Deck the Halls!

It's the most wonderful time of the year, and we are getting into the Christmas spirit around here.  Our tree is decorated, thanks to these two sweet little elves:

L&L's 2018 ornaments are adorable new additions to our tree:

For our basketball-loving girl!

A "boom box” for this guy, who asks to listen to "107.5"
 (top 40 radio station) every chance that he gets!

As you can see, our magic Santa hats have reappeared this December, and it's my favorite thing in the world to see my sleeping babies dreaming in their hats each year:

We also attended LoveFeast at Wake Forest for the first time as a family.  This was such a special part of my college experience, and it is held in Wait Chapel, which is the gorgeous focal point of our university. The Lovefeast is a Christian gathering which includes carols and the Christmas message.  It has been a tradition for the Wake Forest community since it was started by two Moravian students in the 1960's, and now more than 4,000 people attend.  Lovefeast is livestreamed around the globe, and is one of Wake's loveliest and most beloved traditions:

In Apostolic times, Christians shared meals called Agape (from the Greek word meaning love).  Moravian sweet rolls and hot apple cider are passed to everyone in attendance at Lovefeast:

My heart.

O Come All Ye Faithful by candlelight. It takes my breath away.  Every. Single. Time.

Luminaries lined the quad, and after the Lovefeast, we walked outside to see all of the beautiful lights adorning campus at dusk:

Lovefeast encourages us to be lights in the world (Matthew 5:14-16), and I love this message as we prepare for Christmas:

 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12).

My lights in the world.

We also saw Santa and Mrs. Claus last weekend, and the children told him what was on their wish lists this year.  Luke would like a rock tumbler and a NERF Dreadbolt crossbow.  Leah asked for a blue EzyRoller riding scooter:

The second grade decorated gingerbread houses last week, and we love this December tradition at school:

Leah, Josie Kate, Gracyn, and Landis = 4 sweet friends.

The ORES Varsity Jumpers Team was invited to be in the Stokesdale Holiday Parade last weekend, and we cheered on Luke as he jumped rope & rode on the Jumpers float:

Watching the parade!

This was such a fun day, and many of the parade participants throw candy out to children who are watching.  Leah collected TONS of candy, which she kindly shared with her brother afterward.  The candy sorting and trading kept these two occupied all afternoon!

Welcome, December!

It sure is beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Fort Lauderdale

On Tuesday morning of our vacation in Orlando, we returned to Islands of Adventure for one last hurrah at Universal.  We went on several rides that we hadn't had a chance to visit on Sunday and explored Seuss Landing, which was a whimsical and adorable section of the park.  I love all-things Dr. Seuss, and this part of Islands of Adventure contained many cute rides and a large playground:

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.

We also saw a great Christmas show called the "Grinchmas Who-Liday Spectacular" and were thankful for fewer people at the park on our last morning there.  After lunch, we drove our rental car to Beanie's house in Fort Lauderdale, where Luke & Leah promptly scooped up Mia and smothered her with attention for the rest of our trip!

Beanie made dinner for us and we went out for ice cream afterward at Jaxson's Ice Cream Parlor, which is a south Florida favorite!

On Wednesday, we drove to Miami for a special airboat tour at Everglades Safari Park.  This was such a unique experience, and we saw lots of incredible wildlife, including egrets, herons, and alligators:

Posing in front of an airboat.

Great Blue Heron (wingspan of over 6 feet!)

Gator beside our boat!

The airboat skimmed right over these plants and tall grasses in the water.

Can you spy the mama gator?

After our airboat tour, we saw the Gator Show and the kids had a chance to hold "Snappy", a baby alligator:

Back at Beanie's house, we also saw some interesting wildlife while we were hanging out at the pool.  Iguanas are a common sight on her roof and window sills, and blend right in with all the other lush green vegetation:

Look above the door on the roof shingles!

On Wednesday night, we went out to a great Cuban restaurant and shared several platters of authentic Cuban food.  The kids tried plaintains (which they really liked), empanadas, croquetas, & tostones, and we were proud of their adventurous attitudes.  Luke ordered a Cuban sandwich for dinner and asked if I could make this at home sometime, and we had so much fun during our special culinary experience.  

