Catching Up

AH!  I am so behind...said every mom a million times during the Christmas season!  I am no different.  But I am doing my best to catch you all up on the last month or so.  We left off with our super fun trip to the Mountains.  Let's see basketball season started and once again Brian is assistant coach.  Jake is doing great and has definitely improved over the last year.  Not sure he has ever taken a shot but he is always looking to pass to his friends.  And he always has his arms up on defense...never fails.  He is number 25 this year and on his best friends JP's team.  Going to be a great season!

Our neighbors had family in town and we all went to the aquarium...3 adults, 8 kids, on Thanksgiving break.  Maybe we should thought those numbers through a tad more, but we managed to have a great time.  (Not to mention we came home with all 8 kids!)  Thought this was a cute picture of some of them.

That brings us to Thanksgiving.  We went to Sandersville to see Nana!  The kids were so excited.  Daddy and Nana, however, not feeling so well.  Sadly, we had to leave a day early but we managed to get in lots of fun before we left!

Papa Veal's walker might have given Grace the most entertainment!  She wheeled around the house on it and just had a ball!

Nana snuggles!

And Julianna gave a Frozen concert.  Singing along at the top of her lungs.  Yes, both she and Grace know every word of every song!  And we even managed a cute kid picture!

Hated to leave but we will see them again after Christmas!  Next?  We came home to rest, shop and Sunday we had our first-definitely making it-annual Thanksgiving neighborhood kickball game.  Oh so much fun!

There was laughter, homeruns, outs, and tears, oh and Grace stuck her hand in dog poop.  But we are already looking forward to a rematch next year!  We split the adults up into two teams but I see parents vs. kids in our future, not sure how much longer we will be able to win (that's assuming we could beat them now!).  Love our neighborhood!

Oh next is our visit with Santa.  First of all let me say NO TEARS!  Yes!  Santa is a big deal, kids love him and they were ready with their lists and to discuss it with the big guy!  Take a look at their lists but pay special attention to Grace's list.

Yes, top of her list is food.  Just food.  She is consistent and it's all she says she wants.  What can I say?  The girl does love to eat!  But it definitely threw Santa for a loop.  But they all hopped up on his lap and smiled for the camera.

And the Christmas Season begins!

Mountain Trip

Oh my gosh time just flies by.  We have been so busy and I am trying to catch up.  A couple weeks ago we went to Gatlinburg for a weekend with the Decker's.  The drive up was a little rough for everyone but once we got there it was fun times!  We rented a beautiful cabin, complete with hot tub, pool table, air hockey, and best of all queen bunk beds!  Grace got a room to herself but the other 4 had such fun sleeping in the same room!

Saturday everyone was up early and had a wonderful breakfast.  The boys (plus Grace) went off to explore Gatlinburg.  They rode go-karts and ate all kinds of fun stuff.  The men came back with tons of moonshine...they were super excited.

The girls heads to the Christmas store, after getting hot chocolate and cookies of course!  We had such fun picking out ornaments and decorations.  So nice to spend some time with my sweet Julianna!  And it got us in the Christmas spirit!

Then we went back to the cabin for dinner and the kids played games and jumped in the hot tub.  I can't help but add this picture of Grace.  Meegan and I were reading magazines and she just picked one up and started flipping through.  She is so fun!

We had a great weekend.  I can't say enough how fortunate we are to have the Decker's down the street.  Our neighborhood is just the best.  We have made such wonderful friends here.  I know this was just the first of many trips together!

Julianna's Dates

On Monday Julianna didn't have school.  I have been looking forward to this day since she never really gets me to herself.  She just loves art.  Coloring, painting, drawing, you name it she loves it.  So I thought going to a studio and painting would be perfect.

Can't you just see how excited and happy she is to get to paint a canvas!  She picked a butterfly.  They traced it on her canvas and off she went.  

She loved every minute.  And of course picked out her picture she was going to paint next time.  I think she did a great job.  She's only 4 and painted this for the most part all by herself!  

