8 years

Savannah had her 8 year birthday this past Sunday - time is flying way too fast - where did my little baby doll go?

We had a girl's day out - she got highlights in her hair, a manicure, and we went shopping for a new dress and some new outfits. She was so excited at the salon she was giggling - the ladies at the salon thought it was pretty cute too. It was fun to just hang out together.

We also went to Chinese for lunch, and this was extra special to me cause I have many memories of going to a little Chinese restaraunt in Orem with my mom. It was kind of our hang out spot only she and I would go to.

We also took her and a friend to McDonald's and went out bowling. Of course we ended the day with the perfect mermaid cake and a song of Happy Birthday.

As I took the pictures I usually don't notice how much Savannah has grown but this time as I did I just was taken aback as to how much she looks more and more like a young lady. Maybe it was just seeing her in her new clothes - I am not sure.

Happy birthday to my little girl!

Dear Santa:

So I forgot to include in my last post for Christmas about the letter Savannah wrote to Santa to send to the North Pole this year. Here are some of the main highlights I recall from the letter:

1. A pony named Sparkle with a white tail and pink skin.
2. Hair to my elbows.
3. Long finger nails, but not too long.
4. All the spiders and snakes of the world to be dead.
5. A Barbie car (and when asked if the Barbie car she got from Santa was the one that she wanted she replied, "No, the one I asked for was the kind you can drive.")
6. A pink mermaid tail (Savannah is obsessed with mermaids and wants to be one)

I plan to frame this letter - I couldn't bear to put it in the mail after knowing some of the words that she asked me to help her spell - I just knew I had to sneak a peek at this one and it is a keeper! She is just getting to be such a little girl!

Christmas 2011

Christmas this year was quite simple. It started out with a few inches of fresh snow - in fact the first snow of the season. Jacob came over and stayed the weekend and unfortunately he had brought bad news with him though. He found out a few days prior to Christmas that his employer will be shutting down the plant he works at. We are hoping he can transfer here in the Bay area to keep his seniority and his job. (Not to mention my being excited to have him home again!)

Charlie and I decided we were not giving each other gifts this year - but we did get some nice gifts from Jacob -picture frames, wall hangings, and some movies. My mom sent us a nostalgic movie that I used to watch as a kid and a couple of classic books for Savannah. My sister sent us some great photo collections in a scrap book, she is so creative! Our favorite gift was watching the kids and dogs play with their gifts. Savannah's reactions were hysterical and I got all but one on video. I think this year was the first year she was as excited as she was. She set her alarm at midnight to make sure she could sneak up on Santa but wouldn't you know it that she was zonked out for a good half hour before I noticed too and had to turn off that dang buzzer? Needless to say 4:40 am is still pretty early to get up and wait anxiously for everyone.

We tried our hand at roasted duck and the meat was delicious, very tasty in fact, however not a lot of it on the bird and it is quite expensive. I think it was fun for a change and would also like to try a goose next.

Here are some photos of the fun we had!

Winter Program at Savannah's school. They really sang some cute songs.

Baking cookies!

Pugs1ey's new sweater, stuffy, and bone that Santa brought her.

Mermaids - Savannah just LOVES them! Anything mermaid she is just crazy for!

Who knew Jake could get so excited for socks? I think he was laughing at how smart Santa is for knowing he really needs socks.

Barbie deram house - hours of fun!

And since we all had Monday off we went out for breakfast and to see the movies. Savannah and I saw Chipwrecked and Charlie and Jake saw Darkest Hour. It was nice to be together as a family again. We don't have any big plans for New Year's which is fine with me.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!