Thanksgiving - Day 3

Probably the favorite part of Day 3 for the girls was that they finally got to get their hair done in braids.  We had seen many little girls with their hair braided and Brynn and Bria very much wanted the same.  I admit that I kinda wanted my hair braided too.  Gramma and Papa advised that perhaps I was too old for such braids.  Maybe next time...

The girls spent more and more time under water.  We had all forgotten our goggles so had to purchase goggles for Brynn, Bria, and Papa.  They swam and swam and swam.  The girls loved diving to the bottom of the pool to pick up toys that we had thrown in.  They also were very good at it!  (Though Bria did tend to float up.)

Thanksgiving - Day 3 - Christmas pictures

The first thing we tried to do on Thanksgiving was take Christmas card pictures.  I had brought some beautiful white dresses for the girls and then found a coordinating white top for me at the gift shop.  The outfits turned out great.  I admit I was very frustrated with the girls at their lack of willingness to pose for good pictures.  They were too anxious to go play in the pool (I guess who can really blame them!).  Despite my being very upset, we ended up getting some great pictures.

 

 

Thanksgiving - Day 2

We all got a great night's sleep our first night in Mexico.  So great, in fact, that Bria was up at 6:30!  We discovered that Playa del Carmen probably does not really need daylight savings time.  The sun came up very early and, to the girls, that meant it was time to go out in the water. 

We spent most of Wednesday hunting for seashells and playing in the waves.  The girls quickly discovered that Papa would do pretty much whatever they wanted in the water - they dragged him into the pool and into the ocean.  The ocean was a little choppy our first few days in Mexico.  Brynn LOVED the wave pool at the Dells this summer so really enjoyed the waves.  She talked Papa into riding the waves for her.  They had a great time.

The girls also discovered that Gramma and Momma were the people to tap for shell hunting.  We discovered that the ocean had eroded the beach such that there was a wall of layered sand with hundreds of shells trapped in the layers.  It was a gold mine of shells!

Brynn and Papa in the water.  Brynn was FEARLESS in the water.  By the end of the trip, she could swim entirely from one side of the pool to the other side of the pool with no assistance.

This is part of the wall of sand rife with seashellls.  We spent a good solid couple hours digging for seashells.   At the end, even Brynn thought perhaps we had enough seashells!

Bria particularly proud of one seashell she found.

Posing in the ocean!

The resort had a good assortment of kiddie cocktails.  Bria wanted to lounge like Mom with a drink in her hand.  I would like to note that this should not be taken as a particular reflection of Mom!

Ready to brave the waves!

Brynn was positively gleeful.

Papa got knocked over!

Ready to attack some more waves!

This is  picture of something that would become a tradition at the resort.  Both girls fell asleep on me waiting for dinner.  By the end of the trip, when tired, Bria would say she wanted to go to dinner.  When pressed, she admitted that she wanted to go to the restaurant so she could sleep!

Thanksgiving - Day 1

As I previewed before, the girls and I went to Playa del Carmen for Thanksgiving with Gramma and Papa.  Brynn visited Mexico one other time previously - for Uncle Ryan and Aunt Nastassia's wedding when she was 15 months old but doesn't remember it.  The girls had been crazy excited to go to Mexico.  On the way to drive to Chicago to meet Baby Fletcher in October, they kept saying we were going to Mexico.  We explained that we would not be driving to Mexico ...

Indeed, to get to Mexico, we had a flight to Miami that left Minneapolis at 6 am, followed by a flight to Cancun.  To get to the Minneapolis airport, a shuttle picked us up at 3 am from Gramma and Papa's house.  Which meant we all were up at 2:30 am.  Ouch!  I was (foolishly!) sure the girls would sleep at some point on the plane.  No.  We were up at 2:30 am, got on the shuttle at 3, the plane at 6, then to Miami, then another plane, then ANOTHER shuttle (to the resort).  The girls found this all fascinating.  They couldn't believe there were TWO shuttlles and TWO planes.  They finally fell asleep on the shuttle to the resort.  The shuttle ride was about 45 minutes.  Which was good since that was the only time they slept all day. 

Once we got to the resort, the girls were too excited about the pool and the beach to do any more resting.  Brynn's primary goal for the trip was to find seashells.  We went down to the pool, checked it out, and, after much insistence from Brynn, to the beach.

The weary travellers arriving in Cancun.  The girls were fascinated by the different plants that grow in a tropical climate.  I'm not sure why they thought leaves should double as hats.

Views from our balconies - looking out at the pools and directly to the beach.  Gorgeous!

Looking at shells they had found.  Later in the vacation we would discover the best places for finding shells...

