Snapshots of Christmas 3

 

Snapshots of Christmas 2

 

Snapshots of Christmas 1

 

There is so much going on at Christmas: Talent shows! Gift opening! Cousins playing!

Christmas Morning 2009

There is one tradition we have always stuck to since we had kids of our own, and that is having Christmas Morning at our own house. I just love this little tradition. I don't know who is more excited every year, the kids or Kevin and I. Every year one of us slyly suggest that we open just one present Christmas Eve. This year we managed to wait and I guess it was worth it because we have a lot of descriptive pictures of faces!

We got each of the kids a scooter, and Cole (and let's be honest, Kevin) got a real rocket you can blast off into the air.

My favorite gift was the Chanel perfume Kevin got me. I'd been on the hunt for a new scent for a few years and Kevin picked out an absolute winner.

I love Kevin's face, though, in the picture where he's just looking at me. It's that look where I managed to somehow do more for him than he usually does for me. The look that tells me I've surprised him, and spoiled him. (and, I got that look by buying him not one, but TWO remote control helicopters).

Company Christmas Party

This year for the first time, we decided to have the company Christmas party at our house. Kevin had done so much work on our front living room, it was the perfect space to have a big dinner. We moved our table into the room, opened up all the leaves and made it nice and big.

Of course we only had service for 4, so what better excuse to go to IKEA? We got dishes, glasses, and decorations for a crowd. I kept it pretty simple but I loved how it turned out and how nice it was to have the option to make the living room a dining room whenever we need it. It was a wonderful evening, just sharing stories and laughter with this small group of people who work so hard with Kevin and Scott to keep the business plugging along. Of course I didn't get a picture of anyone...

The Big 3-5

It comes as no surprise to me that the only pictures I have of my birthday are of me with my cake. I do love cake, specifically from Edible Art. The more frosting, the better. I get a little possessive about it: I like to be the one to cut it, every year I tell Kevin what kind of theme I want on it, or what colors I'd like. It's a little silly (to everyone else, maybe but not me. I really love cake). So 35 came and went in the form of a nice get together with Kevin & the kids, mom and dad, and of course, the cake.

O Christmas Tree

Since Fletcher and Nancy sold the farm they had the tree lot on, our new tradition has been to go up into the mountains and cut one down from one of Fletcher's crops up there. However, since we spent Thanksgiving in Charleston, we didn't quite feel like making another 3 hour drive to the mountains for a tree.

There are no shortage of lots around here, so we picked a place and with great anticipation set out to get a tree. We picked out a beauty (although no tree can match one of Fletcher's...), but there was definitely something missing from our usual experience. The Spillman Tree Farm always had a hustle and bustle, music playing, cocoa brewing, lots of youth helping....and although this tree lot was nice enough, it was lacking with all the usual Ho-Ho-Ho and Fa-La-La we'd been so accustom to getting our tree.

It was done and over in about 10 minutes, although the kids thoroughly enjoyed the merry go round they had on site. I'm pretty sure next year we'll make the drive.

Christmas Picture 2009

Thanksgiving 2009

Well. It happened. I honestly have no idea how I managed to not take ONE PICTURE during a holiday such as Thanksgiving.

It was a special Thanksgiving for us this year as we took some extra time to visit some of Kevin's extended family in Charleston. It was a family reunion of sorts and those types of things often make me a little uneasy. New People, or people I don't see very often. New Names, and I am SO BAD with names. I forget often moments after you tell me. But I will say that our time there was really really wonderful!

We spent the first day down there visiting downtown Charleston. After an hour or so at the local children's museum - which was so cool, the kids still talk about it - we stumbled onto the Mellow Mushroom and decided this was a sign it was time to eat a meal. Any meal. We enjoyed some delicious pizza and then decided to walk the streets and window shop. That's about the time that Adison had one of her classic melt downs. Although melt down isn't really a good enough description. It's more like...a break down. You might never guess it, but at just 3, this little girl will hit, scream, pull hair, scream, hit, and shout things at you like: I want my doggy!!! [Mama gives girl doggy. Girl screams and acts like the dog is on fire, throwing it down] I DON'T want my doggy!! And so it went as we walked down the lovely streets of Charleston. She doesn't have episodes like this often at all, but when she does, it is truly something to behold. And how could passers by do anything but behold it? Kevin was experiencing this for the first time on this day. After several attempts to reason with her, I gave him my best advice: hold her like a little lamb and MOVE. Make time to the car. And so we did, where two adults almost couldn't get a little girl into her car seat. That was pretty much our experience with downtown Charleston, but the 15 minutes of it we saw were really beautiful, and we'd love to make it back.

Thanksgiving meal was at Johnny & Nia's house, and it was really the perfect day for it. We had great weather, enough food for a crowd of 100, and they have an outdoor fireplace which was great to sit next to while the turkey cooked in the fryer. The kids had a wonderful time playing with cousins, and 2nd cousins, and aunts and uncles...I don't think I could have asked for a more relaxing day. On tope of that, Kevin and I enjoyed catching up with everyone so much. It was a great day spent with family and we were so glad we came down for the visit.

