Round 2: Santa

The second "round" of Christmas activity took place on Christmas morning. This is the "round" that involves a jolly old man in a red suit. Before going to bed on Christmas Eve, the kids put out some milk and cookies for Bri...I mean Santa. I don't know if the kids were just super-good this year or if the milk and cookies buttered Santa up, but something must have happened because he left all kinds of goodies for Owen and Olivia. Both kids received a pillow pet, a remote control car, and other toys and clothes. Olivia had asked Santa for a pillow pet and a mermaid Barbie, and she got both of those. Owen hadn't asked Santa for anything (he refused to sit in his lap), but he still racked up. The kids and I were also very surprised to find that Santa had left a Wii behind our tree. I had no idea that that was on the list. Brian didn't look so surprised, though. Here are a few pictures from Christmas morning.

Round 1: Christmas Eve

Christmas this year was a whirlwind of activity. It was lots of fun, but I am now exhausted. The first "round" of holiday fun took place on Christmas Eve at Gigi's house. The kids were old enough this year that they really understood what was going on. Even Owen- who hasn't cared about gifts at all in the past- was totally into it. We always open presents from youngest to oldest, so Owen went first. Both he and Olivia received a scooter and dress up clothes from Gigi and Papa. I was particulary happy that Owen received the action-hero dress up because Olivia plays dress up all of the time and Owen wants to, too, but has nothing to wear. Now, he has something that he can wear (besides Olivia's princess dresses). The action figure masks that went with Owen's costumes were so cute that Hannah and I couldn't resist trying them on. I don't know how she ended up with the Batman mask while I got Robin, though. I think I'm definitely "dark knight" material. We received so many nice gifts, but my favorite gifts of all were being with family and finding out that I'm going to be an Aunt again!!! That's right, my sister Hannah is expecting.

The Christmas Parade (Brrr)

Monday night was Blackshear's annual Christmas parade. It was super cold this year. I had to break out the kids' heavy coats due to the low temperatures. At one point during the evening I thought that my toes may freeze off, but it was worth the pain because the kids had a great time. Owen especially enjoyed it. While others (Olivia) ducked into the van halfway through the parade, Owen braved the cold in order to be close to the action. I don't know if it was the lights, the sounds, or the candy, but somehing definitely impressed him. Of course everyone's favorite float this year was the Sonshine Kids float (because my two sweet nieces were on it). You'd think that Ava and Claire would hook their cousins (and Aunt) up with some extra candy, but they didn't. What's up with that?. I think that Aunt Hannah needs to coach them on this before next year. (You got that, babushka?)

Old Tree, New Ornaments

My Christmas tree is old and falling apart. It's actually Granny Buie's old tree (from like three trees ago). There are parts of the tree that are being held together by clear packaging tape at this moment. It's pretty sad. I was hoping to get a new tree on Black Friday this year, but I couldn't find one that I liked for a price that I was willing to pay. Anyway, the kids don't mind that the tree is old. To them, it is the most beautiful tree in the world. They were so excited when I dragged the tree down out of the attic last Saturday. After waiting (impatiently) for me to assemble and light the tree, the kids were able to add their ornaments to it. I started something new this year, and it went over pretty well. What I did was purchase a Christmas ornament from different places that we visited during the year. Therefore, when it was time to decorate the tree, the kids had three new ornaments to add: a crab ornament from Fernandina Beach, a bear ornament from the Smoky Mountains, and an angel/snowman from Asheville. Even though all of their ornaments ended up at the very bottom of the tree, the kids made sure that their new ornaments were placed front-and-center. Here are some pictures of what will hopefully be the final use of our current Christmas tree.

Black Friday

Black Friday is my favorite day of the year. Keeping with tradition, my sisters and I hit the stores early on Friday morning in search of bargains. Things were a little different this year since a lot of the stores opened on Thanksgiving Day. Because of this, it seemed like there were a lot more people out. We weren't about to pull an all-nighter, so we began early on Friday. This picture of us was actually taken at about 3:45 am- right before all of the fun began. I love shopping on Black Friday because I have so much fun with my sisters. I also like all of the sales. The biggest deal that I found this year was at the Polo outlet. I got Ralph Lauren (Polo) towels regularly $26 each on sale for less than $4. Wow!

The kids have also come to love Black Friday because they get to spend the night with Granny Mel. I think the only person who probably doesn't like Black Friday is poor Brian. As you can probably imagine, Toys R Us turns into a war zone on this day...and as the manager, Brian has to tough it out all day. This year Toys R Us opened at 10pm on Thursday. Brian was at work from 7:45pm on Thursday until 3pm on Friday. That's about 19 hours straight at the busiest place in town. Ouch. At the end of the day, they literally had to put him in a buggy and wheel him out to his car.

Princesses on Ice

This weekend, Hannah and I took the girls to see Disney Princesses on Ice. We had a wonderful time (barring the flat tire we had on the way to Savannah). The show began at 3:30, so we left early in order to have enough time to eat somewhere nice. I seriously think that the girls would have been happy just to have hung out in downtown Savannah all day. The weather was beautiful, so there were people out everywhere. We ended up eating a really good meal at the Cafe at City Market. After lunch, we walked to the Civc Center for the show.

After navigating the maze of venders' booths, we found our way to our seats. I now understand why the tickets to get in were so cheap- because they plan to sell you everything under the sun at ridiculously high prices once you're in. Anyway, I was really happy with the location of our seats. We were right near the front by the castle. The show began and the girls were so happy. It was like two hours of total bliss for them. I looked at their little faces and they were grinning ear-to-ear the entire time. The show was basically a synopsis of all of the princess tales, and it featured all of the kids' favorite princesses- Jazmine, Ariel, Aurora, Mulan, Snow White, Belle, and Cinderella. I was so impressed by the quality of the show. It was way beyond my expectations. For the grand finale, all of the pricesses plus Mickey, Minnie, Tinkerbell, and Goofy skated around and ended up on the castle waving at everyone. In the eyes of a four-year-old girl, this is complete magic. Seeing our sweeties so happy softened Hannah and I up to the point where we were willing to buy a souvenir for the girls. So, each got a dishwasher safe Tinkerbell cup that came with a snowcone in it. The show definitely left an impression on Olivia. She has been "ice skating" all over our kitchen floor today.

Happy Fall, Y'all

I absolutely love my hometown. The people are friendly, there's little crime, and the education system is top-notch. To make things even better, there are various clubs and organizations that are constantly coming up with family-friendly things to do. One of the things that I like the most is that the town looks great- especially on Main Street. For example, each fall the merchants decorate "Gourd Heads" and place them outside of their businesses. It makes the whole town look so festive. For the past two Sundays, Owen and Olivia have wanted to go and "visit" the gourd heads after Church. I couldn't resist taking a few pictures. Happy fall, y'all.

o