December Family Photo Shoot 2011

We did a family photo shoot in early December for our Christmas cards. The photo shoot spanned 2 days. The two pictures of the girls with the river in the background was taken in Natick, MA and that is the Charles River. We weren't happy with the way our family pictures turned out that day so the next day we decided to try it again after church. We went to church not knowing where we'd go to take the pictures after and I asked a few friends if they knew of a place. My friend Cathryn told me about an Inn only a few miles away called the Wayside Inn. It's the oldest operating inn in the country. We checked it out and it was beautiful. The pictures turned out great despite less than ideal lighting. John had the camera on his tripod and he did an awesome job editing the pictures. We were really happy with the way they turned out.

October-November 2011 Highlights

Wow, I kind of fell of the grid for a while but here I am again updating my blog.
Here are some highlights from October and November 2011.


In August 2011 I set a goal to do a half marathon in October. I did a half marathon in the fall of 2009 and I had a long way to go to be able to do that distance again. I ran in the Cape Cod Half Marathon on October 29th. It was a beautiful run, most of it along the ocean. It was a huge accomplishment for me and knowing that my adorable girls were waiting for me at the finish line made me push myself harder. Here we are right after the finish. Right after we took this picture Sage insisted on wearing my medal and wore it the rest of the morning.


Trick or treating with the girls was one of the biggest highlights of the entire year for me. We actually went trick or treating on 2 different days. We had a huge snow storm so Halloween was "cancelled" around here so our town and the neighboring town had trick or treating later on different days. John had to work on the first trick or treating night so it was just me and the girls. It was SO much fun for me to see Sage enjoy herself so much. At the first house they gave her a tootsie pop and she insisted on eating it right away. When I told her we'd have it later she freaked out so I gave it to her. By the 6th or 7th house she started to figure this whole thing out and she said, "I want to go to another house!" I could just see her mind at work: the more houses we go to the more candy I get in my pumpkin! :-) I created a candy monster. She wanted to eat it all as fast as possible so I had to hide the pumpkin after we got home. It was such a memorable night. One of the best things about halloween is it's an excuse to show off our cute kids to the neighbors. I loved all the compliments! I can't wait till next year.


When I saw these shirts at the store I had to get them. They also glow in the dark. This was taken of them on Halloween.


Here are Sage and Sydney with 3 of their cousins. Left to right is Lilly, Sage, Emma, Jack, and Sydney. Lilly and Jack are siblings. Emma and Sage are only 6 weeks apart. There are 2 more young cousins that weren't there, Abbey and Sam. This picture was taken at John's parents house in early November.


My Dad flew up to Boston and completely surprised me in November. He's a big fan of surprises. We had a great time with "Pops". A big highlight was going to Newport, Rhode Island to the International Tennis Hall of Fame Museum. It was awesome. This picture was taken as our whale watching boat left Boston Harbor. It was a LONG 3 hour (turned into 4 1/2 hour) tour. The girls cried a lot and Sage smashed her finger in a door. It was cool to see the whales, but we could not wait to get off that boat!

Sage Singing

I knew long ago when Sage was a baby that she would be a singer. She has an ability to learn and memorize lyrics and melodies very quickly. She knows a ton of primary songs and lately she has been really into a few disney movies. She knows all the music from Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. Her latest obsession has been Cinderella. Here is a recording of Sage singing parts of two songs from Cinderella. We were in the car when she sang this. You can hear Sydney in the background singing a little. I must warn you that what you are about to hear might just be the most adorable thing you have ever heard.

Family time at the Boston Temple

John was able to get Saturday of last weekend off and we needed some family time. We decided to take the girls to the temple. Sage knows all the words to the song "I Love to See the Temple" and when she sees our wedding picture in our room she says, I want to go to the temple! I can't describe the happiness I felt as I watched and listened to Sage's reaction to the temple. She's at an age where she really understands and takes things in. As soon as we stepped out of the car she looked at the temple for a while and then turned to me and said, "It's really big Mama." I said yes it is. She kept asking to go inside. She had the best time walking around the grounds. She tried to pick many flowers and we had to stop her. Sydney also had a grand time. Sage treated the concrete wall as a balance beam which was adorable. She also said "This is where Mommy and Daddy got married". We didn't tell her we got married in a different temple. I said, "Sage, are you gonna get married in the temple someday too?" She said, "Yeah, to a handsome prince like Daddy." That melted my heart. It was one of those moments I hope I never forget. There is nothing sweeter than my 2 year old daughter saying she wants to marry a handsome prince like Daddy in the temple. We felt like the best parents that day. I'll never forget it. I feel so grateful to live so close to a temple now. We used to drive 4 hours and now it's only 30 minutes away. A few minutes after we left, Sage said in the car, "Where did my temple go Mama? I want to see it one more time!" SO SWEET!


