Here's Lola modeling a pair of vintage clip on earrings that my Aunt Martha got for me years ago. Lola totally rocks this look however she will not be getting her ears pierced anytime soon. Not only do I think she looks adorable but she thinks she looks pretty good too. 
Mommy & Daddy, photo by Lola
It was another whirlwind weekend in Illinois the weekend before Christmas. Lola had so much playing with her cousins! We got to see so many people that weekend including Grumpa & Grandma Joni, Mimi, Julie, Ed, Celia & Ethan, Uncle Jim, Auntie Moe, Emma & Grace, Great Grandma & Grandpa, Ann & Morgan, Karen and even Cousin Lindsey & Cindy!!! All of the above mentioned had Christmas presents for the kids so they scored some serious loot. Unfortunately Lola missed seeing her Gigi & Grandpa Chuck this holiday season. We will see them pretty soon since our next stop is sunny Florida!
Lola is all ready for Santa's big arrival tonight. She put oats & glitter out in the front yard and put together a plate of cookies for the jolly fella. She has had a fantastic day today and is SO EXCITED for Christmas Day to get here!!! She is a little sad to say goodbye to Dopey-Dopey since he's making his final flight to the North Pole tonight where he will stay until next year. She told him that she was going to miss him. For a second I thought she was going to cry when she was saying goodbye. aw!
Lola and I stopped at the book store today to purchase the Elf on the Shelf and while she was taking her bath the elf managed to free himself from the package and park himself on a shelf in the family room. Before searching for the elf we decided to read the book to see what this crazy little elf is all about. Lola learned a few things. She can talk to the elf but he is under strict orders from Santa not to talk back. She is not allowed to touch the elf as this will take away his magic powers. His job is to keep an eye on Lola and each night while she is asleep he will fly to the North Pole to tell Santa if she was naughty or nice. He will be back home each morning before Lola wakes up only in a different spot in the house. Her job is to find him each morning. Her other job was to give her elf a name. She decided to name him Dopey-Dopey and so far she has had an lot of things to tell Dopey-Dopey. A new Christmas tradition begins.
We visited Clifton Mill for the first time on Thanksgiving weekend. Joni read about Clifton Mill in her Midwest Living magazine and I have heard of this place from a few people I work with. It's pretty crazy. Chances are you may never see this many Christmas lights all in the same place. And you will NEVER see a Santa collection like this Santa collection. The Christmas lights are beautiful! It is amazing and if you have a chance to see them you should. They also have a little city set up complete with trains and that is awesome. Every 20 minutes or so Santa pops up out of a chimney, waves and goes back down the chimney. This is cute however it would be better if they had a set up where the kids could get their photo with Santa. There is a gift shop and indoor seating where you can get hot chocolate and warm up. It was actually a lot smaller than I thought it would be. I kind of expected it to be a big park or something. Anyway, it was cool and definitely something to see at least once. The cost is 8 bucks a person which after leaving I thought was a little pricey considering how small it was but kids under 6 are free so that's good. I am positive that the older Lola gets she will ask to go back each year. 
The staff at LOLApalooza wants to send a huge shout out to Ooma, the mother, mother-in-law and Grandmother, for making a fabulous Thanksgiving Day feast! We all left happy and full! (this is normal when Ooma cooks up dinner)
Happy 12th Birthday to my little tiny baby cousin (and avid LOLApalooza follower) Emma. We love you and we hope you have a GREAT DAY!!!