We kicked off Thanksgiving morning by watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, where it was one of the coldest years on record in NYC.  It seemed surreal that we then hopped in the car and spent the morning on the beach.  How fun to be swimming in the ocean in November!     

Buried by her two favorite guys.

These two wore coordinating fall attire for Thanksgiving dinner...

...and sweet Mia tolerated LOTS of snuggles from her cousins:

Thanksgiving dinner was a delicious feast, and wonderful end to our Florida trip.  On Friday morning, we drove back to Orlando and flew home (where it was NOT warm or sunny):

Thank you, Beanie, for an awesome time!

Universal Orlando- Day 2

We went to to Universal Studios for Day 2 of our Orlando adventure, and made the most of our time there, as we arrived when the park opened in the morning and stayed until it closed that evening!  The kids' first request was the Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket, which contained several loops and crazy hills.  Mark was legitimately too tall to ride on this roller coaster, so I was the lucky parent to accompany the children.  They loved it, while I was happy to check it off our list and be done!

Universal Studios is divided into different sections, and many areas looked like sets from movies or television shows.  There were fun props staged throughout the park, and Leah wanted to pose beside this "cool" turquoise car:

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Meanwhile, our favorite little minion was thrilled to find this sign:

  So many of the characters at Universal Studios were familiar to us, and we loved the Shrek 4-D show and Despicable Me Minion Mayhem ride.  Even the themes that were less familiar to the kids were really fun, and we had a blast on Men in Black Alien Invasion, Race through NY with Jimmy Fallon, and the new Fast & Furious ride.  There were also many wonderful shows throughout the park, and Leah was chosen to help the Beat Builders during their live performance, which was so neat!

Beat Builders Show.

She was the cutest little assistant!

Our famous Peanut!

Leah was also chosen (out of an audience of thousands of people) to be a part of the Fear Factor Live show that afternoon.  Luckily, she didn't have to perform any terrifying stunts, but instead was a part of the crew who helped with the special effects.  This was such a highlight of the day, and we were so proud of her!

Leah (on the far right) at her control panel.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter- Diagon Alley is a big draw at Universal Studios.  This section of the park was really crowded, and lines for some of the rides were over 120 minutes.  We enjoyed wandering around the shops and watching street performers in Diagon Alley, but weren't about to brave those long lines:

Leah had the best view from Mark's shoulders.

There is a huge dragon on top of Gringott's Bank at the far end of Diagon Alley, who breathes fire every few minutes.  This is truly spectacular and stuns the crowd each time:

The kids took a picture in Gringott's with the head Goblin, and we made a plan to ride the popular Escape from Gringotts ride later in the day:

Our plan was to go to the starting point of the Universal's Macy's Holiday Parade route, which is held at dusk and goes through most of the park.  We found seats right beside the VIP section and ended up beside several Universal employees who were also watching the parade.  These kind workers knew many of the people who were marching and shouted out to them, cheering them on.  As a result, Luke & Leah were the recipients of many high fives and special attention from parade performers as they came to the sidewalk to greet their friends.  This was such a serendipitous part of our day, and the floats and balloons were incredible: 

Minions + Christmas = Pure Joy.

Madagascar characters!

Three Little Pigs.

The Donkey from Shrek is our favorite!

Shrek!

It began to feel a lot like Christmas toward the end of the parade:

...with a very special guest as the grand finale:

Santa!!

As soon as Santa passed us, we high-tailed it back to the Harry Potter section of the park, which was much less crowded since so many people were still watching the parade.  We were able to ride the Escape from Gringotts ride with a much shorter wait time and were thrilled!

As the park was closing, we attempted to take a picture of our family in front of the giant Christmas tree on Main Street.  Only later did we realize that due to the camera angle (and since we handed our phone to a random person to take the photo), the tree is completely blocked by tall Daddy.  Too funny!  It was an AWESOME day at Universal Studios, and we certainly made some great memories!