Time To Go

Olivia LOVES her grandpa's. Whether it's my dad or Matt's dad, she just lights up when she see's them. When my dad was home she would just follow him into the office, or around the house, and sit and cuddle with him. She is such a "lovey" little girl. I had to capture a few pictures of her and grandpa before we left.Here they are at the Mission office right before we went to the airport. My mom and dad always like to take the kids to the office to meet everyone.
I was trying to get a picture of just my mom and Olivia and this is what I got. What a little stinker! The funniest thing about this picture is my dad in the background. You can tell from his stance that he is loving this and can't wait to "rescue" Olivia from my mom! So funny.

Maddie loves...I didn't get a picture but it's true, that Maddie is such a grandma's girl. This goes for both grandma's too!

Quick family photo before we left.
I love this picture, I had to include it.

To Grandmother's House We Go Part Three

While we were visting in Spokane, we decided to have a little Birthday celebration for Maddie. We made her favorite pasta, yummy cheesy toast, and veggies, and of course chocolate cake. While she was napping one day, I did a little decorating and wrapped her presents. She was so surprised when she came upstairs to see all of this for her!

The Birthday girl! We had the table all set with party hats, and necklaces for everyone to wear and noisemakers just for fun. Unfortunately my dad had some business to attend to so he couldn't be there for the actual dinner, but I know he would have loved it and was sad to miss out. My mama sporting her party hat, and Olivia with her little noisemaker.

Quite possibly one of the worst pictures of me, but I had to post because it's the only one with Maddie and I at her par-tay.
My little Sweetie girl. She was so excited to put FOUR candles in her cake.

I love that little face.

And this little face too!

The little party animal.
Presents! Maddie was thrilled with her new game she got from grandma and grandpa. It's a fishing game where the fish spin and open and close their mouths and you have to try and fish for the the fish with your little pole. She loves it and we still play it all the time -thank you again grandma and grandpa. I just have to say that I love that my mama is still wearing her party hat in this picture...and yes she is the only one!

To Grandmother's House We Go Part Two...

Whenever we go to see my parents, the house is always stocked with lot's of chocolate milk and fresh new playdough. The girls love to sit at the kitchen couter with their chef hats on and make all kinds of goodies with their playdough. This time we had a surprise waiting for us when we got there. My parents had put together a little basket of goodies for the girls! It was a hit, especially the cinderella nightlight and window clings for the sliding glass door!

Checking out the goods.

It was pretty cold outside and so whenever Maddie wanted to go out she had to get pretty bundled up first. I didn't bring a scarf, or gloves, or even a hat with us so she borrowed from my mom. She went to the closet to get her gear on and this is how she came out! I was cracking up! My favorite picture is the next one. Her face looks so round and chubby and that forced half smile is the greatest!

To Grandmother's House We Go...

In March I took the girls for a much needed visit to Spokane to visit my parents and sister Alisha. It was right before Maddie's fourth birthday so we got to have a little par-tay for her while we were there. It is always so fun to go visit my parents and be in the Mission home with them. While we were at the airport I had fun taking a few pictures of the girls. We had quite the adventure too, there were about 15 or 20 people on our flight and they boarded us all (we were flying Southwest and they stopped doing the mothers and children pre-boarding so it was really fun to try and corral the girls and keep them from running onto the plane while we waited in the C boarding group and did I mention there were only like 15 or 20 people total on the flight!! Did we really need to separate into boarding groups A, B, and C???)then 20 minutes later made us all get off the plane while they switched our plane for a different one. I love how digital cameras can keep kids entertained. They love to see the pictures of themselves...and thank goodness, because this has saved me on more than one occasion.

Olivia in Maddie's giant Valentine's Day glasses.

Finally on the plane! And after only an hour and three completely rude Southwest employee encounters later!!! I was able to get flight vouchers for me and Maddie, thank you Southwest! I love your inexpensive flights but sometimes your customer service just isn't worth the savings.

Maddie loves to get her Southwest wings, and for some reason always thinks they are for a mustache. I don't even think she knows anyone with a mustache, so I have no clue where she got this from. Her grandpa Carpenter used to have one but that's been gone for years. I always get a good laugh when she puts the wings on!

I wish this picture had better light, but you get the idea. Her expression is priceless, she is so silly!

Whoops!!

