Christmas Day 2009

The kids waiting to be allowed downstairs to see what Santa left. Kendyl is holding the play icecream Santa left under the tree in her room.

Kendyl was so excited by the giant Thomas the Tank Engine coloring book she grabbed it from the back right away and brought it out to color. She has been coloring non-stop since!

Andrew loved his iHome and tons of Yankees things.

Andrew gave me a beautiful pink/purple necklace on a silver chain. Too bad the chain is way too small. We'll take it back later this week and pick something out together.

I just love Steven's excitement this year. He was especially excited to receive tickets to the Harlem Globetrotters. We are going Monday night!

Our traditional Christmas breakfast. Christmas shaped pancakes.

We went to my grandparents for Christmas dinner. I was proud my boys helped dry the dishes.

Christmas at my grandparents was difficult this year. My grandparents are not doing well health wise and it's upsetting to watch them change so much. I miss their chatter and their laughter and the ways MomMom made Christmas special with Christmas bears and/or Tootsie Roll canisters and special ornaments for everyone.

It was also difficult as my mother and I are not getting along right now. I wish we could have a heart to heart and really listen to each other and try and see things from the others perspective...but that will never happen. I just don't understand what I did to be treated this way. What's even more sad, is the kids are noticing. Maybe someday I will be important in her life again.

Kendyl feeding her Dolly M&Ms. Just love their matches dresses!

And a quick family photo before we left. Kendyl was way tired and not cooperating, but it's our family and I love it!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve morning we were met with quite a colorful mess! The elves "decorated" our kitchen and family room with red and green streamers! Then they hid each in a different location. 5 elves to find - extra fun!

Then we started our 2nd Annual Winn Christmas Eve. We start our festivies by going bowling. This started last year due to Tim's pine tree allergy and while we were upset not to be spending the day with family as we had in the past, this new tradition suits us perfectly and does not increase his risk of illness or potential asthma down the road.

This was Kendyl's first time really bowling and she had a great time. She used the ramp and bowled every frame the first game. The 2nd game she lost interest so some shots were hers, some we filled in.

I won the first game, and Andrew won the 2nd.

Later we had a great dinner by Christmas lights, then we all changed into our jammies for pictures, gifts, dessert and Christmas movies.

The kids exchange their gifts on Christmas Eve.

Then it was time for dessert! Ice cream or cake.

We watched The Happy Elf, then put Kendyl to bed, then started Christmas Vacation. I fell asleep on the couch so we all headed to bed so Santa could come. We ended up finishing the movie after Christmas day dinner. Love that movie!!!

Virginia Safari Park

On the way home from NC, we stopped at this amazing Safari. If you are ever in the area of Natural Bridge, VA on I-81 you must make the time to go! We spent 4 hours there and could have stayed much, much longer!

One of the reasons were we attracted to this place was that you can feed the giraffes. Steven LOVES giraffes. It took awhile, but his patience paid off. We waited and called the giraffes for a good 10 minutes and 2 finally came over and the baby did eat out of his hand. He was in heaven. We were the only ones up with the giraffes by that time....it was amazing.

After the walk through portion, we took a wagon ride through the safari where you could feed the animals from the bucket of food each of us was given. The animals were amazing. Watsui, wilda beasts, llamas, zebra, elk, buffalo, camels, and many, many more.

It was hard to get pictures because we were all squished into the wagon and the animals came up and ate so quickly. We have a few pictures, but really it's the experience that will stick with us for a life-time.

The camels were crazy! Everyone ended up on one side of the wagon to get away from the crazy camels who were soooooooooo hungry and greedy. We made friends with Murray in the 2 hump camel area, but only have him on video.

After the wagon ride, we hopped in the car and did it again! We all agree it was a much better experience in the car since we could go at our own pace and decide who to feed. It's funny that some animals will come up to the car, but not the wagon.

This is my favorite picture of Steven feeding an elk.

You are not supposed to feed the zebra, but others were and as long as they were alone (as they nip in herds) we were ok. They were my favorite!

Here is a male elk eating from the car in front of us. We tried to stay away from horned animals in the car for fear of scratches.

This safari is amazing. We will be visiting again on our next trip. Maybe even take extra time to see Natural Bridge too.

Darn it's been a long time!

Well it's been a long time since I've blogged. Things have been crazy, busy as always, but a guess a little more so with the holiday prep. I'm going back a bit to capture a few events I'd like to share.

For Thanksgiving we travel to Winston-Salem, NC to see Tim's family. We haven't been there since Steven really little, so it's been awhile. And Kendyl finally got to meet everyone! Turns out Kendyl is not a great traveler...in the car anyway. 2 hours seems to be her limit. But we got there and back in one piece, though I don't think our hearing will ever be the same.

We had a nice time visiting with everyone (Tim's parents, brother and his family) and spending a holiday with them for a change.

Wednesday evening we visited Tim's parents at their apartment and had dinner with them. Kendyl warmed right up to Grammy and Poppy and make herself at home with all of the trinkets she found. After our visit with them we went back to the hotel for a swim before bed. Fun!

Thanksgiving day it was so nice to just lounge about in the hotel room and enjoy the parade. Then we headed to Chuck and Katrina's house for the day. The kids all got along great (helps they each have a cousin about the same age). They enjoyed playing video games both in the house and up in the garage. Dinner was delicious and one of the best parts was the boys ended up staying the night!!!! The hotel room sure was quiet without them, but it was great they had the extra time with their cousins (and Aunt and Uncle).

Friday we all went to a nature center/museum place in Greensboro. Great day to see the animals both inside and out. Then we met up again for swimming, dinner and more swimming!

Unfortunately we had to leave Saturday morning, but I am so glad we did as we had an amazing experience on the way home!

We hope the cousins come up this summer as they have promised......

Another Fall Tradition (11/16)

Every fall we have at least one pomegranate. It brings back memories of my childhood when Mom, Seth and I would sit around to peel one and fight over the seeds....now my kids do! It's a messy snack, but oh so yummy - and healthy too! Shame it's so much work!

Halloween 2009

Oops! I just logged on to share something and realized I never shared the Halloween photos! Here are a few in a very random order.....

Andrew in his thrown.together.what's.in.the.basement.I.can.wear costume.
My little ladybug running away from me during Steven's school parade.

Secret Service Agent Steven

Kendyl's school parade

10/30 was busy with Kendyl's parade, Steven's parade, then a party at Tim's work for the cub scouts and residents (retirement home). Halloween we carved our pumpkins and went trick-or-treating in the rain (Steven had a friend over). Fun for all!

Spider Crackers

Kendyl is having a Halloween party today, so her and I made spider crackers for a fun treat!