Christmas Photo Shoot

As parents, we are sure many of you can relate to the fact that photo shoots don't always go as smoothly as planned. During this year's Christmas photo shoot, we definitely succeeded in getting a lot of pictures; however, even though many of them were pretty funny, they weren't quite what we had in mind for the front of our Christmas card. Enjoy . . . .

Sitting with Santa (well....kind of)

Last week, we took the girls to visit with Santa. Even though they were both so excited to see him, Abby wasn't so sure once it was actually time to sit on his lap. She definitely gets anxious to see him, and she talks about him a lot, but she just prefers to see him at a distance.

Last year's visit with Santa.....


This year's visit with Santa . . . .

Gingerbread House

Last week, we decided to make a gingerbread house with the girls. Ryan and I have done this together for the past several years and we were so excited that the girls are old enough to join us in this Christmas tradition. They seemed to have a lot of fun and we think the house turned out pretty cute.

The girls enjoyed eating the house as much as they liked decorating it!

A Griswold Family Christmas

It truly did feel like a scene from "Christmas Vacation," on Saturday, as we all bundled-up in our warmest clothing, piled in the car, sang Christmas carols, and headed out to the wilderness (a.k.a. JB Tree Farm) to pick out the perfect Christmas tree. The biggest difference being that unlike the Griswold kids, we think the girls were pretty excited for this adventure.



We began our adventure in the exact same spot as last year; however, you'll notice that one big thing is missing from this picture this year.....the stroller!







Waiting to board the wagon . . .

Our carriage arrives!

The girls had a little trouble walking in their big snowsuits on such uneven ground.

Passing the time while Daddy and Mommy find the perfect tree . . .

Watching Daddy cut down our tree . . .

Waiting for our wagon . . .

Our last stop.....feeding the reindeer

What a wonderful day!

Altoona Christmas Parade

Last night, we took the girls to the Altoona Christmas Parade. Just like last year, it was a chilly evening, but we all had a great time!

Leah enjoying her dinner while waiting with Minnie and Pooh for the parade to begin...

Enjoying the band . . . .

Abby enjoying her french fries . . . .

Go Penn State . . . .

Hey Sis, did you see that?

It didn't take long for the girls to catch onto the whole candy collecting thing. We collected enough candy to last until next year's parade!

Surprisingly, the girls both enjoyed seeing Santa (from a distance, of course!).

Light-Up Night in Hollidaysburg

Last Friday, we took the girls to downtown Hollidaysburg for the tree-lighting festivities. It is always such a nice event and the girls had a lot of fun this year enjoying all the great activities.


They both enjoyed feeding and petting the animals....

This is the tree in downtown Hollidaysburg that is always decorated each year with hundreds of lights. It always looks so beautiful!

We can't go anywhere without our Minnies!

A walk through downtown . . .

Taking a break . .

Although we weren't quite ready to sit on Santa's lap, we definitely wanted to try out his chair after he headed back to the North Pole!