Go With the Flow

We are in the second week of Christmas vacation and it has been great sleeping in and not having to follow much of a schedule. But most afternoons, the girls start getting antsy and picking on each other, so I have been trying to keep them busy.  The other day we went to the Enviromental Center and learned all about water.

Rachel and I had been there before when I was pregnant with Rebecca.  We were the only people there, which was a good thing because Rebecca gets a little loud sometimes.

There are lots of hands-on exhibits for the kids to play with and learn all about water. Rebecca's favorite was the water table with the boats. She was soaking wet by the time we left.

Rachel pedaling a bike to move a chain that turned a water wheel.  I think Rachel actually learned a few things and she has studied about water at school, so it was good reinforcement for her.

They also had an exhibit about space travel and astronauts. It was interesting and the girls liked it. Rachel thought the section about the bathroom in space was pretty funny.

Rebecca checking out the potty. I have been trying to potty train her over the break, so her interest in the potty is higher than usual right now.

Lots of exhibits about different water areas in Georgia. The center is pretty and has a nice walking trail. I may bring the girls back in the spring and take a look outside.

Our Christmas 2011

Our family had a great Christmas this year.  We went to church service Christmas Eve and then up bright and early to open gifts.  A few pictures of our Christmas.

Our Christmas Eve picture

Trying to get pictures of the girls before church-easier said than done.

Christmas morning festivities....

We went to our friends house for Christmas dinner.  It was bitter-sweet because our friends are moving soon and it was our last Christmas together. We ate a lot of good food, talked a lot and had fun playing Wii games.

The girls got a really cute gift from their Aunt and Uncle in Panama. They sent specially made

M & M candies with pictures of  the girls on them, their names and Merry Christmas. Plus Christmas stockings.

It was a great Christmas weekend and looking forward to another week of vacation! 

Merry Christmas

                                                       Merry Christmas from the Tomlin girls.

Our Elf

We have had Jack, our favorite little Elf on the Shelf,  visiting us this month.  I think this is our fifth year with Jack and I still struggle with thinking of new and original places to move him each night. This year I borrowed some ideas from Pinterest and had Jack move around the house a bit more.

                    Jack was hungry for a snack and got into the marshmellows in the pantry.

                      One night he took a bubble bath and we found him wrapped up in a towel.

Doing some Christmas reading.

Playing dominos with the ladies.

Rachel has finally figured out that I move Jack each night, but she is still "believing" in Santa this year. Rebecca has noticed Jack this year. She usually notices him some time in the afternoon and runs to find me and show me where Jack is for the day.

 

Kids & Christmas & Cookies

Yesterday the girls and I made some Christmas cookies.  Rebecca did a lot better than she did last year and Rachel didn't need any help at all from me. Our girls are growing up!

                    We only have one rolling pin, so Rebecca used one from the play-doh box.

                                            Rebecca managed to eat lots of frosting.

While I was cleaning up the cookie decorating mess the girls were playing and I had to get a picture. I am not sure what this is all about, but lately they have been taking a blanket and draping it over the both of them. Rebecca is behind Rachel and they run all around the house having the best time.

Prep and Landing

We went to a fun Christmas party this afternoon.  My friends Naomi and Jennifer put together a party for the kids based on the Christmas movie "Prep and Landing"- which is about elves that go ahead of Santa and get each house ready for his arrival.  The movies are really cute and Rachel has seen them quite a few times.

All the kids wore their pajamas and we started the party by watching the movie and having a popcorn snack.

After the movie each child got their own little elf hat. The hats are adorable and my friends did a fantastic job making them.

                                               Rebecca, Sarah, Rachel, Gigi and Emily

We had dinner and the kids could make an ornament or a jingle bell necklace.  Then Santa came to visit! So we all went upstairs and Santa handed out gifts to everyone.

                                                             Naomi, Sarah and Maria

                                                             Party craziness!!!

                                       My friend also made the cutest elf cookies!

                                      Some of the ladies hanging out and talking.

It was a great party! My friends did such a wonderful job organizing it all and my girls had a lot of fun.

Sparkles

Today was the first day of Christmas vacation! It felt good to sleep in a little and not have to get Rachel up to the bus stop before the sun comes up.   We decided to go with some friends to Sparkles Skating Rink and go skating. 

                                                                 Rachel and Cameron

Rachel has tried skating in our driveway a few times and it didn't go too well.   Today was a little rough and Rachel got discouraged at the start.

I got her a skate trainer to try out and see if it would help her, but she didn't like too much.

Cutie pie --Ronnie. She did soooo good skating and is the sweetest thing ever.

We skated for about an hour. A couple of daycares showed up with lots of kids and Rachel was tired, so we left and went for lunch. Then we went to the mall and saw the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. It was cute and Rachel really enjoyed it. Then home and back out the door for basketball practice.  It was a busy day and I told Rachel we are staying home tomorrow!