Our Snowman

A few weeks ago (OK, many weeks ago - I've been slow to download pictures) it snowed just enough for us to build a snowman. It was the perfect type of snow for making a snowman, wet and packable. The kids had a ball helping us roll the small snowball into a big ball and then seeing it turn into a snowman. After it was finished we found an extra scarf, some peanuts for the eyes, mulch for a mouth and a carrot for the nose. Snow in the Carolinas doesn't last long. In fact it melted before lunch but it was fun while it lasted. After being outside for awhile Ainsley started saying "I cold, I wet, I cold and wet" Of course it was raining the whole time we were outside but we weren't going to pass up playing in the snow since we don't get it often. After working hard on our snowman we went in and had a cup of hot chocolate. As you can see Beckham thought it was yummy!!

Father's Eyes

The Lord was looking over us this morning. We have a fireplace that starts by turning on a light switch it's great except it has a draft that comes into the house (there is no flue to close). Since it had been cold and windy the past few weeks we put a blanket in front of the fireplace to keep the draft down. Well, this morning I was drying my hair and when I was done something smelled funny. At first I thought it was probably a hair that got stuck in the dryer but then something told me to go out of the room. When I did I saw our fireplace burning. Ainsley had turned on the light switch that controls the fire. (Beckham know better but we have never talked to Ainsley about it b/c she has never been able to reach the switches - she can now). I race downstairs and shut it off. Luckily the blanket that was covering the fireplace fell down so it didn't catch fire. The Lord was protecting us and thankfully nothing happened. Ainsley now knows not to touch the fireplace light switch.

Welcome Jordan

I am happy to announce Ryan and Christina had a baby boy. Jordan was born yesterday (Feb 4) at 6:40 pm. His weight was 8 pounds and he was 21 inches long. We are so happy for Ryan and Christina. Beckham and Ainsely can't wait to meet their new cousin (we can't wait either). Funny thing is he was born on our neice Emma's birthday. That will make it easy to remember. Happy birthday Jordan and Emma!

I'm on a roll

I just finished posting the "4 things" blog and decided to write another quick one. I recently got 2 new gadgets for my birthday and love them both. Typically I am not a gadget person but these are fun and what I needed. The first is a Tom Tom navigation system. Many of you know that I have NO sense of direction. This is the greatest invention! I can type in any address or place I want to go and "Emma" tells me where to turn. I picked the British voice and named her Emma. The second gadget is a Heart rate monitor. Since I have been going to the gym a lot more I decided this would be a good thing to have. Now I could monitor how hard I am working and how many calories I am burning. After my class on Wednesday (with the instructor that trains Marines) I burned 750 calories in an hour! The Heart rate monitor also allows me to see my max heart rate during the work out, the average and how long I was in my target heart rate zone. A lot of people wouldn't get excited about a gadget like this but I love it. It helps me validate how hard I worked in a class.

4 things

I'll admit it - I'm a slacker. I have all intentions of blogging more but never seem to get around to it. A few people have blogged or emailed me this 4 things list so I thought I would play along and do it myself. For those of you that keep looking for the snowman blog I promise I'll get to it soon (before spring). I haven't downloaded the pictures of our snowman but once I do I'll blog about it. Anyway, on to the 4 things:

Four jobs I have had or have:
1. lifeguard
2. Arthur Andersen
3. 1st grade teacher
4. mom

Four places I have lived
1. Northern Virginia
2. Florida
3. Chicago (suburbs)
4. Austin, TX

Four movies I have watched over and over
1. Grease
2. Any of the kids' movies
3. Top Gun
4. Sound of Music

Four shows I watch
1. The Unit
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. College Football
4. The Hills

Four places I have been
1. China
2. Australia
3. New Zealand
4. France

Four favorite things to eat
1. candy
2. white cake with butter cream frosting
3. wings
4. lobster
(all healthy stuff - LOL)

Four places I would rather be
1. On the beach
2. Somewhere I've never been (Costa Rica, Sweden, Spain, the list could go on and on)
3. Somewhere warm
4. the gym (I know it's sad but I enjoy working out - if it's with a good instructor or partner)

Four things I look forward to this new year
1. Meeting my new niece (a few more months) and nephew (only a few more days)
2. Amy and David's wedding
3. Going to Vegas with Monte without kids!!!
4. Going to my parents lake house this summer

If you want to join the fun consider yourself tagged. Leave a comment if you are playing along so we can come read your four things.

