Double Happiness--adventures with Lily and Elsa

A trip to the Prairie

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:05:00 +0000

This weekend we took the girls on little trip to Payne's Prairie. It was pretty cool. Part marsh/Lakes/hiking trails/forests. They're working on restoring the natural ecosystem of the area back to the early Florida pioneer days when Buffalos and herds of Spanish cattle and horses roamed the prairie.

Here's the wide open prairie portion. It is actually a marsh with seasonal flooding. Lots of birds and other wildlife. (Yep, alligators and snakes, too. But, we didn't see any). There are also 39 buffalo out there, too. Maybe we'll see them next time.

Elsa and Lily on the observation tower. The girls are becoming good little hikers.

Elsa and her dad out in the woods. The forests are so different here. You really feel like you're hiking in some South American jungle. The folliage is completely different than up North.

Lily and me by the same tree. Notice my Gator cap. I've decided to embrace the local culture and join the Gator Nation. Incidentally, the football team creamed Hawaii in our first home-game 56-10.

A banana spider. This photo doesn't do it justice. I'd say this spider was at least 3 inches across. Incidentally, we have a couple of them in our backyard as well.

And an artsy photo of some Spanish moss. It hangs on all the Live Oaks down here. It is really pretty. And the girls love to play with it.

First Day of School '08

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:22:00 +0000

Lily and Elsa before their first day at their new preschool. Lily was feeling especially nervous this morning and Elsa did an amazing job of trying to make her feel better with lots of hugs and kind words.

Here's Lily putting on her brave happy face.

I love this picture because you can see Elsa's arm around Lily's shoulder. They are just the sweetest girls. They really look out for each other.

And just for comparison, here's Elsa and Lily on their first day of school last year. I can't believe how much they've grown both physically and as individuals. I'm especially proud of how they've handling all the major changes we've had this summer.

Drop-off this morning was a little rough. Lily didn't want me to leave and started crying. But, her teacher, Miss Cindy, seemed to be able to handle things well. She took Lily on her lap and told her they could talk about how she was feeling in circle time. And I heard Lily say "I miss my friends in New Jersey like Kyara and Marian." So, I'm glad she's getting some space to process all her emotions. Meanwhile, Mark and I stayed in the reception area and chatted with the Pastor and volunteers. Cooincidentally, the Pastor's last appointment was for 7 years in California and he's a native midwesterner, so lots of parallels. For some reason, Lily and Elsa are already enjoying a little bit of celebrity as "the twins who came all the way from NJ." Everyone seems to know about them. This is a brand new preschool and the whole congregation is SO excited. A lot of the members are taking on little projects like teaching special classes and a retired Agriculture professor is making a little garden for the kids. It seems to be a very warm and happy place. We peeked in the window on our way out and Lily seemed to have calmed down. So, I'm feeling optimistic about this transition. It will probably be rough at first. But in the long run, it will be really good for the girls to get into a routine and make some new friends.

So, we've been in our new town 18 days. Our boxes are almost entirely unpacked, Mark's started work and the girls just started school (mornings only for now). So far, so good. My plan is to figure out my plan. In Princeton it felt like we were barely settled in before we had to start getting ready to move again. So, it was kind of hard to get comfortable. It is weird to think we might be able to stay here for a while. So, I have a little less pressure both timewise and financially to find something immediately. So, I'm going to take my time and start cruising the job listings and looking at some of the graduate degree programs.

The town itself seems nice. Of all the places we've lived, it reminds me most of Bloomington. (large public university town, liberal oasis in a rural area, fair shares of hippies, rednecks undergrads and academics). Definitely a lot more churches and pickup trucks then we've seen for a while. It has not 1, but 3 Walmarts! In Berkeley, the nearest Walmart was probably 40 miles away. It feels pretty Southern. People take their time here. I'm used to New Jersey and Berkeley where people would basically run you over at the grocery store. People walk more slowly and want to talk. People like the bank teller and grocery clerk want to have a long conversations. That just doesn't happen in New Jersey. And everyone keeps calling us M'am and Sir. We've been busy exploring. Checking out the parks, museums, getting library cards, riding our bikes around, etc. Looking forward to making this place a home.

That's the news for now. Tropical Storm Fay seems to be headed our way and might even turn into a mild hurricane. So, it could be an exciting week. We'll keep everyone posted.

We're here....

