Christmas decorating, Ava's school

 We had so many laughs with the girls this weekend.  First of all, we got the Christmas decorations out and they helped me decorate.  They had a ball with that.  Sunday morning, Harper got up first but Ava slept in a little, when I went in to check on her, she had gotten up and turned on the lights on their little tree and was just lying in bed, staring at it.  They're so excited for Christmas and especially for the first appearance of their elf "Lucy".  Rielee is excited to find out what her elf "Jack" will do first, he's a very mischevious guy.  Rielee typed Ava and Harper's Christmas list for us, too.

 They went back and forth playing at our house and Rielee's and wanted a picture in the frost-which looked like snow to them.

Ava was our teacher this weekend.  She set up her school and her list of students that she watches carefully for good and bad behavior.  The checks are for good,  X's are bad.  Papa was in trouble a bunch and she said Mom was talking.  She was so serious, she taught 2 lessons, the first on how to be kind, the second was safety rules.  It's all great fun except sitting in their little chairs is a killer.

Emmy and Dan's house

Emmy and Dan were moving into their house today so we went down to check it out.  It's a nice house in a quiet neighborhood, just perfect for them. We met Charb there so we could bring Ava and Harper home with us.  The girls loved the house, especially the gazebo in the back yard and all the leaves.  They would have been happy to stay there and run around but we got out of the way quickly so Emmy, Dan and moving crew (Mom, Dad, Auna, Parker, Aunt Sharon, Garrett, Aunt Sue and Charb), could get back to unloading and unpacking. 

Macee's last volleyball match

 Monday night we went to the University of Portland to watch Macee play in her last volleyball match for Gonzaga since she'll graduate next spring.  She was sad, said she'll miss her teammates, but is ready for new challenges, like law school-she takes the LSAT in a couple of weeks

David came to watch and took this picture of all of us. 

It's been a fun 12 years of volleyball with this girl

Harper's footstool

I brought this footstool in the house from storage and Harper latched onto it like it was some kind of treasure.  She packed it around all weekend, using it to climb, of course, but also as a table, a house for her baby and as a piano stand.  Papa showed her how she could use it to sleep in the chair, and sure enough, that's where she was this morning.  Never know what will capture their imagination.

Sleepover

 We had all 3 girls spend the night Saturday night.  They stayed up until 10 and surprised me by going right to sleep.  Ava was first up at 6:30 this morning, Harper followed her and then they woke up Rielee.  She would have been happy to sleep longer but they eventually got her moving. 

It was still so cold out this morning, only 39 degrees when Ava and Harper asked to go out and play.  They bundled up and played for about a half an hour before they decided it was a little too chilly. 

Cartwheels, sketches and worms

 We had a fun weekend,  Ava and Harper spent Saturday and Sunday with us.  Harper was excited to show us how she has perfected her one-handed cartwheel.  Her pinky is better and she's not wearing the splint anymore.

 The girls watched Project Runway Junior, they loved it and spent the rest of Saturday night sketching dresses.  Rielee is even asking for a dress form for Christmas, so she can try designing her own clothes.

 Ava found a worm in the muddy ground Sunday and named him Joe. She loves worms, Harper-not so much, she managed to get soaked playing in the water though.

 Rielee pretended to give Joe a kiss.  Ava found one other little worm and wanted to bring it in and take care of it, but left it outside when I told her it would miss it's family.

Fifteen minutes later, they were playing Mom and baby and Harper was getting her makeup done.

Rielee veterans program

Butler Acres School does a great job of impressing upon it's students the importance of honoring veterans.  They parade the entire student body up and down the street, dressed in red, white and blue, singing patriotic songs.  It's awesome.

In the afternoon, the 4th and 5th grades participated in a Veteran's Day Program.  They sang several songs, recited poetry, and thanked all the veterans who were present.  Rielee did a nice job.

Papa's surprise, Harper's pinkie

 Sunday the girls surprised Papa with a cake they decorated in Seahawk's colors for him.  They wrapped up some food gifts, too, Harper was really excited for him to open a can of sour cream and onion Pringles, which are her favorite.  He had to hide them or they would have eaten the whole can.

Harper reading her take-home book to me-she's wearing a splint on her fractured pinkie, the result of a collision on the slide at recess.  

The birthday box

Sunday we went over to help Dan celebrate his birthday.   A couple of his gifts were in big boxes, so Harper asked if she could have one of them.  They played with that box the rest of the day, it was a dressing room,  refrigerator, bed, a house and a boat.

 Today it was Harper's throne during a game of UNO.

 Then she was cuddled up in it.

Ava and Rielee  got some time in it, too, it started to fall apart but a little duct tape fixed it right up.