Christmas 2014

Of course this blog is very late, but we have been busy and lately our internet has been spotty… oh well better late than never!Christmas 2014 is in the bag and it was the best one yet!  On Christmas Eve we picked up my sister from the airport and headed to a college football bowl game.  This was the inaugural Popeyes Chicken Bahamas Bowl.

We had gotten tickets through Allen’s work and thought it would be fun for the boys to see and experience another college football game.

  It was hot and they were out of water at the concessions, but it was a fun afternoon! 

We also enjoyed a little Junkanoo entertainment at half time!

Maybe this means that Popeye’s Chicken is coming to the Bahamas?

We shared a Christmas Eve meal with our good friends…and all I have to show for it is this one picture.

We had a really nice time.

After dinner the boys got in their Christmas jammies and we read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.  The boys were straight to sleep and given thorough instructions to sleep until 6:30…

They maybe made it until 6:15, but it is Christmas after all! 

For the first time ever, they busted into their stockings before we could get settled first.  They were excited!

Bless him, he was so excited to get socks!  Love that kid!

Jackson was only slightly less enthusiastic… with his erasers.

Every single gift they got they were just thrilled with.

Because they got some amazing gifts!

His smile is so big I can see his tonsils!

Nerf bows and guns may have been the gift of the year!

As I write this 8 days after Christmas, they are still having Nerf battles every day, multiple times a day!

Jackson also got a new skateboard and he is doing so amazing on it!  Allen and I gave each other a GoPro and I was able to get some video of him on it as I was trying out our new toy.

 

We finished our Christmas with another yummy meal with some other dear friends and  ended up on the sofa with blankets (and Air Conditioning) watching movies.  Bliss!

We had so much fun soaking up all the fun and busy-ness that is the Christmas season, but it also so nice to just sit and be still and enjoy the things that we have to be thankful for.

Going Home: South Carolina

After our time in N.C. it was time to head south to my home state of S.C.  The boys and I had been there this summer and I had been but Allen had not been in two years.  we had lots of fun hanging out with our family and friends and getting to see and do things that are not part of our life here.

We started off with my high school reunion.  It was so fun to catch up with some of these wonderful people that I’ve known forever!

We made plans to stay downtown to be nearer to the reunion.   I’ve always wanted to stay at The Poinsett.  It didn’t disappoint…the somehow upgraded us to the Presidential Suite.

It is a lovely hotel is you are ever visiting Greenville, SC.

We got two good visits in with our friends the Troyers. 

Unfortunately we missed lots of other friends due to scheduling {the kids there were not on Fall Break}.

All the guys got their eyes checked…someone needs glasses!

Michele’s neigh-bor came over to say hello!

While the boys were outside playing they found the perfect spot to swing from the tree.

Soon enough Allen had figured he needed to get them a swing made.  He had plenty of input from the females in the family…I am sure he appreciates that.

Soon enough the boys were on their new swing!

We got to make a stop at Krispy Kreme Donuts!

Allen loved Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar as much as we thought he would!

One day we took a picnic to Falls Park.  The boys had a blast rolling down the hill…again, and again and again!

This tree grows on an embankment there in the park.

Allen and I got married here…14 years ago!

My mom adores watching the boys do their thing…while she sits in the swing.

We had a few bonfires.  We all love that.  It was cold!  But that didn’t stop me from roasting two perfect marshmallows at the same time.  As my sister and husband both scoffed at me being able to even do one perfect one.

Yep, that is me holding up 2 fingers…not flashing a sign!

All of this and I don’t have a single picture of the boys with my sister, who spoils them rotten and babysat them for 24 hours while Allen and I went to the reunion, so here is an old one from this summer!

Thanks for the memories SC, we will be back soon!

Going Home

No matter where we live, the Carolinas will always be home to us.  We recently had a trip back home after being here for 4 years.  The first leg of the trip was a week with Allen’s family in Waynesville, NC.  The colors in the mountains were great and we all enjoyed being with there and getting our fix of family and Fall in the mountains.

I’m not a fan of driving in the mountains, but the views are breathtaking!

The first day we were there, we all went to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Allen’s dad had been a Ranger there and we got to explore a bit.

We got to go on this trail, which Allen’s dad helped to make.

I had to get a picture of the fungi growing on this log.  It was the prettiest I’ve ever seen!

Afterwards we drove through Cherokee, NC and picked up some stone ground grits.

We took a different route back to Allen’s parents house and had more amazing views on the return drive.

Over the next week we got to do all kinds of fun things, but I think that the boys’ favorite thing that they did was go gem mining.  They can’t stop talking about it!  We went to Cowee Ruby Mine. 

You basically buy a bucket of dirt based on what kind of gems you want to get.  Jackson picked Amethyst and Miller picked Emeralds.

You use their screens and just go through the bucket a cup at a time, rinsing away the dirt to {hopefully} find gems in there.

This boy found a 591 carat amethyst.

Miller also got some really nice stones too.

They both came out with some nice rocks gems and were over the moon excited!

The boys and Allen’s parents took several hikes.  My knee doesn’t let me go on those hikes, but I know they were fun!  One day  I met them with a picnic at this rock {Standing Rock, I think} along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Soo cool!

Even cooler is that Allen’s parents saved his hiking boots from when he was a boy and now Jackson can wear them! This picture is from the summer, but he’s rocking his dad’s boots!

Jackson was also very excited to play a little trick on his Nana.  He set up some rubber mice and rats beside her water glass while she was out for a walk one evening.  He loves a good trick!  She gave him a good reaction, so I know more shenanigans like this are in the future!

The boys also got to carve jack-o-lanterns while we were in NC.  As it turns out they were not fans of the actual work of it, but they do like to boss us around while holding knives!

No trip to the Carolinas is complete without at least on trip to Mast general Store!  The boys love all the things there and they may just have come up with one more thing to add to their Christmas lists!

We made many more memories that I don’t have pictures of.  They climbed tree, swung in the swings, had an acorn throwing contest, played with the dogs, got dirtier than I’ve ever seen boys get and all around had a marvelous time!  Thanks Joe and Doris for having us!