Grand #1

Every once in a while, I get lucky and can grab a good picture of Kilee. She is in constant motion, but with dance class experience, she now will stop with a teasing pose to see if I can get one picture in before she is off again!
Taken at her Uncle's (our SIL) birthday party last weekend:

She Needs a Purse

AA has been attached to all types of purses and carry bags. She takes toys with her on every trip. Some purses hold only her cell phone, others her tissues and emery board; have to have the essentials with you at all times.
Recently she decided my black purse was just what she needed. It went to school with her this past week.

New Tent!

Nana won a silent auction at our CNY celebration - it was a "monster" tent! Very cool for Alyzabeth to play inside. Actually, myself, DH and AA all fit inside it and pretended to have a night-time chat while looking up at the night sky (we were inside the house, so pretend time).
Our legs were a bit cramped and we made my Mom put the camera away when all three of us climbed in!

Here's the "monster":

Sleeping Beauty:

Fun with Mommy:


Thank you Nana!

Wednesday - Black & White

Winter time is all about "brown" in NE Florida. So a B&W outdoor picture actually looks better. Here's my two darlings going for a stroll yesterday.

School = Playtime too!

Lots of fun ....... the school playground is a favorite hangout after school is out!

Chinese New Year - First Coast FCC

We had a blast at CNY!
We did have a few mishaps which included "losing" our kids in the crowd twice! Panic set in but all was soon righted. Even with the crowd, it did seem smaller again this year; it is held at the Marriott Sawgrass and is a fundraiser for FCC, there were about 40 families compared to the first CNY we went to, which I believe had double that many (2005). My family was so good by bidding and winning several of the silent auctions.

Here's some of the family pictures I selected this morning. We actually took more Flip video than digital photos. AIKO, a professional photographer, was available, so we did get one group picture in early; then there was a Dad, Eric Rousseau, who is a professional photographer that we are hoping to find several more photos of our family.......... also, dozens of our families are on FB or have blogs, so it will be fun to review all their pictures.
I know everyone is amazed at the effort to organize and run this event; the families at FCC can rest easy; they did another wonderful job!

My Mom took pictures before leaving the house.....

How many adults does it take to make one Chinese noise maker? Lots of easy crafts for the kids to make:
Lots of smile with her noise maker and ribbon streamers:

Cousin Madelene playing and taking care of the younger children:

Granddaughter Kilee; always in a dance pose!

Coloring crafts at each dining table:

Lovely daughter Leaa with Alivia..... (she is a rambunctious, brave child, but the Lion dance did scare her so lots of hugs from her mommy)....

I don't know how we got this group together.... all five .......two very good photos (when they are not strangling each other!)!


Son Justin with his daughter (our grand), Kilee........

Cousins Sarah with daughter Madelene:

Group photo (we were all included thanks to Melissa S. taking it!).

The End!!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Posting Pictures From Maine

Since I have my Mom here, I copied her camera pictures onto my computer.
This is what I am missing not living "at home"! Wish I could be there more often!

Fall of 2009 in Maine at my "home":


My Mom goes to all of grandson Andrew's races:
Thanksgiving was hosted by nephew Christopher and fiancee Heather (wedding this May!):

Pictures of geese last fall taking a "break" on our lake before heading south; also in a local garden field.....

Frozen lake in December:

Christmas with nephew Andrew and beautiful girlfriend Britney:

Christmas Brunch at my sister, Terri's house:

Grand-Nephew Brandon, he's one month younger than AA, but we live too far apart to be play friends:

Sister Melissa and Brandon:

Love seeing the family by Skype too! Makes me homesick!

Two Days into Nana's Visit

Proof that Nana has arrived. They have read books, played Choo-Choo trains, watched movies, dressed up with scarfs made by Auntie Jean, played "kitchen" and cooking, picked oranges and shopped. Nana gave her a bubble bath and has tucked her in bed at night. Boy, are we going to miss Nana when she leaves!

Black and White Wednesday

Lisa hosts the Wednesday B&W photo day.
My younger sister has been scanning some of our childhood photos. This one is pretty darn cute, our first Christmas with her. My Dad definitely gave up after three girls..... so she stayed the baby of the family.
Here's a photo of AA four days ago as we braved walking out on the dock. It was in the high 40's but was so sunny we were fooled into thinking it would be a pleasant activity. Brrrrr........

Daddy and Daughter #2

AA loves her Daddy.... Daddy has so much fun!

Tea and Sweets

With the cold weather, we occasionally make hot tea. We had a special treat with tea and Valentine's Day sweets!

AA came home from school last Friday with a large amount of goodies, from her teacher and classmates (two classes with her age group, total of 13 kids). I am so glad I made these, as most of the children did not hand out only a card. I must really be behind the times!

While waiting for the tea, Daddy helped to get the best smiles on AA......
She now carries her puppy dog where ever she goes but calls him "Toto"!

Preparing the tea and waiting.... The teacups are filled with hot water, prewarming while the tea steeped.
No, we did not eat all the candy. AA chose one piece, a Hershey Kiss; the rest were there for the photo!


Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!