Playin' Hookie

The hospital gave Steven a few days off the week before Christmas in exchange for giving him call the week of. Pretty good deal seeing as he rarely gets called and most surgeries get scheduled for early morning. With this opportunity we decided to pull the kiddos out of school and surprise them with two days of constant play at Great Wolf Lodge. Thatcher and Haley were under the impression we were heading for school, yet two and a half hours later we pulled into the parking lot and upon looking out their window they began squealing with excitement. It wasn't until that point that Thatcher said, "So I'm not going to school?" We immediately got to work swimming and playing. Kadyn and Dad quickly discovered a water slide called the Howlin' Tornado. Kadyn played it cool when she took me on it for my first time. She assured me it wasn't bad and if I sat on the side of the tube facing backwards, "the ride would be much more enjoyable". Her angelic smile beamed at me as we sailed through a ginormous tube, and to my great surprise, it never left her face as we dropped 90 degrees downward and quickly jetted into an even larger tunnel.  I was stunned. We returned five more times to ride it over and over! Thanks to military discounts we sprung for "Paw Passes" which offer a number of additional activities we didn't know existed. The arts and crafts were great, everyone got to stuff an animal, and, we enjoyed our first snow of the year as it fell in the lobby after story time. It wasn't until the kids began their adventure in MagiQuest however that we realized our eldest two were hooked. They LOVED that thing. Luckily, you take your wand with you and all adventures are saved, thus, if you don't defeat the dragon in time you can always return later to do so. Guess what Kadyn wants to do for her birthday? :) It was a fantastic family get away for a fantastic group of kids.

Holiday Happenings '12

December has brought much joy and laughter thus far, and we haven't even made it to the presents! The kids decorated our family tree with the yearly ornaments they each receive. Steven goes through them one by one and tells the reason for each ornament and the sweet story of the year they joined our family. It really makes decorating the tree a memorable evening. We have made LOTS of yummy treats both to share and enjoy, and have experienced hours of outdoor fun thanks to the amazing weather that NC has offered us. Kadyn was able to play her violin in a musical fireside held by our church, which stemmed the opportunity for our family to join a few others in putting on an evening of music for a couple of rest homes in the area. Those experiences have definitely been our favorite of the season thus far. With Christmas fast approaching we welcome the opportunity - not only to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ - but to continue celebrating throughout the year that He lives, He loves us, and He's watching over you and me.

Dog Days of '12

Raxtus has definitely been one of thee best purchases we have ever made. He fits our family like a glove and adapts to our daily routine and mood amazingly. If it's time to play and get crazy, he's in. If it's time to snuggle and watch a movie, he's in. He is a great dog and we are lucky to have had him join us this year. We hope you enjoy the many faces of Raxtus.

 On his way to training.

Supporting me during workouts.

 Supporting the kiddos during nap time.

 Being a good friend.

 Being a good snuggler.

 Being a good sport.

 Being a great snuggler.

 Being a great sport.

 Enjoying outside.

 Enjoying inside.

 Protecting his bear.

 Snuggling his bear.

Thanksgiving Week '12

Our Thanksgiving dinner this year was a little different from most. Steven had found that Costco (at least on the East Coast) offers a full service Thanksgiving dinner delivered to your front door for an extremely reasonable price. Having spent the past 12 Thanksgivings with our usual traditions of cooking up a storm, we decided to give it a try and spend our "extra" time baking new treats and enjoying the kiddos even more. It was a fantastic weekend with delicious food, easy clean up, and wonderful memories. With 70 degree temperatures we enjoyed a ton of activities together, including Ryley and Kadyn loving an amazing day at horse camp. Each year when our Thanksgiving break comes to an end we are inevitably bummed. We have enjoyed a long weekend of wonderful family time, and with that, have been reminded of how lucky we are to have one another. It truly makes us ten times more excited for the Christmas holidays to begin, knowing that instead of enjoying a long holiday weekend, we will soon get to enjoy a few holiday weeks!