Catching Up!

December is always such a fabulously busy month, but this year really takes the cake!  As much as I hate it, I don't have time to write a post for every fun event that has taken place this month.  In fact, I'm finding it hard to find the time to blog at all as of lately (am I'm sure you've noticed), but I promise not to give up as long as a few of you just hang in there with me!  :)

So here goes...our December, the condensed version:

My cute little Clemson elf loved decorating his very own orange Christmas tree!

Only 2 ornaments were harmed in the process...

Setting up the Santa train!

After driving through the lights at the speedway

Am Ma and Austin feeding a goat at Carolina Christmas

Owen's turn!

Guess who wasn't a fan of Santa...

Austin mailing off his and Owen's letters to Santa.  He asked for cars, trucks, crayons, trains and stickers.  Owen asked for everything his big brother wanted.  Mom and Dad told Santa that sharing wasn't one of the boys' strong points and maybe he should just bring two of everything.

If you can't see over it, just look through it! 

Austin trying out one of the Legend cars.

Our attempt at a Christmas card photo.  One hour and over a hundred pictures later, this was about the best we could do.  However, it didn't really matter in the end because I forgot to send out Christmas cards this year anyway! (I told ya its been a crazy month!)

Before the holidays, we met up with friends at Discovery Place Kids.  Austin and Christian had a blast playing together!

How cute are these two firefighters? 

Trying to decide who should be the cashier and who should bag the groceries.

Owen loved doing the grocery shopping!

Austin was shocked to hear me over the speaker when he pulled up to the bank window! 

Austin's Christmas program at preschool.  He really liked those jingle bells!

Showing us their obstacle course.

A well-deserved snack after all that hard work! 

Owen and daddy were there too.  Owen is mad that he doesn't get to go to preschool because it sure does look like fun!

Austin was so excited about making this gingerbread house so as a treat to him, we made it together while Owen was napping one day.

He ended up eating more candy than he actually put on the house, but it was a lot of fun and an excellent way to teach and reinforce patterns.

The finished product!

Update:  Owen still doesn't like Santa.

He got over it as soon as he saw the remote control cars, however!

Making cookies for Santa!

Just a Tidbit...

So much to do and so little time!  I don't know when updating the blog is going to make it to the forefront of my massive to-do list, but I did want to leave you with a tiny tidbit of what we've been up to lately....

More to come later from our magical time at the happiest place on Earth!!

30

On 12/2/11, I officially turned 30.  I'll admit, I didn't wake up in the best of moods.  Turning 30 hit me harder than I thought it would.  I remember just 5 short years ago, meeting several law school classmates of Ryan's who were in their 30's and thinking, "wow, they're so old!"  I never imagined I, myself, would turn 30 so quickly...

Luckily, I am quite blessed to have wonderful friends and family who were able to make turning 30 a little less of a blow.  My amazing mother-in-law, came up to watch the boys the afternoon of my birthday and Ryan whisked me off on a surprise trip to Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore House.  Biltmore is a very special place for me and Ryan because in our first year of dating we bought season passes and spent countless weekends there exploring and just being two crazy kids in love!  We hadn't been back since, so it was a perfect birthday getaway.

Ryan had a wonderful and romantic trip planned.  We got to the Biltmore House that evening and toured the winery until our dinner reservations.  We had a delicious dinner at the Deerpark Inn and ended our night with a candlelight Christmas tour of the house.  The next morning we went back to Biltmore and just wondered around the grounds and took in the beautiful scenery.  After lunch we drove back to Charlotte, checked in with AmMa and the boys and then headed uptown to watch our Tigers play in the ACC championship game.  The game was amazing, the atmosphere was electric and the Tigers pulled out a convincing win!  And wouldn't you know it...Clemson wins their 1st ACC title in...30 years!

We came back home, both excited and exhausted.  I had already forgotten how sad I was about being 30.  I think I can make it through 30 ok...just don't talk to me about 31!!

Lazy 5

Almost every weekend we go in search of fun family activities in the area that we can enjoy with the boys.  Last weekend we discovered what could possibly be our favorite place yet....the Lazy 5 Ranch.  It's a drive-through animal park with hundreds...probably thousands...of free roaming animals that you can see up close, touch and even feed.  It was a huge hit with the kids and Ryan and I had a blast as well!

 Checking out the scenery!

 Feeding the sheep and goats!

 Watching the big horse get his sore foot fixed.

 Owen imitating the big camel!

 Love the cute little lemurs!

 Hold onto your buckets tight!

 The Watusi

 A small sampling of what we saw on our wagon ride.

 The Brahma

 Mom and baby zebra

 Ryan feeding a llama

 The big, hungry giraffes that ended up eating all the rest of our food.

 Owen loves giraffes!

 So beautiful!

 Enjoying the wagon ride!

Baby goats playing...so cute!