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Friday rolled around and the snow started. Winter Storm Jonas (aka Snowzilla) came in with full force. School was cancelled (just like my trip home from Georgia). Lots of snow and wind - not something you want to be out in. The girls did manage to get out of the house in the morning before the storm got going, but they were not going outside after it began.

When stuck at home during a snow storm, make Star Wars Perler bead projects! First up, Leah made Princess Leia and Molly made BB-8.

Next, a green lightsaber (Molly) and a purple lightsaber (Leah). Oh, and a viola with bow (Molly). Not sure which Star Wars movie that was in :)

Saturday morning came, and the storm only got stronger. It was going to be awful outside, so the girls stayed inside in their jammies all day. Of course, that meant it was time for more Perler beads! Leah made Luke Skywalker, while Molly made R2-D2 and C-3PO.

That evening it was still snowing, so the girls played some games. Here they are playing Trouble.

And then they played some Uno Attack.

While they stayed inside in the warm, the snow kept falling. Here’s a view of the door in our basement toward the end of the storm. I don’t think we’ll be going out that door any time soon.

The screens on our screened in porch stopped most of the snow, but the finer stuff still got through.

The snow finally stopped late Saturday night. According to reports, we got around 27 inches of snow, setting a new record for a single storm.

The girls have really gotten into Star Wars lately. As a Star Wars fan myself, I was hoping this would happen eventually but I didn’t want to push it. But when they both started expressing interest in watching Star Wars in November, I was ready. Their initial interest was in watching Star Wars Rebels - an animated show that is currently popular. I explained that they should really start with the movies, and they excitedly agreed.

I first showed them A New Hope (Episode IV). We watched it together and I paused whenever they had a question. I started off getting them to close their eyes for the dark parts, but they quickly decided they didn’t need to do that. At the end, they said they loved it and wanted to watch the next one. Thankfully, Thanksgiving vacation was quickly approaching, giving us some free time to watch movies.

We then watched The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V), and then Return of the Jedi (Episode VI). Then we went back the prequels and watched The Phantom Menace (Episode I), Attack of the Clones (Episode II), and Revenge of the Sith (Episode III). They loved them all. They said their favorite was Return of the Jedi.

We then watched the first season of Star Wars Rebels, which they also liked a lot. We’ll probably watch season two sometime after it finishes airing. Then we moved onto The Clone Wars. We began by watching the movie, then moved on to the series. We’re still in the middle of season one, and looking forward to watching it all eventually.

This all led up to going to the theater to see The Force Awakens (Episode VII). I knew it would be too crazy to try to go before Christmas, so I bought tickets for a 2D matinee on the 27th. Jen and Grams came too (though they didn’t make it into the picture and didn’t have Star Wars apparel on). Here we are in our Star Wars shirts upon arriving at the theater.

We got there an hour and twenty minutes early. I knew this was probably overkill, but wanted to play it safe. It meant we were at the front of the line (all by ourselves for the first twenty minutes of the wait). There ended up being a very long line by the time we were let in to the theater, but we got perfect seats for the film.

The movie was great, and the girls really enjoyed it. They now say it is tied with Return of the Jedi as their favorite movie (it’s tough to compete with Ewoks).

The girls show no signs of slowing their Star Wars excitement. They ask to watch an episode of The Clone Wars every day, and are really looking forward to all the Star Wars stuff in Disney World (we’re going in February). There’s also been discussion of Halloween costumes, though that’s a long way away. They’re also talking about looking forward to Episode VIII, but 5/27/2017 is even further away (though it is already on my calendar).

Unlike last year, both girls got a good night sleep. They did get up early (around 6:00, they say), but not ridiculously early. They waited patiently till 7:00 (the time we told them they could wake us). Then we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus (as we always do) and headed downstairs. There we found that Santa had not missed our house. I think Molly’s excited at what he brought her.

The girls are really into Star Wars, so we got them some Star Wars themed gifts. These pajamas were the first they opened.

These shirts continued the theme, and were the perfect thing to wear to see The Force Awakens in the theater two days later (tickets were already purchased).

Molly was excited to model her new hoodie with her karate dojo’s logo.

After opening presents at our house, we hopped in the car and headed over to Grams’s house to continue the present party. We always go in age order, which means Leah has always been first. Not this year, though - Charlie is the new first. But Leah didn’t have to wait long before it was her turn. This vest will keep her warm if this winter ever gets cold.

One of the hot toys for the girls now are Shopkins, so Leah was very excited to get this set. All the Shopkins are now set up in their room.

Uncle Scott is a Star Wars fan as well, so Jen made him a R2D2 apron, which will go perfectly with his R2D2 measuring cups from Aunt Caroline (next to his elbow).

After opening pajamas for baby Charlie and being impressed that Jen made them, Aunt EA and Uncle Scott were stunned at the knight hoodie that Jen made for Charlie to wear when he’s a little bigger. Uncle Scott and Aunt Caroline have already placed orders for adult versions!

Leah got a plush Fear toy though her expression appears to be one of Joy.

