Christmas Break Fun

We've managed to stay busy during our long Christmas break! We'v enjoyed just relaxing at home and playing with new toys, but we've also managed to make time for some special holiday outings... 

The Atlanta Botanical Garden's light displays - always fun and festive! 

We checked out the new Sky View Atlanta ferris wheel. It's a giant ferris wheel downtown with enclosed gondolas. I forgot how much I disliked heights, but tried to enjoy it anyway! 

Lunch at the Varsity after the ride! 

Today we saw Rudolph at the Center for Puppetry Arts. Sometimes it's fun to get out and play tourist in your own city! 

Christmas Day

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Here are a couple of pictures...more are in the gallery. Shelby was a very good girl this year and Santa treated her well! She's really into princesses, fairs and Disney movies at the moment, so our Christmas was very princess heavy! She got some dolls, a scooter, some costumes, books, crafts and sticker activities and couple other small things in her stocking. The grandparents came over for brunch and more presents - Shelby was in heaven! We enjoyed the rest of the day relaxing, watching movies and staying snuggly in our pajamas. It was a great day! I am looking forward to the week off and more relaxing at home! 

Christmas Eve: is Santa here yet?

All the presents under the tree. I waited until Christmas Eve to put them out because I wasn't sure if curious little fingers could stay away!

Surveying the loot on Christmas morning. 

Snuggling in our jammies!

Shelby fell asleep very early so we had a nice evening relaxing, eating Chinese takeout and watching one of my gifts: Les Miserables on DVD. 

Holiday Catch Up

We've been busy lately! Here are a couple of pictures from what we've been up to lately...more in the gallery. Pictures from our family photo session, Thanksgiving at the beach, the preschool Christmas program and our big visit to Santa! 

Tree lighting at Atlantic Station

Photo session in the park... it was cold!

Goofing at the tree lighting ceremony at the beach. 

Visiting the man in red! Love how she's looking at him! She thought about going up there on her own but when it came her turn, she wanted Daddy up there, too! 

Do Re Mi

Shelby has been obsessed with The Sound of Music lately (and I am happy to indulge and encourage this obsession... it's one of my favorite musicals!) so in honor of that, here's a video of her singing Do Re Mi.

Tree Farm Video

Here's a little video Scott made of our tree farm adventures. You'll see that the stick plays a starring role, as well as me in the background trying to take pictures! Our hayride went through a whole forest of painted cartoon characters and then ended at a petting zoo. There was a dog in one of the enclosures, but I don't think he was part of the zoo!

Christmas Fun

We've had a wet and chilly week to enjoy some Christmas activities. I wish it would get just a little colder and actually snow! On Thursday, we went to the dowtown Tucker tree lighting and Christmas festival. It was actually pretty well-attended despite the rain. The farmer's market was still open, they had pony rides, cupcakes for sale and some live music for entertainment. We ate at Local 7 and enjoyed ourselves. 

Saturday was tree procurement day! We went to a tree farm in Stockbridge - the same place we found last year after a tree farm quest/debacle! They have hayrides, a petting zoo, a playground and some other fun stuff for little ones. Shelby's favorite part was finding a stick on the ground and carrying it around the rest of the day! 

Shelby "chopping" the tree down with her stick.

This place was filled with tons of painted (unlicensed?) characters that Shelby loved… of course! I mean, why wouldn't Ariel be hanging out on a tree farm?!

Fun tire swings. More questionable characters. 

Shelby directs the action with her stick. 

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving at the beach in North Carolina! It was a chilly long weekend, but at least it didn't rain! We had a great time visiting with family and enjoying the many festivities the beach has going on that weekend - a holiday flotilla (boat parade), festival in the park and even a Turkey Trot 5K that I participated in on Thanksgiving morning with my aunt and uncle. I love the beach in the winter time - chilly walks on the beach and no crowds to deal with! On Friday night, the town had their tree lighting ceremony and Shelby got to light the tree! 

Mason Mill Park

Whoops. Where has this month gone? Sorry to all five of my readers for the lack of posts lately. Here are some pictures from a recent fall leaf viewing trip to nearby Mason Mill Park. They have a wonderful trail that goes through the ruins of the old Decatur Waterworks and it's a cool place for graffiti art viewing, exploring and pictures. Part of the trail goes over a train track and we got lucky that day and got to see a train go right underneath us! The leaves were wonderfully picturesque for a couple of weeks ... we couldn't get enough of them!