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:14:00 +0000

Trying to get back in the habit of blogging after a month off for moving. We arrived in Florida 10 days ago and have been busy unpacking and getting the house in order. We were lucky enough to have lots of company and help with our transition. Grandma and Grandpa Panning were here our first week in town, quickly followed by Grandpa A and Aunt Cathy.

Here's a few random pictures.

Sunset over Lake Alice were the alligators swim.

Mark and I on our sixth anniversary.

We took a roadtrip to St. Augustine which is about 1.5 hours away.

The girls and Grandpa A in the barracks in St. Augustine.

Grandpa has started Elsa on jogging. Here they are on the beach.

Butterfly at the University of Florida museum on campus.

Summer Vaca '08

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:58:00 +0000

We're back. A great vacation was had by all. Now the countdown until Florida begins. Two weeks until we move...yikes/yay! Some cute photos. More photos here.

Grandma A and Elsa on the girls' first fair ride.

Grandpa pulled the girls in Highland's 4th of July kiddie parade.

Spent the 4th on Uncle Mark's sailboat up in Chicago. Uncle Erik, Lily, Elsa and Emily.

And I turned 30 with much hoopla! Opening a gift from Grandma A. I forgot to take pictures at my bday party. So please send me photos!

And off to Columbus where we spent 3 days playing with the cousins. Here are all the Panning Grandkids being cute in the tree. Leah, Lily, Kaitlin, Elsa, Haley and Brian. What a beautiful crew!

Singin' in the rain

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:49:00 +0000

Coming soon to a place near you, the Pannings are hitting the road. I think we're about to see a good portion of our readership in the next couple weeks. Can't wait! Meanwhile, some serious cute while you wait. The girls think it is hysterical when Daddy makes it rain with the garden hose. Lily's in pink and Elsa's in turquoise.

Camp Grandma and Grandpa

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:05:00 +0000

It has been a very eventful week for the Pannings. While Mark and I went on a trip to Florida, Grandma and Grandpa Panning came all the way from Indiana to stay with the girls. Although, Mark and I have taken many trips individually since they've been born, this was the longest we've both left them at the same time. But, I shouldn't have been worried because they had the best time with their grandparents. Grandma's strategy was to keep them busy. And it certainly worked! Over the course of five days, they went to a concert, two libraries, chuckie cheeses, a bunch of parks, swimming, a farm and out for lots of treats. Every time we called, the girls sounded so happy and told me how much fun they were having. And somehow, Grandma and Grandpa even got them to sleep. On a typical night, the girls are up a couple times and up for the day by 7a. Grandma and Grandpa had them sleeping through the night and sleeping in until past 8a. Wow!

A sweet picture of the girls and Grandpa walking through a local farm.

Meanwhile, Mark was at the University of Florida wrestling alligators. That's a hazing ritual for all the new assistant professors down there. :)Just kidding! We had a very productive trip and are looking forward to making Gainesville our new home. I think it will be our kind of place. A nice big college town with lots of good restaurants and fun things to do. The cost of living is amazing compared with the last two places we've lived. And it seems to have a laidback and healthy atmosphere. We were excited by all the bike paths and bike lanes and lots of little parks. Fortunately with 100F temperatures in NJ as we left, the 90F weather of summertime Florida seemed downright pleasant. Mark's new department seems very friendly and nice, one of his future coworkers even invited us for a night on the town. And there are other young faculty with small children. We toured the girls new preschool which seems wonderful. And after 4 days of trudging through houses, we finally found a rental that seems just right.

I love this picture Grandma took of the girls at Whole Foods. (E,L) The girls inherited their Grandparents love of grocery shopping. And look, they both got to ride in their own cart!

Double hugs as we arrived at the train station after our flight. Grandma and Grandpa had the girls dressed in matching "Daddy's Little Princess" shirts in honor of Father's Day.

Father and Son each wore new Gator's caps for Father's Day 2.

And the girls with Grandma and Grandpa on the swing on their last day in Princeton. It is not often that we get Grandma on the other side of the camera! Thank you both so much for spending the week at our house. You took such amazing care of all of us. We love you!
XO

Party on...

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:26:00 +0000

Have I mentioned how much the girls love the party circuit? Every weekend, they want to know what kind of parties are on the agenda. Then, they spend some time picking out their "party dresses" and figuring out which friends will be there. This weekend they went to a party at Daddy's office, a birthday party of their school friend and a bon voyage party for one of their neighborhood friends. They seem to have inherited none of their mother's shyness, because they'll run right over looking for the little people their age. So cute! They are two little social butterflies. You never have to ask them twice to go do something. They are always ready for an adventure.

