So, maybe one of my New Years Resolutions should be to blog more regularly? We'll see...

Back in November, my daughter, Myla celebrated her 5th birthday! Wow! She has grown so much and I couldn't be more proud of her.

She had a super fun party (which she planned mostly herself) at a kids play area in the town where we live. In all the hustle and bustle of the party, I completely forgot to take pictures!! I know, for shame! But, as an eye witness, I can tell you that eveyone at the party seemed to be having a really great time :)

A little look at her birthdays through the years

Also this month, my littlest turned 6 months old! Half a year already down. Now that it's my third time, I can definitely feel myself trying to hold on to her babyhood even harder. But, age brings new and exciting things with it, and this month that meant solid food! Myla and Ainsley have always loved food, and Juliet didn't disappoint! The girl is a natural :)

First meal

And as it got closer to Christmas, each town started popping up with its own little Christmas Market. We ventured to the nearby town of Ely to check theirs out.

Reindeer!

Ely Cathedral

Staying Warm

Tricks and Treats

 I had three very talented pumpkin pickers this year go out and choose pumpkins for the whole family! They did not settle for anything less than perfect. Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of the amazing carvings they did, or the delicious roasted pumpkin seeds that came afterwards. Nothing says "October" quite like carving pumpkins and roasting seeds while listening to "Monster Mash!"

And (surprise, surprise) Myla and Ainsley decided to be Elsa and Anna from Disney's "Frozen" for Halloween this year. Turns out Myla wasn't the only little girl who wanted to be Elsa...I lost count. But with their littlest sister as Olaf, I'm pretty sure they were the cutest bunch!!

While there are times that I feel like my life is full of 'tricks', being the mother of these three precious girls really is a 'treat'. :)

Happy Halloween!

Venice

"Che bella!"

This is the phrase we heard over and over in Venice. Why? Because we were walking around with this cutie :)

And the locals just ate her up! It was as though she were the only baby on the island; everyone had to stop and love on her. Juliet loved every minute of it too!

So, Matt and I were able to spend a lovely three day weekend in Venice - just a short little flight from our house. I can't believe I can say that.

Some dear friends of ours watched Myla and Ainsley for us (Juliet has to come with me wherever I go still ;) ) and we met our friends, the Johnstons in Venice. It was GORGEOUS!

The Rialto Bridge

St. Mark's Square

School is Back in Session

We made it back from Croatia just in time for the girls to start school. Myla is now in Reception (the equivalent of Kindergarten) and my little Ainsley started Pre-school! They are absolutely loving it and are doing so well!

Croatia

Matt returned home just in time for us to make one last family trip before school started again. It just so happened that this trip fell on my birthday weekend. Lucky me! We decided to go somewhere warm, sunny, and sandy. Croatia seemed the perfect spot. Off we went with our good friends, the Ericksons!

Warning : I'm posting a LOT of pictures!!

First, we arrived in Zadar and explored the city there before heading to our rental house.

Zadar, Croatia

Jared and Adri are at the top!

I spy...two cute sisters!

Jared playing with Myla and Ainsley

Rental House #1

Making smores :)

The next morning we went to Plitvice National Park to see its beautiful waterfalls!

 

Strike a pose, girls!

 

The next day we drove up the coast to our next holiday house. We also had to stop for some pizza and ice cream on the way!!

Rental house #2

 We spent some time in the nearby city of Rijeka

Eating ice cream with a 'green cone' - just how she wanted!

Heading home