Halloween

This is the only picture I managed to take on Halloween. Cole really isn't that big into super hero's, but he has seen the old Superman movies / and cartoons over at Grammy & Grandpa's house and for awhile there he was about all things superman. It's funny how the costume is so huge on him, with all those fake muscles swallowing up Mr. Skinny. Adison was happy to be Minnie Mouse, but really anything with a bit of fluff and sparkle on it she was happy with.

We usually do it up big on Halloween, going to several houses in different neighborhoods of friends, but this year we kept it close to home and just trick or treated our neighborhood. It was nice to see the neighbors and all the other kids that come out and you realize you are not the only family on the block.

One Last Time

I'll never forget Cole's 2-year check up, where the Dr. I saw at the Pediatrician's office gave me a stern talking to about dropping his pacifier as quickly as possible. Being the well-meaning new mother I was, I took this advice. And Cole rarely napped again. At 2. Needless to say this was not our favorite Doctor.

I was determined to do it my way with Adison, and was unapologetic about her pacifier habits at her check up. Plus we saw a different Doctor. But come 3, I knew it was time for her to say goodbye to it. At that point she only had it during sleeping times. Nap and Bedtime. And I knew full well that once I took it away, I could probably say goodbye to the nap.

I was right on.

So here, I captured what I'm pretty sure is one of her last regular naps.

Disney - Wrap Up

We had so much fun on this trip. We do our best to not over-plan, allow for days off and time in between big activities so we can truly enjoy our vacation. One thing we've made a habit of is getting a rental house with a pool, which is pretty easy in Florida. The kids really enjoy it so much and it's a fun thing to do just staying at home. I have a couple of pictures of us playing away in it.

We always take a picture of our group outside the house before we leave, and I think I love the picture that happened before "the" picture this year. I love these moments, captured accidentally because some glitch set the camera off early. Kevin isn't in this one, because he's manning the automatic button. Nancy is mostly ready to go; she's got her picture smile warmed up. Fletcher is in the middle of saying something to Kevin. I imagine it was funny, or instructional, or both. I am grooming the kids, telling Adison exactly where to look, getting her body into place. Cole, I think, is my favorite: he knows exactly what is going on, and frankly, he's not thrilled about it.

Looking at the "after" picture you'd never know that all this went on.

The last pic is of all of us in the car, driving home. We bought the car not long before the trip with the purpose of having a 3rd row and more space and it worked out great! Another wonderful trip with family. :)

Nana's Birthday

It just so happened Nancy's birthday was during our trip and we were so happy to be able to spend the day with them and celebrate. The men cooked up a fine meal, topped off with a delicious Key Lime Pie and the birthday song. We made up a little album of pictures of our trip for her as a gift.

I'm so grateful that they took time out of their schedule to make this long drive to Orlando with us. It's such a special time to just spend the days with them, from activities to simple meals at home, it's something we've enjoyed very much. And you always learn something new: like Nana has a Nintendo DS. For her. Not for the kids. Just when you think you have her figured out... :)

Disney - Not So Scary Halloween

Disney runs a little special during October, and that is their Not So Scary Halloween Party where you purchase an extra ticket for the evening, come in costume, and trick-or-treat and ride rides late into the night.

We knew we wanted to see the fire works with the kids one night, and we also knew that Magic Kingdom was going to be the place where we spent the most time. So after a lot of thought, we decided to pay for the extra tickets.

The day of we just took it easy, knowing we'd be up a little later that night. We headed over to the park, costumed and ready to go about 5:00. They had fireworks planned at 9, and although the park stayed open until midnight, we knew that we'd most likely watch the fireworks and call it a night.

Man, were we wrong! The kids had an absolute BLAST! We did plenty of rides, and took our time trick or treating at the stations. The places were marked with a big white light and they would literally put handfuls of candy into your bag. It was insane.

They had a lot of characters out and about, and although it was still crowded, it wasn't nearly as long of a wait as it was during the day. Adison spotted Donald at a "dance party" near the carousel and she lit up. She wasn't shy at all and ran right up to him and danced with him for a good while. I think they had to pry him off of her. My pictures are blurry and don't nearly capture how excited she was.

The fireworks were amazing, and the kids were not melting down at all and Cole asked to do some of the faster rides again, and we figured, why not? The second it goes sour, we'll leave. It cleared out a ton after the fireworks, and so taking turns we did fast ride after fast ride with Cole, and Adison rode the carousel, Dumbo, and a few other things. Before we knew it, it was midnight. MIDNIGHT! We were shocked. We headed home and I can say without a doubt, that this was my absolute favorite part of the trip. Everyone at the theme park, adults and kids alike were costumed up in some of the neatest costume's I've ever seen. The atmosphere was so fun, and as a family we had a wonderful time! I can't wait to do it again.