The highlight of this weekend was the birthday party with the jumping castle. They stayed in it for almost two solid hours. It was so fun to jump with all their preschool friends. Their class is the nicest group of little kids. We're going to miss them so much. I feel so fortunate that their first experience with school has been so positive. Miss Lily bouncing away.

And Elsa with her hair flying in the wind. Poor Elsa, at exactly 1pm the company deflated the jumping castle and she burst into tears. She was very sad to see it put away.

It was Reunion weekend, so we participated in some of the Princeton hoopla. Did you know Princeton has the best attended reunions in the world. It is simply amazing. Downtown becomes of sea of orange and black and really expensive cars (even more than usual). Mark and I have never experienced a university that loves itself so much. It can get to be a bit "much", but it is hard not to get caught up in the excitement. The picture above is the "old guard" leading the P-rade. The oldest living alumni in attendance is honored with a silver cane. The crowd goes nuts. The oldest class was from 1925. And there were plenty of groups from the 1930's, too. It was really exciting.

Memorial Day Weekend 08

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Wed, 28 May 2008 18:29:00 +0000

We had a lovely Memorial Day weekend visiting with our good friends Olivia and John who came to visit all the way from Chicago. We had delightful weather and spent the entire weekend outside. We even got a grownup day in NYC courtesy of our neighbor Jessica who volunteered to take Lily and Elsa so we could go out. The girls loved Olivia and John and were very sad when they went home. It is so cool to see our daughters bond with our special people.

Kind of a strange picture, but L,E,O and J at President Grover Cleveland's gravesite. John's a history buff, so we took a tour of the Princeton Cemetery on Sunday. There are many old tombstones from as far back as the 1740's. Aaron Burr is buried there, too.

My former roommate Olivia with my current roommate Elsa

Enjoying an icecream treat on Palmer Square. (E,L)

Family Portrait

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:31:00 +0000

by Elsa Panning 5/08
Elsa, Mommy, Lily, Daddy

It has been a happy spring here in NJ. Our little crew has been really enjoying the spring weather and getting together with friends. Lily and Elsa have turned into complete social butterflies. They are constantly with their little buddies having fun. As soon as they get home from school, they want to go outside and play.

We also have really good news on the job front. But, I don't want to jinx anything until everything is wrapped up.

Let's just say
Go Gators!

Mother's Day 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:48:00 +0000

Grandma and Grandpa A surprised us with a last minute Mother's Day trip! Lots of pictures here. We had a great weekend. We spent Mother's Day at Central Park which is just the best place to bring kids. We went on the Carousel, played at the playground, climbed some rocks and flew kites. There was also lots of fun people watching. We saw an impromptu roller rink, several weddings and lots of street musicians and performers.

Mom and I on the Bow Bridge. This is the first mother's day that we've been together in a very long time.

All of us at Bethesda Fountain.

Elsa with Grandma and Grandpa on the train. Elsa was the biggest chatterbox this visit. I'm pretty sure she didn't stop talking the entire time Grandma and Grandpa were here.

3 Generations sitting on my new swing (my mother's day present from Mark). E,L

At the Castle

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:20:00 +0000

Prince Lily and Princess Elsa dance. The girls came up with this idea and costumes on their own. Did you know that royalty must wear tap shoes? They are downstairs in Elsa's castle. Lily lives upstairs in the treehouse.

On transportation

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:14:00 +0000

The Big Blue Beast was in the autoshop this week. So, the girls got to ride to school in style behind Daddy's bike. Aren't they cute! (E,L)

We're pretty sure our days with the Beast are numbered. This time, she left us completely stranded in the center lane of Route 1 somewhere in the Brunswicks. We had to get a police escort and everything. It was certainly a character building experience. Traffic was so heavy, it was impossible for us to get out of the car. So all four of us stayed in the van while it was hoisted onto the back of a flatbed tow truck. Nothing like driving in highway traffic 10 feet above the road. Anyway, he got us out of danger and left us in a parking lot where we waited for AAA. They were supposed to send an extended cab, but didn't because there weren't any available. So, all four of us squeezed into the front of a regular cab with the driver. And the girls ended up having their first ride in a vehicle without a carseat. And I nearly had a heart attack. But, the girls thought it was the coolest experience ever. From the perspective of a 3-year old driving in a tow truck is pretty darn cool. Their nearly 30-year old mother didn't find it so cool. So, as soon as we get Mark's job situation situation finalized, I think we may go car-shopping for our first grownup vehicle. Time for something built in this century!

