January...

Once again a month has come and gone.  Maxwell and Annabel went back to school on January 8 and it has been none stop ever since.  Maxwell is currently playing basketball and is having a lot of fun and he is doing very well.  He has come along way since last year's season.  Annabel started up dance again and is now learning her recital piece.  She is so excited that the song is from "The Little Mermaid".  Her dance should be super cute because her teacher this year is awesome!  Here are some pictures of our month:

Our annual visit to the Bellagio

Annabel at Run Plus Fun for a playdate with some friends

Gabrielle having fun, too.

Happy Birthday to Art!!

Maxwell dressed up as Daniel Boone for the Famous Americans presentation.  He did so good!

Maxwell ready for his Harry Potter book report

Oh this girl is into everything!  Cloth bag on her head and dryer balls in her heart basket.

December...

It's been awhile since I've written in the blog.  Like for most people, December was a very busy month for us.  I felt like I spent most of my time either at the school volunteering or Gabrielle and I Christmas shopping.  And a little bit of everything else in between!  It will be nice getting back into a routine again.  Here are some pictures to sum up our festive month:

Right after Thanksgiving our elf, Elliot, came for his visit to keep an eye on the kids during the holiday season.

Every year we go to see the light display at Ethel M Chocolate Factory.

Gabrielle's favorite past time~ her brother riding her around the courtyard.

I have to post the wreath I made because it turned out so cool!

On our way to Maxwell's school program.  He was in "The Nutcracker" and he did such a great job!  He had three roles- he played the xylophone, he was a Chinese dancer, and he narrated a few different parts.

Making gingerbread houses is always fun!

On Christmas Eve we went to a party where the kids got balloon hats.

Christmas morning

Maxwell got a telescope from Santa.

Annabel got Cinderella's castle from Santa.

Gabrielle and her Feliz Navidad pal.

New Year's Eve!!

Hope your 2013 is everything you want it to be.

Maxwell's 7th Birthday

Maxwell's birthday this year was celebrated over a long stretch of time.  It started at Grandma and Grandpa's house last week, and then Grammie and Papa came for a visit after we got home.  Along with them they brought Non's youngest sister, Aunt Rosemarie.  One of Maxwell's gifts was to go see the Tournament of Kings, which is a dinner/show at the Excalibur.  The kids loved it!  Annabel is really into horses right now so she was very excited to see all the horses up close.  We almost didn't make it to the show because about an hour before we were suppose to leave Annabel was stung by a scorpion twice; once in the right foot and once in the right hip.  Oh I felt so bad for her.  We quickly took care of it and she still wanted to go to the show.  I actually think it was a good distraction for her.  Saturday was Maxwell's  birthday and we did the traditional cake and ice cream, and more gifts.  His favorite present is his new green bike.  He spent some time on Sunday getting use to a bigger bike and the hand brakes.

Front row!

Maxwell got a big surprise when he opened his door Saturday morning!

I can't believe I have a 7 year old!

Make a wish...

Gabrielle couldn't resist!

His cool new bike

Not trying to jump the curbs with this one yet.

   

Roadtrip to AZ

Our trip to Green Valley was a successful one.  Our goal was to get there in one day and we did it!  It took us a little over 8 hours which we were happy with.  It was colder than what we would like, but we still did a lot of outdoor activities.  Maxwell and Annabel had fun riding their bikes around a lake that we were going to go fishing in, but it was way too windy that day.  The next day the weather was nicer and we decided to go to the Desert Museum in Tucson.  We enjoyed walking around and looking at all the different plants and animals.  Maxwell was very excited to see some javelinas.  The way home was a bit more trying with Gabrielle.  She just did not want to sit in that carseat!

At the Desert Museum

Smile!

So cute!

Pretty flowers and pretty girl!

Maxwell playing with his birthday gift from Grandma and Grandpa.

Gabrielle loved exploring the yard.

Laughing too much to smile for the camera

We don't have too many pictures of us anymore so I had to include this one.

October Fun

We did so many fun things this past month that it went by so fast.  A couple Halloween parties, the pumpkin patch a few times, International Children's Day at school, and, of course, trick-or-treating last night.  We went to about 15 houses before we got to the Miller's (Harvey and Patti) and that is were Maxwell and Annabel passed out candy for about an hour.  They had about 800 kids come through!!  It was madness!  Here are some pictures of our October:



At the pumpkin patch

After going to a Lego birthday party, Maxwell was inspired to make these Halloween figures.

Annabel loves Dance class

So darn cute!

German soccer player & Spanish princess for ICD

Annabel and her friend by the Leaning Tower of Pisa

My job was to take pictures of the kids holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which was in Annabel's homeroom.

On the way to school Halloween morning

Gabrielle loves playing in the courtyard...

and smelling the flowers.

Cherry Jam (from Strawberry Shortcake) & a punk zombie

Annabel likes anything with a microphone

Our little peacock

It was so hard to get a good picture of her.  This is it.