Williamsburg Visit

 

Our November trip to Williamsburg to visit Bean and Poppy was full of fun adventures and excursions.  We went to a new playground near their house and Leah loved swinging, climbing, and going down the big kid slides:

 

 

One neat feature at the playground was a zip line for children.  Although Luke was hesitant at first, once he tried the zip line for the first time, he was hooked!  He stood in line over and over again, and quickly became a pro:

 

When Peanut saw her big brother zip past her, she insisted on taking a turn, too!  It was quite a sight to watch our little Leah confidently master the zip line and take several rides:

 

 

One of the most special parts of our visit to Williamsburg was the passing down of Clayton Milton.  Clayton is Mark's beloved Cabbage Patch doll from childhood.  When Bean read our blog post which detailed Leah's and my daytrip to the Cabbage Patch Kids hospital in GA, she rescued Clayton from a long hibernation, and introduced him to Leah.  Leah has not let go of him since.  Clayton comes with us everywhere, and is her new best buddy.  I think it's absolutely darling to watch Leah form such a strong attachment to Clayton, who was so cherished by her Daddy: 

 

 

Mark and I went to North Carolina overnight, and Bean and Poppy planned lots of fun activities for L&L in our absence.  They visited Jamestown on a very chilly day, and toured the colonial settlement: 

Luke in a hollowed-out canoe at Jamestown.

Boarding one of the ships.

 

All boy!

On Tuesday, we visited the Bounce House, which is a great indoor area for the kids to play, jump, and run.  Both kids love Bean and Poppy's "jumping place": 

The children also made their own candles at the Yankee Candle Outlet,

had lots of fun playing with toys at their grandparents' house,

 

and even snuck in some miniature golfing, despite the cold weather:

Along with rides on the city bus, a trip to the Jelly Bean store, and a visit to see Christmas decorations at a nearby museum, these kiddos had tons of fun during our time Williamsburg, and we can't wait to return next month to celebrate the holidays with our family! 

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

We kicked off the holiday season this weekend with a visit to Roper Mountain Holiday lights, where we see Santa Claus each year.  Luke thought he spied the jolly red guy first, but it turned out to be Leah posing in disguise:

 

When we did greet Santa Claus, both kids climbed right into his lap (what a long way we've come from those "screaming with Santa" pictures!) and informed him what was on their Christmas wish lists.  Leah would like a "Big Book of Boo Boos"(part of the Doc Mc Stuffins clinic),  and Luke wants a racetrack for remote control cars.  Santa assured the kids that he'd put his elves right to work, and as we walked away, he called out to the kids, "No Fighting!".  Mommy appreciated this, and has used it to her advantage numerous times in the past few days with the gentle reminder that "Santa is watching..."

 

 

We tucked in our children that night and when I went to check on Luke a few hours later, I found this.  My heart swelled at the adorable sight and I imagined all of the sweet Christmas dreams that my five-year old was dreaming:

 

 

And here's the best part:  Luke hasn't taken off that Santa hat since.  He wore it ALL weekend, and it elicited many smiles from people who saw him.  "Santa" went to the movies:

We saw Disney's "Frozen" and it was quite cute and appropriate for our winter-themed weekend!

He completed a Kid's Clinic at Home Depot:

Who knew Santa also went shoe shopping?



 

He enjoyed some down time with his Leapster:

 

 Of course, Santa must eat dinner, too!

Santa tinkered with tools:



 

And he even hung out in his pjs, with his favorite pet:

 

We convinced Luke to take off the hat for bath time each night and to go to school yesterday, but it went right back on afterward.  It certainly is a fun, festive way to begin the Christmas season with our own adorable Santa Claus! 

Giving Thanks

 

We had a quiet Thanksgiving at home on Thursday, and were thankful for a low key day of relaxing, as we had just returned to SC after several days of traveling.  Daddy assumed his annual role of Thanksgiving Day chef and prepared our yummy turkey, which Leah named "Turkey Head".  This was kind of funny, as Luke has been asking us for the past few days, "Are we eating Turkey Head again?" and I always had to pause to consider what he was asking before I realized that he meant left-overs.

 

We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in the morning, and the children entertained themselves by playing with homemade pumpkin play dough:

 

 

In the afternoon, we heard that there had been a sighting of the Magic Turkey in our neighborhood, and Daddy took Luke and Leah on a walk to follow those infamous turkey tracks.  Lassos in hand, our little turkey hunters tried to catch the elusive feathered character, but once again, he got away.  True to annual tradition, the Magic Turkey left presents behind for both children and provided a great mid-day distraction/activity:

 

 

I have so much to be thankful for this year, and give thanks for sweet moments where my children still seem so little.  They are growing up so quickly, so when I glimpse even a brief instant where they are full of childhood innocence, I pause.  Last week, we were at our neighborhood playground, and Luke was playing with his construction vehicles.  It reminded me of a much younger version of my son, and I wanted to freeze this moment in time:

 

Leah insisted on taking her "baby alligator" to Luke's school last week, and he clickedy-clacked down the hallways of the elementary school, eliciting smiles from many of the teachers and students.  We are thankful for such a welcoming place, where we were able to visit and participate in Luke's kindergarten Thanksgiving celebration:

 

We volunteered in the classroom to help the kindergarteners make turkey cookies and stayed for story time and lunch.  Once again, Leah made herself right at home in the class: 

 

 

 

Luke and Leah were also especially thankful for an unexpected snowfall earlier this week.  We returned home on Wednesday morning after 7+ hours in the car to see big, fat snowflakes falling at our house.  All three children ran into our backyard, squealing with glee, as they burned off some pent-up energy and tried to catch snowflakes on their tongues.  The snow disappeared within a half hour, but it was a magical moment for these southern kids.  Note: We heard on the news that this was a record snowfall for this date in November in Greenville, SC, with a whopping total of .1 inches (narrowly beating the past record of "trace" set in 1954!). 

 

 We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving week, and are very blessed indeed!

Go Firehawks!

 

Earlier this month, we celebrated the end of Luke's fall soccer season with a Kids vs. Parents game.  Luke's team named themselves the Firehawks, and he had a wonderful first organized team soccer experience.  Luke played two nights/week this fall, and Leah served as the team's sideline cheerleader and biggest fan for each practice and game.  Here are the highlights of the ultra-competitive Firehawks vs. their families:

Those poor parents didn't stand a chance!

Daddy, Leah, and her stuffed "Chickie" served as goalies for the Parents' Team.

Ready to defend the goal!

 

Luke vs. Daddy/Leah!

GOAL!!

The parents' attempt at offense.

 

Firehawks in action!

I think the final score ended up being something like 22-1, in favor of the Firehawks, of course!  It was a great group of kids and we had a ball watching this team grow and learn this season.  From the initial games of "cloud" ball, where the players formed one giant cluster around the soccer ball, to the final games where we glimpsed some strategy and skill, the kids came a long way.  Even Peanut practiced her soccer skills on the sidelines during games:

The Kids vs. Parents evening/soccer season concluded with a pizza party and medal ceremony.  Luke is already asking what activity he can do next, and we have really enjoyed this year's introduction to team sports for our high-energy, sports-loving little boy!