Holiday Happenings

It's December and I have decided that it is definitely the busiest time of the year. We started our month off with a visit from Ivey. Emily and Joe came with her too! They went to Joe's Christmas party, and Ivey stayed and played with Sarah. Kevin, Jackson, and Adam headed to the Mebane Christmas Parade.

Sarah knows she is not supposed to touch the Christmas tree. I think she was surprised I was letting her touch it so I could get a picture.

Soccer has ended and basketball has started. This is Jackson's first game and the only one he's been able to make so far (I told you December was busy!). He made a shot but unfortunately we didn't get a picture of that.

Adam is playing basketball, too. He and Kevin are in a program called "Family Hoops" at the YMCA. They are learning basic basketball skills and have no organized games.

Jackson was Herbie in the 3rd grade musical, "The Reindeer Whisperer". His famous line was, "I want to be a dentist." On the same night, Adam and Sarah performed at their school. Aunt Jeanne and I watched Adam and Sarah, and then we all headed over to Smith School to watch Jackson. We made it just in time. They were singing their first song.

Adam and Sarah right before their performances.

Adam's class sang "All God's Creatures Have a Place in the Choir". He was a frog. They also sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer which seems to be Adam's favorite song this Christmas season.

Sarah's class sang "This Little Light of Mine" and waved their flashlights all around.

The next night I had a Christmas party to attend, so Kevin took the kids to A Victorian Christmas in downtown Burlington.

They were making it "snow" on the street. Jackson was quite shocked that he was catching soap bubbles and not flakes!

Jackson talks to Santa.

Adam talks to Santa. I heard that Sarah would give him a high five but nothing more.

Sarah is in the library "writing" her letter to Santa.

Adam must be thinking about what to write.

Jackson takes this letter writing very seriously. This would actually be his second letter to Santa.

Adam and Sarah have been taking a Creative Movement class at their day care. Miss Kim comes once a week to tell stories, dance, and do other fun stuff with them. I believe Adam has learned his days of the week by keeping up with when Miss Kim comes.

Sarah's group showed us some of the fun stuff they've done with Miss Kim.

Adam's grouped performed "Miss Kim's Nutcracker". Obviously Adam was one of the toy soldiers.

Don't let this sweet innocent look fool you!

After the Santa incident in Downtown Burlington, we thought we'd make a trial run at visiting Santa. We went to the mall in Burlington knowing that Santa wouldn't be too busy there. Sarah refused to let go of me but would let me stand next to him. She looked at the camera, they cropped me out, and viola! We got a decent picture of the three of them with Santa. We are not risking it by trying again, so this unofficial visit became our official visit this year!

The next exciting thing.... Sarah got a new bed! She is so excited to have a big girl bed. She's actually become quite possessive of it. She won't let anyone near it saying, "My bed. Get off Jackson (or Adam)!" She insists on sitting on it when getting dressed and undressed which makes it difficult to get the pants on sometimes.


Last night Adam had basketball practice and Santa showed up! Adam visited with Santa for a few and then went back to shooting hoops.

We are winding down here to the end, but the fun just doesn't stop. We are going to a live nativity and Christmas in the Park tomorrow night. I'd like to squeeze in a trip to Tanglewood, but I just don't think it's all going to fit in this year.

The boys are so excited that Christmas is only 4 days away. They anticipate opening the advent calendar each day and finding Fred, our resident "Elf of the Shelf". He has been reporting to Santa quite regularly and has even brought some letters back from Santa. Let's hope we've all behaved well enough for that visit from Santa!

New Hairdo Anyone?

I walked into the bathroom this morning to finish getting ready for church and found Jackson and Sarah getting into all or her hair bows. Adam came in and they decided to "fix" Sarah's hair. Jackson stuck the pink bow on top, and she actually kept it there until I officially fixed her hair. Maybe Jackson needs to fix her hair every morning. I sat down on the toilet to fix Sarah's hair and Adam came over with bows in hand to fix my hair. He decided that I needed every color in my hair. We goofed around for a few minutes and then put all the hair bows away.

Adam adding yet another bow.

I think a black one was going on that side.

Isn't that the best hairdo you've ever seen?

