It...Is...Finished!

I'm wallowing around getting nothing done fast in a post-Christmas stupor.  Enjoy the photos -

 Barbie Jeep....score!

 The Dr. is In...I think...

 

Merry Christmas, Ya'll

A Long Winter's Nap

The other day my mother and I were in the back seat of the van, the kids with us, and Daddy driving.  Mom was reading The Night Before Christmas to the kids while we were waiting for Daddy.  When she got to the line, "And we all settled down for a long winter's nap," I literally broke out laughing.  Oh how wonderfully unrealistic that sounds!!!  I'm exhausted...yet with two little people in the house hyped up about Christmas it's hard to take a break (or my "break" is shopping...).

Last night was the kids 1st Camp Out by the Christmas Tree night.  I think they finally bit the dust around 10pm....Little Miss "C" first, followed by her brother who we found snoozing sprawled sideways between both of their pallets.  Yesterday was also our day to make and decorate Christmas cookies, as well as do some last minute shopping.

Today we joined Daddy's family for our Annual Christmas get-together.  Last year we combined this with Grandpa's big birthday celebration by renting a cabin in North GA.  This year we stayed closer to home and had a nice covered dish.  They're big GA Fans, hence the Georgia wear vs. Christmas attire.

The kiddos got some gifts...we are Spiderman  & Barbie happy this evening.  I keep getting pelted with Spidey's webs....

A New Name

Today was Reindeer Day at Preschool...see the picture below.

Also, my little boy's teacher sent a note home from school today.  It reads,
---------
Dear Wendy,

Did you know you no longer have a boy named Ben?  ;-)  He would like to be called "Jack"!  He is insisting on changing it, so I will try to remember...lol!

---------
Yes, he's been reminding me very often as of late to call him Jack.  Have NO idea where he got that idea, but it's hysterical!

In the meantime, Little Miss "C" had her class over to play and make gingerbread men today. There were 3 other girls and 1 boy, plus siblings.  About 15 minutes after all of the girls had arrived I went upstairs to see if they were ready to make the gingerbread cookies.  When I entered the room, I found that several girls had changed into one of my daughter's summer dresses, hence the photo below taken on a 50 degree day in a sleeveless sundress!

Candy Cane Lane

Little Miss "C" had her on-stage debut at the Christmas Dance Recital last night.  No video yet (sorry, Gran) but here are a few pics of the doll baby in her big girl makeup!

24 Days and COUNTING....I mean, COUNTING!!!

First of all, where did November go?

We've started our official countdown towards Christmas!  We open a "door" each day, revealing an item to remind us of a Biblical passage that shows Jesus' ministry and love - and also to reveal a treat or activity for that day.  This morning we learned about Jesus' first miracle - changing water to wine - and had a grape inside our door to introduce that story!

Last week the Christmas Tree on the Square was lit, and Santa himself arrived riding an old Fire Engine!  Since the line to see Santa was SO long that evening, we went back today and waited a mere hour to see the  jolly fellow!  Here are a few photos of our activities as of late:

The night of the tree lighting

 Sitting on Santa's Lap

 Any chance for a photo op for this girlie!

Say CHEEEEEEZ!

 And every other day around our house, you're sure to run into Spiderman or a Princess, and maybe even random animals and tall towers.  It's anyone's guess!!

Oh What a Night!

Whew....last night was fun!  We started with a full-out chili and soup fest in our driveway with neighbors, hot dogs for the kiddos, fire in the pit and friends to hang out with.  After filling our bellies the kids started to fill their buckets as we walked around part of the neighborhood for "treats."  Both of my kiddos were having me hold their bucket about halfway through because the neighbors were so generous!

Here are a few pics of Rapunzel and Spiderman:

Our Fall So Far

So since the middle of September we've been up to a lot!  Including:

A full-on getting ready for the royal ball, which included make-up, hair, foot soaking (dunno...) and dancing.  She was thrilled to play with the make-up!

 An off-season trip to the beach - we love it when everyone goes home after Labor Day!

 Mommy's break - Captivating retreat at Frontier Ranch in Colorado....yippee!

Getting ready for fall.....this picture epitomizes my kids' personalities!

And, oh, I don't think my kiddos can get more excited about trick-or-treating!  Here's a preview..tune in later for the full-on blonde wig. 

Finally

Dear Aunt Sis & Myles,

We finally found something for Ben's Birthday!

Thank you!

She's Five!

Ariel came to town today, all the way from Disney (according to my daughter).  She was a suprise that Daddy fished out of the neighborhood clubhouse parking lot about 30 minutes into Little Miss "C"'s 5th birthday party.  We had a fun time celebrating five years with a Little Mermaid Pool Party and all the fun stuff that went along with it!

July

Here we are - two more birthdays down and one about-to-be-in-4-days!  Summer has been much busier than I'd planned.  We started the month visiting our Pop & Gran in South Georgia.  Little Miss "C" had a HUGE time loving on their four new puppies!  Mommy loved getting away from the pesky gnats in the pool.  Brother just had fun outside and in...playing whever and wherever. 

  Kiddos helped decorate cupcakes for our family birthday celebration = lots of sprinkles!

 Riding the Pig Train was a favorite pasttime.  Notice the white tissues hanging from kids' heads?  In order to keep the gnats out of our faces, we had to have dryer sheets (Bounce, specifically...Downy doesn't work) hanging from our hats/visors/etc. 

We spent many mornings tending to our plot in the local community garden.  Little Miss "C"'s Cherry Tomato plant is the winner of the garden, producing lots of fruit.  We got three or four HUGE zuchinni and some cucumbers before our cucumber plant bit the dust.  Still have a few Okra producing and two eggplants in their beginning stages.  But by far the most beautiful things to come out of our garden were our ginormous sunflowers!!!

 Let me tell you...this almost-five-year-old wears a crown almost every day of her life, and many days a princess dress as well.  She's soooooo excited about her upcoming birthday and we'll celebrate with Ariel, The Little Mermaid at the pool. 

3 Years - The Birthday Boy

So today was Ben's big day!  He had a train party and is still full of energy following the late afternoon gathering.  God Bless all of our friends who came and braved the 104 degree heat to help us celebrate!