Where Have We Been?

Well, unintended break from the blog.  I was pretty sure it had tumbled to the bottom of the priority list last fall after our move, but at the end of the year I was sad not to have a years worth of photos and stories to look back on...so, the blog lives on.  

Here is one gigantic dump of photos covering our adventures from October through December.  

Finley ran in her first Fun Run.  It was .5 miles and she had a great time training with her papa in our somewhat hilly neighborhood.  

Finley was Elsa (so original, we know!) and Fiona was the cutest little kangaroo (with a joey in her pouch)

Pat took the girls out, while I dressed as my usual witchy self to hand out candy.  It was cold, so the girls only lasted about an hour.  I had the pleasure of meeting some new neighbors and sneaking some of the candy out of the bowl.

Finley completed another session of gymnastics - this time at a new gym.  We all loved it and she has since been back for gymnastics camp over winter break.  Her most proud moment was mastering the monkey bars.  

In the next session (when she's 5 years old!), she will move into the BIG gym with all of the other gymnasts!  

We've made the journey back up to Blaine a few times for random events and usually try to fit in going to our old church since we miss it so much.  Dinner with old friends afterwards is a bonus!

We made our annual November trip to see Grandma and Grandpa Morgan in California.  God bless tablets.  Flying has become so much more enjoyable with the girls.  

La Quinta is surely one of the most beautiful places and we are so lucky to get to visit every year.  This is the view out my parents back yard.  

We said we were going to take a year off from Disneyland after last year's puking party, but who can resist Christmas Disney??  I guess not us.  Grandpa Zenz can't either.  Finley is very into roller coasters right now, so she couldn't get enough of the Toon Town coaster - riding it 3 times in a row!

And she loved Splash Mountain!

I turned 33 and we celebrated with a very short hike and a trip to the outlet mall!

Our weather was PERFECT.  Finley figured out how to zwiggle on our way to pick some lemons and grapefruits

Cart path sprinklers are hard to resist!

Back home, we had cousins up to visit for Thanksgiving.  It was such a fun weekend!!  On Saturday, we picked up a tree at a new-to-us farm.  The tree was one of the longest lasting, most beautiful we've picked out (and also the most expensive...)

It was odd that we had more snow for Thanksgiving than for Christmas

December was really warm, but the sun only came out like 2 times.  Not my favorite.

We attended the tree lighting ceremony in our little downtown.  The celebration was small, but cute. Finley met a real live reindeer.

It was our 3rd annual trip to the Childrens Theater Company - the first time with Fiona.  We saw The Grinch.  It's one of my favorite holiday traditions!

It was the 3rd annual Santa party back in the old neighborhood.  Both girls were fearless and told Santa exactly what they wanted.  Fiona said "my babies!"

We celebrated the Morgan family Christmas in Chicago.  It was a fun-filled weekend with Christmas lights, our favorite southside foods, a live nativity, and a visit to Navy Pier!

The night before Christmas was laid back this year - church service and then a spaghetti dinner with Grandma and Grandpa.  The night capped off with a reading of Twas The Night Before Christmas with Grandpa.

The next morning, our sleepy heads slept until 7 (we thought they'd be up way earlier to see if Santa came!).  It was a crazy morning of ripping open toys before we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa Zenz's for Christmas day celebrations.  

Fiona got her very own robe and Fin showed her how to tie the belt.  

This is how we all felt after Christmas.  And then, a large portion of the family got a stomach virus that pretty much rendered us useless for the weekend after the holidays.  Praise Jesus the girls did not get sick.  But Pat and I were down for the count.

On NYE, we had a low-key dinner party at a friends house with kids included.  I made another chocolate cake for the celebration (I'm thinking chocolate cake on NYE is a new tradition for us - plus its so good the next day!)

Happy 2015!!!