Christmas Festivities

The Christmas season is upon us and in full swing. I feel like we're in the "sweet spot" with our kids... there is so much magic to experience. 

 On December 1st, Roseanne made her appearance along with the angel. While they ate breakfast, I read them the books that go along with it. Roseanne left a note asking them to go through their toys to donate to less fortunate children. Two weeks later we are STILL going through. :)

 That night, we decorated our new Christmas tree. We had our old one for years and every year more lights weren't working. We got the GE LED tree. You can set it on colored or white lights.... or have it blink back and forth, which is what we do. I thought that would be so tacky (and maybe it is!), but it makes us so happy. 

 The kids love egg nog! They say it's like pudding that you drink. 

 My first grader holding up her Daddy's ornament he made in first grade :)

 The kids rotate putting the angel on the top. This is Adelyn's year. 

 Cutie pie

We visited Santa. Adelyn wants a Barbie house and James wants Legoes

They got these minion masks afterwards

 One Friday night, I let the kids sleep under the Christmas tree. Adelyn went straight to sleep, but James was up until 10:00. He wasn't disruptive. Eveyrtime I would come in to check on him, he would just be staring at the tree and he'd say, "It's just so beautiful. I can't stop looking at it. I want to remember it". It was so very sweet. They slept until 7:15! This is in our dining room on hardwoods, so I made the palate as cozy as possible. I guess I did good!

 The next morning, we had Pancakes with Santa at church. They sat in Santa's lap. 

 And then enjoyed pancakes with all the fixings (powdered sugar, sprinkles, syrup). After that, they made ornaments. All the proceeds went to the youth group and the youth was in charge of most of it. I thought they did a phenomenal job!

That night, Seth and I attended a Christmas party in Athens. It's fun to get dressed up!

 The next weekend, my parents came in town. We spent all of Saturday morning making Christmas cookies.

 This has been such a fun tradition to do with my mom and the kids! We made chocolate chip cookies, peanutbutter kiss cookies, and gingerbread men. 

 Ho, ho, ho!

 Two peas in a pod

 Granddaddy even got in a little cookie action! 

 December 15th was James's Christmas program and party. Pre-K dressed in costumes.

James was the world's cutest Christmas tree. 

 Grandma came to the performance and party

 Love this boy!

 After they ate, they did a book exchange.

This is his gift for us. I have Adelyn's from when she was in Pre-K. LOVE

Adelyn's party was the next day. Her class had pizza and sides. Here she is with her friends from class. 

They decorated 2 sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles. 

 Next, they had a book swap and then played a minute to win it game. They had to make a pyramid with cups with their partner. 

 Go kids!

Little side story.... in the book swap, Adelyn got a Magic Treehouse book she'd recently read. She asked a friend if she wanted to trade and this little girl said, "I've wanted that book my entire life!". So sweet. Adelyn got a Judy Moody chapter book that she read on the way home and for a little bit as soon as we got home and finished it. My little reader! ;)

The day after her party, kids from K-4 met at a nursing home to sing carols. It was very sweet. I think the residents loved seeing the kids! James was with me and he couldn't wait to sing. But when we got there, he said he was "too shy". WHAT? This kid is never shy. Oh well. 

We have about a week until Christmas! Can't wait to celebrate this special season some more.  

Thanksgiving school programs

As usual, the kids had great Thanksgiving programs! 

It was a homeschool day for Adelyn on the day of James's program. It didn't make sense to drop him off, go home, and get back for his performance. I packed her books and we went to Starbucks! She loved getting some hot chocolate and getting some work done! 

 Each age level at James's school  wears different costumes to represent Thanksgiving. 

 Pre-K dressed as pilgrims. After they sing, they have a feast (nuggets, green beans, stuffing....at 10:30 a.m)

All four of us got to attend his performance!

Grandma and Grandpa also joined us!

Adelyn's performance was the next day. This was my first time seeing a performance at her school and I was impressed! They did a play and every child had one line. Adelyn was a narrarator. 

 Adelyn having fun afterwards with her friends from class

 Unrelated, but this was the same week....James had an awards ceremony to celebrate him earning a stripe on his belt! He is loving karate!

Thanksgiving at Folly Beach 2015

We celebrated Thanksgiving a little different this year. We went with my parents and brother to Folly Beach, SC. My family absolutely loves the beach and we wanted to try something new. We stayed at the same condos we stayed in this past summer. The weather was fantastic our entire stay and it ended up being a perfect getaway. We were there Wednesday (11/25) through Saturday (11/28). 

We arrived late Wednesday. My mom had lasagna for everyone and it was a nice quiet evening. We woke up Thursday morning and hit the beach! It was very comfortable outside!

Group effort sand castle

I love her reflection in the water of this picture

Horns up, as always!

 My kids love to dig in the sand. I didn't bring buckets and shovels, but luckily my dear friend Heather lives down the road and loaned us theirs. 

 Mom and I came in a little early to finish up Thanksgiving lunch. We brought most dishes from home. It was a good thing, as this kitchen was not very stocked! We had to use a blender or coffee pot as measuring cups. 

 My dad is carving our yummy turkey

 Adelyn set the table. She wrote everyone's name on tags and put them in pretty place holders that my mom brought from home. We also all wrote down what we're thankful for. 

 Here's the spread! 

My first pecan pie (pecans from trees in our yard!)

 We are ready to dig in!

We spent the rest of the day the way you should on Thanksgiving- a little nap and some more time outside. Seth and I went out that night after the kids went to bed. You can walk everywhere!

 On Friday morning, I went for a short run and then we drove to the Pirate Playground. Isn't this lighthouse cute? 

Heather and her son, Zephyr met us. James and Zephyr are about the same age. 

 We went back to the beach and the kids dug and dug!

 Adelyn was INTENT on digging a water way from the ocean up the castle they built. She would not stop! We were all ready for lunch and my girl refused to leave it. 

 James enjoyed splashing in the water. I love that it this warm! We were finally able to pull Adelyn away from her project and we went to lunch at The Witch Doctor. Seth, my mom, myself and the kids went. It was an awesome lunch! After lunch and naps, we went to the end of Folly, where you can see Morris Lighthouse. 

  There are lots of fun rocks to climb on!

 Exploring!

 Love these people!

 Jumping!

I love this picture of the driftwood and the lighthouse in the background. This is a truly breathtaking area!

We all ate dinner at Taco Boy (even dined outside!) and then Seth, Joseph and I went to Loggerheads that night. On Saturday morning, we packed up and went to the Farmers Market in downtown Charleston. This was the last market of the season. It was hot! Then, we met my old college roommate, another Heather, for lunch. On our way home from Charleston, we stopped in Spartanburg to see the Myers (and sweet baby Brooks). This was a great weekend filled with family, friends, and beautiful weather to enjoy the scenery. We are truly blessed and thankful!