So I am a little slow and forgot that my email address is actually
mcarp5 (AT) hotmail. (COM)....Sorry for the inconvenience :)

It's That Time Of Year

It's that wonderful time of year again, which means I am behind and need help getting addresses for Christmas cards! If you want a card from the Carpenter fam, just email me at
mcarp (AT) hotmail. (COM)
-hopefully writing it out that way will save me from getting all sorts of nasty emails. We would love cards from all of you as well. Hope everyone is doing well and getting ready for Christmas!!

The Last Supper

The night before Dan and Ashley moved we decided to head to one of our favorite mexican food restaurants Tia Margarita's for our "last supper". The food was of course delicious as always but the company couldn't have been better. We love the Henry's so much and are so grateful for our friendship. We're so lucky to be down in San Diego and neighbors once again!

At dinner Maddie and Dan were re-enacting (I'm not sure how to spell that...) the "napkin head" from The Holiday. The Holiday is probably one of the greatest movies of my life, I just love it and could watch it over and over.

Nacho Libre

Matt and I both loved Nacho Libre, every now and then we watch it and it still has me laughing all the way through. A while back I was getting Olivia ready and I put on her little bloomers that go with her dress and they were soooo tight! I was cracking up, and she was pretty thrilled with herself as well. Little did we know we have a little Luchador on our hands! I of course had to take pictures, and now have to share them! I love all the different views...

These last two are probably my favorites. What a little chunka chunk.

"I need to borrow some sweats".

Just A Bunch Of Happy Kids

These are just a bunch of random pictures of the girls that I thought were cute. I love the picture above where Olivia is just so thrilled with herself and her baby dolly. She is so much fun!

Playing at the park.

These pictures of the girls with Calvin are so adorable. Maddie really wanted to read her books to Calvin, so we propped them up together on the couch and I think they were both in heaven. I love Cal's chubby little face, he's so cute!

This one makes me laugh out loud! Maddie's hold on Cal's head, and his unsure but happy little face, and Olivia trying to be a part of it all by sitting next to them and saying "cheeeeese"! It is so funny. A while ago Maddie said it best "We're just a bunch of happy kids". I love when we have pictures to remember the simple "happy kid" moments.

Alcatraz

Another fun weekend with the Henry's, only this time we went to Alcatraz. We got on the ferry to ride over early that morning, and then did the tour. It was really fascinating and something I would recommend doing at least once when you're in San Francisco. My favorite part was during about 5 or 6 chapters of the story my headset only played the backround noises, not the narration. I had no clue what was going on I just kept following the group -it was pretty funny actually.

Here's Matt all locked up.

The view from Alcatraz is so pretty. You can see everything! It made the city seem so small, from where we were at least.

The girls were such troopers during the tour, they both sat in their stroller the entire time! We all needed a little bit of a break after the tour and so we let the girls run around and play on this wall for a bit while we took some pictures.

The Funnest Day Part Two

Here are Matt and Maddie at the top of Coit Tower. After taking the bite size elevator up to the top we then had to walk up a narrow winding stair case to the actual tower. Keeping the girls from going up and down the stairs while we were up there was quite a task. Not to mention keeping Olivia from flying down them face first!


Quick family photo outside the entrance.


Coit Tower, and a huge glare from our lovely camera and photography skills.


On the trolly heading downtown for some shopping and a few rides in the elevator at the St. Francis Hotel. We were downtown for hours, it was so fun. One of my favorite parts was when we tried to take a taxi back to the wharf where our cars were parked. We saw a van taxi and when we got in two of the seven seats were missing so half of us ended up sitting on the floor for our fifteen minute cab ride. It was so exciting.


A quick picture of just Matt and I on our way home.

The Funnest Day!

When we found out our sweet friends the Henry's were moving to San Diego we were SO sad. On the other hand, we were really excited because we would be meeting them down there in just a few short months when Matt graduated! Nevertheless, to make up for our sadness we had some of the funnest days ever! We had big adventures all over the city seeing some of the sights that we had not seen before and visiting some of our favorite spots. There is so much to see and do in San Francisco I just love it! One Saturday we decided to go to Coit Tower, ride the trolley downtown, and do some window shopping and playing in the elevator at the Westin St. Francis - if you have not ridden in one of the tower elevators it is a must! So much fun and great views of Union Square. In order to have enough energy for our fun filled day we started out at Mama's for some deliciousness. This first picture is Maddie taking care of baby Cal while we waited in line.
Cute little Olivia, waiting in line.
The girlies mothering Calvin.
The deliciousness...
Maddie eating her bacon like a crazy girl!