Merry Christmas Eve

Santa stopped by the party of the year to hand out presents to all the community children.

 The girls had been practicing a song since summer, for real, and gave us a performance to remember.

Oh what a night!

A House-hunting Christmas

This Christmas we will have all five of the grandparents together. Much to be thankful for!

 Grandad and Grandma Holly have spent a few days with us HOUSE HUNTING! They are moving to NC as soon as they can can find a suitable golf course. For a few anxious grandchildren, it's not soon enough.

 Cameron and Grandad have enjoyed racing cars on the ipads.

 The pups are thrilled to get extra love from Grandma Holly. And she loved the extra heat from the pups!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Our Littlest Star

Lucy performed in her school Christmas show. Her class sang Joy to the World and The Littlest Star.

 The stage was covered with wandering 2 -5 year olds. It was like watching cats being herded.

Lucy (in the middle) did a wonderful job! We're so proud of our littlest star!

The best way to send Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear!

Naturally, when we get a donated Christmas tree, we make a party of it. Karen organized the Christmas, I mean holiday tree decorating party in the community.

 Early on, we had lots of help from the neighborhood kids.

 But as time passed, the excitement faded.

 And the parents were left decorating the rest. This is an all-too-familiar scenario we face. Daily.

 Doesn't it look purteee.

Merry Christmas. I mean Happy Holidays!

Fall Fun

Julie and I tried to get a few pictures of all five kids together.

 While we had MANY out-takes, as in LOTS, we got a few cute ones of our preshus babies.

Holiday Decorating

When we broke out the sugar cookie dough, we didn't have to ask twice for help.

There was a swarm of little people, instantly covered in flour and sprinkles.

  Most of the sprinkles made it on the cookies, but there were none left over.

 Once they ran out, the little ones quickly tired of cookie decorating. They did, however, take a loooong time covering their bodies in tattoos. There are many more not pictured below!

Piano Recital

Jackie and Cameron performed in a piano recital yesterday at a local retirement home. They welcomed the group to the performance before getting on stage.

 Dave videotaped, so we'll upload video at a later date.

 The kids did well. And we celebrated with Sweet Frog afterwards.

So this is what we've been up to lately.

Jumping off the side of the stairs and landing funny put Cameron in a teeny tiny boot. His foot is not broken, but he won't walk on it.

  Clearly, it hasn't slowed him down one bit.

You know it was a good ride when...

You might as well ride through the car wash for an underbody flush.

We live right off the Tobacco Trail and enjoy riding throughout the winter. It's one of our favorite things about our location. It's worth dodging the horses that share the trail.

Gather 'Round the Dessert Table

We were blessed to spend yet another Thanksgiving with our local family. A tradition we’ve been following for 3 years now. Julie’s mom, Nanny Fanny, invites our whole clan to her place for Thanksgiving. For the third year, our extended our family includes Deane, Karen & Bill. Julie’s siblings and their families welcome us all and make a few extra desserts for the additional mouths. Impressive, isn't it?

 The kids enjoy the social time. Dave gets to watch live TV. And the ladies gather round the supper table to view the latest pictures and plot the most effective Black Friday strategies.

 Becca and Bennett (Hunter and Leigh's cousins) lead the Wild Ones in games and provide entertainment for them. It's a wonderful tradition and we have lots to be thankful for. 

The Dress-Up Princess

She gets it honest. But don't call her a princess. Or a ballerina. Because she's just Lucy. I chopped off her bangs because Hair In Her Eyes. (I vaguely remember my mom having the same obsession with hair-in-the-eyes when I was growing up. Interesting.) Anyway, LuLu loves her new bangs. She's proud to show them off and spends quality time checking them out in the mirror!

 Instuctor Jackie is thrilled to have a little one to teach. But Lucy would rather do it herself, her way. Sounds familiar. (Yes, I am referring to everyone in my family.)

 These tights are not too large, but rather designed for 3/4 body coverage, as demonstrated here.

 Lucy: "I'm not a monster. I'm just Wooceee!"

Visit with the Family

Mike, Ang, Owen and Alena visited us for the weekend. Mike had a big soccer tournamet, so we got to spend some quality time with the PA relatives. Since they arrived on Owen's birthday, we celebrated together.
 Owen's grown so much since this summer!

 Check him out reading the birthday cards!

 After dinner, the kids put on a literal dog and pony show. Of course, Jackie was the trainer.

 The kids were so happy to oblige and took great fun in making their own collars.

 Check out these cute puppy dogs!

American Girl, Atlanta: Does it get any better than this?

The morning after Taylor Swift, we cleaned up and headed to Atlanta for a 7 hour tour of South Carolina and Georgia.

 When we FINALLY arrived, the girls were ready to spend their birthday money!

 Leigh couldn't pass up the American Girl Doll, Julie, the circa 1974 hippie who loved Brady Bunch. Where can we get a pint-sized Brady Bunch poster? It's so groovy.

 Jackie headed straight for the Kanani display, pronounced Ka-NAN-eee.

 Clearly, every doll needs their very own pet to care for.

 Jackie used her hard-earned allowance and birthday money towards her Kanani loot. The cashier was impressed with the amount of $1 bills collected. She also paid in coins.

 Here, the girls are getting a tutorial on how to care for their doll's hair. Julie and I placed bets on how quickly the dolls would be lost on the floor of my car with discarded gum in their hair.

 Their new baby dolls and accessories!
 My favorite part was Leigh playing her doll's violin. It even came with a music stand and music.

 Jackie had both dolls' hair braided before bedtime in their matching outfits.

 What a night! Happy birthday, Jackie and Leigh! We hope you'll remember this trip as fondly as we will!