Words cannot begin to describe how excited my girls were to look out the window yesterday morning and see snow covering the ground! (Mom and Dad = not so excited.) They could not wait to play, play, play in the snow! Brynn and I got some good playing in while Abby was in school (before the frigid winds kicked up!). Abby played a bit, too, after school...and then enjoyed her long-awaited hot chocolate. (Funny: she told me her favorite season is winter because she can drink hot chocolate. I guess I could make it other times of the year!)

Is it really time for snow already?! At least I got to pull out the Christmas music (snow falling outside is a good enough excuse, since that makes it not feel like October anymore).

With our snowman (I promise I am not a bad mom...Brynn did wear a coat until the very end!)

Hugging our snowman...

And kissing our snowman.

Abby is so excited to actually be in the snow!

Now, Abby is ready for hot chocolate (It certainly is much less fun when you start to get cold!)

We made our annual fall trek to Gardner Village to see the witches and feed the ducks. It was a gorgeous day and fun all around. (Not even a tantrum when I told the girls I didn't have money for a pony ride. That earned them a sucker...Guess I had money for candy!)

There was too much to see to get all of the girls to look at me at the same time!

With my cute girls.

What cute cousins!

It's nice that the girls are old enough to not be afraid of the witches anymore...

(Where Ivy spent most of her time...)

The ducks were definitely the highlight! Those must be the best-fed ducks around.

Only 3 months until our long-awaited, childless vacation! I love my girls dearly, but James and I are counting down until it's just us for a few days. Usually, our vacation plans start out big: Europe, Mexico, etc. But, eventually the plans end up significantly smaller (like Heber). So, we'll see where we end up when January rolls around. As long as it's warm outside and I can sleep in with my handsome husband, I'll be happy!

So, the exercise regime for the beach has begun...

My girls love, love, love to play dress up! Here's just one sampling of a day's ensemble. (We call this theme: "variations on a bride".)

I have a mission reunion tonight. I have been home from France for almost 11 years now (wow, am I getting old!) and haven't had a reunion for at least 8 or 9 of those. My stomach is already full of butterflies just thinking about it. (Good butterflies, mind you!) What an incredible time my mission was in my life. As I looked through my scrapbook last night, so many memories flooded my mind...details I thought I'd forgotten about places and people and events, and especially feelings: love and excitement and fear and sorrow and peace. (I'm getting teary again in remembering.) My mission really began to shape the woman that I realized I want to be. I'm still in process, but I am so grateful for what my mission gave me. (Even though I feel like all of my French has fallen out of my brain, the things that matter most are still there!)