We've been moving full steam ahead to Christmas. Shelby seems to really "get" it this year. We've already visited our mall Santa twice... she just wants to go up and talk to him! It's so cute. He really is a good mall Santa - very engaging and sweet. And our mall isn't a very busy one so there is never a line! I think we will be making many more visits between now and Christmas! We have some time off next week for Thanksgiving and I am looking forward to spending some time with my family. 

Amelia Island

We just got back from another successful Georgia/Florida family weekend. The Dawgs are 3-0 against Florida since we've started going... I think our tradition can't stop! We've stayed on Jekyll Island the past two years but decided to stay at Amelia Island this year and enjoyed it a lot more. The house was oceanfront and things like restaurants and grocery stores were much more convenient. Amelia is also known for its abundant shark's teeth and we all came home with a bountiful haul of fossil treasures. Shelby and Luke had so much fun together... they are the perfect age for playing together, running amok on the beach and being silly.

You can see more pictures in our gallery.

Shelby and Luke running around at low tide. It was warm but windy. Not quite warm enough to swim, though! 

Shelby and Luke on game day. They had so much fun running around on the porch.

Sunrise from our bedroom window. The time change always happens on Georgia/Florida weekend so getting up extra early to see the sunrise (because kids don't care about time changes) is always a blessing-in-disguise treat. 

More porch fun. We spent so much time out here. 

My shark's teeth treasures! I found all of these in just a few hours - it was addicting!

Downtown Amelia Island... so cute! 

Halloween Fun Part Two

Just getting caught back up after a busy week and weekend! We had a fantastic Halloween. The weather was warm and pleasant, and Shelby seemed to really "get" the whole trick or treating thing. We had a chili party at a neighbor's house before unleashing a gaggle of little ghouls across the neighborhood. I'd never seen so many kids out! Everyone had a great time running from house to house and loading up on the sugary stuff!

You can see more pictures in our gallery. 

Pumpkin Carving

Halloween Fun Part One

We had a very busy weekend, full of fall fun and festivities! On Saturday, there were two fall carnivals at schools near our house. Scott took Shelby to one in the morning while I ran errands and then we all went to the elementary school carnival in the afternoon. Saturday night was "trunk or treat" at the church and then Sunday afternoon was our annual neighborhood block party! Whew! We haven't even gotten to Halloween yet!  Enjoy some pictures - there are more in the gallery. We are getting lots of wear out of her costume of choice this year: a fairy. She's into all things princess, fairy and Tinkerbell right now. 

Sliding and bouncing with a friend!

Pumpkin bowling... strike!

Fairies always travel by tricycle. 

Shelby and a school friend at trunk or treat. 

Crafting with neighborhood friends at the block party. 

More Half Marathon Photos

More half marathon photos in a gallery right here. The other person in the pictures is Tim, a friend of ours and my sort of training partner. And even though we didn't stay at the same pace the entire race we ended up finishing at the same time! Shelby was most interested in my medal and drinking all my Powerade. 

Athens Half Marathon Weekend

We had a packed weekend in Athens that concluded with my first half marathon on Sunday! I finished in 2 hours and 13 minutes and had a great time, even though I am very sore right now! It was a chilly morning and a pretty hilly course, but I ran the entire time and am proud of myself for setting a goal and completing it. The day before the race we had some fun kiddo time with the Kellys, including... 

A pumpkin patch visit! Shelby and Luke pulled these wheelbarrows all over the place and had fun "playing farm." 

Look at these little Georgia fans. So cute! The game was disappointing but we still  had fun with a... 

Halloween dance party at Athens' famous 40 Watt Club! The 40 Watt had a children's band during the day so we dressed them up in costumes and headed downtown for some Halloween dance fun with a mini Hulk and little ladybug. Shelby wanted to "save" her fairy costume for Halloween day.

Tim and I the morning of the race! It was cold and dark but warmed up quickly! The crowds were great and Carrie, Scott and the kids were there to cheer us on in Five Points and again at the finish line. It was rather grueling at times, but we had a lot fun! Afterwards, we celebrated with EPL soccer, a pint and some food at the Royal Peasant pub. 

My little cheerleader! Shelby said she'd like to run a race with me one day. Maybe we will find a one mile fun run in the spring. Her big takeaway: "I want to run a race and throw my shirt on the ground." HA! When we ran in Five Points, I tossed Scott my warm up shirt and it fell on the ground. For some reason, that really stuck with her!