it's been awhile

I haven't posted in awhile.
A bit of a quick recap post.
We left off in November just before...

this amazing Thanksgiving Dinner at Aunt Amy's house! Delicious turkey!

An elf appeared on Thanksgiving morning, the kids named him Fred, and he stayed with us until Christmas Eve.

Soccer season ended. Good games.

The weather is wonderful, the Barbie jeep, bikes and rollerblades are back on the road.

Aunt Robyn came to visit and helped us put together our gingerbread house.

Another tooth fell out (thank goodness Aunt Robyn convinced Ella to give it a little tug!).

Together with the cousins again, playing Legos.

A special 4th birthday celebration for Zach and Nate.

4 super heros all 4 years old!
(Zach, Josh, Charlie, & Nate)

Christmas card photos were taken.

Christmas desserts were made.

Grandma Betty's raspberry rhubarb jelly is the best!

The bubbles packed inside out of town packages are extremely entertaining.

Getting ready to open gifts with Mo and Grandad!

Snow toys from Kylie! Opened just in time for a trip to the North Pole (Williams, AZ) and some fun with fresh snow!

Charles and the girls made a wall!

Christmas Eve!

ready for school

My girls.
Dressed and ready for school.

The tie was worn to celebrate our favorite principal. He was transferred to another school at the end of the week. We are very sad to see him go, but are excited for change. Ella loved her tie, she wore it all day, which is a record for her!

comfortable?

A comfortable way to watch TV?!?

Sophie Mae

2.25 years

All I want for Christmas...

...is my two front teeth.

Ella lost her first one on Monday and the other one is quite loose. She just might be singing, or should I say whistling, that tune by Christmas! Ironically, Dharma, my other six year old girl, had two teeth removed a few weeks ago. She can whistle all she likes but she won't be getting any new teeth for Christmas. Have to make do with what she's got, poor girl!

dancing class

Two weeks ago, Sophie's friend Ruby T invited her to join her ballet class at the YMCA for a day. Sophie was SO excited and she loved every minute!

Ironically, we had just signed Sophie up for a dance class with the city, and her first day was the day after dancing with Ruby!

In this class, she is learning a Santa dance! When you see her next, be sure to ask her about her dancing class (this is what she calls it), she'll show you all her new moves!

of all days

What did Halloween night bring for the Marshall children??

the flu

Ella, unfortunately, came down with it that morning; the rest of the family followed suit throughout the week, except for me. I'm still waiting for my turn.

As for trick-or-treating, Charlie and Sophie hit the block with Dad, while Ella and I stayed back and handed out a few treats. I hadn't planned on staying home to hand out anything, so the treats were interesting and didn't last that long, but we had fun despite the circumstance.

As for the flu, it hasn't been fun. But the kids and Charles have all gotten through it with flying colors (without complication). Hopefully we can say we checked off that box for this year! Done.

a costume preview...maybe?

Charlie chose the theme this year.

Pirates!

Aunt Amy gave us these AMAZING costumes (a pirate and a parrot) that she made last year for her girls. We gave the costumes a try the other night. I think they are adorable!

Ella has other thoughts. This pirate thing was not her idea. So, despite the cuteness, and the theme choosing, she is pursuing other costume ideas and she's trying to convert Sophie with her.

Charlie's pirate costume came in the mail from Gran. He is dead set on being a pirate, and a very cute pirate he will be! Who knows what Halloween night will bring for the Marshall children. Stay tuned...

sand

Fall break this year took us back to Oceanside, California. Back to the beach!

Most of our time was spent on the sand, steps away from our condo.

Not fancy by any means, but it was SO neat to be to be able to hear the ocean at all times of the day. And we were able to take our favorite canine companion along, and she did great!

An afternoon snooze.

We took frequent walks along The Strand. One night to Ruby's, the restaurant on the pier, Sophie was very concerned about the cracks between the planks!

We watched the sun disappear into the ocean.

One morning, the kids and I took a walk up to the closest train station to see the trains pass through.

They loved to feel the rush in the air as the engines came blasting by.

In the span of one hour we saw the Coaster, the Surf Line and the Sprinter pass through the station. The driver for the Sprinter opened up his window, talked to the kids and honked his horn!

Until next time...