Christmas Traditions

I love starting new Christmas traditions with the kids. Now that they are older, it seems we all enjoy them even more. This past week we participated in three of our Christmas traditions – two that we have previously done and one new one.

 

On Thursday, we visited my mom’s work at Norton Audubon Hospital where they had “Light-Up Audubon.” It was the kids’ first time visiting Santa this year so they were VERY excited. However Kylie was upset because she didn’t understand why Santa didn’t give her what she asked for. I had to explain to her again that the visit was to just let Santa knows what she wants and if she was a good girl he would bring it on Christmas morning. I still don’t think she gets it. This year she has asked for fingernail polish and a guinea pet (Zhu Zhu pet). Blake told Santa that he wants trains and Batman.

 

On Friday my mom, sister, niece, Kylie and I went to the Nutcracker. We took the girls for the first time last year and they loved it. They seemed to love it this year as well but next I will be sure to bring plenty of snacks since Kylie always seems to be hungry right after we eat dinner. Nana bought the girls a pretty dress to wear to the play so they loved to get dressed up.

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday we headed north to the Polar Express in French Lick, Indiana. If you have never heard of it and live around it, I HIGHLY recommend it. The kids LOVED it and the entire experience was great. We stayed in the indoor water park across the street from the train station so the kids got to play in the water all day Saturday then we headed to the train ride later that night. Blake and Kylie have watched the Polar Express movie 75 times (no exaggeration) since last Christmas so they kind of knew what to expect with the train ride – the ticket punch, elves, hot chocolate, Santa, singing, dancing. We all had a great time. We are already planning our trip for next year since tickets sell out almost a year in advance (we bought our tickets last December).

 

 

 

 

 

We also stayed at an indoor water park called Big Splash. The kids got to play most of the day Saturday before we headed to the Polar Express so by the end of the night, they were completely exhausted. The water park was great and it never got too crowded. The kids really enjoyed it.

 

 

Of course we also have a special Elf that comes to our house every night for the second year in a row. His name is Elfie and the kids are so excited to see him and what he has done every morning. Elfie will have his own 2 part post very soon. He is so mischievous!

 

Halloween 2012

We had Spiderman and Cinderella at our house for Halloween this year. The kids had so much fun as did mommy and daddy. We went out in our neighborhood with Austin, Katie, Kristin and Jeremy and the kids got a lot of candy! Blake kept wanting to stop and eat his candy after each stop so we had to remind him that we had more houses to visit. They did so good walking up to the doors and saying trick or treat. We had to remind them to say thank you a few times but they did pretty good overall.

 

They are getting so big!!

 

Swearing In and a Shopping Trip

A few weeks ago my mom, sister and I had our yearly shopping trip with my mom's best friend and her two daughters. However before we left on the trip, my brother Jonathan and his fiance' Laura were sworn in as lawyers in the state of Kentucky. The ceremony was short and sweet and I am sure was a day they will never forget.

 

I am so proud of both of them!

 

 

 

And here is a picture of the girls at our annual shopping trip in Nashville this year. I got most of my Christmas shopping completed on this trip!

 

Pumpkins!

I love this time of year. Mainly because I love wearing sweaters and jeans, but also because it is so pretty outside and there are so many holidays coming up.

 

A few weeks ago Blake and Kylie's school took their annual trip to Huber's to get pumpkins and go on the apple tour. Aaron and I took off work so we could go with the kids like we do every year. We had a great trip and I think the kids did as well.

 

Blake had to get the biggest pumpkin in the field and Kylie had to get a cute little small one as she put it. Blake forgot that he had to carry it back and struggled with it but he had to do it by himself. They also went into the petting zoo which they both loved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alzheimer's Fundraiser

Last December, my grandmother passed away from the horrible disease of Alzheimer's. I never really knew the impact of this disease until it really started to take a toll on her and ultimately took her from us. Since she has passed, I wanted to do my part to raise awareness of this disease. Last year my family took part in the local Alzheimer's walk in honor of my grandmother so we knew this year we wanted to have a much bigger impact in memory of her.

 

My family decided that we wanted to do a family fundraiser to raise money to contribute in honor of mamaw. We decided that we would put on a corn hole tournament as well as have a raffle with items donated by local businesses. The walk was in early September so in early August, we put on an amazing fundraiser with an amazing turnout.

 

We ended up raising over $3,000 on that day and after other donations, raised almost $4,500 to contribute in memory of my grandma, Sarah Rose Hall. It is great to be a part of such an amazing community with awesome family and friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jackson

On Sunday, October 21st, our family lost a very important member of our family. Our dog, Jackson, passed away. Has wasn't sick very long, maybe a few weeks, but we still are not sure what happened. The vet believes a brain tumor or maybe a bad stroke. I am very thankful that Roger, Aaron and I were all there when he took his last breath.

Jackson would have been 10 years old in February and has been with us since he was 6 weeks old. He has been such a big part of our family and it all started when we got him when Aaron and I were dating in college. He lived in the dorm with Aaron then in my apartment for awhile our Senior year until he was kicked out and lived with Paula and Roger for the rest of the year. He has been on vacations with us to the beach, many road trips, and even trick or treating so tonight was bittersweet.

We miss him so much but know that we have so many great memories of him. What makes me smile is knowing that he is playing frisbee with Paula in heaven.

We miss you little buddy!

 

 

Fun Date with the Kiddos - Disney on Ice: Worlds of Fantasy

A couple of weekends ago we took the kids to the Disney on Ice show that was in town. I was hesitant because last show wasn't great because there were some skits that they didn't know the characters. Well I am so glad we went. The show was amazing and the kids were mesmerized! The skits included Cars, Little Mermaid, Tinkerbell, and Toy Story 3. Aaron and I enjoyed the show just as much as the kids did! We dropped $75 just on snacks and one little toy each for the kids but we had a great time.

Disney in Ice: Worlds of Fantasy = Highly Recommend!!