Crazy Cookie Weekend

Our annual Stiller Cookie Weekend was held last weekend and was, as always, oodles of fun. The mood was a little sad as we began because we recognized that the location of creation had changed with Grandpa Milan's passing, but we shared a few memories and were able to get on track. Finally, we were able to get those Christmas carols playing, flour and sprinkles were flying, and the volume coming from the mouths of so many people in one area was, well, typical of our family. It took two days...one day to roll, cut and bake and one day to frost and decorate...but we managed to end with a total of...drum roll, please...1,038 cut-out cookies! Delicious! Ellana and Avelyn did a great job with rolling (and eating) the cookie dough and enjoyed decorating the cookies (and licking their fingers...but always seemed to get caught by Auntie Kerri or Auntie Amy!)...and are really enjoying eating their cookies this year! Danny even came along for the fun...and decorated one cookie that turned out looking like an Atlanta Falcon...Uncle Mark threw some sprinkles on a cookie and was running sheets of cookies downstairs to dry, as was Uncle Ryan. We missed the Kopkes this year and hope that Hailey is feeling like a million bucks this week. Popsy was so excited to have a house full of family...we had a blast and are excited for next year. Everyone get your calendars, right??? Smooches. (Another tippy picture of Ellana...but I'm off to bed. Good night!!!)

Snow Day!

What??? The weatherpeople called it pretty close to correct? Sassy... :) Most of Wisconsin had a snow day and we were able to partake in some snowy day activities together. Daddy couldn't get down our road, so he had to work from home...so the ladies worked up a storm in our own sorta way! We made gingerbread cookies from scratch which we have never done before, trimmed the tree, attempted to tackle the driveway and backyard a variety of times, and played in the wet, heavy snow mountains in the middle of our street. We even built a snowman, affectionately named Frosty, in our backyard. Welcome, winter. Thanks for providing us with a fun-filled day!

St. Nick was here???

The ladies had a great time with their stockings when St. Nick came! They found a word game and a Cinderella for the bathtub along with chocolate covered pretzels and some candy canes. Their favorite part was the matching Hello Kitty shirts...St. Nick was sure watching the ladies close to know all those toddler "trends." The holidays are here...let the hustling and bustling continue! (Ellana's cocoa must have been spiked...she's a bit off-kilter. Whoops!)

Ellana is 3!

Ellana celebrated her birthday in style this year! She was able to have a party with friends...and all the girls turned into fairies, while cousin, Thomas, transformed into a tiger. Everyone had fun decorating their own cupcakes and playing together. (The moms enjoyed some adult time, too!) Ellana then celebrated with the Browns and requested meatballs for dinner...followed by more cupcakes, ice cream, and gifts. Our family went to Madison to celebrate and it was Avelyn's first time spending the night at a hotel. Ellana loved the small waterpark and could not understand why we couldn't just stay in "our room" all the time. Maybe some other day, right? The party-ing was capped off with the Kostrova party, complete with fun witch nails and princess pails and cousins galore. It blows my mind to think that only three short years ago we were holding Ellana in our arms for the first time. How much she has grown and changed since then!

Celebrate Good Times

Yikes! Danny and I celebrated our 6th anniversary this year. Time seems to fly by when you look at how much things have changed since we were first married! A new house, two kids, new jobs...the list goes on and on. We are blessed with wonderful family members, friends, and furry little pals that make everything flow so well as we go through the day-to-day routines. At any rate...pardon the mushy stuff...we celebrated with a night away in Chicago. Preston and Nesli joined us and, not only participated in the fun, but also served as our tour guides...showing us all the fun that the city had to offer. Grandma Peg babysat for us and had a great time, too...but maybe not as much fun as us!

Angels Among Us

Our family was blessed to have an angel among us...as I am certain that many families come to recognize at some point. Grandpa Milan passed away on October 29 and, while it seems as though it will continue to take time adjusting to that void, it gave our family some time to spend together. The picture with my Grandpa Milan is the last picture that I took with him...you will also see our girls and my cousin, Lanette. Prior to the services, Ellana and Avelyn assisted with leaves. The group picture represents a good number of the Stiller cousins...and helped us to reflect on times when we were all together on Christmas. You see...we all had "spots" at Grandpa Milan's house when it came time to open gifts...and most of us are in those areas. It was a tough day, but we muddled through and were able to share some great memories and a few laughs.

Happy Halloween!

It seems as though we celebrated Halloween over the course of a couple weeks. The ladies went to the Zoo Boo at the NEW Zoo and trick-or-treated so much that we left with a ton of candy. Everyone had fun with the animals, the jack-o-lanterns, and the mazes. It was fun to see other costumes, too! As a family, we carved our two pumpkins. Ellana and Danny worked on their pumpkin and Avelyn and Jess created a cat. It took some convincing that it was OK to touch the pumpkin guts...and then Jess burned the pumpking seeds later on that night. Bummer. We also went to the Boo at the Zoo in Milwaukee and enjoyed the lights, especially in the Wolf Woods area, as well as the pirate display in the gathering space at the front of the zoo. The holiday came to a close as the girls trick-or-treated in DePere on a very cold Halloween night. We are still munching on the candy...my goodness!

Pumpkin Farm Frenzy

It was a chilly Sunday in October when we ventured to Swan Pumpkin Farm near Racine. The girls enjoyed the giant pumpkin, animals that wanted to be fed, and the hayride. Grandma Peg enjoyed the barrel ride and could not stop laughing. It was quite a sight to see Danny in this little barrel...knees up to his ears because he is so tall...going round and round in a circle. We had oodles of fun...even if our shoes were covered in gobs of mud from trying to find that perfect pumpkin in the field!

Hello to Mr. and Mrs. Haertl...

Kerri and Ryan were married on October 2. The day was perfect and holds so many fun memories for everyone that was able to share in their special day. Ellana and Avelyn were flower girls and did a great job of walking into the church with their new buddy, Dylan. The mass was beautiful and Fr. Conrad did a wonderful job with powerful words for all who were able to attend the ceremony. Following pictures and the meal, the dance floor was packed with cousins of all ages and friends that were crammed into the photo booth. When all was said and done, there was a happy bride and groom...and guests that were pooped out from all of the fun. Congratulations to two very special people!