Then on Saturday it was her turn to go with Daddy to the Auburn game!  Excited would be an understatement.  She would wake up in the morning and ask if today was the day she was going to Auburn.  Finally very early Saturday morning she woke me up (she had no clothes on) saying "Mommy get up I don't know what to wear! Come on you need to help me get ready!"  So we found her cheerleader outfit and since it was cold found pants and shirt to go under.  And she was ready! 

Off they went to cheer on the Tigers.  I know they had a great time even if the Tigers didn't win.  I hope she continues to be excited to go to Auburn.  Maybe in 14 years we will be dropping her off there!  War Eagle!

Halloween

Halloween was a whirlwind!  The weekend before the kids closed out their fall sports season.  They both enjoyed learning their new sport.  Julianna loved playing soccer with her friends Lily and Hadley.  Jake played flag football and decided he liked defense better than offense.  It was a great season and we are looking forward to the spring!

After the final games we took the kids to Boo at the Zoo.  Super cute!  I had never done that before.  They had all kinds of fun activities and they collected candy along the way.  And its another opportunity to wear their costumes!

The next day we had Lily's (Julianna's BFF) Mermaid birthday party.  This party was complete with mermaids in the backyard pool!  The kids were sooo excited!  Then they sprinkled "magic dust" and turned into humans.  They played with the kids and did tattoos and face painting.  Lots of fun!

Finally it was Halloween week and Grandma came to visit!  Just in time for Trunk or Treat.  This year the trunks were amazing!  We saw a Frozen trunk, Duck Dynasty, Christmas, Princesses, a Fire Truck.  There was even one spot you could launch a pumpkin and knock your teachers picture over.  So much fun...and so much candy!

Finally Halloween came.  It was a full day of parties and candy.  Thankfully since Grandma was here I could go to Jake's Halloween centers.  I didn't tell him I was coming, he was so surprised and happy to see me!

After Jake's school I hurried to catch the end of Julianna's party.  She was playing some hot potato and having a great time.  They awarded her the Best Frozen Princess award.  Then we were off to make it to Grace's school Trunk or Treat.

We made it and dressed Grace up.  She was Anna to Julianna's Elsa (of course!).  Her BFF Cadence is in her class.  They are two peas in a pod!

After yet another trunk or treat we went home to rest up for the main event.  Like we don't have enough candy yet!  I joined the social committee and we were busily setting up for our Halloween party.  Brian and Grandma got everyone ready and brought them over.  We had a great time eating pizza and playing games.  Finally it was time to trick or treat!

I forgot to mention our pumpkins!  Brian painstakingly carved 3 pumpkins, as he does every year.  Its not my thing...that goodness its his!  The kids get to pick out their own design and every year Daddy delivers!  This year was no exception!

So off the kids went trick or treating.  We bought a golf cart with our neighbors...and I gotta say it's the way to trick or treat!  So nice to just ride along while the kids run from house to house.  Especially when it started raining.  But that didn't stop them!  It was a great night, they loaded up on candy and had such fun with their friends!

Julianna's 1st Karate Graduation

I am a little late in posting this but we've been busy!  If I hadn't mentioned it, Julianna decided she wanted to do karate with Jake.  She is so enthusiastic (most of the time) and works really hard.  A couple weeks ago she attended her first graduation.  Which means she advances her belt and gets to break a board.

Unfortunately I had to miss this milestone but I left her (and my camera) with Brian with instructions to video her breaking her very first board.  So here is our Julianna...

She also closed the ceremony.  Which means she stood up in front of everyone and recited the pledge.  She is an amazing little girl!

Wedding Weekend

What an adventure we had this weekend!  We went to Columbus, OH for my cousin Tommy's wedding.  So many things for the kids to be excited about, seeing lots of family, staying in a hotel, swimming in the pool, going to a wedding (for the cake), but most of all flying on an airplane!  We got to the airport inplenty of time.  Walking in from the parking lot Grace stopped every time a plane took off (probably every minute) so it took us a while.  She was so excited to see airplanes!

