Third time is the charm...I hope...

In December of 2010 we spent a week at Disney with AG seeing all the holiday splendor and it was so beautiful. It was a great trip but it was also hard because all three of us were sick. (I was also 3 months pregnant with Avi-Kate.) Since then we've tried to go back to do all the Christmas stuff again just not sick. And the last two years we've had to cancel for various reasons. As it is last year everyone but Avi-Kate came down with a stomach virus...so I was grateful we ended up canceling. I told Andy that I can't keep planning on a Christmas trip and then having to cancel it. So here's hoping that this year we actually make it to Disney! Once again the kids don't know this trip exists but they have been asking daily when are we going back to Disney so the timing couldn't be better! For this trip we have a voucher to try Wyndham's Vacation Club at Bonnet Creek and we are curious to see how it stacks up next to Marriott's. Then we'll finish the last two nights at one of Marriott's Vacation Club resorts. We are going to try a new to us Marriott by staying at Harbour Lake. (At some point we plan to do a trip and stay here when it is hot so that the kids can take advantage of the amenities...they have a pirate ship water feature, putt-putt course, etc.) This will be the first trip where we have to pay for AG and I'm sad that our kid free days are numbered. Oh, well it had to happen sometime. Avi-Kate has another year of being free before we have to pay for her too. Our plan is to take advantage of this and get our monies worth out of the fact that we have to pay for AG while Avi-Kate is still free. 

This trip is going to be really low key and we are going to do everything that the kids want to do. Andy and I will be back in January for race weekend so we'll get to ride our favorites then. Also, it looks like we'll get to overlap with my dear friend, Evan, and her crew for a day. Last fall our trips lined up like this and we had an absolutely perfect day together. I'm really excited about getting to spend some time together with all our kids in one of our favorite places. I've booked a few dining reservations and analyzed the crowd forecasts to maximize our park time so the kids get to see everything they want. We are trying to really hard to prioritize trips like this right now when they are so little because they LOVE everything about it and get completely wrapped up in the magic of it all. Avi-Kate is going to be beside herself because in this last year she has come to love all of the princesses. Andy and I can't wait to see their faces and watch them take it all in. So here's hoping that in less than fifty days we'll all be at the happiest place on earth enjoying some much needed family time with our gingers.

Every year we go I pick up an ornament with the date on it...this is a special one from 2011 because it commemorates the Magic Kingdom 40th anniversary. And we also pick up an ornament or two for each child based on what they've loved that year.

I love seeing the castle like this. And I love the fact that we get to see it lit up in January for Marathon weekend. It's so beautiful to run towards it as you are running down Main Street U.S.A. 

(Sigh) Is it time to leave yet?!? These pictures make me wish we could pack and go right now. Thankfully at the rate that the weeks are flying by it'll be here before we know it. :)

Words for Wednesday...Christmas in July Edition.

These two have declared today Christmas in July...earlier they watched Charlie Brown Christmas and now they've moved on to The Grinch. :) It's funny to look at this picture and see how much they've changed since last December. Anyone else longing for the holidays or are my kids the only ones?!?

Halfway to the holidays and hoping this year is better...

I love the holiday season. It is by far my favorite time of the year. Really, the second half of the year is my favorite because one thing quickly leads to the next with it all culminating with Christmas. This year was HARD. Our kids were sick all winter with them both being really sick at Christmas and all the way in to the new year. Since then AG has had his tonsils out and Avi-Kate has had ear tubes put in her ears. I'm hoping that this year is better and that they can enjoy the holidays this year because this year was not fun for them or us. Poor Avi-Kate didn't even care to open her presents on Christmas morning and the year before she was only 6 months old and had no clue what was going on. We didn't even manage to get a good Christmas pj picture this year...I snapped one because I felt compelled to but you can tell AKs is hating life in it. So, I'm hoping and praying as we head in to the second half of the year that this year will be better and that they will be well and enjoy the wonder that is the holidays in the coming months. 

The last happy picture that we have before the wheels fell off and the both got sick.

 Avi-Kate is miserable in these next two photos...poor thing was so sick and we didn't realize at this point how impacted her hearing/speech was due to how bad her ears were.

 AG came down with croup and ear infections...on our way home from the pediatrician.

 And these are a few of my favorite things...brown paper packages tied up with ribbons.

 New ornaments to commemorate the year...Alice for Avi-Kate and Peter Pan for AG.

 Vintage Pinocchio because it's Andy's favorite Disney movie and an ornament that AG made at school.

 Everything is better with hundreds of Christmas lights glowing in a quiet house late at night. 

 2013, I pray that you are better than 2012 and everyone is healthy. Here's hoping...

Christmas Catchup #4...House Decor.

I always love looking back each year at the pictures of how we decorated the house. Due to both kids being sick and the usual holiday chaos I didn't get to photograph everything and I have to be okay with that...that's life, right? Anyways, here's some of what I was able to capture at random points over the holidays. Goal next year: To do a full house tour and a link up party...actually, that was the goal this year and it didn't happen. We'll see if I can get it together later this year. :)

Our master bedroom furniture is a mixture of pieces that we've slowly refinished over the years. Our headboard is an old fireplace mantle. (I thought I had blogged about it years ago and went back to find the post on it but can't seem to find one. Note to self: blog about refinishing the mantle.) I love the mantle because I can change out what's on it whenever I feel like it and decorating it at Christmas is my favorite. Every year I put fresh greens on it and lights. I love laying in bed reading with the lights glowing above my head. Anyways, here's a few pictures of the mantle. 

