Spring 2012

SNOW DAY!!

We had such amazing weather last week. I can't believe we had so much snow; I've never seen anything like it. Here are some pictures of the girls enjoying the snow. They especially liked the snow ice cream their sitter helped them make (who knew it was that easy to make ice cream with snow).

Disney 2009

We went back to Disney World this October and had such a great time. We always said we would go back when Menlie was 3, and it was perfect timing. After a rough start (Mekinna left home with 103 fever) Menlie was totally into all of the princesses. Mekinna surprised us and was really into all the "big" rides; she's a roller coaster fiend now.
My parents went with us, and the girls loved having them along. We went to all the parks, rode almost every ride, had breakfast with the princesses, and still had some time to swim at the hotel. It truly is "the happiest place on earth"!

The TRI

This Labor Day, Mekinna wanted to participate in a triathlon with a friend. We found out about it just 2 days before the event, so she didn't have much "training" time. We rounded up a bike and helmet, practiced her "transition" (where she goes from just swimsuit to bike-riding attire) and woke her at 4:50am. She was the youngest participant in the event.


The event began with body-marking where they marked the participants number and age on their arms/legs. Then, each person was "chipped" for the clock. The actual race began with a 100m swim, then a 3 mile bike ride, and finally, a .6 mile run. Mekinna was a little rough on the bike, but she was AWESOME in the pool. She even turned over to back stroke when she was tired.
We are so proud of her, and she is wanting to know when she'll get to do it again.

School Days

I know, I know - it has been a long time since my last post; I will update on the summer later. Because today ... we sent our baby girl to preschool for the first time. Menlie was just 'giddy' about getting to go to school. When I went to wake both girls up, she said "You need to fix my hair now because I have school today!" I guess she didn't realize that we had 2 hours before school.
We offered to have a "special" breakfast for her first day and asked her what she would like. Her response - "Chinese"; well, since we don't know much about Chinese breakfast foods, she settled on Cheerios!
John was able to drop her off this morning, and he said things went well. She went right in and began working at the table.
WOW - how time flies!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

"mynastics"

Menlie began taking gymnastics (or "mynastics" as she calls it) when she was 18 months old. Just recently, she moved into the "big girl" class - the one where they go without their parents. The move is a little bitter-sweet for us; we like being able to just sit and watch, but it also means our baby is getting big.

Although she is just a good as Mekinna was in the same class, Menlie can be quite stubborn. She usually starts off the class okay, but she tends to get to a point where she's done and no one is going to make her do it.

Wonder how we got such a strong-willed child :)?

EASTER

Dance, Dance, Dance

Contest season for dance is well underway. Mekinna has competed in 2 contests this year, and she has 2 more coming up. Last weekend, she competed with her solo for the first time this year and . . . SHE WON! We are so excited for her because she has worked so hard. She has dance class 2 nights a week, and then she practices her solo another night. She has so much fun dancing and competing . . . we are so PROUD!

HOME

We FINALLY moved into our new house. It has been a long, daunting process, but it was worth the wait. The enormity of the house, and the work that had to be done was overwhelming, but we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
Before we moved in, we had the entire house painted as well as the downstairs floors redone. Now, we're able to really get the house in order. The girls settled into their new rooms well, and they don't even seem scared about being upstairs. I think the biggest adjustment has been on the adults in the house. However, we are settling in more and more each day.
There is still work to do, but things are coming along. We are so grateful to those who have spent so much time and effort helping us with our new home.

Mekinna's Bday

We celebrated Mekinna's birthday recently. Since she has a winter birthday, but loves to swim, we rented the pool of a local hotel. It was perfect! The kids had a great time, and Mekinna couldn't have been happier.

Halloween

For Halloween this year, Mekinna, Menlie, and Gunner trick or treated in Grammy's neighborhood.

Fall

We have been so busy lately, that we just had to opportunity to take our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch. Each year, we give the girls their own money to pick out a pumpkin. This was the first year that both of the girls actually enjoyed the outing.

the "REAL" big trip

John and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary this year. As many of you know, my gift to him each year is a "surprise" trip. This year, my trip was to Paris, France. We were able to go over Spring Break, and we spent 7 days in the city. (The girls stayed back with my parents, but we can't wait to take them to Europe.)

After flying overnight, we decided to hit the city running. Of course, the first 'big' treat was the Eiffel Tower - and, yes, we did go all the way to the top. Wow, what a sight. . . we also took this opportunity to get our first, of many, real pastries.

We saw all of the amazing sights, you know, the Louvre, Saint Chappelle, Champs Elysees, the Seine river, but Notre Dame was by far my favorite. We just happened in on Palm Sunday; wow, it was a huge mass. If this amazing church doesn't bring tears to your eyes - nothing will.

We also spent a day in Versailles; this was another of our favorite excursions. We rode the train to the city and then walked to the palace. The entire place is amazing. We loved just walking through the gardens; you could get lost there for hours.

Thanks to my mom, we also had to the opportunity to go to the Moulin Rouge theatre and see "Feerie". After the shock of them not being fully clothed, we had a great time.

This was a once in a lifetime trip...I still can't believe we actually went to PARIS. Next up, get my parents there.

The Big Trip

Okay, well, our summer trip wasn't quite as BIG as our trip to Paris (to be discussed in a later post). However, we did take a family trip to Philadelphia over the summer. My parents, the kids, John, and I all went to Philly to visit Sesame Place. We did go to Independence Hall; the girls didn't think that was all that great:)

Of course, since we were so close, we couldn't resist the urge to go to Hershey, PA, New Jersey, Coney Island, and Times Square. I think we enjoyed Hershey the most - probably because we got chocolate after every event.


Coney Island was amazing and the girls loved the beach. Afterwards, we ate dinner in Times Square - quite an experience. Yes, we did tons of eating...from Pat's and Geno's philly cheese steak (with Cheez Whiz) to Nathan's hot dogs on Coney Island!!

Hair Update

As many of you know, last fall, our pediatrician recommended that we shave Menlie's head. If you have forgotten, we discovered that she was pulling out her hair as a soothing mechanism. It became really disturbing when I had two strangers ask me what was wrong with her - people can really be that cruel. Anyway, after much debate, Mekinna and I FINALLY talked John into it. AND...it has worked! Almost a year later, she has beautiful, dark, curly hair. We are so excited that I wanted to share the before and after with you!!

The Beginning

As a way for others to keep up with the ever-busy life of The Knight Girls, we decided to start a family blog. Our lives are as crazy as ever - with the girls activities, John's new job, and me being the constant taxi driver. On top of all those things, we sold our house and are currently staying with my parents until we find a new one. Things are great with 3 generations living at the grandparents' house. We love seeing our girls interacting with my parents...it's a joy for all of us - not to mention Grammy's great cooking!