Beach Bums for a Week

We went to Hatteras last week where we had so much fun! I first must apologize for all the pictures. We got a new camera and ended up taking over 1000 pictures- yes, 1000- and I had a hard time narrowing them down to just a few to post. So, you get to enjoy a lot of our pictures.
Luckily it wasn't quite as hot at the beach as it was at home and with the constant breeze the heat we did have was quite bearable. After a quick dinner we headed straight to the pool at the condo we stayed in. Sunday and Monday were spent playing on the beach. Tuesday was the only day for rain so we stayed off the beach and drove into Nags Head. We played on Jockey's Ridge and then went to Digger's Dungeon where the Grave Digger Monster Truck was born. We got to stand next to some really big trucks, watch them work on a few, and even took a monster truck ride. Very much a boy thing so Sarah and I just hung out like good little sports. We spent the rest of the week on the beach and were not ready to leave on Saturday. To stay as long as possible we decided to visit the Hatteras Lighthouse before heading off the island.

Day 1

The spot we chose to play on the beach was within sight of the Lighthouse.

We found a big lake made at low tide by the ocean. The kids loved riding on the kayak. According to Adam it was a paddle boat and Sarah is riding the "Boogeyman board". When he wanted to fly the kite Adam asked to go kiting. It's so fun living in his little world!

The lake was only about a foot to a foot and half deep on one side and Sarah felt like she was in one huge baby pool.

Adam wanted to go paddle boating which translated into Kevin pulling him across the lake. Sarah always wanted to ride, too.

This little Garfield rake was Sarah's favorite sand toy. We aren't even sure where it came from!

There were all kinds of little fish and other creatures living in the pond. Jackson loved throwing the net and seeing what he caught. Adam loved picking up the fish and putting them into the bucket. He kept adding water to the bucket until all the fish jumped for freedom. He couldn't figure out where all of his fish went.

We went in a little after lunch for naps and then came back out after dinner so Kevin could fish. We went to a different part of the beach where there wasn't a lake. We assumed Sarah would be a little fearful of the ocean waves. Ummm... NOT! Here Jackson is taking it easy while he waits for a fish to bite.

This is one of Sarah's more calm moments. She kept going further and further into the water. I think she probably still has handprints on her wrists where I was holding on to her so tight.

Day 2

This is one of my favorite pictures.

This time Kevin and Jackson went back out to fish without me, Sarah, or Adam.

Day 3

The four of them are on top of Jockey's Ridge. They kept climbing up and then falling/rolling down.

Adam and Jackson enjoyed watching the hang gliders. They really should have put that sign in a different spot. It kind of ruins the photo opt.

The boys are standing beside one of the three monster trucks out in the field.

Kevin and Jackson took a ride on a monster truck. They said it was lots of fun!

Adam was supposed to ride on the monster truck too, but chickened out in the end. Here he is standing and watching with me and Sarah.

Day 4

Today, Adam, Jackson, and Kevin left the lake and went over to the ocean to fish. Adam, caught the first one this time. Kevin said that all the people around them started cheering for him.

While the boys fished, Sarah napped.

Sarah was acting very sassy after dinner this night. This is one of the many funny faces she made.

Day 5

Cuddling on the couch before heading to the beach.

We went to the local Wings the night before and Adam wanted to get this dump truck and sand toys. He pushed that thing all over the beach (and even shared it with Sarah).

Jackson watched some older boys skim board the day before and wanted one at our trip to Wings. Here he is practicing in the lake.

Day 6

Adam walked Sarah across the parking lot at the condo over to the truck. They were so cute, we had to get a picture.

At high tide, the ocean would start spilling over to the lake. Jackson was a little disappointed that high tide gets pushed back a little each day. Here is jumping onto the skim board from the side of the lake.

Sarah sat here and played in the sand for a long time this day.

Adam is standing on top of his castle. He would make those little castles from the sand molds and then stomp all over them.

Sarah took another nap on the beach. When she woke up, Adam was having some goldfish. She wanted some, so she squished herself next to him in the chair.

Jackson would take his skim board and paddle acroos the lake to the "deep side". The ocean started spilling over right before we were leaving. We let him have a few tries with skim board on the rushing water. It looked fun, but I'm sure I would have lost my balance.

Kevin found some crab pots in the condo's storage. He and the boys set the traps and actually caught some crabs. Most of them got away but we did cook one.

The condo was right on the sound and had hammocks and swings along the water's edge. It was really a beautiful place. We were shocked at how nice it was. The pictures online didn't do it justice.

The Last Hoorah!

Before heading out towards home, we stopped to admire the Hatteras Lighthouse. Jackson had lots of questions about how they moved it so we thought a visit to the museum would help answer those questions more correctly. We couldn't climb the lighthouse because Sarah and Adam are too short. Besides it was, according the ranger, the hottest day of the year, and I didn't want to go up in that un-air conditioned tube. It was probably a gorgeous view from the top though.

Jackson, Sarah, Adam, and I are the little people you see standing in front of the lighthouse.

Here is a close-up view of us in front of the lighthouse.