Showing posts with label Vacations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vacations. Show all posts

Tuesday

December- Where Did You Go?

I have not posted ONCE in the month of December-
not ONCE!

That feels a little weird,
and yet when I look back on our month
here at The Fantastic Five,
I know why.

Life has been DELICIOUSLY and DELIGHTFULLY busy-
I am SO THANKFUL we had previously scheduled to take
the month of December off from homeschooling!

Here is a bit of what we have been up to...

I finished up performing in my first musical
since HIGH SCHOOL-
Oak Ridge Playhouse's production of 

I had a BLAST.

Not only was I challenged again artistically...
...but I came away with a brand new group of friends.

I also fell in love with my husband
ALL OVER AGAIN
because he proved himself to be majorly supportive.

He would get off work early to take care of the kiddos,
he would get suppers ready,
go grocery shopping,
do LOADS of laundry-
really-
SO sexy,
right ladies?

:0)

I would love to perform again in the future,
but it will be good to take a break
and get our lives back to "normal..."

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Despite Annie craziness,
we were still able to get in some...
...Christmas crafty fun.

(My favorite Christmas Card that Little Wild Man
designed.)

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And somehow,
despite musical performances
and getting ready for Christmas travels...
...we WERE able to get a Christmas tree...
...and decorate the house for our Savior's birthday.

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Speaking of birthdays...
...Little Wild Man turned the big
0-8 on the 12th!

We celebrated with doughnuts
and balloons and Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer...
...AND by getting him glasses!

(I CANNOT believe how old he looks with his
new glasses...
*SIGH*)

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During December,
we spent time with our friends...
...both those who lived states away...
...and those who live near by...

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We spent the week before Christmas...
...with Nana and Papa...
...in the most magical place on earth-
Disney World!
Despite illness,
we managed to have a lovely time...
(I am telling ya,
they know how to "do" Christmas down there!)

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The illness we had to deal with
while at the Magic Kingdom was...
...the flu.

Yep.

The flu.

Thankfully,
only Baby Girl, Jungle Girl, and I
got sick,
and with the power of
Advil Cold and Flu,
lots of rest breaks...
...and lots of caffeine,
we soldiered on!

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Our elves, Chess and Jolly,
went to Disney with us,
as well as another elf...
...whose name is JJ.

JJ is our friends' elf,
and since they couldn't come to Disney with us,
JJ set up an Instagram account
so his kiddos could live vicariously through him.
 I think they may have had more fun than we did!

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On our last day in Florida,
we stayed next to the Gulf...
...and the kiddos were able to see a beach for the first time.

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We arrived home from our vacay
just in time for our church's Christmas Eve service...
My favorite part of the service is when the kiddos
dress up and model the nativity.

(Little Wild Man makes a pretty cute Joseph,
don't ya think?)

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Finally,
for Christmas,
we celebrated with gifties
and going OUT for lunch
(no cooking- yahoo!),
and seeing the movie Frozen as a family.

After that,
I have have been IMMENSELY lazy,
watching movies on Netflix
and staying in my PJ's all day.
Here I am with the gift my husband gave me for Christmas- isn't she pretty?

Now I have a lot of laundry and cleaning to do,
but it will all get done-
it always does.

Today I am just grateful for a fabulously fun December,
and a pretty good 2013.

I look forward to seeing what 2014 will bring,
and yes,
I do have plans for more blogging in the NEAR future!

Happy New Year!!!

Gratitude Challenge 2011 Day 10 and 15: Traveling Mercies and Friends Who are Like Family





Today I begin my "catch-up" posts
for the Gratitude Challenge 2011
by thanking God for his 
traveling mercies...

Last Wednesday, around 8:00pm,
our family packed up...
...our trusty Honda Odyssey and headed to
Indianapolis, IN.

We arrived around 2:00am,
ready to spend the night at Nana and Papa's house.

This was about the halfway point
to our wedding destination...

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I'm glad we had...
...Minnie to guide our way into Michigan.

Also...

...having some of the comforts of home
helped keep the kiddos entertained...

 Favorite movies, comfy pillows...
...and toys can make any long trip seem shorter!

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The weather on the first day of travel...
...and into the beginning of the next was good for travel,
but look...
 ...how quickly...
...it all...
...can change!

The snow really didn't cause any major problems,
other than riling up the kiddos a bit.

(We do not see snow but once or twice a year
in Tennessee,
so snow in November is a BIG DEAL!)

I am SO GRATEFUL for the Lord's
traveling mercies!

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I also want to express my gratitude for...
...our WONDERFUL traveling companions.

(This is a pic of of friends at the wedding-
sadly, the Daddy couldn't make the trip
due to his job.)

We met up with them in Anderson, Indiana
on the second day of our travels,
and had to switch around the kiddos
for more traveling fun...
Us Mommies rode in a car with the boys,
and my SWEET, PATIENT husband took the other
car, which contained four giggly girls...

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These friends are like family to us,
so having them at the wedding with us made
EVERYTHING more enjoyable,
like...
Eating on the Road
Eating at the Rehearsal Dinner
Eating at the Reseption

(Um, yeah, we eat a lot...)
Conversation
(amidst the occasional nap)
 Break Dancing...
...and doing the Cha-Cha Slide at the Reception
 Trying to Catch the Bouquet
Serenading the Bride

Yup,
we are all so grateful for...

...our family friends!

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Check out more attitudes of gratitude
over at the