Our Little Princess

I know I have been MIA the past few weeks. I have had a hard time getting motivated to blog. Typically the only time I have to do it is when the kids nap (and Beckham is slowly giving up his nap - bummer) or at night when the kids go to bed and I just don't have the motivation to do it then. Anyway, on to the blog entry:

A few weeks before we went to Disney Ainsley got into the princess thing. Funny thing is a friend of ours gave us 2 princess costumes a year ago and they just sat in Ainsley's room. I was shopping for Christmas and saw a great deal on a princess trunk full of princess outfits. I thought about buying it but decided not to since Ainsley wasn't into the ones we had. You can probably guess where this is going...the next week all of the sudden Ainsley wanted to wear the 2 princess dresses all the time. I don't know what spurred this on but she wanted to wear them 24/7. I was so bummed I didn't buy the trunk she would've loved it. Weeks went buy and I kept an eye out for a good deal and right before Christmas I found one. Yea!! I had finished shopping for her but my mom hadn't so I bought it for Ainsley from my mom. When she opened it she was full of delight!! She could not wait to be a princess!! Ainsley would wear her princess dresses all day everyday if we let her (sometimes we do). She has been seen at the grocery store and target in a costume (I just didn't have the heart to take it off to go to the store). Now that she has a whole trunk full of them she loves having choices - Cinderella, Bell, Sleeping Beauty, or Snow White (and sometimes she mix and matches) The picture is of her on the day she got them looking at herself in mirror - as Snow White.

Back from Disney

Well, we made it back from Disney. We had a wonderful time. If you are planning a trip to Disney this is the time of year to go (after Thanksgiving but before Dec 20). The weather is great - you aren't hot and miserable, the crowds are light - the longest we waited for a ride was 30 min and it is decorated for Christmas.

The theme this year is "year of a million wishes". Disney picks people at random to grant wishes and make their park experience special. We were lucky enough to get picked for a few. The first day the line was pretty long for Peter Pan (about 40 min). We were standing there debating if we should wait or come back. A Disney employee came up to Beckham and asked if he knew who the Lost Boys were. Beckham replied yes and she said if you make an oath never to grow up you can go to the front of the line. So, Beckham did. She gave him a Lost Boys certificate and we got to cut in line. Later that night when we were watching the fireworks (which was about wishes coming true). I asked Beckham what he would wish for. His response - to be a cowboy. The next day we were walking through Frontierland and Beckham got picked to be a cowboy with Woody from Toy Story. You should have seen his face - he was the happiest kid in the park. He now believes that wishes do come true at Disney. Later that day we got picked to be part of the parade. We walked down Main Street waving to everyone and waving the flags they gave us.

The kids were great at the park. We stayed on property which worked out perfect. The first day was extended hours for people staying on property so the park was open until 1 am for us. Since we had extra hours we went back to the hotel after lunch for a nap so the kids would last later. This was one of the best decisions we made because it made the afternoon more enjoyable because they were rested.

I could go on an on but I won't. Beckham's favorites were - being a cowboy, the Buzz Light Year ride, and Ariel (he seems to have developed a crush on her - we had to wait in line to see her twice so he could see her again). Ainsley's favorites were meeting the Princesses and the Magic Carpet ride. I still haven't learned how to create a slide show of pictures (I'm sure it isn't hard I just haven't had the time to sit down and figure it out). Maybe when I see Meggo or KT next week they can show me. Until then I'll post a few pics.