For a fun family outing we went to the New Hope Valley Railway and rode the Santa Train. It was the first time for the boys riding a train. It was lots of fun, rainy and cold, but fun. We got to visit with Santa, get candy canes, and on the way back we sang Christmas Carols (Maddy was very embarrassed.) After the train ride we went to lunch at Sonic and Graham got to enjoy a corn dog and decided he loved them and has been talking about them ever sense. I am going to make vegetarians out them yet!

Fishing with Gammie

Gammie took the kids fishing while she was in town. Two of them loved it, one not so much. Can you guess which one? I can't blame her I like to eat the fish but not necessarily catch it! It was lots of fun and we had some good laughs.

Fishing with Gammie

Not a big fan of the whole thing. She doesn't much like the eating part either. Oh well.

I Caught One

Graham caught a fish, he was the first one to catch one. He was very proud of himself but really didn't want to touch it. It took us a while to get this picture, he didn't even want to get close to the fish.

After four kids and a lot of use and abuse we have decided to say goodbye to our crib. This has actually been harder for me than I would have thought. So many memories. I remember buying the crib in Atlanta Ga, and getting lost trying to find Peach Tree Street (for those of you familiar with Atlanta there are a lot of streets with that name.) The crib is actually still sitting in the boys room. This is my way of preserving memories. Too cute!

It has been a long time since I posted so I am doing some catch up, April always makes me think of Emma's birthday and Strawberries. For Emma's birthday I was in DC with Maddy but Jason took her and Jenna to get a hamster. He was cute but mean and just a couple days ago we took him back because he was causing us to bleed. They have sharp little teeth!!!

DC Here We Come

On Thursday I went to Washington D.C. with my fifth grade class. It was so much fun! We saw Mount Vernon and The Arlington cemetery on Thursday. Then on Friday we saw a lot! We looked at Jefferson, Lincoln, World War 2 and Vietnam Veterans monuments. Fords theater and the Peterson house. It was weird to be in the same room were the President died. There was too much to see for just one day, but over all it was really fun.

Up Up and Away

Madison and Emma had the opportunity to go up in a hot air balloon during their Family Fun Night at school. The wait was long and the ride short but they had lots of fun. Special treat for Madison because this is her last year in elementary school.

April Fun

We have had a very fun Easter/Spring Break Vacation. It started out with a neighborhood Easter egg hunt. Shortly after that we got to enjoy our shortened Spring Break (due to some unexpected snow days.) We got to go to the N.C. Zoo. It was the first time I had ever been. The girls had gone as part of their 2nd grade field trip. We had lots of fun I had my four plus Maddy brought a friend and we meet up with Emma's friend Katie and her family. What a big zoo! It is probably the most spread out zoo I have ever been to. Lots of walking, the kids were exhausted after our big day but not to tired to stop off for some milkshakes and slushies at Sonic.
The Saturday before Easter we went to some friends house for an Easter Egg hunt and BBQ. They just bought a new house with lots of land so the kids had lots of room to run and look for eggs. By this time Easton had gotten the hang of the whole Easter egg candy thing and enjoyed helping prepare for the hunt. He probably spent 20 minutes (more than any of the other kids) helping me stuff the eggs with candy. He does LOVE candy. He's a fan!! Easter day was great, the Easter bunny was good to everybody. We enjoyed going to church and dressing up in our new clothes. It was nice to spend some time reflecting on the real reason we celebrate this holiday. This gift does not come stuffed in an egg or taste like chocolate but is the best gift of all and for that we are so grateful!!

Graham turns 5

The day after we got home from Disney we celebrated Graham's 5th birthday. A big year ahead for him starting kindergarten and all. He keeps asking me what 5 year olds get to do, go to bed later, walk to the park on their own? So far for him I am afraid 5 has been very similar to 4. He keeps trying though.

Disney World

We headed off to Disney World for a little rest and relaxation, ok maybe not a whole lot of rest or relaxation but we did have a lot of fun. We went to Disney for a whole week and had a blast. Easton got to meet his favorite character Mickey Mouse, Graham got to go on Buzz Lightyear, Maddy went on the thrill ride Expedition Everest (and yes I did say Maddy), and Emma got to see Tinker Bell fly. Jason and I had the joy of watching the kids enjoy themselves and we had some fun along the way too.
It was a little cold when we first got there about 39 degrees in the morning so we would wear our winter coats into the park but towards the middle of the week we were enjoying 80 degree Florida weather. The Park wasn't too crowded but we did hit the beginning of Spring Break for the Mid-west it appeared. Lots of Canadians too. Over all the lines weren't bad about a 20 minute wait on average unless you fast passed, and thank goodness for that system. What I did learn, for all of those who are planning on going to Disney with small children, is to explain to your children that they will have to wait in line before they can get on the rides. Graham in particular had a hard time with this. Towards the end of the week he was starting to catch on. As we were leaving Orlando Jason and I patted ourselves on the back to congratulate ourselves for successfully taking 4 kids to Disney World. Check!! Thank you Grandpa for the accommodations and Marmee for all your help.

True Blonde

Emma has come up with some real zingers lately so I thought I would share them.
We recently went to Legopalooza in Chapel Hill. The event was held inside the planetarium. The outside of the planetarium has a huge sundial that the kids had a fun time looking at and walking around. We spent some time talking about how a sundial works and that is when Emma said "I would like one for my room."
The other night we were eating and there was a bottle of BBQ sauce on the table. Madison had mentioned that she really likes BBQ sauce and I made the comment that that didn't surprise me and I asked them to guess what one of the first ingredients is. Emma was so proud of herself as she raised her hand and very honestly said "barbeque!" She is a blonde and she really makes us laugh :)

Let it Snow

It snowed in Raleigh and as you can probably guess this doesn't happen very often for us here in the South. We actually had about 5". The kids were begging to go outside as soon as they woke up which is about 7am. We went out around 8am and spent about an hour and a half sledding and doing other fun things in the snow (we tried to make snowballs but it didn't work so well). Easton wasn't so sure if the snow was for him. Maddy did take him sledding and he thought that was pretty fun. He wanted to go inside and once he did he was done. Emma, and Madison spent a lot of time in the snow and Graham did venture out one more time after he came in and warmed up for a little while. It was a fun day.

Christmas 08

I figured I better post something about Christmas before I forget the fun times we had. December went fast as it always does. Jason started his new job with Kuehne and Nagel the first of December and he was busy traveling pretty much right away. We still managed to do some fun family things in between his travels. Decorating the tree, making allergy free ginger bread houses and of course the trip to see Santa. There is a great family in Apex who donates their garage for Santa to use. They decorate it like his workshop and give out candy canes and everything. It is sooo much better than the mall because Santa isn't as rushed and can take his time with the kids and mom/dad can take their time snapping pictures. Love it!! For Christmas my dad and Brenda came. We had fun with secret santa even though Grandpa's wasn't so secret! December was a great month filled with fun memories.