Build a Bear Action

Brynne's half month long birthday celebration culminated in her awesome party at Build A Bear. She was only allowed to invite a few friends but they all had a blast. We highly recommend parties there based on the experience we had. All the girls were able to choose a cute bear and an outfit. Brynne even went home with an autographed bear and photo of the party. We then went home for some cake and presents. After several birthday events, it's safe to say that Brynne had a happy birthday!

More Birthday Action

Brynne's having an extended birthday this year since we had to schedule her party for Feb 20th (Build a Bear apparently doesn't do birthday parties the weekend of Valentine's Day) so more photos will be coming.

Birthday Dinner with Our Neighbor:

Ok, ok... this photo came from a b-day party that both girls went to this weekend but it was very festive and fit with the theme of this post and I just think it's a pretty cool photo:

Happy Birthday Brynne!

A day late but that's ok... (Had to make sure I had some photos to go with the write up) You've come a long way baby!!

You are a much loved little girl. 7th Heaven indeed.
Love, Daddy, Mommy, & Catrina

2003:

2010

The Winter Blues?

Not around here!!!!

This weekend we went to Mohonk Mountain House for some ice skating with the girl scouts. We scored a great deal on the skating fee at this really exclusive resort so we had to take advantage of it. They have a gorgeous skating pavilion with a HUGE fireplace. It was a great family time.

For an added bonus... Andy was able to hang up our awesome canvases this weekend too. We couldn't be happier with how they turned out and how they serve as a daily ( & prominent) reminder of our great trip to Ireland.

An Ordinary Week

Yep... just another run of the mill week here at the compound. The snow is beginning to melt so no more sledding and we're just getting back into the swing of our normal schedule with school and dance and choir and gymnastics.

Brynne had a great week at girl scouts and I was lucky to be the parent helper. We worked on bird feeders.

Catrina was once again the victim of mommy with a camera as I insisted that she pose with the hat I knitted. I just learned how to knit (bought a hoop and watched a YouTube video... easy!)... but I only know how to do one stitch. Oh well

Then it was off to the great outdoors for photos in her sweater from Ireland (I can't take credit for that hat!! Santa got it at H&M)

Sleigh ride

This Christmas, Santa brought the girls (Meg included, as you'll see below) a new sled. This is unlike any other sled we've seen before - it's called the Zipfy Luge and it's about 2 feet long, weighs around 2 pounds, and can hold up to 250 pounds. Check out the footage below showing off the huge mountain in our backyard:

Brynne on luge
Catrina on luge
Meg on luge

The girls also got a snowboard courtesy of Paw-Paw, and this has been more the favorite than the Zipfy. They need to work on their stops a little, although their current dismounts are quite stylish (if not humorous):

Brynne snowboarding
Catrina snowboarding

Merry Christmas!

Christmas 2009.... always a wonderful time of the year for the Curriers. Unfortunately this year, both girls were stricken with a pretty nasty stomach bug that kept them from really having a ton of energy leading up to the big day. In fact, Brynne had to leave school early on PAJAMA DAY of all days. She was not happy! Even now, Sunday, Brynne is still not 100% better... poor kid.



But Santa was generous to them no matter how they felt. He brought them each a Nintendo DS and Andy and I had breathed a huge sigh of relief that none of the gifts had a million tiny pieces.... and then the grandparents showed up and obliterated that relief. So now the house looks like a giant toy store threw up all over our family room. Andy and I are going to ignore the mess as we enjoy our new Wii Fit Plus.



Sunday we decided to walk off all the steak, lobster, and ham with a walk on the Walkway over the Hudson. It was a beautiful day to get out there and enjoy the weather.



We hope everyone else had a wonderful holiday as well. We're looking forward to a relaxing week with Andy taking his final week of vacation and me having only a few scrapbooking projects on my to-do list now that the holiday rush is over.

So Fancy.... and So Very Sweet

Today began with the biggest letdown of a snow storm that this family has ever seen! The weather forecasters had called for anywhere from 4 to 8 inches of snow overnight and I awoke to.... nothing! How boring! Since we had already canceled our family get together in Long Island (THEY got over a foot!) we saw it as a sign from God that we were meant to attend the Fancy Nancy book signing up in Kingston. Let me tell you, these girls totally ROCKED the Nancy look. We went through a couple of outfit options but settled on the perfect petti-skirts and boas (which I have to thank my past years of bachelorette craziness for having those babies at the ready!). Not to brag, but the Currier Sisters were by FAR the fanciest Fancy Nancy fans in attendance.

The big moment!


After a short, but revitalizing nap by Catrina, the girls settled down to help Daddy make some delicious sugar cookies. It's now an annual tradition in the house and the girls love spending time decorating all of them.

Silly Silly Girls

The Coolest Sisters ever!

Brynne's First Candlelight Service

Tonight was our church's annual Christmas Candlelight Service. All three choirs perform several songs for the congregation and this year they even all got together and sang at the end. This was Brynne's first Candlelight performance and she did a great job despite being very sick the past few days. She rested up, avoiding church this morning and a birthday party this afternoon, just for her big day. Click below for THE performance (it's 6 minutes long and 24MB in size):

Brynne's Candlelight Performance 2009

You can actually hear Catrina in the background too. Just be thankful she stopped talking long enough for you to hear the choir! Thanks to Mommy for her videography skills. Daddy was performing too but thankfully there is no video evidence.

Here are the photos as promised (sorry for the poor quality, I was multitasking!)
The Scene:



Waiting patiently:

Here they come!

Family Update

It's been a while since I've given you the scoop on the goings on within the Currier Clan. Before Thanksgiving we had our first parent/teacher conference with Brynne's 1st grade teacher. As expected, she is doing really, really well in first grade. She's doing so well that she will be going into 2nd grade for reading (deja vu?... if you recall, she went to first grade for reading while in kindergarten). She's making friends and finding her way socially as well so we are very pleased.

Meanwhile, Catrina continues to enjoy her final year of Playschool. She is VERY social and has created quite a network of friends for herself. She is sure to be the social butterfly of our family.

Thanksgiving came and we went off to Rochester to spend time with the Curriers. While there, the girls were able to try ice skating for the second time and they have really taken a liking to it and Catrina is showing real skill.

With December's arrival we have found ourselves in Christmas mode. We attended the tree lighting and caroling with Brynne's girl scout troop. We also cut our own tree again this year and the house is looking festive. Mother Nature has cooperated and provided us with a beautiful blanket of snow that the girls played in last week. We even had our first SNOW DAY!

Day 7: Last Full Day. Killarney

Oh how sad to wake up on Saturday and realize it was our last full day in Ireland. We set off bright and early to take a spin on the Ring of Kerry.

We noticed that the local radios were saying there was flooding and an abundance of rain lately (you KNOW the rain was bad when the Irish themselves are complaining about it) so when we pulled into Ross Castle we saw firsthand what they meant. The parking lot was flooded and several of the cute boats you can rent in the summer months were waterlogged.

The castle was beautiful and in a great setting. It was closed for tours but that was ok with us as we had a full itinerary.

Moving on we came across many wonderful sights, including a ruined abbey (complete with 'hidden staircase' to the upper floor)...

a great waterfall,

spectacular views,

and even MORE spectacular views.

We finished the night by soaking in the culture that is FOOTBALL. We sat in a pub and watched the World Cup Qualifier of France vs Ireland (no, not the controversial game... that would be played a few days later). It was so much fun watching how excited the locals were to watch this game.



Overall, Ireland was the trip of a lifetime for us and we hope to be able to go back someday with the girls. Until then, we'll just have to keep looking at the photos.

And now back to our regular program of kid cuteness!