School Parties (and what not)

James's last day of school was Thursday (12/16). His class performed the Nativity and James was the Inn Keeper. He said his line loud and clear. 

 I love my Inn Keeper!

They returned to class and ate a Christmas lunch and played games. 

 

Mrs. Rachael is amazing! The kids gave the parents the cutest Christmas crafts! James did some really nice paintings and ornaments that I'll always treasure. 

On Friday, we joined Adelyn for lunch at school. This day was pajama day at school. Adelyn refused to wear hers (in case she was the only one), so she opted for "comfy clothes" and ended up being about the only 2nd grader NOT in pajamas. This child. 

We went to my parents' house Friday after school to celebrate Christmas with my mom's side of the family. We had a wonderful lunch (brisket, mac and cheese, baked beans). Unfortunately, Adelyn got sick Saturday night. She puked all.night.long and ran a fever Sunday morning. She spent the day resting and was all better that afternoon. It was a strange little bug!

Sunday night was Oak Grove's Christmas service. James sang with his choir and then sat with Santa. 

Adelyn's party was Monday morning (Her last day was Tuesday (12/21). The kids ate breakfast and then did the world's cutest crafts in stations. It was the most calm party I've ever attended with children! Her teacher must have magic powers. 

Snowman from rice and socks

I love this girl of mine so much! 

I bought chalkboard wrapping paper and the kids have had fun decorating the gifts for me :)

I said, "Christmas is right around the corner!" and James asked, "Which corner?!". They're so excited!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

It's 11 days until Christmas, so there's still plenty of time for more Christmas fun! Here's a look at what we've been doing so far.

At the end of November, my sister in law hosted a party at her house for her office staff's kids. They decorated sugar cookies and visited with Santa. Yes, James is in his karate gear. This is what happens when it's on a Tuesday evening. :) We'll go see our regular Santa eventually and the kids will wear their cute Christmas attire. 

 We decorated the Christmas tree when we got home from my parents' house. It was fun to have my mom help!

 It was James's turn to put the angel on this year!

Roseanne came December 1st! Her candy cane rope led her into our house. 

I didn't order these school Santa pictures because doesn't it look like James is picking Santa's nose? Quick vent: I hate how many times the kids see Santa! They saw him at Target (he was there while we were shopping), at my sister in laws, and at both of their schools. I want to take them to see our regular Santa but the novelty is gone. What happened to the ONE special trip to see Santa? They're not even excited now because he's EVERYWHERE!! 

Adelyn's girl scout trip was in a parade on the first Saturday of the month. They all dressed as what they'd like to be when they grow up (choosing things that males typically are). They will be "Exceptional Future Leaders" for sure!

They were chanting, "Merry Christmas! Girls can do ANYTHING!" the entire parade route. So cute! I love that they instill this. 

We went to a dressy Christmas party and it was so much fun! 

Roseanne imitated the fort the kids were building with marshmallows and toothpicks.

She warned the kids NOT to give the dog treats to Santa

James's class made sugar cookies FROM SCRATCH. His teacher is an amazing baker. They made homemade icing too. The cookies were perfectly shaped and delicious. They decorated as many cookies as they wanted. 

So dang cute in that hair net and apron that Mrs. Rachael made for each kid. They all got to take home 6 cookies 

We had our life group Christmas party. We went to the Scott's house and enjoyed hot dogs, meatballs, buffalo chicken dip, and cookies. I planned several Minute to Win It games and they were so fun! The kids and adults participated. 

Melissa got each of the kids a box filled with Christmas goodies

I love our group!

One of the kids favorite things to do is sleep beneath the tree. We made a large, soft palate and they loved it!

Roseanne nestled herself in too

Aw, beautiful flowers from Santa!

We attended Seth's Rotary Christmas party

Meet the elf family

Can't wait to see what else is in store! 

Thanksgiving

We had such a nice Thanksgiving!

James had his Thanksgiving performance at school. His class dressed as Pilgrims. The kids were out of school the entire week of Thanksgiving! We spent Monday through Wednesday afternoon having play dates and chilling! We left late Wednesday afternoon for my parents' house. 

On Thursday morning, the kids entertained themselves while my mom and I got things ready for lunch. 

Bloody Mary's 

 My dad carved the delicious turkey

 The kids recently tried chicken wings and were in love. We gave them the turkey wings. :) 

My mom with her brother, Richard 

 Wishbone!

My grandmother used to make this green nutty jello salad and we all loved it. My mom made it and Adelyn loved it too!

On Friday night, we went to downtown Charlotte for a German festival (although these are Scottish bagpipe players?). It was a cute little festival! 

 Then we walked to dinner  and made some fun stops along the way!

Making a wish in the fountain

After dinner at RiRa's, we went to Imiginon and saw "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever". It was a musical and SO, SO good! I read the entire book to the kids on the drive up. It was a great way to start off the season!

My mom rode back home with us on Saturday and stayed until the following Sunday. It was so nice to have her in town for that long!

On Friday, we surprised the kids and pulled them out of school early. We drove down to Atlanta to check out Ponce City Market. We had a fun Mexican lunch and then the kids hit the candy store. 

Cutie pies

Such a neat building! It's an old factory turned into a Sears turned into this! It has restaurants, shops, and offices and connects to the beltline

We sat outside and enjoyed gelato. The only bad thing about this place is it's so expensive! On the roof, there is putt putt and arcade games. When I found out it was $10 per person just to get up there (and then even more money to do the activities), we had to decline.  

 Plan B was going to Avalon to go ice skating. It was pure joy watching her have so much fun out there! 

Mom and I enjoyed a glass of wine while watching her skate. 

My mom comes every December and we bake a huge batch of cookies. It's one of my favorite traditions! 

So much to be thankful for! Now on to Christmas!