Moving some more..

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http://aquietlifeacademy.wordpress.com/

So ready for spring....and a mild summer

Christmas journeys - Part Two

I know I'm a little late on part two but I finally made it.....
So Christmas Eve we were ready to celebrate.

 Our journey took us to Aunt Cynthia's. And Mimi got some well needed cuddle time with her Gammie.

The traditional playing of cards was a fun time by all...except me. My time was coming though. I was able to play Christmas night.











Christmas Morning!!!! Santa left Mimi a rather large sized horse....this was definitely her favorite.

 Lauren got something to work on her drawing skills. She does so well with her drawing and loves all the how to books.













Next Christmas breakfast at Gamma and Papa's house....

Grapes are always on his menu!

Fun Felicity/American Girl stuff for our fun lover.

A few trucks for our truck lover.

A rabbit hutch for our animal lover.

Next stop....the Wilson Family lunch....

This year was cousin Jessie's turn to host.

Neat story about these ladies. They wore dresses that belonged to Jonathan's great grandmother's mom and her sister. They were beautiful!

Another antique dress.

My favorite part of the day. The kids were belting out hymns and Thomas sang his little heart out!

Christmas journeys - Part One

 So our annual Christmas adventure began this year with an early visit from one of Santa's helpers. The girls had asked for kittens for Christmas and these two cuties were sent to them a week before. Apparently they just couldn't wait until Christmas.

 The girls have been such good mommies to them. The white one is Pearl and the tan one is Peter Pan. We've been listening to Peter Pan in the car so of course Lauren jumped at the chance to use Peter's name. One of our close friends, Jamie,  has a cat named Pearl...and Emily is just in love with her Mrs. Jamie so .....Pearl it is!

 Mrs. Jamie and Mr. Steve also stopped by one day bringing Christmas gifts of books!! Thomas just loves the books they pick out for him.

 Our next stop was Saysa and Uncle Jim's house. Here the kids received their ornaments from Papa Mac and Mrs. Jacque. Every Christmas year the kids are excited to put up their keepsake ornaments from them.

You can see Emily has already attacked the cookies and cake.

 This year they also received water bottles with their names. They've been using them most days around the house.

 Thomas was excited about his ornament too!

 The girls oogled the cash for their new purses. I think Lauren was more focused on George Washington's picture.

 And of course, Thomas got some more vehicles for his collection. That boy and his obsession.

 It was a fun night with family and the kids had a great time.

 But the big finale was in the garage!!

 Bicycles for everyone!.. Well, I didn't get one...and Jonathan didn't either but all the little people did. And oh the love! The girls really needed replacements and these have been just perfect.

We did have a little trouble getting Thomas off of his. He sat on it for a good 20 minutes before finally coming inside.

It was a good time. I think about Dad a lot this time of year. He would have been so fun with them....more like obsessed with them. One day we'll be together again.

Our adventures continue...on to Christmas Eve!

our new project

One of my favorite Christmas gifts is a book Jonathan gave me.

Waterfall Hikes of Upstate South Carolina by Thomas E. King. We have ventured to several waterfalls around the area but this book is incredible. It has everything that I need to best decide on our next adventure. Each falls has:

• a picture of the falls
• length of hike to falls
• driving directions
• a brief description of the falls
• and difficulty of trail

There are several other details included like a rating for the fall and a desciption of the location that make this book so helpful. One of the best details is a regional grouping of the falls. The falls are grouped together by proximity so you can visit more than one if you have the time. All falls are located in Oconee, Pickens and Greenville Counties so it's fits us perfectly.

My new project, along with one of my buddies (and anyone who wants to join us), is to explore as many of these falls as possible. I'm so looking forward to our first trek...if I can decide on just one!

oh Santa

Tonight the girls are having a sleep over with their Saysa and Uncle Jim. They have been taking them to Darwin Wright Park to see Santa at Christmas time. I need inside info on what Santa is going to bring so there are no duplicates ;)

Ballet..ballet...ballet..

My little ballarinas had their performance last night and they were just brilliant!!

Emily and her buddy Emma.

The girls were so excited about their performance and Emily was feeling a little 80's with the way she wanted to wear her head band. She is so funny. She worked so hard but every time she looked at me she got a little distracted. She was too busy smiling...such a happy little girl.

They were so cute dancing the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Lauren was intense as always. She was busy watching the older girls practice and trying to remember her steps. She was so concerned with messing up.

In the end she was happy with her performance. She did remember her mistakes of course but wasn't too hard on herself this time. She performed the Chinese dance from the Nutcracker.

Thomas thoroughly enjoys the dancing. He always wants to walk in the middle of them and help out. We made sure he had his buddies with him...Mr. Skidsteer and Mr. Tractor.

We ended the night with Gamma, Papa, Papa Mac and Granny Mac at Joe's Restaurant for ice cream, of course!