Santa Claus is coming to .... Farmville!

We had fun attending our small town Christmas parade.

The kids got lots of candy and got to see the old man in red.

At home date night

So, this was the setting for our last date. So cozy and pretty.

Danny and I enjoyed take out and games by the fire.

What a great date he is! I think I'll keep him.

St Nicks day

Danny's family celebrated St. Nick's day, so we do it too. It's pretty low key but fun at the same time. The kids write letters to Santa and put it in their shoe and leave it by the door. Here are two of the kids with their shoes and letters...

And here is the other child enjoying the treat that Santa left in his shoe! The big kids got push pops and this one got a bottle pop! Boy, did he love it! Not too surprising since he loves pacifiers and lollipops.

Oops, I skipped Thanksgiving

So, I have gotten so far behind on posting since we moved. I am trying to play catchup before the new year starts. Just a few pics of Thanksgiving.

We spent the night before at my parents house. Danny played flag football in the morning and the kids and I watched the parade and played at my parents house. I think I also did some couponing.

Then we went to GG's house for Thanksgiving. The kids had fun in the teepee and we all enjoyed the feast!

Just a cute pic of my mom reading to niece Ella.

Then we went to Danny's parents and celebrated Megan's birthday. Here the cousins are about to do the My Little Pony pull pinata.

Granddad, Danny's paternal grandpa, was there with his wife, Ruthann. They came from Massachusets and we don't get to see them too often, so it was pretty neat to get to see them. Danny and Grant and I spent the night at TJ and Whitney's house and we had fun with them. Victoria and Christian had fun having a sleepover at Geemaw and Papas with the rest of the family. Check out these two pics of V, Camila, and Megan. They have fun together. Soooo girly!

It was a fun Thanksgiving weekend and we have a lot to be thankful for. Life is good.

Basket rides!

Christian and Grant have come up with a few fun new games lately. This is one of them. I'm glad that they can have fun together!

I love a naked baby

Sneaky little Grant running away with a bottle of baby shampoo! He's so cute!

Playdate with Maggie

Victoria's friend Maggie came to play! That was super fun. And her step cousin, a little boy named Mikey, came to play too. So Christian was glad too.

The girls had fun playing with their toys, but really loved doing crafts. They made rings and did shrinky dinks! Here they are watching them shrink.

How fun to have a friend come to visit!

Branch Christmas Party

We had a good time at our Branch's Christmas party. We had a nice dinner, a white elephant gift exchange, Santa Claus, a little sing along, and a nativity. It was kinda nice to not be the one planning it, but it was still kinda tricky for me to get back from a 2 hour drive from gingerbread houses in Williamsburg, change clothes, reheat the turkey(which was so moist thankfully- we covered it in the drippings and it worked perfectly to make it the night before.), make stuffing, and wrap the pies, all in less than an hour. Without Danny of course. He was working a wrestling tournament. So, after dragging all of the kids and food in, taking pictures of Santa, serving the 4 plates, and feeding a busy 1 year old on my lap, Danny came late and had a blast with the white elephant gift exchange while I supervised the crazy kids running around our tiny church. I was slightly irritated, but oh well. I kinda liked playing games like "Santa says..." Plus, I think V and C like it when I play with them and their friends sometimes. The kids had a good time and Danny did too.

Victoria was one of the first children to be called to see Santa.

Grant was slightly terrified.

"Christian, tell me, have you been a good boy?"

Santa brought a present for all of the kids! About half of these kids are in the Branch and the other half are friends.

The kids loved being in the Nativity and did a great job singing afterwards! V and C were both angels this year.

Grant was very tired by the end of the night.

Gingerbread houses with Geemaw

Busy kitchen

Concentrating Christian

Delicious candy (for our 1 year old! We have definitely gotten more laid back with each kid.)

Sneaky Victoria- made a hole in hers and filled the inside with candy!

They looked awesome!

Walking to the Store in the Snow

So we've got 10 inches of snow and it's still falling. We wrapped the kids up and went out to go sledding. It was more like me pulling Victoria and Christian, then them actually sledding. After taking trips both ways up and down our street. We decided to walk (I pulled and walked, V & C rode) up to the shopping center. We went around in Rose's and then had some hot chocolate, peach cobbler, and cinnamon buns in Country Cookin'.
It reminded me a lot of the neighborhood I lived in until I was 8. My family lived in Newport News and our street was behind a shopping center with a drug store, barber shop, dry cleaners with a bubble gum machine, and a Sizzler. Bobby and I used to ride our bikes or walk to the store, just because it was fun. Sometimes we'd get lost and the pharmacist would call our mom and she'd come pick us up.
I think our kids will enjoy living walking distance from a shopping center. I like living in a small town. The cobbler's not too bad either.