a millennium feat!

Violet finished her Millennium Falcon Lego set from Santa! I wish I would have kept track of how many hours it took her to assemble the 1,254 pieces...

Getting started...

It's coming together...

DONE!

Playing with her new Legos

Star Wars Lego play time!

the big 4-0

Jamie and I took a trip over his 40th birthday on January 18th. We spent two nights in New Orleans, then went on a five night cruise out of the port of New Orleans. We had a great time!

I had not been to New Orleans before. I thought it was a very fun city, although parts of it seemed to be pretty run down. After we checked into our hotel, we started walking to find somewhere to eat. We headed toward the main Canal Street, but nothing we saw seemed like the place we wanted, so we kept walking....and walking...and walking. Finally, we came upon a place called Mother's that had a local feel. I had a po'boy and Jamie had seafood and gumbo. YUM! After that, we went to Bourbon Street since we were very close to it – wow, was it crazy! I can’t imagine what it is like at Mardi Gras. We met a lot of nice people and had fun talking to them. We also enjoyed the famous Hurricane at Pat O'Brien's.

The next day, we walked to Jackson Square and the French Quarter. This was my favorite part of the city. We did a walking history tour and learned a lot about the past history of the area. We also visited the local market, where we tried foods such as alligator sausage. It was delicious! We also enjoyed the many street performers and artists.

The next day, we went on a five night cruise out of the port of New Orleans. The night we left port, there was such a beautiful sunset. You could actually see the sun sink, it was like it disappeared into the water. Our first cruise stop was in the port of Cozumel, Mexico. We went on an excursion to a private beach house, which included unlimited food and drink. The service was awesome – all we did was lay on a bed by the ocean, and they kept bringing us margaritas and food!! It was very relaxing and the weather was great. When we got back on the ship at 4:00, we took a three hour nap because we were so relaxed!!

Our second cruise stop was in the port of Progreso, Mexico. There, we went on a bus to see the Chichen Itza Mayan ruins. It was so interesting and fascinating! Jamie especially loved it, he said he could have spent all day there. The Mayans were so smart for their time, it was unbelievable.

We also spent two days at sea. The weather wasn't great those days – very windy! – but there was still plenty to do on the ship. We participated in group trivia, enjoyed the comedy club, spent a little time in the casino, read books and played cribbage in the library, went to the sauna…so much to do! We got along pretty well with another couple that was at our evening dining table so we hung out with them most evenings. We stayed up with them pretty late the last night, which we regretted the next day when we had to get up early, get off the ship and travel home!! Oh well, it was a lot of fun.

While we were gone, Olivia and Violet were at the Suchy farm for a few days and then my parents brought them down to our house and got them to and from school, so they didn't miss any class time. We certainly appreciated their help, and it was nice for the girls to be able to spend some special time with all of their grandparents!

Jackson Square in New Orleans

Leaving the port of New Orleans

On the beach in Cozumel

Chichen Itza Mayan ruins

christmas tidings

Star Wars snowflakes | 12.17.2014

My sister Terri sent me a link to this idea, and I thought the girls would love to try making them. Olivia and Violet needed quite a bit of help cutting out the small areas, but when we were done they thought these were so awesome! Love them, you will.

Darth Vader, Yoda, Princess Leia & Chewbacca snowflakes

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day | 2014

Jamie had to work on Christmas Eve, so the girls and I spent the day preparing. We set up a fancy table, and made a meal of beef brisket with homemade sauce, twice baked potatoes, carrots and of course Violet’s favorite – cranberries!! When Jamie got home, we went to church, then came home for our special meal. After we ate, we opened presents, which the girls were of course anxiously waiting for. They received the three original Star Wars movies for their birthday, and they loved them, so most of the things they wanted his year had to do with Star Wars. We took our time openings gifts which was really nice! Olivia and Violet even wrapped up gifts all on their own for Jamie and me. It consisted of things of theirs (toys, nail polish, etc) which reminded me of when my sister Terri and I used to do that for each other. It was really sweet!