We took got on escalators, made it through security, rode on a train and finally made it to our gate...and hour before boarding.  Long wait!  Finally we got on and the kids were just bouncing with excitement.

After a long taxi and an even longer wait to take off we were in the sky!  Glad its a short flight because they got bored and ate all their snacks pretty quickly.  But it was uneventful (and no one had to go to the bathroom).  So success!  Grandma and Aunt Pammie met us at the airport and we were off to the hotel for 3 days of fun with their cousin Wesley!

We were looking for something to do Friday and found a Graeters Ice Cream with a play place!  I mean it could not have been more perfect.  You can bring you lunch, play and get the BEST ice cream in the world for dessert.  They had a blast playing and sliding...they even had a banana see-saw!

After we rested the kids took Grandma and Poppy swimming.  They were all over the place, jumping and splashing.  It was great to wear them out!

That night the adults went to the rehearsal dinner and had a great time.

Saturday it was wedding day!  Everyone was looking super cute.  I was only a little nervous about the kids (I mean Grace) behaving during the wedding.  She was actually pretty good.  When Carissa walked down the aisle Grace said "Oooh Mommy, look it's a princess!"  Julianna was very into it too.  She asked all kinds of questions about who was getting married and who were the bridesmaids.  Did I marry Daddy, is that how you got your rings?  She was really paying attention!  We made it though the wedding and just as I was breathing a sigh of relief the usher signals our aisle to leave.  And Grace dumps my purse and everything in it on the floor.  Awesome!  Lipstick was rolling under the pews, I grabbed what I could and Brian went back for the rest.  You just have to laugh.

The kids went to the reception for a little while.  Carissa had made them each a bucket of fun.  So they had a great time playing with yo-yos and stickers.  They ate lots of food (mostly off other people's plates) and then the girls were ready to dance!  Of course no one was dancing yet but they didn't care!

The traditional sibling shot:

We had such a fun time with our family!  I wish we could get together more but we are all scattered across the US.  So wonderful to see you all!  We are even missing a few in this picture!

Congratulations Tommy & Carissa!  Thanks for a fantastic weekend!

Sports!

Fall brings another season of sports.  Julianna is finally old enough!  Jake is starting his football career with some flag football.  He is super excited and says he has lots of fun!  Every game it clicks a little more.  There are a lot of rules!  But he is playing with JP so that makes it all the more fun!

Julianna is playing soccer.  She is a natural.  She and her best friends, Lily and Hadley are on the same team.  They are all having lots of fun not to mention scoring lots of goals!  Julianna scored 3 in her first game!

Grace has fun on the sideline...or tries to join in!  Her time will come.

Disney World Day 7

Our last day.  Time to check out.  It's raining and not just drizzling.  It's pouring.  We are both tempted to just get in the car and go home.  But we paid for tickets and we promised Hollywood Studios.  And we have rain boots!

So we brave the rain and head to Hollywood Studios.  Of course we ride Toy Story first thing.  The line wasn't bad so we dried off and waited for one last ride.

We didn't ride much just walked around and waited for the Frozen Sing A Long.  We had to do that one again!  Even in the rain we managed to have fun.  We grabbed lunch on the way out and Daddy surprised us with dessert (or maybe he used our last snack credit!).

We said goodbye to Disney and hit the road.  This is 15 minutes into our trip:

and 5 minutes later:

and 5 minutes...from home!

It was definitely a fun-filled and magical week.  Even though Brian and I were outnumbered we made it.  Kids had a great time.  Not too many meltdowns.  Lot of memories made.  My very favorite quote came from Julianna.

Julianna: Mommy, who built Disney World?
Me: Walt Disney
Julianna: I just love him.

Me too Julianna!  I may even have booked our next Disney adventure while we were there!  Disney is always a good idea right?