Thank you, Easter Bunny!

What a hoppy, hoppy Easter!  We started our fun on Saturday, when the girls colored Easter eggs.

Sunday morning the girls woke to find the Easter Bunny had left some treats and later we had Easter brunch with Mom and Dad at one of my favorite Fredericksburg restaurants, Bistro Bethem (are you figuring out that Fredericksburg has some good restaurants?).  We came home and had an Easter egg hunt, then hung out for the rest of the afternoon, enjoying the absolutely beautiful day while the girls played with goodies from their Easter Baskets.

The Easter egg hunt commences...

LARGE bubble wands from the Easter bunny create much fun bubble making...

Though we didn't have much space, the girls still enjoyed their kites...

What a great day!

Thanks for the new sunglasses, Easter bunny!

Mom and Dad enjoyed the beautiful day, too.

Getting in a little snuggle time.

Happy New Year From the Roden Girls!

Christmas!

It's been several years since we traveled for the holidays, and I have come to love the lower stress and more enjoyment that comes from just staying at home at Christmas.  We just hang out, enjoy each other and don't have to worry about being anywhere at a particular time (except church on Christmas Eve).  After church on Christmas Eve, mom, dad, the girls, Jason and I came back and opened gifts.  Of course, it was most fun to watch the girls.  They get so excited about everything.

Awww...giving Grandpa some love.

Christmas chaos.  As usual, Dutch eventually just
gave up and sacked out in the middle of everything.

Jason helps Elise with the Origami kit she got for Christmas.

Christmas morning:  big, soft blankets and fairies from Santa.

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving we were very fortunate to be able to have Jason, his mom, us, and my mom and dad all around the same table.  This is the first time that has happened!  This is the first Thanksgiving we've shared with Jason and the first time his mom met my parents.

The day before Thanksgiving we did some advance prep of food. I baked cornbread for the stuffing, Elise and I made pumpkin pies, and I made a new recipe:  Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie.  At one point early in the day, Elise came in the kitchen and said "what are you doing?"  I told her I was making cornbread and pies.  She said "I thought it smelled like Thanksgiving in here!"

Elise LOVES pumpkin pie and was a great help
mixing up the pies for Thanksgiving.

We had a little too much pumpkin pie filling
and it wouldn't all fit in the pie shell,
so I baked the extra in little dishes...

which Elise promptly polished off. 
She ate all four of the mini pies. 
That girl LOVES pumpkin pie!

The Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie.
Baked and served in a cast iron skillet.
My dad said "this is the best pecan pie
I've ever had."  Of course, he is prejudiced,
but this pie was REALLY good.

The girls, Jason and I made most of the food (except the turkey), but we ate at mom and dad's because their place is bigger.  So, some of the food was made at our place and transported to mom and dad's, and some we made there. 

Mom and dad working on getting some food on the table.

The girls, particularly Anja, love going to grandma and grandpa's because they have Wii.  Anja was quite excited to introduce Jason's mom, Dolores, to Wii.

Thanksgiving dinner was delightful.  The food was plentiful and delicious, the company relaxed and entertaining.

Anja and Elise and the Thanksgiving feast.

Our pickle girl.  She had emptied the pickle dish before
Thanksgiving even started and we had to refill it before we
sat down to eat.  By the end of the meal she had eaten
a whole jar of pickles.  We aren't surprised, though, since
it is kind of a family tradition.  I used to do the same thing
when I was a kid.

It Smells Like Thanksgiving in Here!

Jason's mom, Dolores, arrived last night from California, and the girls have been playing with her all morning.  While they were in the girls' bedroom talking about dragons and drawing, I was in the kitchen baking pies, making cornbread for stuffing, and making cranberry sauce.  At one point Elise came out and asked what I was doing.  I told her everything I had made and she said "I thought it smelled like Thanksgiving in here!"

Elise did a great job helping out making pies!

Halloween

Elise as a vampire bat girl, Anja as a ninja.

Our first Halloween in Virginia.  This was the most pleasant Halloween I have ever experienced.  I spent most of my life in Minnesota and by October we usually had snow on the ground.  You know those lists of "You Know You Are From (enter state name here) If..."?  The Minnesota list says "you know you are from Minnesota if, as a kid,  you bought Halloween costumes one size too large so you could fit your snowsuit underneath."  That is the truth!  Many Halloweens as a child, it was so cold and snowy that I wore my snowsuit underneath my costume so I wouldn't freeze my tail off.  Tonight was a totally different experience.  It was 70 degrees out!  At 7:00 p.m.!  Elise wore her costume without any extra tights, leggings, or shirts underneath and she didn't get cold.  That is totally unheard of where I come from. I wore a jacket over my t-shirt and was hot by the time we got back. 

Most memorable experience from this Halloween:  man sitting at the end of his driveway handing out candy, who, when we departed, said "Happy Halloween, y'all."  Sometimes I forget I live in the south, and then things like that remind me that it is different here.   And that has been a pretty fun experience so far!