Christmas

It's probably too late to be posting about Christmas, but oh well! Here are a very few pictures of the little play they did at church. D. had a sty in her eye during that time, if you can tell that her eye is a little squinty. It was a very low key re-telling for our tiny church. D. decided halfway through that the wings were itchy and she didn't want the white gown, which was why I had dressed her in her white flower girl dress. Ha. I win. :) 

 A family Christmas Day photo. We had a rainy Christmas Day and ate dinner with a few Marines at the base chapel, which served a nice meal for everyone. 

 For school we read the book, "How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World," and we finally got around to making an apple pie. The girls loved making it, but they didn't enjoy eating it as much. Oh well, at least we got to finish off the book study in the proper way. 

The finished product, before they tasted it and decided they didn't like it. Behind them was one of my finished projects for Advent. In each bag was our Jesse tree ornament and Bible reading, and a piece of paper with a special activity to do for the day. We also made Chrismons this year, but I didn't actually finish them until after Christmas. Maybe next year I will put one a day into the bag as well and we can do a Chrismon/Jesse tree. I really like how they turned out - just white felt with outlines of gold glitter from a pattern I found online. 

January - Haircut for the boy

Since he had just hit his 19 month birthday, I conceded that it was time for a little trim. J. beat D. in that department since we still haven't trimmed her hair, and he majorly beat A. who got her first haircut this summer. Something bittersweet about cutting the hair that they've had all along. These pics of him in the grey crab shirt are the "before's".  

You can see how long his hair was getting in the back and over his ears - that's pretty much all Daddy cut. 

Sad. . .and happy about it

The new look from the back. Can you tell?

 

OK, so this X on the shirt is an amazing feat. J. slobbered on Daddy and this is what happened. What makes it more meaningful(?) weird(?) amazing(?) is that A. once threw up on the same shirt in the shape of a heart. I just think that's some pretty good spit art, don't you? 

We hosted a little Valentine's party for our friends and had a great time. We've never done up that holiday before, so it was fun to go all out at the 100Y store. 

My new favorite of him. 

A. really likes to do their hair, and this is usually what it looks like. She is always so excited to do it and is excited that she can make a ponytail now! 

Beach and Gardens

A few months late, but here are some pictures of our last trip to the beach in 2013. It was a windy day and the girls got in the water grudgingly because I told them it might be the last time ever we swam in this part of the ocean! The non-beach pictures are from a Chinese gardens we frequent when we feel like taking pictures in a tranquil setting. It's hard to find an empty plot of grass around here, it seems. The kids don't stop growing! Next week we hit our 3 year mark of living on "the island" with "the others". I can see the growth of 3 years when I see the pictures of D. being only 8 months old and just having started crawling in our hotel rooms. . . Looking forward to what comes next and enjoying this life we have while we have it. 

November - Marine's Birthday Ball

This  year/last year technically, the girls had a chance to go to their first Marine Corps' Kid's Ball. We hadn't heard of anyone doing one before, but a unit was doing one here, so the girls got to wear their flower girl dresses for a record 3rd time! Daddy was expecting a bit more from the menu. He said they ate chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and green beans, and there was candy strewn over all the tables that the kids inhaled all night. They covered the dance floor in balloons too. Someone with kids must have planned it! They all had fun and it was nice to get them dressed up with Daddy for a special date. 

J. wanted to go too, but he didn't have any pants, haha. 

I think D. looks very grown-up here. 

He loves his big sisters. 

Daddy in all his Marine Corps glory