Doin' it the natural way...

Running of course!! I've been interested in trying out the Vibrum 5 Finger Shoes for a while now. And we just picked them up this evening. I was soooo excited. The "barefoot technology" makes it possible to run outdoors as close to barefoot as possible. I've been running on a treadmill completely barefoot for months and have noticed a HUGE different in my legs... no knee pain, and my ankes are much stronger. I attribute this my body NOT depending on the cushion of the shoes and running the way you were "built to do". So, today begins my "natural running". Already went for my "first run" and look forward to many more in the future!!

The Make-up Sets

For Christmas the girls asked for a make-up set. Well, grandmom Reedell came through with a Barbie make up set, with all the bells and whistles. It even has lights around the mirror! The girls have been "perfecting" their application skills... and this is how it went!!

Christmas Snowstorm 2010

We were hoping for a nice mild winter... well, mother nature had different ideas.  We got socked with a good 10" of snow the day after christmas.  After a few hours we had 4 or 5" and then the girls were begging for some sledding time.  So, out we went.  We used our hilly driveway for a sled run and even went into the road... since there is NEVER any traffic on our part of the road.  We'll see what the rest of the winter holds...

Christmas 2010

We hope you enjoyed Christmas with the ones you love the most! We sure did. We started off the day, just the four of us. The girls were beyond happy to see a Barbie House next to the christmas tree... as well as MANY other gifts. They had sooo much fun and the joy on their faces was just priceless!

Then it was time for the Reedell Family get together.  Everyone made their way over to our house around 10:30am, then we had a yummy brunch, then it was time to open all of the loot.  The cousins enjoyed playing together and showing off their new presents.  It was nice to visit with the family for a few hours!

Then party #3 began with the Schafer clan.  My parents, my sister and her boyfriend Mike joined us for a nice dinner, then it was time for more presents.  The girls tried on their karate uniforms, showed off their "moves", and then played with their oddles of new goods.  They had a FANTASTIC time!   Then wave #4 began.... Uncle Darwin, Aunt Vicki, Nicole and Paul, and Allison joined us for dessert and some fun holiday games.  Spending the whole day with family made this holiday all the more special!!

Toy Story 3 On Ice

No Blizzard is going to stop us from seeing our favorite toys come to life!! Today we headed to Philadelphia to see Toy Story 3 at the Wells Fargo Center. We were VERY lucky to have had seats in the Club Box area... so we enjoyed the show from some VERY comfy seats. The girls LOVED it... and it was great to spend the long weekend doing even more fun family activities!!!

Spinning Santa

I've been working on my "holiday spin CD" for a while... and this week I had the opportunity to use it 3 times in a row... 6:45pm wednesday evening, 5:45am thursday morning, and then finally 9:15am.  The first two times I made it more festive by wearing antlers while teaching... and then at my 9:15am class I dressed as Santa Claus!  I got sooooo many fun comments and gave everyone a FANTASTIC workout!   Who says you can't have fun at the gym??

It's Gingerbread Time

It's not christmas without the official gingerbread projects going on in the Reedell household. Last year they did a house together, this year was got "a bit more daring" and created a christmas tree and house. The girls had a BLAST and did a GREAT job. Didn't even make a mess... and yes, they started eating them as soon as I finished taking pictures!!

Another visit with Santa!

For some reason, we have never checked out all of the "local" places to see Santa. Tonight we went to Feeney's and now it will be on the top of our list next year. The girls enjoyed seeing all of the different kinds of poinsettia's as well as tropical plants in the greenhouse... but most of all, they liked talking to Santa. And this was a GREAT Santa. They had a blast and so did we!! Happy Holidays!

Visit with Santa

So, usually the girls get to see Santa MUCH earlier than this year, but things have been INSANE with the trip to Disney, then just trying to get back into the "swing of things"... so finally to go to chat with Santa this past weekend at the Lower Southampton Library.   And what a difference a year makes.  Last year Elyse had NO desire to even be close to Santa.  This year she jumped on his lap and had a 10 minute conversation with him... we had to tell her it was time to go!  It was VERY cute!!



Merry Christmas 2010



Furry Holiday Greetings!

What else is there really to say?

"hoppy holidays" - love Ollie the Bunny



beware of Jake the cat with antlers....



I'm an old pro at this... Oscar



Now it even smells like Christmas!

As usual, we put up our artificial tree on November 25th as well as all of the other decorations.  Still didn't feel like the holidays until we put up our beautiful spruce in the sunroom.  Now the house has a GREAT scent of pine - LOVE it!!  It's such a beautiful tree and we are crossing our fingers that it lasts as long as other years... which is well into January!  Then add the cookie baking madness from the weekend, and yes we are in FULL holiday mode here!!  We hope the holiday spirit has made it into your house and that you spend the holidays with the ones who mean the most!!! 

our real tree in the sunroom - we keep it nice and simple, white lights, red bows, and a few candycanes...

and the artificial tree in our formal living room - the girls race down each day and see if santa has brought anything new... silly girls!

A world of magic!!

