Farewell 2011!!!!

We will be heading back to Texas and family in two days so I am posting my final 2011 entry.  It has been a wonderful year.  We are so thankful the kids are enjoying life here and are all happy and contented.  Marcella told us just the other day that after crafting, school is her next favorite thing!

Here is a little group of pictures to end the year with:

I recently attended Theresa's Open House.  We had to bring items and pictures from home representing things Theresa does with family and friends.  At school we decorated the inside of a box with the family items and the outside with the friend items.  I am so glad I work right next door to her school- so convenient!

Last weekend we made a nice little "Tape Town."  The whole family got involved- the twins loved taping!  Eleanor liked filling in spaces and connecting, Eben liked making lines,Theresa made a nice "pile" of blue tape for the lake after outlining the rug, and Marcella worked on the Duplo buildings.....

Mommy and Daddy helped with the twists that tape sometimes makes...........

This is our tomato and pepper pot garden.  The back pots on the porch are basil and oregano.  The garden is doing incredibly well and we feel that when we return we will have fresh veggies!  We can't wait!

Winter Concert

The girls had their Winter Concert last night with a theme of Blue Green.  It was a wonderful performance and we were so proud of both of them. 

Theresa's class had the longest song to sing and as with her K-2 Showcase in the Spring she was center stage!  It was so much fun to watch her sing and do the moves!

Marcella took center stage as well by not only singing a solo, but singing a solo of a song she wrote while at a beach field trip!  It was incredible- first we saw a brief video of her composing the song, and then we listened to her sing with the class.  It was an echo type song called "The Pipe Fish Song."  After she led her classmates with the song she invited the audience to join in- what a performance!

Tis the Season

Just sharing some pictures of the Christmas happenings here.  We've been making Gingerbread cookies, sugar cookies, and stockings!  Thank you Tante Lisa and Tante Rita for the sprinkles!

Odds and Ends

This post is just a bunch of loose photos for you all to enjoy.  Completely themeless.

Here is the girls' Duplo Pyramid- we hope to go visit the Land of the Pyramids in the near future as our San Marcos neighbors will be moving there soon!  Small World indeed!

Above we see Eleanor's First Braids- done by Daddy!!!! 

I love how she was holding her Bunny Doll Rapunzel.

Here is Eleanor with some new goodies from Ms. Sheila and Ms. Irene from Building Blocks. 

These two sweet ladies are always bringing their Beautiful Girl, as they call her,

new pretties for her long goldens.

Here is Mermaid Theresa- she came down one morning all fancied up.

Finally, here is Marcella, dispalying her worldy projects from a recent Unit of Inquiry with a topic of

Cultures and Celebrations.