We had a few mix-ups on our gift list this year, so Jen was amused at a duplicate set of bowls that Grams gave her.

After some intense present opening, Charlie was in need of some reset. Aunt Caroline was happy to provide a place for him to lay his head.

Here they are from a bit further back so you can see Aunt Caroline as well.

That wasn’t all the Christmas fun, but that seems like enough for today. Tune in tomorrow as the fun continues.

After church, we headed over to Grams’s house for dinner. Grammy was excited to hold her first great grandson.

Charlie is wide-eyed looking at his great grandmother.

You may not have noticed that under Molly’s ugly sweater was a cute top. After realizing that she did not have a festive outfit for Christmas Eve, Jen made Molly a new winter tunic. Molly has been loving high-low skirts and dresses lately, so this new tunic was a bit hit.

Molly decided to bring her viola along to Grams’s house for a Christmas concert. She's only been learning for 2 months, but she's already doing great.

Per tradition, we opened one present on Christmas Eve. Leah was excited about her DigiPenguin.

As was Molly.

Jen and I received a new Apple TV. Thanks Grammy!

The tradition continues…Jen made the girls new nightgowns to wear on Christmas Eve.

Also per tradition, the girls put out cookies and milk for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer.

Then it was time to read ’Twas the Night Before Christmas (also a tradition) and then have the children nestle all snug in their beds.

The first two Christmas Eve services at our church are family services, and are led primarily by children. This year, Molly got to be one of the worship leaders. Their opening welcome included some joking around ugly Christmas sweaters, so they dressed the part.

After welcoming everyone, Molly quickly headed to the choir loft to join Leah and the other kids. They led all the songs, and sang Rock The Little Baby for the special music.

Molly and the other two worship leaders also introduced the offering.

Molly did an awesome job up front. You can’t see everyone in the congregation, but the first service was pretty full, and the second service was completely packed. She didn’t seem to be intimidated at all by the crowd.

Great job, Molly! We’re so proud of you!

Per tradition, the girls went to Grams’s house to bake Christmas cookies. Sadly this year Aunt Caroline was not around to help since she no longer lives nearby. We miss you Aunt Caroline.

Baking cookies with Aunt EA meant they also got to hang out a bit with Charlie. Leah thought that was great, though Charlie seems a bit bored by it all.

Charlie is excellent at staring. Molly’s smile doesn’t stand a chance at getting him to blink.

A couple of weeks ago we realized it had been a long time since our last real photoshoot. With the need to print Christmas cards arriving soon, we picked the warmest available day we could and planned an outing. Jen and I looked through lots of locations, but ended up choosing to go to Rockburn Branch Park.

Give me a kiss!

Suddenly, Leah became much older than she was a few minutes ago.

These girls manage to always have fun. This can make it hard to stay on task sometimes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Jen thought it would be fun for the girls to wear their hats. I thought I might wear one as well, and then suggested Jen join in the fun too.

This picture made it onto the back of the Christmas card.

And this picture was the big winner for the front of the Christmas card. Jen got a crate and some letters for the perfect extra touch.

Note that the hats did eventually come off.

As the sun went down, it started to get colder. The girls let me take one last picture before heading to the car to warm up.

This is just a taste of the photoshoot, but you can see all the great pictures on Flickr.

While Jen and I got to meet Charlie at the hospital, Molly and Leah were not so lucky. Fortunately, Charlie came home from the hospital yesterday, which meant Molly and Leah got to meet their new cousin. They were so excited to meet this sweet little guy.

Of course, they were excited to hold Charlie. Molly was all smiles for her little cousin.

Charlie checks out the world; Molly checks out his face; Jen and Leah check out his feet.

Charlie is really studying Molly here.

Leah loved to touch Charlie’s soft little face.

Charlie has soft chubby cheeks, but his hands are old man hands. Long, thin, wrinkled fingers. Here they are up close.

Eventually, his mom did get a chance to hold him.

The girls gave Jen a chance to hold him, but they didn’t go far.

Molly loved chilling with Charlie, but she also would get tired of it and want to get up. Leah, on the other hand, couldn’t get enough of him.

So cute!

It didn’t take long before he was back in Leah’s lap.

Leah could not stop stroking his hair.

Yay for Charlie! And good luck to Aunt EA and Uncle Scott. We can’t wait to see you guys again.

The girls wanted to have bunk beds from an early age, and we always told them they could when Molly was 6 (that’s the Federal guideline for sleeping on the top bunk). When we moved to our new house shortly after Molly turned 6, they got their wish. When Leah turned 6 not long ago, she requested a swap. After a few trial nights, she and Molly agreed to permanently switch. Here they are ready to sleep on their first night in their new beds. Please excuse their very messy room.

They’ve done great the past couple weeks since making the switch and show no sign of wanting to switch back.

Still catching up on posts that never got posted - here’s one from September. For Leah’s birthday, she got the Lego kit for Cinderella’s castle. As soon as she had a few free hours, she built it.

646 pieces is nothing for this Lego expert.