Barbie time

At times I wonder where my big girls are, but then I remember they are in the basement... playing Barbie. Lilly and Claire can stay down there for hours upon hours playing Barbie. They have vast imaginations, and if you take time to listen to their play, it is quite humorous.

We used to have only a few Barbies... but then Christmas 2011 came and Nana gave the girls a Barbie Corvette, Jeep and horse trailer she found at our favorite Kansas flea market. The girls thought they were in heaven. Fast forward a few more months and a true gift from heaven knocked at the door one evening. Actually, the gift began as a phone call. Shelly, our dear angel Hannah's mom, called one evening to inform us she was "bringing over the Barbies." It was time to clear their bedroom of Hannah's massively huge and obviously pink three story Barbie house. And with the house came an under-the-bed size storage container of everything Barbie... you can only imagine the treasures inside. Shelly and JC, Hannah's parents, wanted to give all of Hannah's Barbies, accessories, house and VW Bug to the girls. We were speechless. And, so, back to my opening statement... "Where are the girls?"

Countless hours are spent playing Barbie. In fact, Claire wakes at the crack of dawn some mornings and goes to... you guessed it... the basement to play Barbie.

Here's a photo of Barbie central...

Lilly LOVES them! And, she especially loves that they were best friend Hannah's Barbies.

And so tonight, I eavesdropped a bit, then went and took these photos. As I got close to the Barbie house, Lilly informed me, "Look mom. It's fish night."

Oh yes, it's fish night alright. I suppose dinner's ready-No need to cook tonight. Barbie has it covered.

Happy 6th Birthday Lilly

A few weeks ago we celebrated Lilly's 6th birthday in Phoenix.

Queen Lilly chose to host a tea party in honor of the big 6. Note her costume is a Queen, not a Princess... she is very picky about this.
So, we welcomed her school girlfriends for a petite tea with Princess Belle.

First activity of the morning... face paint! Who can resist? Princess Belle carefully painted each face of the little party goers.

Lilly chose a flower... and notice the bright red lipstick? She thought she needed ruby lips just like Snow White for her party.

Claire chose Pascal for her cheek... to go with her Rapunzel costume, of course.

Belle read stories to the girls and served them while they ate. They were all so cute in their little dresses and costumes!

And the cake!

They played games, opened gifts and Belle sang to them too. Here's Belle spinning Lilly around for a "pin the crown on the princess" game.

What a great time!

And, of course, we couldn't resist having a family photo with the famous princess..

Happy 6th birthday, Lilly! We know it will be the best year yet!

Back to School 2012

It's that time of year... back to school!

This year we have a first grader and a Pre-K student in our house. At last Claire is able to go to "Lilly's school" a few days a week.

The first day of school came, as expected, with much anticipation. The night before, neither one of the girls could sleep... they kept popping out of bed for various reasons. Excitement for the coming day was the real reason. We had visited their school the week prior to meet the teachers and learn the layout of the classrooms.

Here's a picture of Claire with her super nice teacher on her first day.

And here's Lilly with her first grade teacher.

And, Monday was also Maggie's first day at her new school. Yes, she was able to take her pacifier with her thankfully.

At the end of the day, all reports indicated each of the girls had a great time.
And now to get into the routine of it all. :)

It's going to be a great year!