Ways to stay warm

At least three times a week, Lizzie asks me, "Mom, when will it be summer again?" I'm right there with you, daughter. Although yesterday was a warm 67*, today we are back to the low 40s with some major wind. We've found ways to have fun and stay warm during the winter. We just got back from Play Time with some friends at the Soccerplex. Every Monday and Thursday from 10am-12pm, your kids can run and play in this huge indoor soccer field area. At $2 a kid, it's a steal and we will be returning! Lizzie loved being Iron Man for awhile.

Cate found a baby and she was set for the rest of the time we were there.

We joined some friends at BounceU in Clarksburg. Two rooms of giant inflatables for children (and parents too)! They couldn't get enough of this slide.

They even had snack time for the kids!

Mimi, Pop-pop, and Aunt Julia spent MLK weekend here and we drove to Hanover for the UTZ factory experience.

We love birthdays! Our friend Scottie turned 2 and we, especially our girls, were SO excited to see the Clark family.

Pizza and cake are enough to make any kid happy, I tell you!

Can't forget about Cafe Rio--we went to the Olney location when my parents were visiting (and we saw the Willis's there--so much fun) and we also went to Frederick's grand opening with more friends.

There are now two Cafe Rio restaurants near us--each about 25 minutes away. But this summer, one will be ready RIGHT HERE IN GERMANTOWN. And then we'll be in really big trouble ;) It will be so tempting to go once a week, or dare I say twice a week... Another favorite place of ours is the library. We're actually heading over there later on today. We'll go play in a discovery room for an hour and borrow some books on the way out. I need to take more pictures of that! If you really want to stay inside, I know a good way to achieve that. Get injured!! ;) I've fractured a bone in my left foot. The orthopedic specialist said it's not a fracture where the bone broke into two pieces; it's more like I really bent it out of shape. I used crutches for a few days. For those days I was on my bed or a couch, while elevating and icing my foot. I'm still wearing a post-op shoe. It feels a lot better now than it did last week when it happened. This was taken right after I fell. My left foot was so swollen.

This is from today. Slowly but surely it's getting better.

Of course I don't recommend that you injure yourself to stay indoors during frigid weather. Other than that, we've found some ways to have fun while staying inside this month. :)

Hello 2013

Ahh 2012, overall you were good to us. Christmas

New Year's

2012 was a fun year. We did so much--family visits on both sides, day/weekend trips to places all around us, etc. School is once again under way for Chris. The girls and I are back to our weekly routine. Being with friends: one of life's greatest joys.

I had plans for some "catching up" posts but right now, one of my daughters is screaming (any guesses as to which daughter? ;D) and I am utterly perplexed. Neither of my girls has had any trouble with bedtime...like ever. This is shaping up to be a long night in the Killion house... On a happier note, I look forward to what 2013 will bring. I have many goals/ideas/resolutions that I still have to write down haha but I am excited for this year. See you next week!

I haven't forgotten you!

This time of year is the busiest time of year for me. (I'm sure it is that way for a lot of people.) We've got-- Oct. 23 Chris's birthday Oct. 31 Halloween Nov. 22 Thanksgiving Nov. 30 Millie's birthday (Also the anniversary of our engagement) Dec. 2 Mom and Joe's birthday Dec. 9 Katie's birthday Dec. 13 Lizzie's birthday Dec. 25 Christmas Dec. 31 Bill's birthday This end of the year calendar does not even include Ward/Relief Society/Playgroup etc. activities! We are constantly on the move. While it's nice to be up and about, it can be exhausting. So, as I said--I haven't forgotten about writing a post. It's been on the brain. It's a matter of carving out a period of time to do it :) Hope you're enjoying the beginning of this Christmas month!

Happy Halloween!

I like to think that our Halloween festivities begin with Chris's birthday because the sweets and treats begin to appear on that day! ;) The girls and I baked pumpkin cupcakes for our Daddy that night. The girls stayed up later than usual, and Chris drove down to class and back so he could get home earlier. We had a fun "late" celebration with Daddy. Happy 31st Birthday to Chris!

The next morning, we went down to the Montgomery Mall. We met our friends there for the kids' day activity. Lizzie and Cate insisted on getting their faces painted! Those pumpkins were absolutely adorable.

Our ward Trunk or Treat was held on Saturday night at the church. The girls were extremely excited to show off their costumes. They could barely stay still for these pictures!

Our ward decided to a carnival for the first hour before going outside for the trunk or treat part of the night. There were ten stations to explore. Lizzie and Cate especially loved the craft station (spider-making) and pumpkin bowling.

The bean bag toss, the cake walk, and the vampire teeth were also favorites!

There were tons of fun costumes. Lizzie's friend Reed was Ash from Pokemon.

And Cate's friend Andelyne was a BYU cheerleader.

This year we had all the cars who were participating in the trunk or treat park along the sidewalk surrounding the church. It was a perfect walkway for all the little kids to stay on, and the activity lasted longer than it usually does because the cars went all the way around the building, as opposed to a small section of the parking lot. All in all, the QO Ward Trunk or Treat was a great success! On Sunday, our ward had its Primary Presentation. The girls wore their new dresses that Mimi sent them!

Lizzie's line in the program was "I can choose the right by going to the temple." And she did a fabulous job with no help! The whole program turned out wonderfully and we as a Presidency received many compliments about it. Later that night, we had the Heit's over to celebrate Chris's birthday. This time I made sour cream cake. We had vanilla ice cream on the side and Canada Dry Black Cherry Wishniak soda to top it off. Great night!

On Monday, before Hurricane Sandy reached us here in DC, the Heit's had us over to decorate Halloween sugar cookies. The girls were in sugar heaven!!

Finally, to cap off our Halloween festivities, we went trick or treating tonight in the Kentlands with Lois, Reed, and Blake. Our husbands were in class tonight :( But we wives managed just fine. And our kids managed to get tons of candy! What a fun night!

We hope you had a Happy Halloween!

Gaver Farm 2012

We Killion ladies met the Heit family at Gaver Farm in Mt. Airy for some fall fun. Although it was raining very lightly nearly the entire time we were there, the girls absolutely loved it! There was so much to do--

We had a wonderful time. Gaver Farm is a keeper!