Ice Skating Adventures

For Christmas Carmen got a New Generation doll (American Girl knockoff) who is an ice skater. She has become enthralled with the idea of ice skating. We even read the entire chapter book that came with her doll. Then we decided it was time to let her try it herself. We took the whole family, but David sat with Charlotte and watched, and Aliza gave it a quick try but wasn't quit ready to really give it a go. But Carmen shocked everyone on how well she picked up on it. She held my hand some, but after a few times around the rink, she was ready to tackle it on her own. She had a couple of "missteps", but only fell down one time. I told her it didn't count as a fall unless her butt touched the ice. ;) I had a lot of fun with her and was so proud of how well she did. 

This was her first steps onto the ice. I was expecting a slow crawl around the rink, holding onto the side. You can see I was trying to push her closer to the side so she could hold on. But she took off and never looked back. Pretty soon she realized the faster the went, the better balance she had. 

(Just as a side note: This is my 200th post on my blog. Sorry, no great giveaways or anything fun like that)

Winter Wonderland - Photo Challenge

When I saw the theme for this week's challenge, I immediately knew which photo I wanted to enter. We don't have snow now, but we had some a few weeks ago. After living in California for 5 years, this was my girls first time to see the beautiful snow fall here in Virginia. They were really quit mesmerized by it all.

Head over to I Heart Faces to see more great enteries!

Carmen's School Christmas Party

I went to help with Carmen's class party at school last week.  It was postponed, due to snow, until after the new year.  I know the kids were happy to have a party in class, but it almost wasn't as special because all the hype of the holidays was over. But it was still fun, nonetheless. 

 All the kids made picture frames. 

 Carmen with her teacher Mr. Bernhardt

 Her friends who sit at her table with her.

I think I embarrassed her because none of the other moms were taking pictures. So this was her "stop taking my picture" face. 

Florida Trip - Part III

 The BEACH!! This was my favorite day of the whole trip. It was just warm enough to have fun at the beach, but not scorching hot. It was perfect weather. The kids played in the sand and water and the grown ups sat and chatted.

 The Cousins!

 I love the look of pure excitement on their faces! 

 The girls were convinced that if they stood there long enough like that, they would surf. They tried over and over and just never caught a wave. ;) 

We had such a great time on this trip. It was a much needed break for the whole family. We came back ready to get back to the grind of daily family life, school and work.

Florida Trip - Part II

On day two we went to Downtown Disney to walk around and enjoy the Disney atmosphere without having to go the park. Although David claims we spent as much there as tickets would have cost to the park! 

 The girls really loved all the Lego stuff. Aliza especially loved this one where the people are getting married. 

 It was hard get them to sit still long enough to take a picture. This was the best I got. We were waiting in line to eat at T-Rex.

 This picture's pretty funny. Charlotte was so tired and I'm sure Carmen was pushing Aliza and David and I just smiled through the whole thing. 

The girl cousins eating dinner. My girls sure did have a fun time with them.  It's too bad we don't live closer. 

Florida Trip - Part I

After Christmas we made a very spontaneous trip to Florida to visit David's sister, Melissa, who lives in Cocoa Beach. It was such a long drive, but the girls did really well in the car. And no one threw up! (at least not during the car ride) David's mom, Sandy, also was there visiting. So it was fun to see her also, even though she got to sleep in the good bed! The girls had so much fun becoming acquainted with their cousins and enjoyed the warm weather.

I believe the best part of the whole trip for David was his nostalgic drive through his stomping grounds of Melbourne.

 David's high school - although he claims it looks nothing like it did when he attended

 The infamous car lot location, owned by his dad. Now it's owned by a self proclaimed "Pork Loin Extraordinaire". We actually ate here, and it wasn't that bad!

David in front of the house he grew up in. His mom lived here for 22 years before moving to California. The owner was outside and knew of the Bean Family. He immediately invited us inside to take a look around. I think he mostly wanted to show off all the remodeling he had done. I was surprised how nice the place looked!

 The kitchen - I was sure to point out the "california kitchen green" on the walls. It was the same color I painted my kitchen in California, that no one really seemed to care for. But I am finding the color more and more in houses! 

 If you've ever heard the story about how David got the scar across the bridge of his nose, this is the location where it occurred. He fell and hit his nose on the corner of this stone fireplace. 

 The family room where many Bean gatherings occurred. 

 David's childhood bedroom

 And the really great enormous backyard with a swimming pool. Enough space to make anyone jealous!

It was fun to see where he grew up and finally be able to put an image with all the stories he tells us. The rest of his family was really jealous that we got to go inside!

Christmas Day - 2010

It's funny how during the big holidays that the excitement builds for weeks beforehand, yet on the actual day you have very few pictures to document it. Just goes to show how exciting the day really was - never wanting to stop to take a picture! Our Christmas was really nice this year. We had David home for two weeks, which was so much fun!! The week of Christmas he challenged our family to do one act of service each day before Christmas. We had a lot of fun visiting friends and sharing treats or singing songs with them. Christmas Eve we spent at Grandma Teerlink's house. (My girls call her Old Grandma,  but they haven't said it to her face yet...I don't think she would really appreciate it) And Grandma, if you read my blog, I guess the secret's out now! We had dinner with all the Teerlink extended family and did the traditional acting out of the nativity story. Then we rushed home to tuck everyone snug in their beds and wait for Santa. 

Christmas morning was spent at home opening presents, then we headed over to Waynesboro to spend the afternoon with my family. Santa brought the girls "American Girl" dolls. (the knock off brand) And Charlotte got a new baby. They each were very excited about their new dolls! And Poppy and Oma lovingly made them each their own doll bed and bedding!! These were my favorite gifts of Christmas and they weren't even for me. I need to get a better picture of the finished products. I love that my parents made them for my girls, it makes them much more special. And I hope my girls will really appreciate them. And to top the whole day off, it was a sorta white Christmas. The snow fell the entire morning, but didn't really amount to anything.