Over The River...

My Mom got remarried this fall to a guy named Jim who lives in Nashville, TN. Since it's only a 10 hour drive, we decided to go and visit for a bit over Christmas Break.

We started our trip early- leaving the house at 6am- but before we officially hit the road, we got the most important thing- Dunkin Donuts!!

So happy to have a pink donut!

10 hours is a loooong time and getting up at 6am caught up to both kids- they took great naps in the car!! I love his sunglasses on!!

She was out cold....

Once at Gramma Jenny's new house we headed to the neighborhood playground to work out some wiggles.

They have a great playground and what do they want to play with?? The mulch. Here Alden is building his "castle." Poor kid- he needs to go to the beach more!!

Addie showing off her castle- there is a small leaf in the center that she was quite proud of!

Walking back home.

PRESENTS!!

After baths, the kids pulled out some games and had everyone busy playing! Here Addie is instructing the Grandparents how to play Hello Kitty Letter Bingo. They caught on rather quickly....

And of course, the iPhones came out to provide some more entertainment....

Alden plopped into my lap and wanted a picture of us- so here ya go!

Then he took the camera and took a few other pics- here is one of my Mom.

The next day, we got a tour of Nashville- neither Al nor I had ever been there. This is Dolly Parton's home.

This HUGE horse farm/equestrian field is owned by founder of Dollar General.

In the center of town is a perfect replica of Parthenon- it was cold and raining or else we would have explored it more.

Outside of the Parthenon is this HUGE train. Alden saw it and about had a heart attack- so we stopped so he could explore it.

Yes, he got what he wanted- exploring the train- and in exploring it, he chipped his front tooth- that is why he is crying, poor kid. At least it's a baby tooth and he now looks really tough.

Downtown Nashville- notice the Batman Building??

The Opryland Hotel just reopened after totally revamping the entire hotel due to the flooding this summer. It was amazing!! Yes, it was so huge you needed this map to find your way around!!

Addie liked being on the 2nd level- so she could see below her.

Of course, there were some pretty sweet rocks- so they climbed them!! Addie wanted to wear her guitar shirt- since we were going to be in Country Music's capital. Totally unbeknownst to us, the Tennessee Titans would be playing in a Bowl game in Nashville, the following day. People all over were wearing orange- and we even saw some of the Tennessee football players as they were wandering around the hotel, taking in the sights, just like us.

Checking out 1 of the many fountains.

Watching a "show"- fountains set to music.

By the end of the day, they were toast!!

We had a great visit!!

Christmas in New York

Al had to work December 23rd but once he was home, we packed up the car and headed to New York! The kids did great sleeping in the car and then falling right back to sleep once we arrived at MarMar and PopPop's- and they even slept in the following morning!!

All dressed up and waiting for Nate to arrive!

Feeding the reindeer- a highlight and tradition every year!

Checking out the nativity- Addie was very concerned that Baby Jesus did not have a cozy bed or blanket...

Nate arrived- aren't they adorable!!

They love their Nonnie!!

In true Italian style- this is just the appetizers!! There were actually 2 more dishes that were put on the table after this picture, but I was too busy eating to take another picture!! And there were 3 more courses to follow!!

Happy cousins!! They were all SO good ALL day- the fact that Santa was about to come may have had a LOT to do with it....

GIFT TIME!! Before....

After- they had a blast ripping open the gifts!!

Buzz and Woody were huge hits with the boys- they played with these 2 toys the rest of the evening. It was really cute that they both asked for their names be put on the foot of their toy so it would know it belonged to him.

Addie got accessories for her new American Girl Doll- and she loved changing her clothes, putting things in her new diaper bag- what a great Mommy she will be someday!!

Daddy helped Alden play with his Gator Golf.

Christmas Morning- they actually slept in until 8am- I'm sure that is the only time that will ever happen.... They were SO excited to see that "Santa" had arrived!! They even reported that they heard Santa on the roof during the night, but because they wanted him to leave gifts, they went back to sleep. How cute is that??

Addie's Big Gift....

A custom wardrobe for Rosie-Kyla that PopPop made!! How cool!! Being my daughter, she promptly began hanging out the clothes and putting toys and accessories in the little bins!

Alden all Christmas asked for 1 gift- a Big Shoot Gun. As he opened gifts at home and on Christmas Eve, you could tell he was looking for that 1 gift. After he was done opening gifts, he would survey what he got and then decide he liked what he got and start playing- but you could tell he was totally looking for his Big Shoot Gun. On Christmas morning, the look on his face when he saw this package was worth a million bucks- he was SO happy!!

"Whoa! It's a BIIIIG Shoot Gun, Mommy!!!"

Time for stockings!!

