First Trip to Disney's Animal Kingdom

The weekend of January 14 & 15, Charles and I took the kids to their first official trip to Disney. My parents even came along for part of the trip, which was really nice for us! We stayed at the Animal Kingdom lodge which was just beautiful! We had a one-bedroom suite so Charles, myself and the kids stayed in the bedroom and my parents slept on the pull-out couch. We drove down Saturday & spent the day walking around downtown Disney. We ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe which is such a neat place. Later that evening after giving the kids a bath, my parents stayed with the kids while Charles & I enjoyed a nice dinner out :)

Sunday we woke up & headed straight to the Animal Kingdom theme park & my parents headed home. I wasn't sure how long the kids would last, especially with Olivia in the stroller (and her only taking a 20 minute nap during the Lion King show) but they did great & really seemed to enjoy it. We were able to cover pretty much the whole park (at least what the kids could do, minus the big roller coasters) & left about 2:30 pm. The best part of the trip was Cameron getting to meet all the disney characters (& we didn't have to wait in a long line to see them!) All in all we really enjoyed it!

Olivia watching zoo keepers feed the animals at the Lodge

 Look at her crazy hair!

 My mom & Cameron at the Rainforest Cafe

Charles & Olivia at the Rainforest Cafe

Cameron riding the train at downtown Disney

Mickey! (That's Cameron smiling real big) So silly!

Goofy!

Giving King Louie a hug :) I still can't believe that Cameron wasn't scared of any of the characters!

 Pluto

(You can see Olivia trying to get as far away in the stroller as she can. She wanted nothing to do with King Louie or Pluto.)

Donald Duck

 Chip & Dale

 Thumper & ? not sure what the other bunnies name is

Minnie

Looking at all the fish. Olivia loved the animals, especially the birds & fish!

Cameron looking at a gorilla sleeping upside down

Playing the drums :)

December NC Trip

In early December we took a week long trip up to our cabin. Charles mother, Ollie, his brother, Robert and his brother's fiancee, Sue, also came down to spend some time with us. We had a great time at the cabin cooking and enjoying the fire pit. Cameron had fun helping Grandma Ollie bake & chasing Uncle Robert around the house. We also spent two days at Cataloochee Ski resort where Cameron skied  for the first time. He really enjoyed it and was actually pretty good for his age. He's already looking forward to his next ski trip.

         Putting on ski's for the first time

Olivia played in the snow while Cameron skied

Cameron with his ski instructor

Making Frosty the snowman

Love to play in the snow!

Making pumpkin pie. What a great picture :)



Ollie pulling Olivia on the sled. I thought for sure she would enjoy it but she didn't, she cried the whole time!

2nd day of skiing

On the magic carpet to the top of the "little" hill

On one of the days we took a ride on the "Santa train" which was the Blue Ridge Mountain train in Blue Ridge, Georgia. The train ride was an hour long and Santa came to visit each child. There was also story time and Christmas carols. It was really cute & I think Cameron enjoyed it. 

Cameron & Rudolph :)

Story time on the train....look at Olivia, so cute!

Cameron & Olivia with Santa. Can't believe Olivia isn't crying!

Charles & Cameron working on the fire pit. Cameron LOVED doing this & wanted to be outside the whole time. Robert was nice enough to saw down a dead tree in the yard so they worked on picking up the pieces & leveling out the ground around the fire pit.

Ollie's neighbor had a yard sale & they let Ollie have any items that didn't sell. So she got some great toys for the kids! This tricycle & Barbie four-wheeler and a remote control truck for Cameron. Also lots of books & games. Here's Cameron & Olivia playing with the toys on the front porch.

Giving his sister a kiss :)

Here's a video of Cameron skiing on the 2nd day :)

Christmas 2011

We had a wonderful Christmas this year, spending Christmas Eve with Charles' 2 sisters & their families and then Christmas Day with my family. We did have a small catastrophe with our Christmas tree, it fell over & broke a lot of my nice lenox ornaments (given to me by my grandparents) & babys first Christmas ornaments. My mom & my Aunt Missy were so nice to give me some more ornaments for Christmas and I was able to replace Olivia's baby ornament but am still looking for one from 2008 for Cameron.

Our tree on Christmas Eve. Notice our angel is still crooked

 After Santa's arrival

 Leaving a plate of cookies (and chocolate kisses) for Santa. (I think this is the best smile Cameron has ever given in a photo!)

 Leaving reindeer food in the grass

On his new bike.....he is still a little too short for it but I'm sure he will be on it soon!

 Opening stockings

 This photo is a little blurry but I thought Olivia looked so cute, excited about her new doll

 Checking out Olivia's singing puppy

 Legos!!! Cameron LOVES them!

Christmas Party & Breakfast with Santa

Myself, along with my friend Amber, were in charge of Cameron's classroom Christmas party. I made Rice Krispie Christmas trees for a snack & brought in the game "Pin the Nose on Frosty." I planned on Olivia just playing with the toys while the kids ate their snacks, which she had done in the past, but she had other ideas. As soon as I put out the snacks, she was trying so hard to get them off the table! (And of course she had no interest in the snacks I brought her.) She was wearing a brand new white Christmas shirt so when I decided to give her a Rice Krispie treat I took off her shirt so she wouldn't get the green icing all over her. She sure loved the treat though & ate it faster than the older children! After she finished eating she went around to each child & tried to eat the other snacks they brought. Needless to say, I was busy chasing her most of the time. I decided for the next class party I would get a babysitter for Olivia so I could enjoy my time with Cameron :)

So cute!

    Yum, Yum!!

 When Olivia finally decided to go play with toys, Cameron walked over & gave her a big kiss :)

 Making wreaths with his friend Kinsley

 All the kids loved playing Pin the Nose on Frosty



The weekend before Christmas Charles & I took the kids to breakfast with Santa which was held at the Hilton in Ocala. We had a nice time, enjoying a breakfast buffet, decorating Christmas cookies, taking a carriage ride & meeting Santa.

Here we are on the horse -drawn carriage

 Cameron getting ready to pet "Buddy" the Clydesdale

 Olivia didn't want to sit on Santa's lap, no surprise

 Cameron asking Santa for hopscotch (meaning sidewalk chalk to make hopscotch)