6 Year Photo Shoot...

In a few short days, our sweet Adeline Rose will be SIX! Since it's a bit tricky to get birthday photos done this time of year, we were excited when there was a chance to get them done in the middle of the week.

Our beautiful girl- love her long hair!

In case we forget how old she's going to be- she looks SO grown-up here- be still my heart!

This sums her up perfectly- even the photographer wanted to know who she cheered for.... Good thing we signed her up for cheerleading starting in January with i9Sports!

We were also past-due for a family pic- we look pretty good!

And another view....

And I'm a sucker- this was too cute to pass up!

Bubba looking rather dapper....

A rarity- just us!

1st Advent Weekend

We have totally enjoyed our long weekend off this Thanksgiving and even getting to start celebrating Advent!

How else better to start a Saturday than with hot coco!!

Yum!

The weather was simply gorgeous- we headed to a local park!

Such sweet friends- which was good since there were no other kids at the park!

Next up- making sugar cookies!! Alden, since he loves to eat, is my #1 helper in the kitchen!

Addie wanted in on the action- mixing the dough...

Working together on rolling out the dough...

All baked and waiting to be frosted!

Hard at work

Love this- but poor Addie has her eyes closed... They were so proud of their creations- and they were yummy, too!

Next dessert up- home-made icecream!

Totally adorable- showing off their Christmas outfits!

Getting ready for our holiday tradition - Sleigh Gifts. We do an Advent Bible reading and then exchange a simple gift that goes with that weekly theme. Addie picked out a mini-flashlight for Alden and Alden picked out sparkly nail polish for Addie.

Listening as Daddy reads about Jesus being our promised Light.

Thanksgiving!!

For only the 2nd time in our marriage, we celebrated Thanksgiving by ourselves. It was still a great time- just a tad bit quieter.

We started things off on Wednesday night by putting together a gingerbread house my Secret Pal at school gave me- they did this with Daddy and had a blast! I need to download the pics from Al's camera so you can see the finished product.

Thursday morning- in matching pj's watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade- they loved it! My favorite memory- Addie watching the Rockette's and saying "That doesn't look too hard, I think I could do that" and then watching her try to kick like them- so sweet and SO clear that she does not suffer from any lack of self confidence!

Mesmerized that Santa was on TV- and they were a bit puzzled as to why he brought Mrs. Claus with him- no one wants to see her!

After naps (only for the kids sadly) some friends we met at gymnastics, came over for The Big Meal! Addie was thrilled to have Bianca to play with outside of class!

The adult table- full of yumminess!

As a between dinner-and-dessert filler, I made turkey headbands with the kids. The idea totally came from Pottery Barn Kids- and the kids had fun making them and then wore them the rest of the evening!

Beautiful Bianca- she loved all the pretend food we had- and she cooked up her own Thanksgiving feast!

Silly girl!

He was in constant motion....

It was a great day- full of family and friends- and that is what it all boils down to, isn't it?

Early Birthday Celebration & Grandparents Day

Addie's school hosted a Grandparents' Breakfast the week before Thanksgiving- and MarMar and PopPop came down from NY for it- how special! Since it was so close to Addie's birthday, we decided to celebrate it, too while they were here. What did Addie want to do- check out the new American Girl Doll store in DC- fun!

On our move from DE to VA, Becca Baby's head got rubbed and some of the paint came off. This has caused Addie some angst- so for her birthday, we mailed her to the "hospital" to have her head replaced. Addie wrote the cutest note- "Please fix Becca Baby's head. I love her!" and I'm so upset that I forgot to take a picture of it! The website said it would take 2-3 weeks. It didn't- it only took 1 week from start to finish! Addie was beyond ecstatic that her Becca Baby AND MarMar and PopPop would be waiting for her on Thursday after school!!

MarMar bought the kids super cozy and matching pjs- fun! Nate got the same as Alden so Christmas is going to be super adorable!

I can't believe I let this happen- this is the only picture I took with the Grandparents- oops! Here we are at Tysons' Corner ready to go in and shop!

So excited she could almost pop! The men- they decided to go check out the huge Lego store...

Loving getting to shop with MarMar- she says "yes" way more than I do ;-)

Playing with part of her purchase- 2 kittens.

Becca Baby got a new outfit- which will match the outfit her cousins' Bitty Baby is going to be wearing!

Another key purchase- matching outfits for Addie and Becca Baby- and there are many more outfits that I have yet to photograph. I am a huge fan of her love of dolls- she is such a good mother to her babies- thank you MarMar, PopPop, Poppy, Nonnie, Aunt Jen, Uncle Frank, and Nate for making this shopping spree possible!