Spring Update

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:56:00 +0000

Our campus housing complex has exploded in full spring frolic mode. Kids are everywhere. They run across our shared lawns, while parents keep a collective eye by peeping out kitchen windows. And, of course, Lily and Elsa want to be part of the action. So fun to live in a place where the children literally run in herds, climb trees and play tag.

And it is quite an international crowd. I hear just as much Russian, Spanish and Chinese as I do English. Our housing situation will be one of my fondest memories of our time in Princeton. This Spring, the girls have been chasing around the girl gang, a small group of 5-8 year-olds who have taken up headquarters in the big tree outside our front door. The big girls are a bit bossy to the little ones. But, Lily and Elsa don't seem to mind. They are just so thrilled to be part of the big girl circuit rather than the toddler group. They're growing up!

It has been a while since I've given update on the girls. Here's some of their latest interests:

1) All things Spring. They've actually become really interested in flower identification as it has been a subject at school. Their class is going on a nature hike next week. They can point out daffodils, dandelions, tulips, crocuses and my favorite forsythia.

2) Numbers and Letters. The girls are obsessed with counting just about anything and love letters. The other day Elsa arranged the letter magnets on the fridge to spell D-U-C-K-Y. We asked her if she knew what that word was and she cheerfully said Ducky! She had remembered how to spell that word. So cool! They can also recognize other words like Exit, Stop, their names and Mom. And they love exclamation points. (not sure why, but they always point them out).

3) Elsa is obsessed with the harmonica. She calls it a "Carmonica" and likes to take it everywhere. When, I got home from work last night, she was sitting on the stoop playing a tune. So, cute!

4) And they really love their pretend games. Lily, especially, will make up stories for everything. Even during meal times, her food starts "talking" and has adventures on her plate. All the sudden, her silverware becomes a bridge and the pasta goes on a journey to a forest. We have to remind her to eat! My two girls live in their imaginations.

Well, that's all mommy's bragging for this morning. We are "this close" to having a destination for the next academic year. But, can't share until it becomes official. Meanwhile, poor Lily had to stay home sick with a fever. So, I best attend to my patient.

E,L

E,L

E,L

Pennsylvania 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:42:00 +0000

We're back from our great Pennsylvanian roadtrip of 2008. Mark was scheduled to give a talk at Penn State. And since the girls were on springbreak from preschool, we decided to take everybody along. It was a chance to visit our friends Matt and Maureen who are now faculty in the Happy Valley.

The girls were thrilled to go on vacation. They love to travel. For them, a roadtrip means getting to watch TV and eat chips in the car. (things they're not normally allowed to do). And to stay in a hotel and go swimming. All good things from their perspective. Here they are snuggled into their hotel bed. (L,E) You can see they brought all the essentials from home---Lambie, Duckie, Bunny, Big Bear. I constrained them to one backpack of toys each. They didn't think at all about packing pants, socks, underpants, etc. So funny. They were disgruntled to make room in their suitcase for such things.

Unfortunately, the second morning of our trip Elsa woke up with a 102F fever and a barking cough. Poor girl. This will go on record as the academic year that kicked our butts. Everyone has been nearly constantly sick starting with the Croup in October. We've had all kinds of flu, cough, pneumonia, sinus infections and strange rashes. Combined with Mark making 6 multiple day business trips, me starting a new job and the girls missing a lot of school, I can't believe we've survived. So glad that Winter is finally over and Spring is here. Thank goodness. I'm hoping the girls immunities will be better next year. They say the first year of school/daycare is always the roughest. And in the Fall, I have them signed up for school's lunch program. So, it will be much less running around for all of us.

Elsa was quite the trooper, though. With a heavy dose of motrin, we motored on the Chocolate World in Hershey, PA.

Hershey is an interesting place. We stayed at the Hershey Lodge where you receive chocolate bars at check-in. The room was decorated in a Hersey Kisses motif on the wallpaper and on the linens. There was even a hot chocolate maker in our room.

