we saw Santa!

Tonight, we went to the holiday light show at the local gardens.  They have beautiful lights hanging throughout the trees on the grounds, a massive Lego display that is brought in and built over 2 weeks and you can meet Santa!

We heard a little boy ahead of us tell Santa that last year he heard Santa come in!  Santa said he remembered because he had to come back later when he was alseep.  The little guy was about the same age as Carl & Gretchen.  Carl was falling in love with a little baby girl who was a few families ahead of us.  He says he loves babies and he can't wait to meet his 2 newborn twin girl cousins in December.  

 I love this one - she is giving Santa some attitude and Carl looks like he is trying to stay on the Nice List!

Gretchen told him she wants a 2013 Holiday Barbie doll.  Santa said, "2013?  Is she a baby?"  She thought that was funny, but when he tried to ask them about their birthday, she got confused.  He asked how many birthdays they have had and they each said "Eight".  He then said, "Oh, I only have 1 birthday.  I celebrate it's anniversary every year."  That went right over their heads.  Carl asked for an "iPad 4S".  This device does not exist.  Santa told him he would bring it if Carl could spell it.  Carl spelled "i-p-a-d-4-S".  Nope, Santa said, "i-p-a-d-f-o-u-r-e-s-s".  So, he is off the hook!  Pretty funny!

Time for a hug and then we headed out for popcorn and to wander through the garden.  

We waited to see Santa for about an hour, so we didn't have enough time to see everything else.  We were in the middle of a gazebo decorate with lights when it turned 9:00.  Click. Lights off.  Luckily, that was close to the parking lot and we were able to find our way out.  Maybe we will get back there on another visit this season.

Black Friday shopping!

Yes, this year, Lew & I went shopping on Thursday.  We left Lindy and Grandma with the kids and we bopped over to Walmart to buy the pajamas we buy every Black Friday.  The problem this year was that Walmart opened on Thursday and they put these pajamas on their 6pm sale.  We knew if we waited until Friday they would be all picked over.  We were right.  By 7:30, there were very few remaining in the kids' sizes.  We also bought some blu-rays and DVDs very cheap that we will probably never unwrap.  Another tradition around here.

and I needed bread.  So, yes, in the middle of people clammering for $100 TVs, we were doing every day grocery shopping.

Then, on Friday morning, we really had nothing to go out for.  But, the kids needed headphones for school and we saw some at Radio Shack that looked like a doable price so we headed there.  Our Black Friday shopping was complete about 4 minutes after we left the house.  Lew said, "If someone told me I would be going out to Radio Shack on Black Friday I would have thought they were nuts!"

Annual pre-shopping photo...

 And a shot with Lew & his mom and the kiddos....

 
We went to one other store for fun since we were already out.  Then home for leftovers!!!

flashback????  I am actually wearing a new shirt this year, but seems Lew has only 1 favorite black shirt.

2012

 2011

They did not bring home any festive art work this year.  Our 2013 door looks bare!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today was Thanksgivukkah.  This falling of Hanukkah on Thanksgiving won't happen again for something like 79,000 years.  But, I have no proof of it here.  No pictures showing our Hanukkah celebration and only a few from Thanksgiving itself, too.

 These next 2 shots are the family tradition shots.  You are only allowed to throw rolls at Thanksgiving dinner.  One for Gretchen....

 ... and one for Daddy!

 Carl ended up eating a ton of turkey and gravy.  He loved every meal of leftovers!

Yes, he is wearing his Bird is the Word shirt.  Pretty appropriate, eh?

 She only ate the peppers and grapes.  That's all.

the pool party

We had a blast at the twins' 8th birthday party!   Last year, we didn't do a friend party, so this year, we wanted to enjoy some time with special friends from school.  After much talking and brainstorming.... we decided on a pool party at the YWCA.  No matter where you live, swimming in late November is a treat!!

We had 6 little friends join us for swimming, pizza and cupcakes Saturday afternoon.  8 kids at the 8 year olds' party was the perfect number!  

How about a few pictures?????

Lew got in with the kids when we first arrived, but once their buddies showed up, they quickly abandoned Dad! 

my little fish

 Carl is not the only fish!

I never got a posed picture of all the kids, but I did manage to catch all 8 of them in 2 shots..... 

 We were there during family swim time, but as you can see, there weren't many other swimmers there.  After an hour of swimming, we took a break for pizza, grapes and cupcakes.  You can kind of see our awesome theme... Despicable Me Minions & Disney Princesses!   We know how to decorate and compromise well!

We did cupcakes - chocolate ones for Gretchen and I brought lemon ones without frosting for Carl who hates chocolate, but he didn't want one anyway.  (He loved the sausage pizza, though.  Probably should have put a candle in that for him.  Hmmm... next year.)  But, I keep coming back to something my friend Tara said in her recent blog entry about throwing a birthday party for twins.  She mentioned how some mothers of twins are adament about having 2 separate cakes, but she figured they shared a womb for 9 months, they could handle sharing a cake on their birthday.  I love that practical, realistic, yet cake filled view of it.