Ready to check hers out!

It was a great day- low-key- and it actually had to end early. We were planning on leaving Sunday morning, but the forecast was for another huge snowstorm to hit the East Coast starting Saturday night- Richmond expected to get 5" and Long Island over 12". And it's a good thing, too- we didn't hit snow until 1 hr north of Richmond and came home to 2" of snow with more falling and Long Island got over a foot the next day!!

Christmas At Home

Since we would be going to NY for Christmas, we wanted to spread out the gifts and give the kids time to enjoy the round of gifts they had from us, the KC & Austrian families!

After naps on Sunday we got ready to open- the kids were thrilled!!

SO happy to get a real football!!

Playing with their puppets from Austria- yes, they speak English flawlessly! Addie insists that her crocodile is the one from Peter Pan so he goes "Tick Tock!" anytime he opens his mouth. And Alden is confident that his reindeer is Rudolph! They have already put several "plays" on for us.

Our budding artist got right to work using her new paints and art book.

Finger Puppets- what fun!! They also are from Austria and also speak English!

This car carrier was a big hit- which we thought it might be since he gets super excited anytime we pass on on the road...

These are only a few pics of the awesome gifts they got- we are so blessed!!

Christmas Fun Around Town

We had some fun doing some Christmas-y things!!

First up- visiting The James Center in downtown Richmond. They have tons of lighted deer, a huge tree, a model train- it's lots of fun- or so we thought....

It was chilly so each kid was bundled up.

Always silly....

Addie checking out 1 of the many deer.

Alden really didn't trust them....

The tree! The kids were frozen at this point- we had been out a whopping 5min, but they are clearly not cut-out for cold weather....

We headed inside to check out the displays there. The highlight for the- riding in the glass elevator and walking across the covered walk-way....

Alden did dig the model train and did not want to leave!

Another night, after baths, we decided to check out some of the houses on the local Tacky Light Tour. Aren't they the cutest kiddos ever??

Bundled up in the car and ready to go!

Wowzers- you couldn't walk in this yard- and they even had huge blow-ups in their back yard!!

Addie loved this one- it has blue blinking lights!

Alden loved this one!

And our final highlight- we got to go to Daddy's office for their Christmas "Party." They catered Chick-fil-A for all the installers and employees they work with at Home Depot. Yum!

How fun to see Daddy AND get yummy breakfast?!?

Christmas Break Came Early!!

The week before Christmas (aka the last week of school) the weathermen were warning that a snowstorm could hit Richmond mid week. I was skeptical as this would mean that the final 2 days of school could be snowed out.... It actually happened and we got about 3" of snow on Thursday!! That may not seem like a lot, but it was enough to shut down Richmond!! Merry Christmas!!

During our last snow (or a dusting, depending on where you grew-up) the kids were all about it- running around, throwing and eating it. This time, they had zero interest in playing in it. When asked if they wanted to go and play in the snow, these were their responses:

Addie: No thank you Mommy. I would rather sip hot Coco and watch Christmas movies.

Alden: Too cold! Too wet! Let's eat snacks!

So, instead of any snow pictures, I have these gems! I really should have gotten some pics of how pretty it was but I was busy playing with the kiddos.

We had a dance class lead by our very own Miss Adeline!

And their favorite party- sipping hot Coco, eating Cheezits and watching Christmas movies- my kinda kids!!

Cookie-O-Rama!!

Since we were snowed in and able to start our Christmas Vacation 2 days early, we made cookies!!

I didn't get pics of us cutting the cookies out- but there was flour everywhere- and huge grins on the kids' faces!

Here they are, ready to get started decorating their cookies! I had a neat idea and they each made 1 cookie for every day we had to wait to go to NY. When all the cookies were gone, we would be going to NY- this way I wouldn't have to deal with the question, "How many more days until we go to PopPop and MarMars?"- we simply counted the cookies!!

The intensity on his face....

Addie preferred to delegate and got Daddy to help her with the frosting!

Her plate all decorated!!

Diggin' in- yummo!!

Super happy- who wouldn't be on a sugar high??

Silence...

Dear Devoted Readers,

Yes, I know it's been awhile since I last posted. It's not because we have nothing going on- it's actually been rather busy! At this point, I need to remove pictures from my Google Account before I can upload any more to the Blog- and since this takes uninterrupted time, it hasn't happened. Hopefully by the end of the week I will be able to complete this and get you all caught up on what all we have been up to!

As a little sneak-peak:

SNOW!!

Christmas at home

Christmas cookie taste-a-thon

Christmas with Nate

More Snow!!

Nashville Visit

See, we have been busy! Hang in there and you will be rewarded!!

Sincerely,

Lisa