Jersey Boys

A few months back John and I went to the Frankie Valli concert and I bought a CD for my car. 

The result? My girls are OBSESSED! That's all they want to listen to in the car and even have specific songs they request. 

#1, #15, and #19! 

So I was super excited to hear Jersey Boys was coming to Toledo and John and I decided I would Ava to the show. She LOVED it! I bet she knew more songs than most people in there. She sang, she danced, she asked questions. I was so proud to have her as my date!

The language was more vulgar than I remember so there was quite a bit of "don't repeat that word" but she just kept giggling. 

When we got home John asked her what her favorite part was? 

"The whole thing, Dad! It was so good!" 

Side note: Back over Christmas we were shopping and Ava was absentmindedly singing "Sherry" by The Four Seasons. An older gentleman stopped her and asked where she learned that song. And she said "It's my favorite band!" 

I love it!

Otsego Cheer Competition

These two BFF's had a blast and rocked the Otsego Cheer Competition!

And took a little break to enjoy the other squads. 

And what's even better? Their squad placed third! So proud of the Comet Ignite. 

#houghtalinggirls

A little behind...

Ava's class made a trip to the fire station! 

Dinner with our friends!

A sweet visit with old friends!

Mommy went to craft night and made the girls their own sets of earrings!

Sweet precious Addy. She now has taken this mask to school and uses it for nap. 

The 3 foot obnoxious bear Ava bought with a gift card! 

This picture cracks me up. We were at my moms and Addy climbed up on my lap. She laid there non moving for about 20 mins. I figured she fell asleep because let's be honest, Addy never sits still that long. So, I snuck my phone over to take a picture and this is what I saw. Cracked me up!!!

Lunch with my loves!

My kids may watch too much TV. They stuck a balloon in Elsa's dress so she looked like she was pregnant. Ha!

Ninja Turtles {Good-Bye Sara and Gina}

Our sweet friends have moved to Seattle. Sara took a job within Owens Corning as a sales rep in the great state of Washington. We hosted the final send off and Ava wanted to help plan. Of course, we had a Ninja Turtle themed party!

We are sad to see them go but so excited for their future! And now we have a new place to visit! 

Breakfast with our Besties!

Saturday morning's with these cuties makes our weekends awesome! 

Larry's (Ella's daddy) band was playing at a local cafe so we joined everyone for breakfast!

Yummy food, dancing, and shaking with the band made for an awesome time!

The Band Aid

This will go down in history as one of my most favorite Addy stories. 

We were laying in bed one night and Addy was playing with my hand. Long story short, I scratched her face. She immediately was super offended and ran to grab a band aid. Fast forward to the next morning, the band aid was still on her face. She refused to take it off because "it hute". 

I took her to school. 

I picked her up from school and couldn't believe the band aid was STILL on her face. 

Here is the picture. It was hanging off and all curled up, literally hanging on my a small sticky strip.

At 8:00 that evening, she was finally brave enough to remove the band aid. I was anxious because I had no idea what was under the band aid. It could have been nothing, it could have needed stitches. 

The band aid came off and she does have a little scratch. But not big enough to warrant a 20 hour band aid. 

I adore her. 

My Sweet Little Ava

A couple of weeks ago, Ava and I headed to the store to make Christmas returns and she was armed with her Christmas money. Once we made the return, she turned to me and asked where the blankets were. I reminded her that she received a couple of blankets at Christmas gifts and she said they weren't for her. 

"Mom, I want to use my money to buy something for families in need" 

My heart exploded. 

What a turn our shopping trip took! 

I decided to help her. I told her that everything she bought I would also buy so we could double the donation. 

We bought snow suits, blankets, gloves, socks, and diapers. 

Our last day of Christmas break was spent dropping everything off to a local shelter. They were so grateful! But the best part? There was a woman moving out that day with her baby and they didn't have diapers to give her. No worries, Ava Kate to the rescue. 

New Year's Eve!

Happy 2017! 

We had a wonderful, fun-filled day! 

The girls and I took off for a day of fun! 

We dressed in our best shoes and headed off to the zoo. 

We dropped the ball on the lights this year so I wanted to squeeze it in. 

We were there early so we didn't get the full affect but we still had a fun time!

Ava learned a lesson in mating while at the zoo while viewing the otters. 

"Why are they trying to drown each other?" 

The girls received Build A Bear gift cards for Christmas so we headed there next. Addy chose a pink bear and dressed it like Poppy from Trolls. Ava chose Brutus. 

They named them Brutus and Poppy. Original, huh?

We headed home to watch the OSU game and ring in the new year. 

The best part of the night was they were able to toast in real glasses. They were so excited!

Dave and Buster's Fun!!

One of the perks of vacation time is no agenda. 

Uncle Nate, Nana, Emily, and all of us headed out to Dave and Busters for an afternoon of fun! 

It was a little big for Addy but she still had so much fun! 

Ava was in love with that place! "This is where I'm having my birthday party!"

Cousin Fun!

We road tripped to Medina to see the Houghtaling family! We stayed with Uncle George and had tons of fun with the cousins. They haven't really seen each other since Outer Banks in June. They picked up right where they left off. 

We had a great visit with everyone! 

Christmas 2016

Ahh...Christmas. 

We had a 5:15 wakeup call from a certain two little girls. We let them open gifts and then we went back to bed. Because lets be honest, they wouldn't have let us sleep any longer. We had Christmas with my parents in the morning and hosted our family Christmas in the afternoon. 

I love that this girl still lets me dress her up!

The littles opening their gifts!

We had a gift exchange between adults. It was so fun!

And then a surprise visit from Santa! 

My grandma. It's not often she will smile for a picture. We always tell her how pretty she is when she smiles. 

I hope all of our friends and family had a wonderful holiday! We sure did!