Thanksgiving 2010 in Mexico

The girls and I went to Playa del Carmen in Mexico for Thanksgiving.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  We had AMAZING weather!  I will be posting a lot about our trip but wanted to get at least one picture up!

My beautiful girls

My friend and photographer, Kiki of Little Feet Photography, took these beautiful pictures of Brynn and Bria last Monday (November 8).  Please note Bria's braid headband.  She begged for a braid.  I wasn't sure we could do it and warned her that I would have to pull her hair very tightly (because it is short).  She was committed to wanting it.  At the end she needed a friend to hold her hand while I pulled but she braved through it!

It was warm and sunny and we were outside with bare feet.  This weekend it snowed 9 inches and today it is 35 degrees.  What happened?

Below are pictures of the girls that Kiki took around this time in 2009.

Rough and Tumble Bria

Today Bria looks like she was in a fight and lost.  Though, really, while she may fight, she is scrappy so I don't think she would lose. 

A couple nights ago Brynn dropped a snow globe on her head from the top bunk.  I don't blame Brynn entirely for this as apparently the girls were playing a game wherein Bria would cover herself with a pillow and Brynn would drop things.  The next morning Bria explained "I didn't put my pillow on my head in time."  I did try to point out that the whole basic concept was flawed.  They didn't really take my meaning.  Anyhow, a big bump and bruise on her forehead resulted. 

Last night at dance Brynn and Bria were running manically through the hallways.  Bria apparently fell and hit her cheek on a step.  A big cut below her eye resulted.

This morning Bria was playing around on her stepstool and careened to the ground.  Luckily I think just her bottom got bruised. 

Poor Bria.

Trick or Treat 2010

The girls had a serious Halloween week.  Tuesday night was Halloween dance party at dance.  Wednesday night was pumpkin carving with Mom, Gramma, and Papa.  Thursday night was Haunted Gingerbread House making.  Friday was Halloween parties at each of their schools. Saturday was a Halloween party at Courtney and Sydney Rodd's house.  Sunday was morning carving pumpkins with dad, afternoon Halloween party at Lily's house, early evening trick or treating in Dad's neighborhood, and then late evening trick or treating in Mom's neighborhood.  Wow!

Brynn found her Halloween costume in Chasing Fireflies in August.  She chose the Frost Fairy and was adamant that we needed to order it.  Bria found the Angel costume in the same catalogue.  I loved that they were both all in white.  I bought a face painting kit on Halloween day.  Brynn wanted a snowflake mask (really, she came up with this!).  Bria was less particular and I did an angel wings mask. 

I picked up a cat costume at the last minute on Sunday.  Brynn insisted that I paint a nose and whiskers on my face to go with the costume. 

Gramma handed out candy at my house while we trick or treated in TWO neighborhoods.  We had over 50 trick or treaters!  Although it was really a pretty nice night for Minnesota, it still got down to 32 degrees.  Brynn's feet were very cold when we got home.  Gramma, being a grandma, wrapped both girls up in blankets, put them in front of the fire, and rubbed their feet to warm them up.  No wonder the girls love her so much!



Happy Halloween!

These pictures are from the photo shoot in Chicago but were appropriately saved until now. 

The picture below is more comical than it at first appears.  You will notice Fletcher is floating on a white backdrop.  That white backdrop is Aunt Ashley, covered with a white fur rug over her body and Brynn's Christmas dress inside out on her head.  She was trying to hold him up and couldn't really feel where he was.  We kept saying, "Hold him higher," and she was concerned he would slide off. 

Haunted Gingerbread House!

Thursday night we attempted to make a haunted gingerbread house.  Before getting to that ... I want to take a moment to show off their adorable Halloween outfits.  How cute are these?

Anyhow, the girls have done gingerbread houses with Art in the past and wanted to invite him over.  He joined us and was a good sport about the construction difficulties that ensued.  We bought the gingerbread kit from Williams Sonoma this year.  The box illustrated a very quaint and adorable gingerbread house with scalloped trim and exquisite detail.  This is much harder to achieve than you may think. 

The problems started right when I opened the box.  Two of the roof pieces were broken.  I tried gluing them together with frosting but they kept collapsing into the house.  Finally I cut the cardboard box into strips.  Two of these were used for roof pieces.  The next problem was trying to keep the roof up while allowing the frosting to dry.  The roof kept slipping off.  I used strips of cardboard box to form buttresses to provide support.  This worked reasonably well.

The girls worked diligently at decorating the house and were thrilled with their masterpiece.  I figured there was no need to tell them that our haunted house was slightly decrepit since, well, haunted houses should be slightly decrepit.  Here's hoping better lunch for the Christmas gingerbread house!