Paisley's "Cinco-eanera."

Paisley needed a party. A special 5 year old party. Just for her. And Let's Dress Up! delivered.

Scott called it her "Cinco-eanera." :)
Ya know...you only get one.

The two hostesses dolled her up. In blue, of course.

And then several of her friends came to do the same and take part in the princess celebration.

There was coloring, eye shadow and lip gloss, tattoos, a brunch tea party, singing...it was just joyful and perfect! All of the little girls were so careful and serious and so proper! (I don't think that would have been the case had I tried to do that alone. ;) So fun to see them acting like proper princess'! The actual store was only about 10 feet wide and 30 feet long, so it was a tiny little place...but it ran so smoothly and will hopefully be the birthday party she remembers being especially for her.

I think she felt quite special.

I don't know, Ella and Pais aren't the type to live in fantasy world all of the time. They don't typically dress up everyday or demand on going out in their dress-up clothes, thinking they're princess' or mimic every move while watching a Disney movie. (maybe b/c they're getting older?) It was fun to see them in their little girl, princess mode!

We only wish their Grandma's could have been there!

Let's open up our own! ;)

I don't know about you...

...but it looks like we've got some best friends in the making.

At our old apartment watching some tv. I love it when they're so close together and they're not pulling eachother's hair, or screaming at eachother to move out of their space! I run for my camera whenever it happens!

Together on the top bunk, the first week we moved into our new building.

Excited to go swimming for the first time in our new building

On our way for a breakfast party at Great Grandma and Grandpa Fabbi's, with the Allred family!

Nothing makes me happier than seeing my girls being so close throughout the day and them not even noticing it. Like they shared the same womb at the same time or something! My little Irish Twins is what people call them round these parts. Except ours is 18 months, not 12. :)

Jolly ways...

...to start out the holidays we...

Celebrated Hanukkah with friends, latkes, dreidals, menorahs and all!

We came to see the Graham's tree and dance before bedtime!

I've got three little game players...addicted to Plants vs. Zombies! Here they are playing together.

Ella lost her two bottom teeth! The tooth fairy even left some nerds for Pais! Santa let the fairy borrow them... and gum. He had to go out and get more stocking stuffers.

We also went to the Tree Lighting at Lincoln Center. The bus we were on was SUPER packed. Even though the girls were right on the other side of the bus, I couldn't see them. Two women started talking looking near Ella and looking concerned so I stood. Ella had fallen asleep! For the first time ever on a bus! She was sliding out of her seat. Had to take a picture.
So warm and cozy, after a long day at school!

After the lighting, the missionaries were handing out hot chocolate at the Temple and a man was there doing an ice carving of the Nutcracker. Such a fun night.

Aunt KT's Surprise!

(The girls waiting for the train and showing off their perfectly coordinating purple ensembles.)

Aunt KT had a BIG surprise for the girls.

And when I say BIG, I mean BIG.

So we hopped on the train, met her at JFK, telling the girls that we were meeting KT at work for dinner. Hot Dogs.

When we got there, she gave us a blue wristband....

...We waited anxiously to go through Jetblue crew members security, which is quite fast, you know, when you're with a crew member... :)

...And then ran into this sign...

And we flipped!! Except Ella, she wanted her hot dog. That child. ;)

Then the girls got their drink service... :)

We got our places in front of the stage...and waited...until KT motioned for the girls to go with her... QUICK!

And this is what happened while they were gone...

(Taylor decided she would only take pictures with children and I think that her peeps even took the pics and then sent it through email? I still don't know how we got them. :)

I hear from Leesy, that Ella and Pais made the Diva work for their love! ;) They were too shy to give her a hug, so they compromised with a high 5!

Elise also told me that she told Ella,

"You're so beautiful!"

and to Paisley,

"Your hair is SO pretty!"

Her father was handing out Taylor Swift guitar picks!

This second picture was in an Adobe file, so I don't know how to change it to upload...so I took a picture of my screen! :)
I really like Taylor Swift, and I've said this before, but I really think that she is a safe choice when it comes to celebrity role models for girls. And seriously, can't help but love her innocent, sing songy, simple, cute, pretty songs! Just love her. And she writes all of her own music, which I admire in an artist.
Ella listens to her every night on my ipod, so when Kaye offered to take us, Scott and I were super excited!! Thanks for thinking of us when deciding who to take! That was a once in a lifetime opportunity and so fun! I'm still not sure if that has sunken into the girls yet, as Paisley said she wanted Taylor Swift to be invited to her birthday, but with the pictures and memories, they are sure to never forget this fun night!

