Christmas Eve

at the zoo, petting her favorite: tiger sharks and sting rays

she actually sat content in the stroller for a bit

at the bird show

daniel and dalynn our dear friends who came all the way from
baltimore to spend christmas with us. evan and daniel served a mission
together. they have three little girls and one more little lady on the way.

on christmas eve we had a feast of wild rice soup then had a
birthday party for Jesus! the girls thought of it, and it was really
special to have a party for Jesus, He is the reason we celebrate at this
time of year. i think it's a tradition we'll keep going at the fetters house.

one of those miracle pictures: we're all kind of smiling AND looking at the camera!

the christmas pageant
daniel: donkey
brynn: mary
care bear: Jesus
maya: joseph
maren: shepherd
amber: shepherd
mika: wiseman
ember: wiseman
dalynn: wiseman
evan + zoe: angels

mary riding the donkey

the shepherds

mary lounging with Jesus and her donkey

the wiseman

the angels

girlies with new jammies

these two are just 5 months apart

Our wonderful friends drove all the way from Baltimore Maryland to party with us for Christmas. They have three little girls who are nearly our girls ages and we had such a fabulous time. Christmas Eve we went to the zoo and saw all the wild animals there. We had a delicious dinner followed by a birthday party for Jesus. I would have to say that the birthday party for Jesus was my favorite. Brynn asked us "will Jesus be at the party?" We made a cake, decorated it and then talked about Jesus' birth and what it means to all of us. We followed that by the Christmas pageant, which was short, just a few minutes, but it still reminds me of why we do this-to celebrate Christ.

holidazzle 2011

we felt like this year was BALMY compared to past years of the holidazzle parade.
the parade is every night from the day after thanksgiving til the new year.
amazing floats, and the lights are incredible.
the girls loved it, and evan and i did as well....although it seemed shorter this year, and evan said, "well, it's because in years past, we've been freezing to death while watching it."
so this year it was a treat.

gingerbread cookies

we had the best gingerbread recipe ever.
and six different delicious items to put on your gingerbread with m&m's, licorice, junior mints, chocolate chips, andes mint chips and red hots.
we ate way too much cookie dough along with the 'other' goodies.
maya wore glasses to be totally legit.
we learned that junior mints explode when baked, kind of.
but they taste soooo delicous after.
a very fun gingerbread day.

Brynn is 3

little brynnie boo boo i can't believe you are 3!

she opened up a present in the morning, her very own pet pig. i think he's had about 15 names since she got him. we took her to an amish village where she was able to ride a carousel, which she loves. she didn't want to leave it. she also drove a buggy with horses, and was so happy doing it. she wore tights because she loves wearing them with skirts and always has. she peed on her tights when she was going to the bathroom and spent part of the time at the amish village without anything on, it was kind of funny. she was playing in the elevator and swinging her legs up and we had to remind her that she was completely naked underneath and that there was an old couple in the elevator with us. :) oh, she makes me laugh. we made celebratory cupcakes and she had about 5 of them. what a fun day.

*i love how caring you are towards others. you are very tuned in to people's emotions and you try to help them. it's very sweet.
*i love how you say "i can't believe....." it reminds me that life is exciting!
*i love how you jump when you want to get from one place to another.
*i love how you dance all the time.
*i love how happy you are, and help others to be happy as well.
*i love that you are so easy to please.

happy birthday sweet girl!
love you!

hot hair

zoe should win some type of award for the funkiest hair EVER in the history of the world.
her hair is a result of having something gummy pulled from it, after a long car ride home from indiana.
it's definitely got volume, shape and it's own personality.
i cannot keep it out of her face no matter what i do.
it's incredibly fine, but she also has so.much.hair!
not to mention it grows straight down from her scalp.
i blame it on her dad.

it's coming....

we awoke today to a tiny amount of snow on the ground and on the branches.
maya came in my room, layed down by me in bed, and then she looked out the window.
she hopped out of bed, ran to the window and squealed at the snow.
then she asked "mom, can i go out and play in it?"
she dressed the fastest i have seen her get dressed maybe ever, slurped a smoothie, and went outside. she wandered all over the driveway, the yard, and then came and asked if anyone else was coming out to play. brynn got dressed, then decided it wasn't for her. where maya can stay outside for days, brynn lasts only about 6 minutes.
as for me, i bought my first pair of yaktrax today...a big deal. i wore them running tonight and they are worth every penny. so happy i made the purchase. one thing i love about minnesota is that despite the cold cold temperatures, people get outside. it doesn't matter if it's only 5 degrees, you see people out. and so although the cold is coming, and won't end til may, winter has arrived and we are thrilled.

and then their dreams came true

brynn on her first pony ride-ever

maya being brave and riding with just one hand

a rare pic of the mama and the ladies

zoe, wishing she were on a pony

in minne there are loads of apple orchards that come complete with animals to ride and pet, apple picking, train rides, and games to play. we tried out a new one this year and it was a hit. the girls had their dreams come true to ride a pony, and i have a picture documenting that i was there as well! a small miracle.