 Gretchen being sung to!  Lew relit the candles and we sang to them both twice for extra wish opportunities!

 Then, we threw caution to the wind and let them swim without waiting an hour!!!

Carl wanted to open presents so we were able to do that before the families left.  We had 6 friends there, but they were 3 sets of twins or siblings.  We are so lucky to have such great families in our lives.  It was really special to be able to have some fun outside of school to celebrate turning 8 years old!!!!!

5 years

My father passed away 5 years ago today.  That is not possible, is it?

This morning, Gretchen and I went on a sunrise photo shoot with some of my camera club friends.  They always plan these shoots on significant days.  My very first one was on Daddy's birthday.  This past June, we did one on Mom's birthday.  Now, on this anniversary.  There was a 30% chance of rain, so when I went to bed last night, I didn't really know if we would be going.  But, when I got up at 5:30, it wasn't raining yet, so we headed out.  We were going to shoot the sunrise, then walk the tidal basin trail, then all go to breakfast together.  But, the rain was showing on the radar and Gretchen and I ended up doing half the basin trail and turning around.  So, we skipped breakfast as well.  But, we were smart.  As we were driving home, it started to rain!  The others, when we left them, were planning on hiking the remaining mile out to the end of the trail, knowing they may get rained on.  Hope they didn't get too drenched.  

So, I did take a nature shot in the beginning....

 As you can see, the clouds made the actual sun rise less than spectacular.   So, I focused on another subject.  She is wearing the same poncho from the June shoot as well.  She rarely wears that.  I guess I think it is appropriate beach photo gear.

 Here she is taking some pictures of flowers by her feet.

 Giving me some attitude.

 But, then making up for it with a nice smile.....

Getting some ocean shots herself.  I haven't looked at the pictures on her camera yet.  She liked her shot of the Hermit's bunker best.  That was later on when we were on the basin trail.

 See, I took another nature shot of the marsh before we headed to the car.

I'm sure this is not anything my father would have enjoyed.  Ha ha!  We barely got him on the beach when we lived here the first time.  I think he liked the Cape Cod beaches better because there, it was always too cold and we just walked a little bit to see the ocean and then left.  But, he would have loved going to breakfast with everyone after!  So, we might have stayed and done that if he were with us.  They were going to a place I had not tried before.  My favorite is the diner down on the beach, but the line is always so long, they don't like to go there in the early morning on a Saturday.  Understandable, but Daddy would have loved that place!!

Gretchen and I came home to get ready for the birthday party this afternoon.  We are having a pool party for them at the Y with 6 friends.  Even in coastal NC, swimming in late November is a fun treat!  

more birthday!!!

OK.  This is going to be fast.  We are pretty busy right now.......

On Wednesday, I worked in the morning, but they let me leave a little early so i got to join Lew and the kids already eating their Happy Meals at school.  Then we shared popcorn with their classroom buddies.

After school, I gave them each one present to use for homework... they have to do 20 minutes of daily reading.  Carl got Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 and Gretchen got Frozen.  Both are the Junior Novelization of the movies.  If you are not familiar with this, it is the exact movie, word for word, movement/gesture for gesture.  Kind of fun to read before seeing a movie, but in all honesty, we always stop before the ending so we don't give it away for them before heading to the theater.  It isn't like reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz before seeing that.  Or devouring Tolkien's The Hobbit first.  Since it is literally the movie in text, you aren't going to like the book better than the movie ever.  But, if you are 8 and have to do 20 minutes of daily reading, they are great!

 OK.  We are now at Birthday Dinner time!  A cheese pizza since tonight was a school fundraiser at a local pizza place.  They give a percentage of sales to our PTA, so we had to support them.  Pizza was just the icing on the cake, right?  Nope.  Icing to come later.  This was pizza!   Then, Gretchen wanted spaghetti.  Plain.  Carl wanted Spaghetti Dogs.  And, no meal is compete without something crunchy.  They love veggies!!!

 Carl's best gift reaction was to a tube of toothpaste.  "Mom, this is the flavor I wanted!  This! Is! Awesome!"

 This year, the kids each spent some of their own allowance money to buy the other one a gift.  Gretchen gave Carl a stuffed Ninja Turtle and he gave her a Hello Kitty mermaid.

 Perfect choices!  They know each other well!!!!!

 oops, cut the cats out of the shot.  I did take another one pulled farther back, but they didn't look as cute.

 Carl got Monopoly Empire and we played right away.

 Then we had dessert.  If you remember last year, I made Carl an ice cream "cake".  So, I knew he'd be looking for another one.  This year, I used characters from Frozen to decorate it.

 And, we had cupcakes for the rest of us!   mmm... cake!!!  

 festive decorations.  (hope they don't pull paint off the ceiling when I un-decorate)

The party's over.....