Yay!

And, if you youtube search this concert at JFK, you can find a couple versions with Paisley on my shoulders, bouncing up and down to the music! ;)

Paisley's 5th Birthday with Paka and Mimi. And The Chair.

We were so happy and had peace of mind that Paka and Mimi came all the way from Utah to visit and help with the girls while I was in Las Vegas and while Scott worked! I'm sure Paka got pictures of all the fun things they did. The girls favorite memories that they told us about were playing UNO, Reading books, going to Barnes and Noble, seeing Megamind and that Mimi made the best breakfast. Thank you again!! We also celebrated Paisley's 5th birthday while they were here! I was glad I at least got to see them...but like always, it's never long enough!

We had a yummy Sunday Pot Roast and a yummy Buttercream Bakery Cake!

The girls LOVED the card from Auntie Jen...and the nail stuff and the books and the Jingle Pup...She's good at gifts if you haven't noticed. :)

Elise made the SWEETEST card to Pais and got her a Unicorn Pillow Pet. I just heard Paisley in bed a few minutes ago say, "It's just so fluffy, I think I'm gonna die!" (Despicable Me!)

Paka and Mimi got the hard to find Disney Princess Wii game and the Littlest Petshop game as well. A perfect pick for Paisley the princess, puppy lover!

Thanks for celebrating with us.

She also got the Leaspter Explorer from Grandma Sue and Papa Kent, (I brought presents back from Vegas) which everyone is loving! I catch Scott playing it while the girls are at school. If we were to recommend a toy for the season, this would be it.

Scott and I were walking up our street (Oct. 29th) headed towards the girls school for their Halloween Celebrations. I love that he can go to things like this on his days off. However, when I saw this chair on the dirty street, and HAD to have it, it took me a lot of convincing...and he still wasn't having it. At that moment, I kinda wished he wasn't there. ;) I remember saying,

"Scott! Can't you imagine this chair blue or yellow or white? And our girls sitting in it on their birthday? Opening their presents and blowing out their candles?!"

He replied with a, "Is that how you imagine their birthdays to be like?"

So I took a few steps forward, turned around, picked it up and threw it in our car. He loves it now and I do too! On the bottom is a little note that says...

"For Our Baby Girl Blue, Paisley Anne On Her 5th Birthday!

We Love You! Mommy and Daddy!

My Best Friends Wedding. November 12th, 2010. Las Vegas, Nevada. Anthem Country Club.

So the pictures pretty much sum it all up.

Beautiful, Happy Couple. Wonderful Family and friends. Lots of LOVE! Such a Beautiful Wedding!

Karisa and Marc

Wedding Rehearsal- Wednesday, November 10th.

I love how everyone just adores this little girl! She is SO loved!

Rehearsal Dinner with Karisa's family. So fun to meet such great people that I have only heard about for so many years!

I can't even describe how honored I am that I got to be a part of their wedding. It just really made me see how wonderful it is to see people that you care about, sharing special, glorious moments! It makes me so happy to see Karisa happy. She was the perfect bride, a storybook one, were she is the only daughter, who has parents that would give their all in order to give their deserving daughter the perfect wedding and that is exactly what it was. Everyone at the wedding felt that love for one another. It was a really special, perfectly planned day, I'm pretty sure everyone wanted to do it all over again! The ceremony was touching and memorable, the reception was SO fun with great food and a lot of dancing, with a beautiful view of the Las Vegas Valley.
It was wonderful to see friends old and new! And, thanks mom for running around and getting jackets and lip gloss and everything!

And I must say...I can very surprisingly write one heck of a MOH speech. Cause I also must say, I was quite nervous.. Thanks for loving me. ;)

So that was it, the end of the Year of Karisa. And it was one of my most favorite years yet. But don't worry, we've already got plans a brewin', just so we have more to look forward to! :)

Also in Vegas...

...my brother Joe and I got up early to get to see my sister, Caden and Jensyn, before she left for a conference out of state! It was the best and I took advantage of my little sister rights and borrowed pretty much everything I wore for the whole weekend, jewelery and shoes included. Thank you Jen!!

And, if you go to Las Vegas ever, please eat at Los Tacos Taqueria. I'm so excited there are two locations now. MMMM...carne asada burrito and jamaica! I parked my sister's car and ate outside of Goodwill, b/c I didn't want her car to smell. :)

I also got to spend some time with two of our nieces. Jensyn (8) and Nicolette (18m)!
Sweet Things!