Anyway, Hersey World was a good place to bring little kids. We went on "Small World" style tour of a replica factory complete with singing cows. Kind of like in Charlie and the Chocolate factory, we rode in this little car on a conveyor belt and learned how chocolate is made. They put a lot of thought into the ride and it was full sensory. The room got warmer in the roasting room and it smelled like chocolate in the mixing room. The girls thought it was pretty cool.

Then, they got to work the conveyor belt Lucy and Ethel style in the choclate kisses packaging room.

Here they are sending their candy on to packaging.

Then, we drove on to State College, Pa. Unfortunately, this was the part of the trip where I started getting sick, too. Elsa's cough was worse, so the girls and I spent a lot of time at the Ramada while Mark was on campus talking science. Lily was pretty happy with the deal because she got to lay in bed, eat chips and watch TV. The girls and I did get to drive around campus a bit and had icecream at their famous creamery. And we also had a couple nice dinners with Matt and Mo. Hopefully, we didn't leave any germs behind.

So, despite the sickness, it was still a good trip. And nice for us to get out of the daily grind for a few days.

Happy Easter 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 13:31:00 +0000

Our two little bunny girls on a sunny Easter morning. Could there be any better age than 3.5? Our daughters are such a joy. I can't believe we get to wake up to their happy faces every morning. And don't they look lovely in their beautiful new dresses from Great-Grandma and Grandpa A! The bunny ears are their surprise from us. Hope everyone is having a great day.

Lily

Elsa

Elsa, Lily

Elsa

St. Patty's Day 08

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:30:00 +0000

Elsa and Lily were very excited to wear their green outfits to school.

March Visit with Grandma and Grandpa A

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:14:00 +0000

We just had a really nice visit with Grandma and Grandpa A. The girls had a very good week being spoiled with all kinds of love and attention. The girls loved having Grandma and Grandpa take them to and from school and going out to lunch. They also did fun things together like baking cookies, making Polish food (Great-Grandma's stuffed cabbage and Auntie Helen's dumplings) and going to the park. The big kids got spoiled, too, as Mark and I had a couple evenings out. And my kitchen cupboards are clean for the first time, well er, ever. Thanks, guys!

Here's some pictures of our big adventure day to NYC.

Arriving in the City via Penn Station. Elsa and Lily are modeling new scarves crocheted by Grandma.

Grandma stands guard as Elsa and Lily ride Subway like old pros.

Lily, Grandpa and Grandma in Central Park with a view of the skyline.

At a diner on the Upper East Side, (E,L) Yay, chocolate milk!

Elsa and Grandpa on the Bow Bridge in Central Park

Grandma and Elsa on train back home.

Watercolors

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 22:13:00 +0000

Cheerful paintings to brighten a winter's day. These were sent home in the girls backpack this morning. Art is still one of their favorite activities.

By Elsa

By Lily

By Lily

By Lily

Snow Day

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 15:42:00 +0000

Finally some snow. Yesterday, the girls had their first snow day of the year. It wasn't a ton of snow, but it was heavy and wet and perfect for building things.

The giant tree in our front yard in all of its winter splendor.

Elsa enjoyed making a slide out of the tree trunk.

Lily poking her head out of a snow tunnel they built with Daddy.

Lily and Elsa tried to make snow angels, but the snow was more slushy than fluffy.

Elsa and Lily posing with "Tall Man, the snowman." Fun.

Happy Valentine's Day 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:16:00 +0000

The girls are back home after having a smashingly good time at their class's Valentine's Day Party. As the official "room parent" my job was to organize a little potluck lunch for all the kids and their families. The kids have been preparing for the past couple weeks doing all sorts of Valentine projects and decorating the room. We covered all the tables with fancy red table cloths to make the room festive. The girls and I even made a red and pink punch using my Grandma N's (Elsa Senior's recipe). Everyone loved it. The rest of the food was fabulous, too. There were finger sandwiches, quiche, asian noodles, heart-shaped watermelon and even homemade flan. Yum.

A girl after my own heart, Elsa skipped the buffet and headed straight for the dessert table. She's my girl with the biggest sweet tooth. Chocolate milk, icecream and cookies. Pure bliss.

Lily shows off her Valentine's Day crown. Could their be anything cuter than a herd of 3 and 4-year olds in festive party hats? I don't think so.

The girls had their first experience with Valentine Cards today as the class did an exchange. Lily and Elsa picked out their own cards. (Elsa=Sponge Bob and Lily=Mickey Mouse) Then, they practiced signing their own names. They made it through about half of their cards before the asked me to take over. After we got home from the party, the girls had so much fun opening all their envelopes from their friends. Can you believe how many of the kids made their own. Will have to remember that for next year. So sweet.

