Wedding Reception!

Another chance to get some use out of the wedding dress :)  Even thought we got married on 11-12-13, the earliest time we could find for an actual reception was in December, after the honeymoon, Thanksgiving, McKel's bday, etc.  My mom and her friends decorated the neighborhood church and did an amazing job!  Sadly, somehow we neglected to take pictures of the event!  So weird.  The only shot I have it this one that my friend Jennie took of me and some of my wonderful girl friends.
Wendell finished our slideshow and wedding video in time before the reception, so we had them playing on our TV for people to watch.  We also had some delicious goodies.  It was so great to see so many old friends come pay us a visit.  Very simple, low key, and lovely!  The girls were excited to get to wear their flower girl dresses again, although they spent the whole time running all over the place in the church.  They were burning lots of energy!
Thank you to everyone who came to the reception, it meant a lot to us to have so many close to us there.

Our Wedding Reception Invitations :)

My gal pals:  Jennie, Sarah, myself, and Rhanda :) Gorgeous girls!

And here is the fabulous slideshow that we played for our reception:

Elf On The Shelf- Day 6

Today Mom had to be to work early, so we were in a rush to head out the door (the usual morning routine). The girls hadn't discovered where the Elf was hiding yet, so mom had to drop a hint. I had Avril turn on the dining room light before we left, and when she looked up to see the light, there was our Rebecca, hanging on from the light fixture for dear life :)

Xmas Decorating

Time to put up Christmas decorations!  We blended two family's decorations and were pretty happy with what we came up with.  Mike had the tree.  Avril was a great helper with constructing the tree.  We all helped with wrapping the lights around it, and putting the ornaments on the tree.
We let the girls put on the ornaments and then moved them around when they weren't paying attention.  Otherwise our tree looked very unbalanced, which is torture for us OCD types.
So exciting!  Our first Christmas together at the Andrus home :)

An adorable McKel, little miss fun personality girl!

A thrilled Avril helps Mike put the branches on the Christmas tree

Avril shows off her sparkly ornament before placing it on the tree.

She has her sweet girl pose down, for sure!

Just realizing that I probably should've taken a picture of the finished product, the decorations, tree, and all.... but alas, I didn't.  I will try to remember to do that next year.  These girls are stoked for Christmas!

Elf On The Shelf- Day 5

And our Elf finder for today is... McKel! Poor Avril lost her mind because she was not the first to find Rebecca the Elf. Avril was rolling on the ground doing her tantrum, and kept saying, "I want to find the elf!" McKel handled it like a champ and put it in her lap saying, "it's right here silly!" :) Gotta love those girls!

Rebecca the Elf clings on to the faucet, waiting to greet the kids in the morning :)

Elf On The Shelf- Day 4

This morning mommy had to be at work early to open the bank, so we were in super speed mode getting ready. Of course Avril could not leave without first finding Rebecca. Luckily, Rebecca was hanging out on the coat rack, so when Avril went to grab her jacket on her way out the door, there she was! Avril was so excited, as always, to find the Elf :)

McKel also saw the Elf on the coat rack, but since she's been feeling sickly, she is not quite her usual enthusiastic self. Poor girl...

Elf On the Shelf- Day 3

Mommy had to leave for work early this morning. The kids weren't even awake yet when mommy left. Mike texted mommy this morning a text that said, "Avril wanted you to know she found the elf." Avril looks forward to this every morning when she wakes up :) Here is where she found Rebecca Elf this morning:

Elf On The Shelf- Day 2

Rebecca the Elf: found by Avril in our indoor plant :) Happy excited Avril!