Thankful on Thanksgiving

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving with a visit from Grammy and Pop who brought Peyton, Ella, and Seleste.  It may have only been Thanksgiving, but it sure felt as good as Christmas to Simone. Before they even arrived, Simone asked me if they could stay at her house forever. lol!

While "the feast"--Simone's newest holiday reference-- was being prepared the girls went outside to bounce around the yard.  The weather has certainly cooperated all weekend -- a beautiful day.

of course,  another obligatory princess show

After a bit of black Friday shopping for the mommies, we headed over to Reston Town Center  for their holiday parade.  A very festive kick off to the holiday season!

And last but not least, the event the girls had been waiting for....  somehow, someway -- I'm claiming temporary insanity-- the girls convinced us to take a trip to the American Girl Store (a first for Simone's cousins) ON BLACK FRIDAY.  They all scored some new clothes for their bitty babies, and then went and piled on Santa's lap to relay to him the rest of their wish lists.  Oddly enough, there was no line for Santa pictures.  I guess no one else was brave/crazy enough to bring kids to Tysons Corner on black Friday.

I really don't know where kids get all their energy.  The adults can barely move and the girls are taking an after dinner swim as I type. Incredible.   But we had an amazing Thanksgiving packed full of fun for everyone.

now, BRING ON THE CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!  (but first a nap)

Simone's Thanksgiving Pageant

Today was Simone's first, official, public pageant.  That's right, if she ever becomes a famous performer, she can trace her roots to right here... her kindergarten Thanksgiving pageant.   She was an Indian, which was her first choice, and did a great job with her songs and lines (though admittedly, was the most shy of all the performers).  She was also really excited because she got to be the line leader and lead the class onto the stage.

Mommy and daddy, of course, had backstage privileges!  

And when it was over, we all had pumpkin/apple pie.  Perfecto!

Celebrity Simone will owe a debt of gratitude to her first director/teacher...

and just think, we'll all be able to say, "we knew her when..."  LOL!

A Visit From Grandad

Simone had an extra special treat this weekend... a visit from her grandad, Auntie Lea, and cousin Nailah. It was awesome to get to spend time with them and, of course, Simone ensured maximum playtime-- at home, swimming, the gameroom at the club, the mall-- she had it all!  

 What would a visit be without an improptu play?  Actually, the girls had two plays--one starring a princess and one about a movie star-- but I only got pictures of one.

With Auntie Lea and Nailah.

After dinner on Sunday evening, we spent some time at the bookstore, where naturally Simone had Nailah reading to her every book she could find.

And best of all, Nailah and Grandad went along on Monday morning to drop Simone off at school.  She was so excited to get to show them her classroom and meet her teachers.  She will miss them terribly!

HAPPY "REAL" HALLOWEEN!!

Yay! real halloween happened after all.   Here's just a few quick shots of Simone with our jack-o-lantern (which mommy carved this year) before heading out to trick or treat.  She helped me hand out candy at home for just a little and then hit the streets with daddy.

She came home, of course, with a pumpkin full of candy and two frozen cold little hands.   We had a terrific first halloween in our new neighborhood -- things have nearly dried out and the streets were totally buzzing with kids running and laughing. One holiday down... two big ones on the way, WOO WHO!!

p.s.-- there aren't many things that can get Tony dressed up as a little pink lamb, but a $2 burrito bowl(to anyone in costume) will!  as soon as he learned about the deal, Tony threw on the Lambie shirt and hat and raced to Chipotle.  And here is the face of success-- you just can't make this stuff up!  lol!

Simone's "Fake" Halloween

 Because Simone's birthday fell on a Saturday this year she celebrated it at school on the Friday before --- she affectionately dubbed it her "fake" birthday because her real one wasn't until the next day.  Similarly, Simone declared today "fake halloween" because although halloween isn't until Wednesday, we had a day and night PACKED with costumes and trick or treat fun.

Again this year, Simone picked our costumes.  She chose the theme of her newest favorite cartoon -- Doc McStuffins.  For those not in the know, Doc McStuffins is a Disney show about a little girl who pretends to be a doctor and magically brings her toys to life and fixes their problem.  She has several sidekicks on the show, so obviously Tony and I were two of them -- Lambie (mom) and Chilly the snowman (dad).  Because the show is only 6 months old, very little Doc McStuffins merchandise exists, which left us to make our costumes from scratch. Considering I can't sew a stitch, I was pretty pleased with our approximate likenesses to the Doc McStuffins cast.

Doc, Lambie, and Chilly

We started the day at our neighborhood Trunk or Treat, which was kicked off by a parade of costumes.

A little entertainment.

We decorated our trunk in the only fitting way -- Doc's clinic.  Not bad considering we slapped it together on Friday night over a bottle of Chardonnay, eh?

T

Perhaps a little known fact (at least to me)... kids LOVE snowmen.  Literally all day and all night kids came running over to Tony wanting to touch him and get their picture taken with him.  Tony ate it up!!!

This little one even gave Chilly a giant hug, but I didn't snap the picture fast enough to capture it.

 For the evening, we headed to Boo at the Zoo.  Madalyn and her parents were Alice, the Queen of Hearts and the Ace of Spades.  Boo at the Zoo is always a fun night, and once again, it did not disappoint.

 And finally, resting on the bench with mom/Lambie right before we left for home.  It was a long but terribly fun day.  Both Simone and Madalyn were asleep in the car within minutes.  We'll see if we get to have "real" halloween on Wednesday.  With the forecasted storm, it sounds like it may be a total washout.  But no matter, we've gotten our trick or treating in for the year and the bowl overflowing with candy to prove it!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Our Annual Pumpkin Patch Day

 Today Simone had her school's fall field trip to the Cox Farm Festival.  The day started kind of damp and grey, but turned clear, sunny, and downright hot by the end.   It's been fun to go back to this event each year and see how different Simone is each time.

It didn't take long for Simone and daddy to find the sweet apple cider.

 We had many, many trips down each of the slides throughout the day.  This was Simone's second favorite one.

Posing with a classmate.

This triple dip slide was the clear favorite among all the kids as evident by the very long line.  Simone went down 4 or 5 times undeterred by the line or the long climb to the top.

Tony posing with the pumpkins.  lol!

We had a super day of playing and pictures and wrapped it up with pizza at the mall.  And now we're all beat.  It will sure be nice to sleep in late tomorrow!