Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Getting in the Christmas Spirit with a visit from the twins

 These two little girls are my youngest sister Susan's daughters, Brooksley and Audris.
They live in Kansas City but hopped a plane to come out and see their two aunties~
me and my other sister Ellen. Ellen and I were quite excited to have them visit for a week
and we made some plans for their visit.  Well as often happens things don't go as planned
and the night before they left Audris got sick with a bug, 
and then that bug hit like a domino effect
and one by one Susan and Brooksley and their dad Tim 
and my brother in law Mike all got hit.
I had planned to have a sleep over with them Sunday night, 
but NO WAY was I going into the germ tank!
So we finally decided upon a nice outdoor adventure with 
lots of fresh air at the local Christmas tree farm, Mahoneys Garden Center.
 Audris and Brooks came strapped in their car seats
 in the rental mini van~I was soooo happy to see them!
 Since they are two, we put them right into the carriages before venturing into the shop.
I brought Christmas Princess Crowns for them~
"Who wants to be a Princess???" I asked
all excitedly~and thankfully they both agreed!
 (I have waited years to have some little girls in my life,
after having 3 sons and 1 stepson).
 Brooksely and Susan entered Mahoneys to start checking out the Christmas displays
 Apparently we were late to the party as many trees had been sold, 
but I thought it still looked amazing!
Going into a Christmas shop like this really gets you in the mood~
 One vignette after another was to be found~
Brooks got her hands on a little snow ball ornament~
so of course Audris got one too.
Then their brave mother decided they could disembark the carriages
and go into the stuffed animal pen filled with arctic white animals and reindeer.
 For the life of me I could not get either of them to look at the camera~
we tried many times, but its the luck of the draw when you try snapping a two year old.
 And then it was off to see some more Christmas things...
we were going to check out Santa's animals!
 This required a raisin snack break of course...
mixed with a few goldfish for good measure.
Again, no faces looking at auntie Amy while she tries to snap~
 This is much easier to photograph~
 My two sisters led the way and I trailed behind...
the nursery was filled with greens and that wonderful balsam scent.
 An enchanting fairy garden all decked out for Christmas in a red bow~
 Outside the nursery and on the way to see the animals I tried again for a group pose...
 Finally they found the animals! 
They loved looking through the wire cage at the goats
 and the llamas....no reindeer however.
 We tried for a photo op by the huge tree by the barn.....it towered above us all. 
 Audris was practicing her smile while Brooksley was getting ants in her pants.
 And here goes Brooksley...she couldn't stand still~!
 Its lift off~!
 Shes taking Audris with her!!
 Look at them bounce!
 Hey ma~No feet on the ground~!
 And then they were off and running~!!
Yes, scenery is so much easier to take a pretty picture. 
Now it was time to go out to lunch~no photos were even attempted...
but when we came outside we sat on the bench
 while auntie Ellen visited the ladies room.
And as Susan went to snap our photo Audris just leaned over
 and gave me a soft little kiss. 
It was the sweetest thing ever and I was in heaven~!!
A wonderful moment with my god-daughter Audris.
 After our lunch Brooksley noticed the gigantic snowman in the lot next doors 
at another garden center and asked to see him~
so off we headed to visit the big white guy. 
You can see one of the girls racing into the shop ahead
 of us in her pink pants...hurry up~I had to catch her!
We bought a few things like some tiny lights and a pretty lilac poinsettia
 which I thought would look perfect in my shop.
See? Its perfect!
After the second Christmas tree farm the girls went back home
and took a long nap....because our day of fun was not over yet!
 I met Susan and the twins in the parking lot at 5 pm sharp~
as I approached them, Audris yelled to me, "Amy, is that you??" 
 I was wearing this hat and had on my eyeglasses!!
 It was just so cute to hear her little voice...
so I pulled off my hat and glasses  
confirming  that yes it was their favorite auntie!! 
 We enjoyed a night time trip to the local zoo which included 
a photo op with reindeer Holly, as well as Santa 
and his castle and a few other zoo animals. 
The entire zoo is lit up with thousands of lights and it 
is festive and childlike and wonderful for this time of year.
 Brooksley was scared but Audris bravely approached Santa as I held her hand.
Susan told me I should stay in the pic~and I am so happy I did! 
Brooksley eventual got her photo too~so proud of her!
I haven't had a photo with Santa in 50 years I think.
He never did ask me what I wanted, 
but the girls both wanted a Choo choo train.
What?? How about a doll? Or a princess castle?
That was the end to our wonderful Christmassy day~
I will always treasure our memories. 
 Today I am back in the shop getting ready for a friends and family party this week~
 Busy shipping out the custom painted moras too~
And sprucing up the shop to add a little holiday cheer!


