Santa Claus is coming to town

Jacks favorite song is santa claus is coming to town. He wants to sing it year round. Finally, its time.

Friday, I took the kids to see the jolly ol guy. They all sat in is lap and made their requests. When it was time to leave, Lucy asked Santa where his reindeer were. He told her it was a secret. She exclaimed, then i will eat all your cookies and drink all your milk and with that she got up and left.

One more magical trip....

We headed back to Disney this past October. We had a great time as always. I think we were only back home a week this year before they started asking to go back. After
15 years, I am amazed how we never get tired of the "happiest place on earth".

Nic and Lucy outside her new favorite ride, tower of terror


Jack and his fav Buzz


Chef Mickeys



Bippidi Boppidi Bo salon


We went to the luau for Nics 14th Bday.

Its been a while.....

My computer has been down. Here are some pics of the past few months so we can all catch up....

Toes in the water, hiney in the sand....

It has came and went all too quick. A week at the beach...can't really think of anything much more fun or relaxing. The whole family went minus Jared and Nana, they were missed. The week was spent lounging around the pool and ocean. The kids skim boarded, boogey boarded, played corn hole and ball, built sand castles/creatures. We ate, ate and ate some more. Took in the karate kid and also shop shopping and a daily nap! It was a vacation to remember.

when moms not looking......

someone in the house likes to steal my camera and take multiple pics of oneself...you get the idea

Summer

Ahhh...the first weekendof summer and how relaxing it was. Lucy, Jack and i went to grandma and pop-pops house on saturday and enjoyed a day at the pool. It was a great day to be lazy. Lucy stayed the night and had a fun time. Sunday we went as a family to see Shrek, the final chapter. and followed that up with some yummy mexican to celebrate the the school year. If only every weekend could be this grand....

The Fair

The second annual blairsville fair is back...
this year they have more rides, corn hole tournaments, a tractor race and a homerun derby. so redneckish and so much fun...
We took the kids thursday night. Katie was with us, Nic opted to skip the fair to watch his girlfriend play ball. I am glad Katie was with us, she like Lucy has no fear when it comes to rides. Lucy rode a very few of the smaller rides with Jack but ended up riding the cyclops about 15 times. Alot of prayer went up that evening holding that big piece of metal and all those screws together.

Karate Kid

Nic had his first karate tournament saturday, at the battle of Stone Mountain. This was his first tournament so we were a little unsure of what to expect. Nic competed in forms and sparring. He won first in both.

"Jackyll" Island

This past weekend Darrin took us with him to his rotary conference in Jekyll Island. From here on out known by Jack and Lucy as Jackyll Island. I do have to sadly admit, i had to really think about going when we got the invite. Most of you know that my one and only Jon Bon Jovi was in town the Thursday we left. Nic enjoys the concerts as much as me but in the end we decided the Rotarians won out, barely...

We had a really great time. I attended most of the conferences with Darrin in the morning and evenings, they had a really fun kidcare center for the kids. We had a hard time getting them to leave after each session. We got to have the afternoons free to enjoy the island. The weather could not have been better.

Prettiest in Pink

Today was the BIG day, We have all been so excited. Lucy's first (and last) beauty pageant. Let me first say that i would normally not subject my child to a contest based on looks. This was a pageant that was a fundraiser for the school and one where all the girls were winners. Keeping this in mind i was a little shocked when we arrived and saw some of the girls who could have been on Toddlers and Tiaras. For the most part, Lucy had a good time. She was a ball of nerves. She took her walk, escorted by a high school student. As soon as she was through she looked at me and said, "I forgot to wave." She has practiced her wave for a month. In the end she was awarded prettiest in pink. She got a sash, a rose and a tiara. When i asked her if she would do this again, she said no. I am glad i don't think i could either. Thank you to everyone who came to support her and thank you to lauren for the makeup and jewels.

weekend project...

Labor day weekend, Darrin and I drove to atlanta to buy a swingset. We kept it hidden until we decided that there was no way it was going to self erect itself, and our volunteers to help put it together Christmas Eve night had dissolved to none. So we explained to the kids here is an early Christmas present, etc, etc. We started on it early october and finally finished it this weekend. So lets see it was 25 steps and in took 5 months. That's our speed... It may be a bit crooked but the kids love it.

Winter Olympics

Crosscountry Skiing, what an imagination......

Snow Days....

Ah, my least favorite time of the year....snow days. At least this time it fell on a saturday when i did not have to worry about getting to work and getting the kids somewhere other than school. We had about 4 inches, Lucy had spent the night with nana the night before, so it was just me with the boys. Jack and Nic made the best of it. They built a snowman and attempted to sled. It was all fun for about 15 mins then the cold set in and it was time to come back in and go stir crazy!