Kennedy Space Center

It's no secret around here that Kevin is fascinated by most things NASA/Space related and so he was pretty excited about a trip down to Kennedy Space Center. He took Cole and Fletcher down there for the day, and Nancy, Adison and I stayed back and did other important business -- like visit IKEA, Nancy's first time!

To say they had a great time is pretty much the understatement of the century. Kevin came back with 3 Nasa t-shirts. (He claims they came as a set.....). Since I wasn't there, I thought it would be neat to use the story Cole wrote about his visit for this post. These are all his words, taken down by Kevin the afternoon after they went.

Fire that is white because it is so hot it is white. The Space Shuttle is connected to a rocket that makes it go up. The thing in the middle is the gas tank that gets gas for the fire.

The crawler drives really, really, really slow because the rocket doesn't want to fall off when it is facing straight up. The crawler has one thing to do. It is to bring space shuttles and the rocket and the tank to where it blasts off. That thing that is yellow/orangish and black is a satellite. Satellites go around the earth and never, ever stop. They look for earth for some reason I don't know.

The Space shuttle is a thing that goes up in space and that is the only thing that goes up into space. I got to look inside the space shuttle and look at the satellite and got to look where the pilot sits, the one who drives.

Space Shuttles need rockets to help them get up. Space shuttles only have two wings on the back. There is no wings in the middle or the front. Space shuttles have to have parachutes at the back because they go so fast that they can't even stop on the runway.

The rocket helps a space ship or if anyone is in it helps them get up to space. And a rocket breaks up into little pieces. It has a place where the fire comes out that gets smaller and smaller so they need to have less fire shooters that shoot fire and it is so big that it is taller than you are, even taller than a space shuttle.

That building right there with the big, big, big, big, big, big, American flag. The big tank that holds all the gas for the fire, that's where the space shuttle and the rocket and the gas tank gets put together. Then the crawler comes in and takes all the stuff that was put together and takes it where it blasts off.

That big round rock is something that you turn, it's like a globe, except it is so heavy it's sitting on water, and you can move it perfectly.

When we went to the Kennedy Space Center the last thing we did was watching a 3-D movie. We needed to wear glasses because it will look like something is coming at you. The movie was about walking on the moon.

Disney - Animal Kingdom

Today's adventure was Animal Kingdom. The kids and I had been the year before when we met Dana and her family there. The one thing I loved most was the Safari so we planned on taking Kevin and his parents on that for sure. It is simply amazing to me that in the middle of several theme parks they have managed to make an area that appears wide open and in the middle of nowhere. We saw so many animals, you almost couldn't keep up. There were all the usual suspects: zebras, elephants, giraffes, alligators and so much more. The big wow moment came when we got so close to a Rhino that I honestly wondered what was going to happen. It was a really special moment to be so close to an animal we rarely see in a zoo and never would get the chance to see so close up.

Animal Kingdom is pretty show-heavy with the Lion King and several other song-and-dance type things, but there was a really neat garden section that we walked through and were lucky enough to see not only one but two tigers. It was just spectacular to see them interact and even the tour guide - or whatever the cutesy name they give that person at the park - noted how we should get the camera out to see these two rubbing their heads together.

Kevin and I left the kids with Nancy and Fletcher at the kiddie carnival area where we went and rode their big ride attraction: Mt. Everest. I'll be honest, I thought I was a fast ride person, I thought I missed the days when I would ride fast ride after ride and not think twice about eating my weight in food before or afterwards. But shortly after Mt. Everest started, it became painfully clear that I no longer enjoy feeling like I've left my stomach three seats behind me or the sheer panic of literally not knowing what turn is next. I'm not ready to give up fast rides yet, but I do know this: I do NOT enjoy going backwards on a fast ride.

Orlando - Magic Kingdom

We have been itching to get back to Disney since the first time we went 2 years ago. Just like before, we went with Nancy & Fletcher (aka Nana and Grandaddy) and rented a house. I hope we are building a little tradition because we simply love this little trip. We love the chance to visit Disney and we love spending some extended time with Nancy and Fletcher.

First on the agenda was Magic Kingdom. Cole remembered Goofy's Barnstormer from the trip 2 years ago and was itching to go again. The kid LOVES fast rides. (more on that later).

We had such a great time at Magic Kindgom. This was Adison's first visit, since she was just 1 the last time we visited, and we didn't bring her to the theme parks. She absolutely loved it.

We hit the hot spots: Tea Cups, Goofy's Barnstormer (times 3), The Motorway, Mickey & Minnie's house, Winnie the Pooh and more. A note on Mickey & Minnie: we met them live and in person. You can see from the picture, Adison is thrilled while Cole is most likely thrilled but playing his shy/nervous look.

The most surprising thing was that the kids LOVED the Transit Authority in Tomorrowland. It was essentially a moving sidewalk, only sitting down. It took you on a view over the whole section. The wanted to ride it twice! Fine by us who had been walking a good bit.

As usual we left when the kids started getting tired and headed back to the house for a relaxing afternoon. We love staying in a home instead of a hotel. It's so peaceful, everyone has their own space, we have our own little pool, it's such a treat!