The Rest of Christmas Break

Whew, what a break!  We had 2.5 weeks of activities, sicknesses, staying home, going out, friends over, over at friends, baking, movies, board games, cabin fever, crafts, crankiness, laughs, and more.

We were baking fiends this Christmas!

Making ornaments with beads.

Salt dough ornaments.

Taylor slept over at Peyton's house.

Sydney had Jordan sleep over.

Scary elf!!

We got to hang out at Ashley and Mike's house!  The two eldest children (of each family) battling at Battleship.

Taylor and Sutter playing on the ipad.

We got to make s'mores on the fire pit.

All the kiddos- Ashley took this on her nicer camera.

Mommy/Sydney date night!

This was on the door when we got home from our date. (from Taylor)

Making a troll gingerbread house.

NYE tooth loss!

Sydney and her baby.

We played LOTS of games this break!

Parker showing off all his hot wheels.

Crafts.

Lawn mowers!!

Playdate at CFA with Kody and Parker.

Hair cuts.

It's so straight!

In the meantime, Sydney got to play video games with Jake.

Taylor's turn!

CFA with Parker (not her brother, not the one mentioned above... apparently we picked a popular name for our son!) and Mason.

Sand art.

It was a really fun break!  It was nice to have a good amount of both family time and friend time.  Now we're back to the wind-and-grind... (and it was sadly I this morning who had to set 7 alarms to make sure I actually woke up!  The girls got up, dressed, ready to go on their own.  Mom of the year, right here!)

2016: A Year in Review

2016 was a pretty great year in our household.  No big life changes occurred (like they did last year...), I figured out things a little bit more, and we got to go on some fun adventures.  Most importantly, we all stayed relatively healthy (though I have been cursed with strep throat twice in 6 weeks with a bad cold in between... but I will count my blessings!).

Here are the highlights of our year!

Places we visited:

• Dahlonega, GA (2 times)
• Seattle, WA
• Portland, OR
• The Mountain House (3 times)
• Waycross, GA (2 times)
• Lake Oconee, GA
• 2 family weddings in South Carolina

Notable events:

• Celebrating 11 years of marriage!
• Sydney turned 8
• Taylor turned 6
• Parker turned 4
• Me starting a little business
• Me getting off Facebook... maybe for good?  Time will tell!

Home improvements:

• New roof
• Laundry room makeover
• Bathroom makeover
• Kids' bath makeover
• Garage makeover
• Baseboards/Door repainting job

Fun activities for the kids:

Taylor lost her first tooth! (and her 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and finally the 5th on New Year's Eve!)

Parker started a new school

Sydney's first 5K

Soccer

Several visits to Stone Mountain

Six Flags!

A couple of White Water visits

Several books were read by me, many steps were taken, much less phone time occurred.  I've taken on some new roles (Room Parent Coordinator at the girls' school, working with the KG kids doing AR tests weekly, HOA secretary, personnel team at church) and will continually work on keeping a good balance of life.  I have simplified our household a TON recently- lots of donations, lots of organizing.  I hope for 2017 to keep a simple, consistent, balanced routine in life.

Happy New Year!  Here's to a great 2017.

Christmas- Part 2

After spending a few hours at home putting together the new presents, having some play time, and other time for yours truly to pack...

...we headed up to my sister's house.  It's about an hour and fifteen minute drive, but thankfully there was little traffic on the roads.  We made it safe and sound, followed shortly after by my parents and my aunt from Florida, and a few hours later by my brother and his fam from Nashville.

We hung out, the kids walked to the park, we ate a delish dinner, and then hit up the tree!

We got to hang out and chill the rest of the night, as well as the next morning.  We headed back home around lunchtime.

It was a Merry Christmas, indeed!

Christmas- Part 1

We all woke up at a decent hour on Christmas morning- maybe 7:15ish.  I made the kids promise they wouldn't sneak downstairs early, and they thankfully obliged!  We all headed downstairs together to see if Santa had, in fact, come to visit.

Yay, he came!

He got his Hot Wheels Garage!

After seeing Santa's loot, we took a pause and ate breakfast.

Then, we hit up the tree!

We hung out at our house for a few hours, giving the kids a chance to play with their new gifts (and to allow mama to pack!).  We headed to my sister's house mid-afternoon for Christmas, Part 2!