Ice Skating

For a few years now I've been wanting to take the kids ice skating and we have just never gotten around to it, so when I mentioned it to them a few days ago they were all super excited and wanted to go.  I talked to a friend and convinced her to go with us with her kiddos so we made our plans and made a day of it!  

We went to Avalon, and outdoor shopping mall, that has seasonal ice skating and planned to eat lunch before ice skating.  I also had one of Harper's friend's with us so we had quite the crew! 

Lunch was great and ended with popsicles for the kids. They were being silly and having the best time!

We started walking towards the ice rink and ran into a Facebook crew that was there promoting the virtual glasses company they own. The kids were too young to try it out, but they did get these super fun "thumbs up" magnets and the guy we talked to was so nice!

Next we made our way over to the ice rink.  They weren't quite open yet, so we hopped in line and took in the pretty views of all the decorations while we waited.

As we were all getting on our ice skates my friend, B, and I looked at each other and wondered if we had made a mistake in bringing 7 kids ice skating.  They were all complaining about not being able to get the ice skates on, how uncomfortable they were, etc.  However, crisis averted and we got everyone's skates on and made our way to the ice.

There was a lot of clinging to the all for some of the kiddos who hadn't ever had skates on before, but the smiles stayed on their faces the entire time.

I braved the ice so I could hold onto Hudson's hand and help to keep him from falling, although he probably didn't need my help.  It was a workout, though!

Harper said she didn't fall one single time.  She never let go, but she didn't fall so that was a success in  her book!

Just as it was time to go they were really getting the hang of it.  Handley didn't want to leave, so I told her maybe we could try again soon.  She was getting brave and going into the middle of the rink as it was time to go and really wanted more time, but the rest of us were done!

It was a really warm day yesterday so a lot of the ice had puddles on it where the sun was shining and because he was working so hard, Hudson got hot and wanted to take off his sweatshirt.  I laughed to see him ice skating in short sleeves, but he swore he was hot!

It was the perfect way to spend our first day of Christmas break and the kids made such fun memories with their friends!

Hudson's Christmas Performance

Yesterday Hudson's preschool had their annual Christmas performance and it was just about the cutest thing I have ever seen.

His class, being the oldest in the preschool, got to be in the front of the stage and they also did a special "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" performance with bells.  They all did such a great job and we were so proud of them all!

Handley's Service Project

Handley's teacher has a heart for foster children as a former foster parent and she plans a service project supporting this cause for her class each year.  The kids are asked to do chores around the house, plan bake sales, etc. for a few weeks and raise as much money as they can.  Her class raised over $800 this year and then they all met to go shopping at Walmart to buy gifts for the children in foster care.  Then this week I had the pleasure of driving a few of the students to deliver the gifts to our county's Department of Family and Child Services.

It was such a rewarding experience for the kids and an eye opening experience for all of us.  To see all of the good they were doing and how they would help make some children very happy on Christmas was truly an invaluable lesson.

They got a tour of the warehouse and the staging area where they sort the donations and get things ready for the over 300 children in foster care in our county.

I was so proud of these kids!  They all worked really hard to earn money to be ale to donate to this cause and they all had so many questions and concerns for the kids they were helping.  It was a wonderful experience for all of us and I'm so happy we got to be a part of it!

Pink Pig and Santa Visit 2016

We love traditions and Christmas traditions are our favorites.  We have been riding the Pink Pig (and Atlanta holiday tradition) and seeing Santa with the same friends for 9 years now!  We always look forward to this afternoon and this year the rain wasn't about to stop us.  

The kids got their tickets and were all set and ready to ride.  When they were little we rode with them, but no we just get to be the picture takers.  :-) 

First up was seeing Priscilla the Pink Pig mascot.  

There was NO line to ride so we were pretty much the only ones there. 

After their ride through the life-sized storybook it was time to go see Santa!!!  The set-up this year was so pretty with lots of twinkling lights! 

Poor Santa was sitting there all alone waiting on someone to come talk to him.  Going on a weekday is definitely the time to go! 

The kids all smiled for a picture and then because there was no one in line behind us, he took a lot of time to talk to each of the kids about their wish-lists. 

He reminded them to leave carrots for the reindeer and to continue being good boys and girls, which I know they will do! 

The Nutcracker

We love traditions at our house and one of my favorite Christmas traditions is taking the girls to The Nutcracker.  We go see a local performance that includes a Sugar Plum tea before hand and the girls love it.  Tons of fun goodies to eat and then they get autographs and pictures with the cast.  

They were excited about getting their faces painted and although we had to wait quite a while in line we were able to squeeze it in before the start of the show! 

This is our third year attending this show with some of our friends and we ran into a lot of other friends there this year, too.  

It was such a special girls day out and now we can't wait for all of our other Christmas outings this month! 

Thanksgiving 2016

After coming home from North Carolina we spent all day Wednesday cooking and preparing for Thanksgiving.  Gigi and Papa came over after the parade was over and we spent a lot of time outside that afternoon.  It was so nice and warm! 

The girls helped set the table and had fun making place cards for everyone.

Hudson made a special candle at school for our Thanksgiving table and he was so proud to have it lit as part of our table decor. 

We cooked the turkey on the big green egg again this year and it turned out so good!

It was a pretty quiet day, but lots of fun.  Thanksgiving was great, but the next day we were ready for Christmas!  We spent the entire day decorating and are so excited for the Christmas season!