Thanksgiving- Kindergarten Style

I am so blessed- not only can I see Addie's school from my classroom window, but her lunch time is during my planning period and lunch so I can often go over and spend time with her.

On Tuesday, kindergarten was having a Thanksgiving Feast and I was able to go set-up and lead the kids as they made Pilgrim Hat cookies for dessert. It was a blast!

The hats- the ones I wanted to make called for a peanutbutter cup top, but since there is a peanut allergy, I needed to improvise- a homemade brownie bite was a good compromise as I wanted the kids to make them!

The floor was lined with this green paper and then we put out each placement that the kids had made. I love Addie's- she is thankful for her house, her friend Jayda, her baby dolls, her blanket, her bed, her car, her pink ball, and her playground.

All dressed up as the cutest Pilgrim Girl ever!

Putting the finishing touches on her pilgrim book

Amazing- 150 kindergarteners down the entire hall- all with good manners, it was quiet, and they were all totally adorable!

I am super thankful for my little girl (and lots of other things, but I don't have a picture with them)!

"It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas..."

Christmas seems to be appearing earlier and earlier.... Case in point- a local out-door shopping mall hosted it's Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony THIS weekend- almost 2 weeks BEFORE Thanksgiving! We didn't let that bother us- we bundled up in our cozy coats and headed out for the festivities!

We got there a bit early- and the kids got free lighted up spinners. They LOVED them!

Santa and Mrs. Claus were making the rounds as well- what fun to see them! Their appearance quickly stopped any fussing that we may have been hearing....

Since the actual tree wasn't "lit" for a full hour, we decided to walk around. See's Candy was passing out free chocolate lollypops and the kids decided to pose by one of the amazing trees sprinkled throughout the mall.

There are no pictures of the tree all lit-up- it was so crowded that it made the sardines in cans look spacious! The kids sat on our shoulders and loved it- even the "snow" that magically happened at the same time.

On Sunday, Al and Alden were having special Father-Son time on the driving range and Addie and I went shopping for boots (her choice). We were shocked to see Santa at the mall! Since there was no line whatsoever, we stopped, he pulled her into his lap and they just chatted away.... It was so sweet!

We are now ready for Thanksgiving and will be excited to fully embrace the season and the Best Gift of all that we were all given so many years ago- Jesus!

Back to The Burg...

We had such a great time at Liberty for Homecoming, we decided to take the kids back for the LU vs. VMI game. We had free football tickets, the weather was perfect, so we packed up the kids and went back to The Burg.

SO excited to be at Liberty!! We got there before the game and decided to check out the much raved about SnowPlex. It was SO cool!

They really wanted to tube- and the next time we go, I think we will plan for it- it looks so neat to ski, snowboard, tube, etc, all on what looks like snow but isn't.

After that, we decided to try to check out Liberty Mountain. Al used to mountain bike up the mountain when he was there, but now you can actually drive to the top! We made it most of the way up when we encountered this sign... We did not have my Pilot but Al's compact Fit. We decided we would try...

And we made it! I love Al's car next to the suppppped-up Jeep- hilarious that our smaller and spunkier car did just as well!

The view was breathtaking. Lynchburg and Liberty have grown tremendously since we graduated- it is simply amazing!

We got to the game and were able to score front row seats. The cheerleaders were right by us and I thought Addie was going to die from the sheer enjoyment of that! They loved being right in the action and being able to SEE the touchdowns happening. What fun! Notice Addie's shirt- the cheerleading outfit I found for her at Goodwill had VMI on it- what are the odds that it would say VMI and we would be taking her to a VMI football game where were would NOT be cheering for VMI... A quick stop at the bookstore remedied it and now, as an added bonus, we own a LU stickers (which will not be put on a car since we think that's tacky- but will be put up on the wall of artwork in my classroom)

So happy to have a special treat of popcorn! They actually had run out of the large tubs and were giving out 2 smaller ones- perfect for us!

So excited to have his own popcorn!

We took a break from the game and checked out the kid section- it was kinda chilly, so being in the sun and away from the wind was great- but throw in some games, some face painting and a bouncy house- and it was perfection!

How appropriate!

So pretty- and she was still a little chilly....

Alden wanted to play the football game- he really did try... Then this older boy saw him and picked him up so could make it- so sweet!

Thrilled to have LU score a touchdown!!

Before the game, they spread all these "beating sticks" out. Alden LOVED them. He kept collecting them- and when I got home, I found over 10 packages in my purse!

Cheering!!

At half-time, it was just sooooo chilly, we moved to the other side of the stadium to the student section. The hill was a perfect place- it was sunny, you could still see everything, and the kids could run up and down the hill!

And this is what happens after a full-filled day! Addie was hysterical- after this picture, she did righten herself and sleep in her seat, but this was too funny to resist photographing!!