We will be leaving RI in about a week and heading to NY State! A couple of weeks ago, we went to Syracuse to do some house hunting and luckily we found a cute little house to rent for the 14 months that we will be there. Its on a quiet street, close to Grace's school and a few miles from the University. It's a huge relief to know that we have a home waiting for us when we get there!

Dreams really do come true!!

In the beginning of December we went to Florida to the place where all your dreams come true. Yes, we went to Disney World. I have to admit, having never before experienced the magic of Disney world or Disneyland I was a little apprehensive about how a week in Disney World was going to be with all those people and lines. I have to say that it was a very magical week. The only lines we really had to stand in were the ones to meet the characters. It was totally worth it to see the excitement in Grace and Sofi's face when they got to meet their favorite princesses and fairies. We had so much fun!!

Tinkerbell is Grace's favorite Disney character. The line to meet her was the longest line we stood in. I guess it takes a bit more time because they had to shrink us down to fairy size. That's about 5 inches. They think of everything! It was amazing! Okay, I really wanted to meet Tinkerbell too.

And we met our favorite princesses. . .

Belle

Cinderella

Sleeping Beauty is Sofi's favorite princess.
She loves her pink, flowing gown. Sofi was Sleeping Beauty for Halloween

This is down the main street at magical Kingdom. Christmas was the perfect time to go because everything was decorated and lit up with Christmas lights. It just made it even more magical.

Cinderella's Castle

Dinoland in Animal Kingdom

I think Sofi has become a Minnie Mouse fan since we went to Disney Land and she met her.


These next few pictures are at Sea World. We couldn't go all the way to Florida and not go to Sea World!. . . Military members and their family get in free so that helps too!

These dolphins were coming right up to us and they would let us pet them. They really are amazing creatures!

This is the Shamu show"Believe". Grace really wanted to get wet so we sat at the top of the "wet" section hoping to get just a little wet. When the time finally came where the biggest orca splashes with his big fin, I was so glad that we didn't sit near the bottom because the people that were sitting there got completely soaked. We just barely got a mist. Getting soaked in salt water just did not sound fun to me. Grace was a little sad that she didn't get really wet but she forgot pretty fast because the whole show was so neat.

Family photo with Shamu

You can get an idea of how big this tree is by the size of the ornaments.

The place where all your dreams come true!

Happy Halloween!!! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Between Cass' work party and the ward trunk-or-treat I think the girls were already sugared out by the time Halloween night finally came. They manged to muster up the energy to go and collect even more candy. Sofi's lips are stained blue from a ring pop she had earlier. We really had a fun day.

Cass makes a great Napoleon Dynamite. He even has the dance skills.

The trunk-or-treat at the church.

My little princess!

Grace and Sofi both helped me bake the pies this year. Grace helped with the pumpkin pie and Sofia helped with the banana cream pie. They both turned out delicious. These girls are definitely naturals.

Grace likes her dark meat!

This was my first attempt at cooking a turkey. I think it turned out beautifully. It tasted really good too. The whole time while it was cooking I kept thinking about the part in National Lampoons Christmas Vacation where the turkey bursts open and shrivels up because it was so dry. I am very thankful that did not happen. We had a really nice dinner.

A Beautiful New England Fall. . .

Enjoying the beauty and fun of Fall!

Where the Mack home used to be

The girls sitting on the back doorstep,
which is what is left of the Mack home.

Joseph Smith Memorial Monument

Dan and the Childs standing next to a statue of Joseph Smith.
The face of this statue was molded from the actual death mask of Joseph Smith.

The road driving up to the visitors center

Last Saturday we took a day trip and drove to Vermont. Our friend, Dan that we know from Salt Lake is from Vermont and we had heard how beautiful it is there. Also, in Sharon, Vermont, there is a visitors center near the home of where Joseph Smith was born.
We began in Rhode Island where the leaves are beginning to change. You could see patches of reds, yellows, and oranges here and there amongst the greens. As we drove north the trees became more dense and the range of colors more unbelievable! It is just amazing and awe-inspiring to see such beautiful creations. We had a great day!

Gorgeous Girls!

Happy Birthdays!!

The girls are growing up so fast!!! They both had their birthdays in the past few weeks! Sofi wanted a flower cake and Grace chose to have cupcakes and share them with all her neighborhood friends. She just had to sit on her bike while we all sang to her. Her bike has become a part of her since she learned to ride without training wheels not too long ago.