A White Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas this year, and for the 1st time in 120 years Athens saw snow on Christmas! It started late in the evening, and when we woke up the next morning it was still very white and snowing.



It didn't take long for everyone to head outside to enjoy it.





Casey went out to brush the snow off the vehicles



but soon was bombarded with snowballs, which resulted in a 45 minute snowball fight.



PREPARATION



SNOW WAR



FINDING A SAFE PLACE



Kaitlyn became pretty fierce in her efforts to hit her opponent(DAD)...



Poor Casey didn't stand a chance. It was 3 against 1.



Everyone came away very wet & tired.



It was a Very Merry (white) Christmas weekend!

Making gingerbread/graham cracker houses

Ryan's won most colorful, Kaitlyn's most coordinated, and Cody's most cozy!

Chistmas pictures 2010

are always so fun...

TAKE ONE


TAKE TWO


TAKE THREE


AND WE'RE DONE!

Last year as a teenager

Casey turned, well....we won't tell, but suffice it to say that next year will be a mile-stone birthday!



Kaitlyn made a candy-bar poster for Casey. It was the perfect over-sized greeting card, made just for him. All if it was pretty self-explanatory, other than the cool-mint gum...for "A cool dad" and "Mint to be a family" with the York peppermint patty. He loved it!



It didn't take long for everyone(Cody) to start taking dibs on the candy...



It was a nice end to a very busy day. We didn't have time for our usual special Birthday dinner, so Casey has picked out a new restaurant for us to visit over the holidays!

We love our Casey(Dad)!!

Thanksgiving Week

This year the kids had the entire week of Thanksgiving off. This is the first time since we moved to Georgia that we were able to enjoy a whole week of vacation for Thanksgiving. It was nice!

The first part of the week was spent visiting with friends and family. The weather was beautiful and warm at the beginning of the week, so we enjoyed playing outside.









Ryan had so much fun and didn't want to leave. Kaitlyn spent the night at a different place each night we were there...she came home VERY tired. Cody was able to spend some time with a friend as well. He was also very tired. Good thing they had a few days to recuperate before going back to school. We came home the day before Thanksgiving and had a very nice dinner that Casey had shopped, planned, and help prepare. It was so nice to be able to relax and enjoy the day with family.

We are counting down the days until Christmas break...

Going private...leave us a comment with your e-mail if you want a peek.

Scouts

Ryan had his 1st pack meeting this week. They did a skit and played some fun games. He was very excited to receive his bobcat badge. He loves going to cub scouts each week. He has a great Den mother who plans really fun activities for them, and I love that she loves to take pictures of all of their activities. Photos are courtesy of Chris Grant...



Thank you Chris for all you do!

Happy Fall Y'all

We love the fall! Last Saturday was our first burning session since spring. It's a much anticipated event(at-least for Ryan). He loves to help add sticks and stir the fire, and Casey's part pyromaniac so he enjoys it as well.



The leaves are also beginning to cover the ground in our yard, and we are starting to rake them into piles for more burning/smoking sessions.



I will miss all the beautiful fall colors and burying Ryan in the leaves, so I can get just one more picture...even if he can't see:-)

Beer

Ryan: Why did the deer cross the road?
Mom: why?
Ryan: To get to the beer.
Mom: That's probably not the best joke to tell.
Ryan: yeah, that's what my teacher said when I told it to her.
Mom: NICE.
Ryan: What?, it rhymed.

Pumpkins

This year Everyone(even Ryan) carved their own pumpkin(all but the top). Such a huge milestone and made Casey very happy.

Tagged

I was tagged by my Sister-in-law Darci to answer her 8 questions and then tag 8 other people. I'm usually not too big on the tagging games, but because I loved reading her answers and I'm so excited she's my sister-in-law I'm going to play the game:-)

Q&A:

1. When was the last time your drove out of town, where & why? It was in the first part of September, and we drove to Calhoun GA to visit with Andy(oldest son), Janelle(his wife), and Seth(grandson).

2. Do you collect anything? Scrapbooking supplies and pictures. I'm so excited for my trip to Utah this summer, so I can gather more "supplies". I have many projects I want to finish and start!

3. What song makes you happy every time you hear it? Anything Keith Urban, but probably my favorite song of his is, "Making Memories Of Us."

4. What's your favorite thing to do on a rainy day? Scrapbook while listening to Keith Urban and eating good chocolates.

5. What is the silliest prank you ever pulled on someone? When I was in middle school, my best friend and I would tell people we were sisters. They wouldn't always believe us...since we lived in a small town and they knew our parents, so we would make up these crazy stories to try and convince them(store clerks at our local Circle K) of our sisterhood.

6. Do you wear pajamas to other places than your house? Not since college.

7. What is your biggest pet peeve? My dirty fridge - I hate not knowing where anything is, mostly because it's not organized. I come home from the store and usually just stash, and it drives me crazy when I can't find what I'm looking for behind the stashes.

8. What is the best thing that has ever happened to you? My Family

My questions:

1. If you could live anywhere in the world other than where you are right now, where would it be & why?
2. If you had 24 hours all to yourself, what would you do?
3. 3 wishes for anything, what would they be?
4. Favorite thing about yourself?
5. Do you have a hobby...what is it?
6. Do you like chocolate and if not, why??
7. Do you make your bed everyday?
8. What was the best thing about your childhood?

I have no idea who reads our happenings, but here are my questions for anyone who find this(Airyele)...you're tagged:-)

lizards

It's lizard chasing/catching time...





and we release, just so we can re-chase/catch again...

Thriller

Ryan came home a few weeks ago and mentioned they were learning the Thriller in his P.E. class. The Second Grade class that learned it the best would get to perform it in front of their parents. He would come home and show us his new moves as he learned them. We looked up the video online to watch, but he didn't want to watch it - too scary with all the zombies. We were all hoping that Ryan's class would win, and they did. Last night was their concert, so we were excited!

Here is the video - It's pretty choppy. They started but the music stopped, so I stopped recording thinking they would start again, but they didn't, so it's in 2 parts. I realized after watching this that I need to take a cinematography class, but nevertheless here it is for all the family to enjoy...



and the rest...

Sleeping Children

There's nothing better on a road-trip than sleeping children!

Go Cody!

Cody is running Cross Country this year. This was his 3rd meet. I forgot my memory card for the 1st, he didn't run in the 2nd because of injury, but today I remembered my camera AND memory card and was able to snap a few photos.





There were 150 runners in his race.



I'm not sure what number he came in or his time(sorry g-ma...if we find out, I'll let you know)...



He said he felt good and ran a good race.



So, we were happy! Great job Cody!!