Happy New Year Hike

Kirsten, Melissa and I took the kids hiking today.  We hiked up by Warren Wilson College and enjoyed the mild winter weather.  Things have sure gotten busier as our kids have grown up.  The days of staying at home with the kids went by faster than I thought.  The three of us use to meet up at parks on a regular basis.  Those days were long but the years went by quickly.  It's always nice to get together with these lovely ladies whenever an opportunity arises. 

 

We stopped in an apple orchard to have a picnic lunch.  The lunch quickly turned into wrestle mania.

 

Everyone joined in the dog pile.

 

 

I have to say, I was impressed with the girl's ability to hang with the boys.  They got right in there.

 

All except for baby girl who watched with a big smile on her face.

 

What do you do after a long day of hiking?  Have a tea party.  Who knew Thor liked tea. Turns out he is a connoisseur.

A Very "Scala" Christmas

A few days after Christmas, we drove up to Baltimore to visit Josh's family.  The Scala/Fradkin crew are so much fun to hang with.  Eating, drinking and catching up.  They sure know how to entertain.

 

 

We met up with Brittany and AJ in the city and walked around. Luckily, Myles was feeling a little better at this point.

 

Maryland Crabs

 

Poor Myles.  Look at him, he's green.

 

The cousins

 

The whole gang

 

Oyster time

 

We were so excited that Uncle Will came with us.  As you can see, he fit in perfectly.

 

Eat, Drink....repeat

 

Shot time

 

We had such a crazy night, Baby had to drive us home.

A Very Merry Christmas

What a wonderful Christmas we had this year.  We made the big drive up to Virginia to visit Mimi, Papaw and Uncle Will.  This was actually our second Christmas as we let the kids open their presents from Gramma and Grandpa before we left.  They were so generous and the kids loved their gifts.  So, for round number 2 we descended upon Onion Patch Dr.  It is always great to go "home" for Christmas.

 

 

I sent this pic to my mom on our way up.  I wanted to let her know what craziness to expect.  They are crazy.

 

We began making food for Christmas.  Grady helped make deviled eggs.

 

Mimi made a pie.  Ha. As she finished this masterpiece, she said, "I bet you are going to take a picture of this and put it on your blog".  So here you go, Mom.  (It actually tasted really good)

 

I attempted to make Cinnamon Rolls for Christmas morning.

 

On Christmas Day, Josh, Uncle Will and Grady went bird watching.  I doubt many birds were spotted due to Grady's incessant talking.

 

Mimi was posted in her usual position.

 

Uncle Will and Caesar manned the couch

 

Myles loved his gangster costume.  Notice the "fart guns" in the background.  I am going to strangle Mimi and then send them to her in pieces. Or...lock her in a room with the boys and the guns.  Talk about annoying.  BUT they love them so I won't torture my dear mother.

 

This is what Myles looked like for most of the vacation.  Poor guy came down with strep throat.  He was miserable.

 

Baby girl got a new rocking horse.  She was in heaven.

 

One of Grady's presents was a union suit from Gramma and Grandpa.

 

Baby loves her Papaw.  Here she is begging food from him.

 

My poor Dad is probably still recovering from all the action.  Their retired life is usually much quieter.

 

Wax lips and moustaches, courtesy of Mimi.

 

This is my favorite picture of all.  Mimi was snuggling with the baby and didn't realize that she has a very bad habit of biting.  She took a nip out of Mimi's cheek as I snapped this pic.  LOVE IT

Emma's First Birthday

I have not posted this entry on purpose.  I have to say, I am a little annoyed.  I feel as if Little Girl is my daughter.  I am the one that holds her when she's sad, comforts her at night and knows how to get a bubbly laugh out of her. I AM her mother. Yet, I can't mention her name or post pictures of her face on my family blog.  So, her first birthday rolled around and I couldn't even post the pictures of her cute, chubby hand squishing her cupcake.  Her birthday was in November and I am finally getting around to the post.  Not because I had forgotten or didn't have the time but because I was mad.
Anyway......
We had a party planned for the little peanut but the night before she ran a high fever.  The party was cancelled and we ended up snuggling on the couch that day.  In the end, we went to our local cupcake shop (can you believe little Black Mountain has a cupcake shop?) and bought 4 beautiful cupcakes.  I picked out a small carrot cake cupcake for baby girl. 
After dinner, we let her dive into the special treat.  She enjoyed squishing the cupcake more than eating it.  Oh, how I wish I could post the photos. 
Little one, you complete our family.  Always remember that we love you no matter what happens.  You will always be my daughter.

**Photos posted March 2016

Thanksgiving 2013

We had a quiet, cozy Thanksgiving.  Well, as quiet as a small house dominated by three kids could be.  Shelley and Peter came to spend the holiday with us.  It was great to see them and catch up.  The boys, as always, were in heaven playing with their grandparents. 

 

 

The Thanksgiving table.  As you can see, we are not fancy.  And yes, Myles is wearing snow bibs without a shirt. 

 

Josh cooks the turkey a different way every year and every year he swears, "it's the best way to cook it".  This year he smoked the turkey outside.  His method consisted of two fires, one under the turkey and the other used to create hot coals.  The coals were constantly used to fuel the fire under the turkey.  Quite an experiment but the turkey was wonderful.

 

Myles, our resident vegetarian, attempted to try a bite of turkey.  He promptly spit it out and never touched it again. 

 

This is what Myles' plate really looked like.  He only ate the cranberry sauce.  Notice the one bean....he didn't touch it. 

 

Baby girl, on the other hand, ate more than both boys combined.

 

 

Quality time was spent lounging around.

 

The day after Turkey Day we picked out our tree.

 

It was a great day for tree pickin

 

Look, we had a reindeer in our yard!!

First Snow

A few days before Thanksgiving we had our first "snow".  It wasn't much more than a dusting but the boys were super excited.  They put on all of their snow gear and headed out.  Unfortunately, it was all gone by lunch time. 

 

 

You can see what I mean by "snow".  It really wasn't much.

 

There was more snow on the van than on the ground.

 

So, they played where the snow was most abundant. This little excursion resulted in a very scratched up hood.  Needless to say, I was not pleased.