Happy Holidays!

We hope all our friends are having a wonderful and merry Holiday Season!

... cause we are!

I had to be in this year's Santa photo again (thanks Josh!). I should've known better and been prepared with makeup on and my hair done. :P

Vacation in the Mountains with the Moores

Shantel, my baby sis, and her family joined me and mine on a little weekend vacation in the NC mountains just outside of Asheville. We rented a beautiful mountain house that had the most spectacular views. We truly were blown away. And, because we were literally in the middle of nowhere, we got to see lots of stars, too. We played, went for a hike, star gazed, cooked good food and just enjoyed each other's company.

Brooklyn and the big stick she found.

The house we stayed in from the backyard.





Josh and Nathan getting along, now.

... and even having fun together!



On our hike to the waterfalls:

 

 

I love this picture of the the Moore family.

We made it to the waterfalls.
Not as big as we expected, but still
very beautiful.

I love this little family, too!

Star gazing at night... it was COLD!

Some of the views we had from the house:

This says it all! We really enjoyed ourselves!

Trip to Huntsville, AL

Matt's work sent him to Huntsville, AL to train some people on what he's doing, and we, of course, had to go with him since his wonderful parents live there. We were there a whole week with Mom/Grandma and Dad/Papa. We went to church, went on walks, went to a house of bounce, went to an awesome park (twice), picnicked, went bowling and just plain enjoyed the company. I LOVE spending time with my in-laws. I feel so lucky to have such a fantastic mother-in-law and father-in-law who love me, my children and of course Matt. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for letting us come stay with you. We can't wait to see you again. We love you!

Josh found a snack on our trip there.
I learned that Matt used to do this when he was little all the time.

Ready for church in their Sunday best!

One of the perks living with Mom and Dad Mayberry for a week - GOOD FOOD!!

Hangin' out at Grandma's, colorin' and snackin'.

House of Bounce fun!

This was the gorgeous park/playground we went to... twice!

My kiddos LOVE swinging!

 

So ticklish!

My little gymnast loves the balance beam.

Pickniking at the park.

Napping after a long, fun day. So cute!

Brooklyn has become an avid bowler, now.

She's also developed a taste for something else.

They really liked taking a bubble bath in Grandma's big, jetted tub.

Halloween 2011

This year, we got to celebrate Halloween in many ways:
Me and the kids went to the pumpkin patch with Brooklyn's preschool class and got to decorate little pumpkins.

Picking out her pumpkin.

Brooklyn's class listening to a story about pumpkins.


After picking out their pumpkins to decorate.


Decorating their pumpkins.

As all the kids, including Brooklyn, were sitting and intently listening to the story/book, Josh was playing with the door stoppers.

Trying to pose for Mommy.

A few days later, we as a family went back and picked out our own pumpkin. We got a really really big one this year. It was as big as the kids! Brooklyn refused to stick her hands inside the pumpkin to help Matt clean it out. But, she did LOVE drawing on it.

The BIG ONE!


Then we had a little neighborhood Halloween party at our house with a couple of games for the kiddos to play, like wrapping each other up as mummies and digging through some yucky stuff for treats. We all had fun hangin' out with our neighbors and friends.

Playing with the slime I made... SLIME FIGHT!

We also got to attend our church's Halloween Trunk or Treat and party. We took our pumpkin and decorated our trunk a little, ate some dinner, trunk or treated, and played some games.

Brooklyn got to have a little Halloween party and wear her costume to preschool on Halloween. She was so excited to show her costume to her teachers. She LOVES her teachers so much. She always wants to tell them things she learns at home.

Then, of course, we took the kiddos trick or treating in our neighborhood. It was so much fun, as our neighborhood had a horde of trick or treaters and some homes even set up tables with hot cocoa and cider for us moms and dads, too.

Getting ready to go get some candy.

Trick or treating!


After trick or treating, we hung out a bit with our friends across the street. Then, Brooklyn and Josh dumped all their candy out and dug in... as did Matt and I. :)