Shampoo

This year we got lucky and Lane's squadron hosted their Christmas party at Sea World. We were able to hang out at the park all day and lunch was provided. The kids enjoyed everything about it and they were beyond excited to see all the animals, going on rides, and sledding at "Snow World" within the park.

As soon as we got into the park, Eden saw Pete the Penguin and insisted on a picture with him. Hunter wanted nothing to do with him, so he sat safely in the stroller while Eden posed with Pete.

After we ate lunch, the kids were so excited about going into Snow World. We had to pass it in order to get back to where lunch was and the kids were not excited to pass it by.

After Snow World we headed out to see some animals. We got to see sharks, penguins, dolphins, sting rays, and more! The kids loved the animals.

Petting the dolphin

Trying to pet a sting ray.

Before getting to go see "Shampoo" {what Eden called Shamu all day long!} we took some time for the kids to ride some rides. We had extra hands {Lane and a few of the other dads had to work, so they couldn't make it to the Christmas party this year} and we decided to take advantage while we could.

After the rides were done, it was finally time to go see "Shampoo" with our friends.

"Shampoo" was the last thing we did at the end of the day. It was a great way to end a day at Sea World. We had dinner with friends after leaving the park, but on our way to dinner Hunter passed out in the car. He was so tired from a full day of lots of things to do and see!

Once we were parked at dinner, Hunter woke up and we went in to eat. There was a balloon guy making balloon characters and Eden asked for a ballerina. Hunter wanted nothing to do with the balloons. He popped one last week and he hasn't looked at balloons the same ever since. He's actually terrified of them right now.

Motherhood Is…{50}

I am blessed by the act of giving.

This year Eden is old enough to know what other people want for Christmas. She's old enough to understand the excitement of giving gifts. This year we decided to let Eden pick out some of the gifts that we are giving to her cousins. Some cousins she's played with more recently, so she picked those gifts on her own. Other cousins she hasn't seen in quite some time, so I gave her choices based on their interests.

Knowing that I walked out of a store with $150 of toys {both Christmas and birthday gifts for friends and family} and Eden understood that none were for her made my heart happy. She knew what each gift was and was excited to be giving them to their recipients. She even came home and told our neighbor that she got a certain gift for her friend with such excitement!

I was excited to let her pick the gifts and start the teaching process of the joy of giving gifts. I am so blessed to watch her kind heart unfold.

More Adventures

After Santa the Elf had to stay at the North Pole an extra night {and Santa Clause sent Eden a video email telling her she was on the naughty list - with time to get back on the nice list} he came back and was ready to hide out around the house. Eden is still guessing where he might be next, and constantly asking if he's going back to the North Pole or if he's going to hang out here or there. Hunter still isn't showing any interest in touching the elf. He stays far enough away from him, so, so far, we're not in any danger of our elf losing his magic.

Here's where eye's been most recently:

Santa The Elf

After Santa arrived at our house, nothing has been the same! We're constantly looking for him, and he's always hiding. He goes back to the North Pole every night, and when he comes back to our house, he hides somewhere new. Eden loves guessing where he might hide next, and Hunter laughs and says, "Mamma! Wook!" when he finds Santa. One of his newest words is "taah-ta" {Santa} and he'll exclaim this any time he sees anything that reminds him of Santa - the elf, a hat, ornaments, trees, lights, etc.

Here are some of the places he's been found at our house:

Their curiosity makes me giggle!

Thanksgiving

This year we were lucky enough to have Mimi and Pop here for Thanksgiving. They were here after traveling Route 66 (before my dad turned 67) and it was a quick visit. They had fun while they drove across the country while Mom worked. If you ask me, that's the best way to travel - get paid to do it!

After they got here Wednesday night we prepped for Turkey Day with friends after a hike. We introduced Mimi and Pop to the fun of geocaching. Eden loves to look for treasure when we're out and about! We usually carry a few small dollar store toys with us so that we can trade treasure with the existing treasure in the canister.

And Friday morning we woke up to a surprise from our Elf! Santa the Elf made sure our North Pole breakfast was amazing. We enjoyed getting to share this breakfast this year with Mimi and Pop.

After stuffing ourselves with "snow-covered" breakfast items we made sure to indulge in more food! We took Mimi and Pop out to a local restaurant for lunch, followed by a candy shop. Then on Saturday, before heading to the airport, we had one last local stop - Crazee Burger.

We had a great Thanksgiving! We missed the rest of our families, but to have any family around for a holiday is special. We don't often get to share holidays with any family with us, so we made sure not to take any of it for granted! We made sure to send pictures to other family members {who were all over the country!} and we received some too. With technology - and our pilgrim salt and pepper shakers that we took to our dinner at a friends - we were *with* family even when we weren't.

What's Up

So I've been super busy these days! I'm gearing up for the next Triple Crown run. That's right, I'm crazy enough to run the same three half marathons next year that I ran this year. The first run is MLK weekend, and that's only 6 weeks away!!!!

To add to my stress I decided to build Eden a bed so we can move Hunter into Eden's current bed. We like the idea of a lofted bed. It's much a bunk bed, but without a bottom bunk. It gives Eden more space in her room and hopefully we can make the underneath portion a little reading area. When we started looking around most of what we saw {that was close to what we wanted} looked like it was going to cost us close to $2000 and even more some times. Not to mention that cost doesn't include the new mattress. Yeah…we weren't interested in spending that kind of cash right now!

As I dug deeper and started looking into what we wanted I found plans for a bed that I loved. Check it out! {We used this same site to get plans to build our picnic table.}

We love that the stairs go up to the foot of the bed and isn't a ladder at the side of the bed. I love that there's space under the bed. If we have visitors, they can stay in Hunter's bed {that is now Eden's bed} and he can sleep on a pallet on the floor in her room. I love that the bed isn't so tall that it will interfere with the ceiling fan.

There was so much to love about this bed that I jumped at the opportunity to get started. I went to buy the lumber, and got to cutting immediately.

The wood was cut, I got to sanding. I've been working on the project since Tuesday afternoon and I'm almost done sanding the boards. Well…I'm a little more than half way done with the sanding. I guess projects don't move as quickly when you're breaking up fights over toys, making sure kids aren't playing in the street, and being stopped early because of the lack of sunlight. 

I can't wait for this project to be completed! I must admit though, I'm terrified {and a little sad} at the idea of moving Hunter from a crib into a big kid bed…

Motherhood Is…{49}

I am blessed by love.

I know that sounds redundant, but even on the worst days of parenthood, there are glimpses of love throughout. Like today, Eden had a fabulous morning, but then after lunch she turned into a maniac and there wasn't anything that could tame her. As we were getting ready for bed she was brushing my hair and she told me that I was her best friend.

Look at the 2 of them in this picture! How can you not look at this and be blessed by the amount of love here?! They were running around like crazy people, and we asked them to go into the toy room and calm down together. When we checked on them and this is what we saw. They were sitting quietly watching a show, under the blanket, enjoying being together. It was the best ending to a stressful day!

They really do love each other deep down!