Showing posts with label Christmas Traditions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas Traditions. Show all posts

Monday, January 11, 2016

Christmas 2015...and New Years..and all the In Between

Hope y'all had a wonderful holiday!  Ours was terrific, but short.  I now understand how awesome Christmas break is when your babes are in school.

We spent about 2 hours on the night of the 23rd putting together a workbench for Hank.  I foolishly thought I could assemble a Monster High House in half that time.


Well, 4 hours later I found myself assembling breakfast casserole at 5:00 am.  I contemplated drinking coffee, but decided I better get some rest.  Luckily the kids slept till about 9:30.

This was the scene they awoke to.


Love their smiles!




If you know me then you know I searched all over the US for Carsyn a Grace bakery which had sold out.  I had friends go in their local stores, I called and talked to representatives on the phone and even shamelessly placed bids on eBay.  I finally gave up as they were still selling for as much as $4600!?!?! and started looking at bakeries people had created on their own on YouTube.  One lady had used a discontinued pastry case and I easily located one.


The end result is the bottom shelf of our built ins in the playroom.  I explained to Carsyn, Santa and I thought this was a better fit and she said she loved it. #crisisaverted

After we opened presents at our house we headed to EKY.

First, Camp Rosie..



Then Papaw Leons.



Aren't they just the cutest?


All smiles at Ganny and Papaws the next morning.


Guitars, Cadillacs, and


Minnie Mouse Shopping Malls.


Oh, and some MC to add to my collection.


Off to play with Maddox and Emersyn.



Who's better than Santa??




Rosie and Pops!!





So after Christmas I'd like to say I just laid around and enjoyed myself, but basically I spent the entire 7 days or so assembling the Lego Friends Hotel.  
I'm not lying.  I think I spent roughly 30 hours of my life!! Am I slow?


Ok, ok, I did enjoy a little me time and broke in a few gifts.


And actually, the days after Christmas reached near 70 and we hung out in the sunroom with the windows open.


(In the interest of keeping it real my sister sent me a text asking where all my toys were so I promptly  sent her this pic back).


Come to think about it....I don't recall Hank wearing pants for most of the week.


What can I say, he likes to lay in boxes and eat bacon..

Or Doritos..Flashback to 2013..

We had a lot of fun with my sister over the break also.

We rode around and looked at lights..


And popped balloons on NYE..


This was the funnest thing ever for the kids..Each ballon had a chore inside..Like give everyone a hug, say something nice about everyone, do 30 jumping jacks, blow your horn 20 times, or pretend you are in a marching band. Thanks Mel!



So thats pretty much a wrap.  Cheers to 2016!

Thursday, December 24, 2015

All the Christmas Things





































(I have no idea what is going on with this weird spacing thing at the top.  I"ll get on that in 2016.)
We have had a busy december as usual around here.

We visited Gatlinburg with my sister and her family and rode the Polar Express in Bryson City.



Carsyn got down to a little bluegrass and Hank tried to lift a boulder out of the display for his rock collection.


We stayed at the Buckberry Lodge again and stayed warm by the fire.




The babes thoroughly enjoyed every minute and I think they just might be on Santa's good list.




No trip is complete without visits to Dollywood, Mellow Mushroom, Bass Pro Shops, and Apple Barn.











Happy Birthday Aunt Mel!




The sweetest cousins!



We spent afternoons baking cookies, decking the halls, and decorating trees.










Sometimes we'd hang at our local favorite for lunch.



We managed to make a few trips to EKY to visit.



We celebrated Rosie's birthday.


I celebrated with my new neighbors.



We visited the tree lot and consumed no less than 39 marshmallows.



Of course no Christmas is complete without visits from Noodles and Blue Thunder.








We also sang Christmas carols with our classmates.



And wrapped it all up with a visit to Opryland Hotel in Nashville.

American Girl..






Check.

Tiffanys..



Check.

Green Hills Mall..


Check.

One hour wait for dinner at the hotel..



Check.

Naps..


Check.

Frustration with shopping too much..



Check.

Making up with momma..


Check.


Only one more sleep till Christmas!