Happy Valentine's to all. Hope you're having a great day.

XO
The Pannings

Bubble Divas

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:09:00 +0000

The divine Miss Elsa

And the fabulous Miss Lily

Where or where did this little blog go? Oh where or where could it be?

I'm afraid that I left everyone with the mistaken impression that we were all well and healthy after my last postings. 12 hours later, Elsa came down with a very nasty stomach bug and she was out of school for four more days. Meanwhile, Mark was on an epic journey to a job interview that involved canceled flights on either end, a two hour drive on rural interstates at midnight, arriving at 2am before a 7am faculty breakfast and then there was a snowstorm and an extra night spent at an airport hotel. He made it back road weary and travel worn just as Elsa was starting to get back on her feet. We spent the weekend trying to catch up on the laundry, cleaning and grocery shopping that fell by the wayside when you're tending to a sick kid (especially while solo-parenting).

That was quite a week.

But, I'm glad to say that this week has been going much better. The girls made it an entire week of school without missing a day. This hasn't happened since before Xmas break. And they are doing things like eating and sleeping again. Both girls are alarmingly skinny after being so ill. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when Elsa hopped on the scale and it said "25lbs." That is super skinny, even for them. Usually, they are somewhere between 27-28lbs. It will be an exciting day when they finally crack the 30lb threshold. (I'm pretty sure Uncle John managed to do that by his first birthday...I'm hoping it will happen by the girls' 4th!)

Mark's taking his show on the road with another interview this week, too. It was with great trepidation that we said goodbye at the train station. Utter shock and amazement as his plane took off without delay. Everything seems to be going well so far. But please send good travel thoughts that his return flight tonight goes just as uneventfully.

And that's the news from Lake Wobegon. And regarding the bubble pictures above, no need to send me any warning emails about the dangers of bubble bath. That was just a very rare treat for the girls. Learning to make a bubble beard is an important rite of passage for 3-year olds everywhere. And Elsa and Lily clearly enjoyed themselves.

Fingers Crossed.

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:33:00 +0000

Tah-dah! Two healthy girls on their way to school this morning. This was the first time they both made it to school in 12 days! One or both of them has been staying home for nearly two weeks. Everyone at our house has been sick, more sick and then really sick. The cat's on antibiotics and Lily even got diagnosed with pneumonia. Germ central over here! But, thank you for all the good thoughts and wishes. I think we've turned a corner! *knock on wood* Mark's flying out on two business trips in the next couple weeks. We need to keep everyone healthy. Hopefully, I'll have time for more regular postings.

E,L

E,L

Happy January

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 20:42:00 +0000

This week we got to see Mark's old Berkeley officemate Ved while he stopped by P'ton to collaborate on some research projects. It is always good to see old friends. Ved's still in California, so we got to hear how everybody at the Seismo lab is doing. We had a nice dinner and the girls really liked spending time with him. (L,E)

We've been really busy getting back into the routine of work and school after the holidays and all our company. But today, we enjoyed a family day by going to the Amish Market in Kingston and then for a walk at the Canals. We've been having a nice stretch of mild weather, so we wanted to take advantage before it cools down again. Lily and Elsa holding hands on the tow path.

Elsa and Lily looking happy.

Mommy and the girls standing in front of the dam that makes Lake Carnegie.

Happy New Years!

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 16:18:00 +0000

Welcome to 2008! We had a fabulous party with both sets of Grandparents and even a long distance call from Great-Grandma and Grandpa A back in Indiana!

Elsa and Grandpa A give a cheers

Ringing in the New Year at808pm. (Greenland-style) Grandpa P and E

Lily celebrates in style (The girls had several costume changes during the evening)

Cheers!

Grandpa, L and Grandma P

Grandma, Grandpa A snap a popper.

We've had a wonderful Holiday Season and it was so wonderful to spend time with family. Lots more pictures of Christmas-time goodness here.

Merry Christmas 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 23:34:00 +0000

Merry Christmas to all. Lily and Elsa are busy having lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa P!

Helping Grandpa open the present they made for him. (L standing, E sitting)

Opening gifts from Grandma and Grandpa on Christmas Eve

Sitting with Grandma and Grandpa

Lily playing with her new scooter on Xmas morning.

Opening up their new track suits.