Thursday, December 31, 2009

Boxing

Andrew has been boxing on the Wii. He boxes so enthusiastically that at times he has to take a break to get a drink or wait for the pain in his side to go away. It's hysterical.

I took a video of him boxing, but it's going in the wrong direction when I upload it. I'm sure there's a way to rotate it, but I have't been able to find it.

Happy New Year

Abby

We will open the book. Its pages are blank.
We are going to put words on them ourselves.
The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.
~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

What We've Been Up To

We went to a PTA meeting to watch the 2nd graders (Abby) sing Christmas holiday songs.

Abby singing


Abby had her class holiday party. One of the activities was to make a gingerbread house.

Abby's Gingerbread House


Andrew's kindergarten class performed the Gingerbread Baby. Andrew's main job was to run the smartboard. He also had a small part in which he was part of a crowd that was shocked to see the gingerbread baby in crumbs on the floor.

Andrew's Program


Andrew's class also had a holiday party. They did their own version of a gingerbread house and made Christmas pins.

Andrew's Class Party


Adam and I spent a day at the Biltmore which you can read about here.

Adam @ Biltmore


We baked and decorated Christmas cookies. One of us may have eaten too much icing and vomited shortly after decorating said cookies.

Baking Cookies

Baking Cookies

Baking Cookies

Baking Cookies

Abby + Decorating Cookies

Adam + Decorating Cookies


We also unwrapped some gifts.

Andrew + Scooter

Abby + Easy Bake Oven

Adam + Snuggie


The kids' main gift from me this year (they spent Christmas day with their dad and Santa dropped his gifts for them off there) was a Wii.

Andrew + Wii


We have been playing a lot of Wii!

Next up, Panthers vs. Saints. Please pray it warms up. It's supposed to be 18 Sunday morning and mid 30s in the afternoon. That's a wee bit cold.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

The Biltmore

We had a great time at the Biltmore yesterday.
Adam @ Biltmore


It was a little cold at times.
Adam @ Biltmore


But the skies were Carolina blue.
Biltmore


I never got a picture from the front of the Estate (no photos allowed on the inside). I couldn't get Adam out of the gift shop. I may have a daughter who hates to shop, but I have a son who LOVES it.
Adam @ Biltmore

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

It's Drawing Near

Can you believe how close it is to Christmas?


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Look...they're all touching and no one is crying. Miracles do exist.


Tomorrow Adam and I are heading to the Biltmore. We're both very excited. It's going to be a fun (and long) day. We've been told the bus won't arrive back at school until 6:30 or 7:00.

It's been a whirlwind of activity around here. Christmas programs, a birthday party, Abby sang at the PTA meeting, the boys have started playing basketball--there are practices and we've had a couple of games, a sleepover, another birthday party and book reports. We've also cut out, baked and decorated Christmas cookies.

Tis the Season...

Friday, December 11, 2009

This Girl

This girl never ceases to amaze me. She has the sweetest personality. She's loving. She's funny. She's sensitive.

She's always landed on the shy side. Never caring to draw attention to herself. When she was telling me about the second graders performing at the PTA meeting this week and how she was excited about being on the stage and singing, I was a bit surprised.

When she told me that she wanted to wear her pajamas to school yesterday for their Polar Express party, I was more than a bit surprised.

When I learned today that she received the Principal's Award for showing self control, I was not a bit surprised. I couldn't be more proud of her.

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I love This Girl!

Friday, December 4, 2009

A Trip Uptown

Last Saturday morning the kids and I put up our Christmas tree. It's quite the experience with six little hands. Each of the kids have their own box of ornaments. They really had a good time pulling out their ornaments and hanging them on the tree.

Andrew+Christmas Decorations

Abby+Christmas Decorations

Adam+Christmas Decorations

Andrew


In the afternoon, we headed Uptown to explore and enjoy the Christmas lights. An unexpected surprise was that Santa and Mrs. Claus were at The Green. The kids loved talking to them.

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It's almost as if Andrew cannot believe he's actually touching Santa.

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After we had walked (and ran) until we were tired, we headed to Fuel Pizza for dinner and to watch a little football.

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Quite a fun day!

Monday, November 30, 2009

Thanksgiving

Things have been busy here, but nothing too blog worthy. Our Thanksigiving was pretty quiet. We spent the afternoon with a good friend and the evening with my aunt, cousins and their families. The kids spent the morning doing Thanksgiving word searches and other Thanksgivingish activities.

Thanksgiving activities

turkeys
[I tried to white out our last name on Andrew's hand turkey.]


Andrew brought home a rather interesting art project from school.

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And who do you think he chose for his wife?
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That's my boy. I wonder what Ashton would say about that.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

A Cause for Celebration

Traci & Adam


This past Saturday there was a shower for my cousin, Traci, and her husband, Adam. They are in the process of adopting a precious girl, Maylin, and boy, Pierson, from Taiwain. Pierson and Maylin are brother and sister. You can go to her sister's blog to learn more about them.

In an effort to defray the costs of bringing Pierson and Maylin home, Traci is using her talents to make jade bracelets, t-shirts, journals, artwork and other items to raise funds for their upcoming trip to Taiwan. She is also setting aside a portion of her profits to donate in order to assist other families in completing their adoption dreams. Please check out Loved By Choice Designs and get some of your Christmas shopping done while sitting in the comfort of your own home!


Loved By Choice Designs


Saturday, November 14, 2009

Fall Fest

Last Saturday we headed to the Fall Festival at the elementary school. We climbed and disappeared into the mouths of strange alien-looking things.

Fall Fest

And then slid out the back of them.

Fall Fest

We did some jumping.

Fall Fest

We played basketball with some friends.

Fall Fest

We threw some baseballs ~ 32 mph.

Fall Fest

And one of us became a ladybug.

Fall Fest
Andrew's in the ladybug class at school.


This was the first year that Adam ran around on his own~that takes some getting used to on my part. I'm finding that this growing up thing is difficult for me. It's hard to let go, even if it's just a tiny bit.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Outtakes

Outtake

Outtake 3

Outtake 4
I have 83 pictures almost exactly like this one.

Outtake 2
So I put them behind bars and wouldn't let them out. (not really)

Friday, November 6, 2009

Birthday Part II

Last night pizza was the choice for the birthday dinner, and I didn't end up at that crazy kid place with the person dressed up in a big rat costume...know what I'm talkin' about? I don't like that place. We had a great time at dinner with lots of laughter, then headed home for a game of Exago and more cake.

Andrew's Birthday
Andrew's Birthday
Birthday Kisses


We love you Andrew!!