The girls Christmas Table!

Their fancy gingerbread houses they made with Gran Sandy and Ra Ra at a Christmas Party!

And of course we had to have one of Jay's favorite dishes waiting for him in Christmasville! Chicken Quesidillas!! Yummy! These are so easy to make and so wonderful!
When Ella got home Lucy and I surprised her with "Christmasville." She was so excited! I wish you could have seen her face light up. She loves any type of party decorations, but especially Christmas. I had her Pink Christmas Tree and all her many ornaments waiting on her in her room. This however will be a whole different blog posts being since I had to go search for more "fancy" ornaments for her in the attic. Such a production! Her tree is beautiful and I can't wait to post the pics!

Stay tuned for more "Christmasville at the Hardister House!"

Pumpkins Pumpkins Everywhere!!

Last weekend we went to pick out our pumpkins for our house! We had so much fun! Ella and Lucy Anne loved the pumpkin patch!
All the pumpkins!

Ella's Pumpkin!Lucy picked out a small one!

The Hardister House Pumpkin 2010!

Halloween Preview!

I know we have a good two weeks before all the little trick or treaters will emerge from their houses in search of candy galore! However, Halloween at our house starts when we purchase our costumes. The girls love to play in their costumes and by the time Halloween arrives Ella's shimmery outfit will be shredded in parts and Lucy's outfit will have peanut butter and jelly stains! So needless to say the fun started this weekend at the Hardister House when the girls picked out their costumes.

Ella picked out her costume all by herself. She first found this wonderful "muskateer" mask and it was a must have! She wore it all around the store in search for something to pair it with! Her dress even lights up which she is extremely excited about. What is she you may ask? Well friends according to Ella she is "A Fairy Muskateer." We love it and of course this is SO ELLA!

Lucy knew that she wanted to be Jessie from Toy Story before we even arrived to the store. At first we thought they were sold out and couldn't seem to find Jessie. Lucy was in tears and very sad. Then I found one! Yeah!!! She is so PRECIOUS in her Jessie outfit!
These two girls love to dress up and can't wait for Trick or Treating!

An Outing with Auntie Amy and Wonderful Grandmothers

A few weekends ago I had the pleasure of entertaining 2 of our cousins, Charlie and Wylie. We had a sleepover, which surprisingly went very well with 4 children!! Charlie bunked with Ella and Lucy and Wylie camped out in Lu's room! We also went to Edventure here in Columbia with Ra Ra and Gran Sandy. Thank you Ra Ra and Gran Sandy for being with us! Edventure was amazing as always! Let me invite you to come along on our visit to Edventure...you know there is always a little drama when you have all this crew together!!

This was our first stop as we entered the museum! Meet Eddie! Eddie is actually a "jungle gym" and the kids can climb and explore in his body. Small tunnels or better known as "the colon" lead to his belly where you will find what he ate for breakfast (pancakes and eggs) Eddie is enormous and you can go ALL THE WAY UP! Now first let me tell you that Auntie Amy is EXTREMELY claustrophic. I cringe when I have to ride the elevators at the hospital which I do daily. I ran off a subway with Jay while we were in route to our Honeymoon because that is how very much I freak out in small confined spaces (at least Jay knew this fear before he married me or he might have been a little shocked by my rapid escape from the subway)!! So, even though I love all these precious little children I could not bear to go explore in Eddie! But no worries Gran Sandy and Ra Ra were there to save the day and take the kids exploring in Eddie and down all the slides. Ella Grace and Gran Sandy actually climbed to the very top. Go Gran Sandy!! Charlie's first stop was Eddie's colon. HAHA!!

After what seemed like an hour we finally got most of the gang rounded up to continue our museum exploration. First came down Wylie! Then Lucy and Ra Ra (mom this picture is pricelss) Where is Charlie???? Got em... Finally after getting everyone out of Eddie we are ready to go. Gran Sandy and Ella are still on their hike to the top of Eddie! You go girls!!!

Next stop... The PIG!!

Oh yes! A Child Size Piggly Wiggly Grocery Store ready for lots of little shoppers! I got so tickled and what the "gang" shopped for. Please take a look! Wylie was just happy as you can tell. Very much in her element!And Lucy as well! Charlie must know his mama likes to buy "cheese" at their house. Please note the sausage biscuits as well! Hiliarious. I laughed so hard. And of course Ella Grace was preparing for her party as usual. I think she may be the next Paula Deen! My sweet Ella! Always up for a party and a making new recipes!

Now this post could get extremely long being since we saw many things on our day at Edventure. We explored in a fire truck and Charlie got to slide down a fire pole! We danced and played musical instruments! We milked a cow, played on a John Deere Tractor, and played restaurant. However, I would like to highlight just a few more things that made me laugh hysterically! First..... "Yo GABBA GABBA."

Yes friends this is Charlie on TV who just discovered he was on TV. I was outside waiting to capture the moment he discovered he was on TV. And No this was really not a YO GABBA GABBA exhibit, but it is all I could think of seeing him dance around on the TV. Of course I couldn't stop laughing at this being since YO GABBA GABBA was our household friend for quite some time!!!!

Next ...

I captured Ella Grace and Wylie giving a new hairstyle to a member of the African tribe exhibit! Hiliarious. I just about wet my pants! Ella Grace is seriously talking to the manequin about her hair just as if you were getting a hair consultaion!!! Goodness Children! Let's learn about history here not hair do's and make-up!

And last but not least, another memorable moment was...

when Captain Charlie's boat went waaaay of course. A brief moment of a pleasant attitude which was lost at sea!! (a minor meltdown)

And finally you know it is time for your outing to end when your 5 year old daughter is giving you the "hand."

Thank You Ra Ra and Gran Sandy for being with us and helping me with the "gang." I couldn't have done it without you! I had such a fun day with all my favorite friends!