I also took them shopping individually so they could buy a birthday and Christmas gift for each other. It was interesting to me how their personalities shined during the shopping trip. Olivia knew what she wanted to get for Violet right away – Star Wars book for birthday and gel pens for Christmas – so it was a pretty quick trip. Violet, on the other hand, wanted to go to multiple stores and look around before making a decision. In the end, Violet got Olivia a Star Wars chapter book for birthday, and a stuffed animal and gel pens for Christmas. I chuckled to myself that they got each other basically the same thing.

Olivia with a Chewbacca stuffed animal

Violet with her Darth Vader pajamas

After we were done opening presents, Olivia and Violet put on a fashion show, displaying all the gifts they had received. Then we put out milk and cookies for Santa. Olivia and Violet thought he needed an entourage, so they laid out a host of characters to greet him, along with notes telling him how much they love him.

Santa's entourage

On Christmas Day morning, Olivia and Violet were so excited that Santa came! There stockings were filled with goodies, and they each had one gift that they were so excited to open. Olivia was thrilled that she got her Princess Leia doll, and Violet had to start building her Millennium Falcon Lego set right away.

Olivia with her Princess Leia doll

Violet with her Millennium Falcon Legos

Thronson Christmas | 12.27.2014

We celebrated with the Thronson Family on December 27. The weather was a little chilly, but not terrible, so the kids all went ice skating on Granny & Grandpa’s pond. All of them had a lot of fun, especially Olivia and Violet who enjoyed trying to play hockey. After we all got ready, Maya & Emma read the Christmas story, and then we ate a delicious meal. Granny decorated the table all fancy, of course! Then the kids put on a talent show. There was singing, dancing, piano playing…and Olivia, Violet and I read a poem about Thronson family Christmas traditions. As the finale, all of the kids wore reindeer noses and performed the Reindeer Pokey. This was organized by Maya and Emma, so all of us were surprised! It was really cute. Then, we played a game where we tried to identify all of the kids from their baby pictures. It was hard!! And finally, we opened gifts. Olivia and Violet were excited to receive their princess palace pets from Granny and Grandpa! It was a fun and very enjoyable time together.

Ice skating

Olivia and Violet

Cousins!!!!

Suchy Christmas | 12.28.2014

The next day, we celebrated Christmas with the Suchy’s. Unfortunately, Nicholas couldn't be with us, so we missed him! But we enjoyed spending time with the rest of the family. We had a delicious meal, then opened gifts one child at a time. Olivia wanted to be last, but as she was opening, she was interrupted by a knock at the door. It was Santa making a special visit! The girls were so excited! Even though Christmas was over, they didn't ask too many questions. Everyone got a gift from Santa, which was pretty exciting. Then Olivia was able to finish opening her gifts, all of the kids opened their stockings, and we all put our special name ornaments on Grandma's little tree. It was a fun day!

Early the next morning, Jamie left on an ice fishing trip. The girls and I hung out with Grandma and Grandpa for most of the day, then headed home in the evening. We enjoyed our family Christmas celebrations!

Cousins!!

Olivia with Grandpa and Grandma Suchy

Santa rules!!

New Year's Eve | 12.31.2014

Jamie was gone on his ice fishing trip over New Years Eve, so Olivia & Violet spent the day at Auntie Terri's while I was at work. They went to the Children's Museum and had a lot of fun together! I headed over to Terri's after work. The kids made their own pizzas for supper - YUM! They had fun and gave a big thumbs up once they tasted the pizzas. We tried to fool them with an early midnight, but it didn't work. so the three older kids were able to see the ball drop and wish each other a Happy New Year with sparkling juice. It was a fun night, and the kids definitely had fun playing with each other!

Making pizza

Hanging out with Auntie Terri

Cheers to sparkling juice! Happy New Year!