Disneyworld... wow!!  We headed to florida on november 28th joined by grandmom Reedell, then mom-mom and pop-pop Scheib later in the week.  We enjoyed EVERY one of the parks several times, many charachter meals, parades, the Very Merry Christmas Party, and even a trip to the Bibbidy Bobbidy boutique for the girls.  It was truely an experience that NONE of us will forget.  Here are a few collages for you to check out... enjoy!!


up up and away... and we were off for Florida.  the girls had their "little tvs" so they were set and ready for the 2 hour flight.  They were sooo excited to go to Disney, but had NO idea what they were in for!!





Epcot - a world of wonder at any age.  From visiting the world showcase, to space simulators, spaceship earth, going "hangliding" on soarin', to being a "crash test dummy" in Test track - Epcot has somethng for everyone!!




Hollywood Studios - sooo many shows, soooo little time!!  The girls had a BLAST at the Little Mermaid Show (of course) as well as the Muppets show.  Then they got "lost" in Honey I shrunk the Kids playground.  And the very last show we saw before we left was the Beauty and the Beast Stageshow - now that was impressive!




The Magic Kingdom - I haven't been there since 1996 when I graduated from high school (yes, feeling old now) and it was still just as much fun as I had remembered.  We enjoyed every single moment in the park!!! 




Animal Kingdom - it's a jungle out there - and a desert, and a whole bunch more.  The girls LOVED digging for dinosaur bones, riding rides, and going on a safari... and mommy and daddy LOVED Expedition Everest!!!  It was fantastic for everyone!




The Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique - every little girl's dream!  A fairgodmother in training transforms each child into a princess.  Both girls put their dresses on, then had their hair, make-up, and nails done on thursday morning.  They were still wearing their dresses on the plane home on sunday.  They LOVED the attention they recieved everywhere they went.  You would have thought they really were "royalty"... 




the girls met MANY charachters while we were in Disney!  Their autograph books are VERY full...




we were fortunate enough to meet up with our friends' the Markerts down in Epcot for a day and dinner.  We had a blast and the girls loved having a "prince" for each of them!



Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party - we went on tuesday evening.  It started at 8pm and went until midnight - and we were there the entire time - yes LOTS of tired people by the time we made it back to the condo!

our condo in florida - we needed a BIG place to stay since we had 7 people staying at times... it was GREAT!!

princess Elyse... and she sure did act the part!

yes, princess Angela also wears her dress, sash and tiara on the plane

the Reedell clan in Magic Kingdom

Happy Holidays 2010

We hope your holidays are FANTASTIC!!

love,

Angela and Elyse

Professional Photo Shoot - Part 2

Since I like to have "other pictures" besides holiday ones taken, we decided to take some "casual clothes" for the second part of the photo shoot. The girls were troopers after a long session, but they cam eout GREAT!! And they look sooo grown up... Angela is just about 5 1/2 years old and Elyse is 3 1/2 yeard old... where has the time gone?

Fun in the Leaves

Yes, it's fall... and that means about 4 million (give or take...) leaves have already fallen on our property. The sad part is that it's not even close to being done! Each weekend we spend a few hours raking, blowing, and bagging up leaves. This weekend the girls even helped out. They actually helped to get the leaves into piles, then jumped into EVERY single pile they found. They had a great time, and we enjoyed watching them jump and play, and just enjoy their childhood! After all, they grow up too quickly. Enjoy the pics!!

And Soccer Season is now over :(

The LSAA micro league played their last game of the season on sunday (11.7.10). And they finished with a win over the blue team 1-0. All of the kids had a blast - and considering there were around 80 kids in the league, it was a HUGE success!! Now to prepare for next season when Elyse will be in the micro league and Angela will be in the 6-7 year old league... that will be DOUBLE fun...

A Beautiful Fall Day is BEST Spent with Friends!

We met up at the local "firefighter's field" with a bunch of friends. The day was "brisk" but the bright sunshine more than made up for it. The kids LOVED spending some quality outdoor time playing with friends. The smiles were proof of how much fun they were all having. We hope you got to enjoy the beautiful day too!

Halloween in Philadelphia

Scott and I got invited to a friend's halloween party in Philadelphia this year.  It was a costume party, so we had to come up with some "fun ideas".  This is what we ended up being... and let us tell you, it was a GREAT party!!  Thanks for inviting us Missy and can't wait until next year!!!  The ideas for the costumes have already begun!!

Scottsville Halloween Parade

Scottsville Preschool does a Halloween Parade each year. This year Megan was working, so Scott went and got to take pictures of Elyse and her friends... And by the way, he did a GREAT job and all of the kiddos looked FANTASTIC!!!

Angela's Kindergarten Pictures

So, I was expecting just about "anything" when talking about picture day.  I'm sure we have ALL had some "good ones" and then ones that we just wanted to throw out... and prayed that no one would ever see again.  So, today I was happy to see the results of Angela's pictures... she did well, and only looked a "little scared"...  Enjoy Angela's Kindergarten picture!!

Pumpkin Art

Our Halloween "masterpieces"... Ariel and Perry the Platypus. I was VERY proud because I made up the perry stencil myself.... so now I know how to do it and have MANY new choices for future pumpkins!!!