Our tree is a Virginia Pine and we cut it down at the tree farm 5 minutes from out house. I have to say I think this was probably my favorite tree out of all the ones we have had to date. Like always, we wrap everything in brown paper. We started this tradition the first year we were married and have done it every year since. All of the gifts have the same ribbon...a red with white stitching. The children each have their own ribbon that they picked out in addition to Andy and I having our own ribbons. It works well for us and is wonderfully simple.

A few of the ornaments on the tree this year...Disney did a series of ornaments known as 'Sketchbook Ornaments' and there was a Peter Pan ornament in the collection which we had to buy for AG because he is obsessed with all things Pan. It is, by far, his most favorite movie, ever. We bought Avi-Kate a sweet Alice ornament for her collection since she hasn't really become to particular yet about her favorite movies/characters. AG's favorite Christmas movie is Charlie Brown and one of my childhood friends, Jonathan, sent AG a surprise Charlie Brown ornament for the tree. Jonathan--The ornament is safely packed away but AG made off with the box and I couldn't find it when packing up the decorations...a few days ago I discovered that he had been sleeping with the box and it was nestled amongst his pillows. Thanks again! He absolutely adores it...and the box.

Our friend and neighbor, Cabell, designs ceramic pottery that you may have seen. We have several of her pieces including this sweet ornament that my sister gave me a few years ago and our Santa plate/cup are also designed by Cabell.

Williamsburg ornaments are everywhere on our tree. It continues to be one of my favorite places in all the world and I am so excited that we are going back later this year for Edwards Family Vacation. Last time we were there AG was not quite two and I was pregnant with Avi-Kate but didn't know it. Needless to say, it's been a few years and we are ready to be back in the historic triangle.

My grandmother loved all things Waterford and was quite the collector. She left each of the granddaughters a collection of ornaments. They are some of my most treasured possessions. My grandmother had an entire full size tree decorated in just Waterford ornaments. At the moment mine fit perfectly on this small faux tree. In addition to the collection of my grandmother's I've started collecting two new series of ornaments. I love how the crystal looks with white lights and I think about my grandmother every time I look at it.

Thanks to mom for giving us this Cabell's Too plate and mug several years ago...it is now firmly part of our Christmas traditions.

(Sigh) My goal was to get one of the photos we had taken this fall blown up and in to the frame above the fireplace before I decorated for the holidays...clearly that didn't happen and needs to be at the top of my to do list for the new year.

Kitchen chalk art leftover from the church Christmas party that I ended up just reusing for the rest of the month.

One of the things I love about our house is the huge window ledge in the den and the similar one in the master bathroom. I enjoy decorating them over the course of the year. This year we went with fresh greens, pine cones from Berry, fresh finds from the farm (peanuts, pecans, dried corn), and some faux fruit.

There is something so peaceful about a quiet house late at night with Christmas lights all aglow. One of my favorite things during the holidays. I love to sit and soak it all in around the house.

Almost done with Christmas posts! All I have left is Christmas Eve/Christmas Day/Edwards Family Christmas which will most likely all get rolled in to one long post. After that it'll be on to running the half, life right now, projects I'm working on, etc.

Christmas Catchup #3...

The weekend before Christmas we joined my family at our mountain house for GFC aka Gettis Family Christmas. We had to wait till Andy was finished with work before heading out on Friday and by the time we got on the road we received a phone call that the power was out at the mtn. house due to extreme winds. Long story short we ended up staying Friday night at my parents house and then driving the rest of the way to the mtn. house on Saturday morning. We spent the day hanging out and AG learned how to prep green beans with Aunt Mis in the kitchen. That evening we had a big meal and then opened presents. The biggest gifts of the year were a tractor and a corn hole set. 

My dad has been waiting since AG was born to give him a John Deere tractor ride-on like the one he had as a child since AG was born. My mom has been making him wait because he wasn't big enough for it till now. G-Daddy was quite excited about it and AG was beside himself with it. He's all about being a farmer and his tractor is identical to the ones at Andy's family farm. Of course, he immediately noticed that it would hold a trailer and informed us he needed a trailer to haul his fruits and vegetables. (Good thing someone has a birthday three weeks after Christmas.) I have a feeling there will be lots of happy memories made with this tractor in the years to come. 

The other big gift was a surprise for my dad. Andy has taken to making corn hole sets and he's INCREDIBLE at it. They are gorgeous...hand painted and stained. Anyways, my dad is all about homemade gifts and things that the whole family can use. Andy decided to make my dad a set and my sisters all chipped in on the cost. For this set we went with an Atlanta Braves theme since my dad has been a life long Braves fan and has many memories with the Braves...from watching the games with my Granddad on Sunday afternoons, to ushering the playoffs and World Series games in the early 90's, to family games and tailgating. My dad was completely shocked and caught off guard by it. And he loved it. Christmas surprise success! 

We left the mountains on Sunday and headed home to get ready for Christmas with the Edwards family. At this point both of the kids were both snotty but we didn't think much of it because they were acting normal. Little did we know about what was to come...