Here is Sage walking on the "balance beam"


Our sweet Sydney


This picture reminds me of something you'd see in the Ensign.


Our first family picture in front of the temple.

Afternoon at the beach

We finally made it to the beach as a family. It took all summer to do it but better late than never. We went to a beach in Hingham, MA with John's brother Ed and his wife Lynn. It's only 5 minutes from their house so they go a lot. Sage had a blast there. The water was so cold so the kids only got their feet wet. John and Ed actually swam a little. Sage enjoyed putting rocks in her bucket. We had a great time. We've never lived so close to the ocean so it's exciting for us to be able to go.

Sage with her cousin Sam
Sage in deep thought

How cute are these swimsuits?

Sweet Tender Moments

I had to write a little about today. So as a preface I'll mention how my girls are a lot of work. There are times throughout each day that I'm exhausted and pushed to my limit but there are other times where the moments are so special and precious I stop and think of how grateful I am for every moment with them. Tonight I was putting Sydney to bed and she folded her arms as usual for our prayer (nothing as cute as a 1 year old baby folding her arms and saying amen at the end) and as I was about to put her in the crib she hugged me so tight and laid her head on my shoulder for a solid 5 minutes. It was so sweet I cried a little bit. I didn't want to let her go. She patted my back almost the entire time cause she copies me. She's so much more snuggly than Sage ever was and I'm loving it. Sydney says "love you Mommy" every day. So I finally kissed her and put her in her crib. As if that wasn't enough for one night, as I was putting Sage to bed she hugged me so tight too. She doesn't do that often. Her new thing is she likes to play with my hair when I'm laying down with her and singing to her. For a moment it's like I'm the daughter and she's the mom as she strokes my hair. I might as well share another story from today. We went to a park that has a little lake and ducks. Sage loves animals so I thought it would be a good idea to take some bread and feed the ducks. The ducks were very excited to eat and were surrounding us. Sage was excited they were so close but I could tell she was getting a little nervous. I gave her a piece of bread to throw and I guess she wasn't fast enough cause the duck ate it right out of her hand! It bit her fingers a little in the process. It scared her so bad! She screamed and cried and after I calmed her down we decided she better go back in the stroller and she threw the bread from there. Now I know for next time. It was a funny moment. Anyway, to sum up I am so grateful for my sweet girls and for all those moments each day that fill me with joy. I always knew I wanted to be a mother but nothing could've prepared me for this amount of joy. It'll still be hard work taking care of them tomorrow but I look forward to the sweet moments to come.

Williams Family Reunion

The Williams Family Reunion is also annually and it's John's mom's side of the family. It is held at John's grandmother's farm every August in a beautiful area of PA. Grandma Bea is 95 years old and still going strong. She has a huge pavilion and there's a big lunch, volleyball, horseshoes, a fundraising auction, and the infamous tractor ride for the kids. Sage had such a great time. Sydney will have more fun next year when she can run around too. Luckily it didn't start pouring rain until it was barely over. The reunion is always fun but now that we have children of our own it makes it even more fun for us to see them enjoy themselves and make memories.


Our gorgeous Sage. Should we be putting her in shampoo commercials or what?


Kids tractor ride


Sage with her cousin Katy. We miss Katy for many reasons, one of them being that she's the best babysitter.


So we celebrated Grandma Bea's 95th birthday with a big cake and balloons. This is Grandma at the end of the reunion driving the tractor up to her house. I tried to get a clearer picture but she was moving too fast. :)


My handsome husband with the girls. Have I mentioned how crazy they are about their daddy?