Thanksmas

This year in Chicago was a blast as always. We had a pretty uneventful 6 hour drive to Marilyn and Tom's gorgeous house in Bull Valley, just north of Chicago. This is what we call Thanksmas. Our annual get together for the Thies family, a little after Thanksgiving and a little before Christmas, hence; Thanksmas! It's so nice to be able to come together in one place with our entire family. There are enough beds for everyone to sleep and stay in one place. This allows the children to romp and play and the adults to have fun all at the same time. We do a gift exchange for the kids and the adults do a really fun rob-your-neighbor style gift exchange. My girls wore their cute little dresses for the Saturday Celebration!This is Kayla after she opened her adorable matching Barbie and Me cheerleader outfit. She basically wore this for the rest of the weekend. Never mind the fact that is was about 20 degrees outside with SNOW on the ground.
This is what happens when Paige needs a nap (for some demented reason I just love this picture):

This is Paige playing in the snow for the first time ever. She was so cute. These boots were making her walk a little stiff and she bent over to touch the snow for the first time and did a nice face plant. We were all laughing so hard, she look sort of like a little turtle stuck with her arms flailing about. I know this is a little mean, but at least I did not take a picture. Plus, she didn't even cry. She loved every minute of the snow.