Photobucket

20 comments:

  1. Oh Amy,i would love a niece! yours are adorable and what a beautiful day and pictures you have to look back on,i really loved the kiss picture and the bouncing ones too xxx

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  2. so very sweet, I type with my fingers still with AS chalk paint. Love the lilac poinsettia, never saw that color before. Nice to see how you enjoy your family! blessing, lady

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  3. Awwwwwwwwwwwww! Those darlin little girls just charmed you all to pieces, and i see why. How cute. What a big day, and i bet you all had so much fun. I've never seen a lavender poinsetta. You're right, it is perfect for the shop!

    Cindy

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  4. Hi Amy, your nieces are adorable! What a wonderful experience for all of you to remember! take care, Maryann

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  5. Amy they are as cute as can be!Oh how I miss that age! They look like they had a wonderful time too!Hope everyone is feeling better!
    xx
    Anne

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  6. Amy-What darling little nieces you have! I am glad that you have some hands on time with them. Everything is looking beautiful there- xo Diana

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  7. Oh what fun! You have such cute little nieces, Amy. I'm glad you enjoyed your time with your family. I'm sure they loved spending time with you as well.
    Debbie
    xxoo

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  8. Amy, I loved this post...those sweet little girls. You sure had a long busy day. That will be a fond memory for the girls, their mom and you. I loved the ants in the pants dancing, so funny.Smiles, Susie

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  9. i am exhausted! i want your energy so please send some stat.

    what a lovely way to feel the magic of christmas.

    smiles to you.

    michele

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  10. They're adorable. Nothing better than building Christmas memories.

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  11. Little ones make the holidays so fun--love that you got a kiss. The twins are adorable!

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  12. What a great time Amy! fun stuff. love all the pictures of your little adventure. the girls are way to cute in front of the tree, ants in the pants and all. those are classic. so fun doing something to get into the holiday spirit

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  13. Oh AMY they are DARLING !!! That was a FUN day !!

    I can't believe you found a Lilac colored poinsettia !!!!
    Sisters are great aren't they ?? I remember one visit where a sister and her husband came up from the south and another sister who lives nearby with her husband all made plans to go to a show in the city- Marty and I ended up leaving early feeling sick- when we got home all 4 of our kids were in the throws of the stomach flu and we were too - My sister and her husband got out of Dodge that night !!! hahaha I hate those bugs ! at least you salvaged part of your visit !
    xo Betsy D.

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  14. What a fun day and what darling girls. Beautiful shop too....and yes your lilac poinsettia looks perfect in your shop, never saw one that color! Thanks for sharing your fun day!

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  15. Oh Amy...I am in the same boat...forever surrounded by testosterone! I long for a little girl to sew for and create beautiful little felted sweaters...I can dream!

    Your twins are lovely an d so happy to see that you enjoyed a sister/girl day, especially during the holidays...what fun!

    And that sweet little kiss....magical.

    Enjoy your friends and family party.

    Janet xox
    The Empty Nest

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  16. This whole post is sooo sweet! I have daughters and I really enjoyed them when they were little like that! That kiss is so precious, there's nothing quite like it, is there?

    I am obsessed with that lilac poinsettia, how beautiful! Of course I have to go look for one now, lol!

    Looks like you had a wonderful time. You probably wish they lived closer, I'm sure!

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  17. ahhh so sweet , twins and they are GIRLs,
    I have 7 grandson and no granddaughters , however my 4 little ones really love Christmas and shopping and Santa is always a thrill just like with your little girls

    the 3 older boys drive OMG

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  18. What a fun, happy outing! And Mahoneys? I would love to shop in that beautiful place! Thanks to you for first introducing me to ASCP. We finally got a stockist in Fort Myers; I attended a basic class, bought paint, wax, and gilding wax, and painted my coffee table over the weekend. I had questions along the way and so wished I could call Amy! I did search your blog many times to look at pictures and try to find answers! I'm quite please with my first attempt, although I wish I had painted the top smooth, rather than every different direction, as Annie suggests in her video. But not bad for a novice! :)

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  19. Haha! I had to giggle looking at these pictures. It looks like you had so much fun but oh my yes, it is impossible to get TWO children to stand still and look at the camera! Haha! They are little dolls though! So adorable!

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