Thanksgiving and everything after

I figured I had better update this before I get too far behind. So here is a quick last two weeks in review:

For Thanksgiving we had Ian's brother and family and his parents here. A great time was had by all. The kids went swimming, to Build a Bear and to the Discovery Center. Below are pictures of the girls with their cousins. They also learned about bacteria and viruses. Bryn is now fascinated with them. We have been talking to the girls about keeping their hands clean and not sharing cups during with others as a lot of people are sick around this time. Bryn didn't pay much attention to the fact that she could get sick. So, Ian showed her some videos on the computer about viruses and bacteria. It is amazing how well that girl washes her hands now. Now I need to use this tactic to my advantage.

Since Thanksgiving, we have been keeping busy with finishing up with school before the break and getting ready for the holidays. We are looking forward to spending two weeks in Montana. 

After finally getting our Christmas tree up--I do need pictures of that, the girls and I decided to make a gingerbread house. They worked on this for over an hour--I expected 15 minutes of occupied time.


Bryn is such a character so I must add a few Bryn comments to this post so I make sure not to forget them. Bryn has quite the vocabulary. She likes to use "big" words and seems to just pick them up and incorporate them into her vocabulary. For example, the girls were watching a movie in the living room. They were both tired so they were laying on the floor. Maryn got up to go get a drink of water and I hear Bryn say "Maryn, please don't step on my abdomen." 

On another occasion, Bryn asked me if "I'm a big fan of" means that you really like something. I told her yes, so she said "mom, I am a big fan of ice cream."

As for Maryn, she is such a helper. I have been busy lately trying to finish up the semester. I am teaching 2 classes up at the university and it seems that my students think that I don't have a life beyond this. They want to meet all of the time and they email me all of the time. And, they finally want me to give them all of their grades because they are now (two weeks before the end of the semester) worried about their grades. Anyway, one night Maryn asked why I get to stay up late (funny how when you are that age it is 'get' to stay up late and now it is 'have' to stay up late). I replied with "I have a lot to do." She looked at me and said "but mom I can help you, do the laundry, do the dishes, do the floors--whatever you want me to do." And, I know she would.