Holidays! (Part IV)

After our whirlwind Christmas we headed off to visit my Grandmother Mickey (GGM) in New Jersey. We have been going as much as possible so she has many chances to see the girls. They are her only great grandchildren so we want them to see her as much as we can. We usually try to take several days to get there so we are not in the car so long. It is a 14 hour trip normally but with kids it is at least 16 hours.
We had a great trip up. Kendall especially, loves to stay at a "hotel, motel, Holiday Inn", although we rarely stay at a Holiday Inn. We spent most nights on the road at a Country Inn & Suites - they have a suite with two separate rooms, great breakfast with homemade waffles (and free!!) and really reasonable rates. We went through Williamsburg, VA on the way up but it was sooo cold and windy that we did not want to be outside at all.

On Wednesday we opened Christmas presents with GGM - we got her a calendar too! We also made our biannual trip to Ocean Grove - a quaint little town on the shore. We always visit the cheese shop and the yummy bake shop. There are tons of cute little shops - Karlee and Mom found some cute Ocean Grove t-shirts and a bookstore.

In New Jersey, we stay at a Holiday Inn Express that also has a two room suite, indoor pool and yummy breakfast. Karlee and Kendall love snuggling together and watching the Disney-on-Demand shows in the hotel.
We woke up on Thursday to a beautiful snowfall. Karlee and Kendall had a great time playing but it was a very cold, wet snow. The twins were not too sure about it - I think it was a little cold for them but GGM loved watching them.

We left on New year's Day and made a quick stop in New York City!! We drove through the Holland Tunnel and right in with no traffic at all. We wanted to take Karlee to the American Girl Store and see the city decorated for Christmas. All the decorations were still up and it was so beautiful. We saw the tree at Rockefeller Plaza, the nutcrackers outside of Radio City and the amazing store windows along 5th Avenue.

Holidays!! (Part III CHRISTMAS!!!!)

Christmas Morning at our house: Santa Claus came and he was very good the 4 K Girls! Karlee got an American Girl Doll - Kit Kittridge and a beautiful fancy bed for her along with lots of other great things. All Kendall asked for was flip-flops (which are a little hard for Santa to get in December - but he came through) and she got a pair just like Karlee's. She was also very excited about her Little People Amusement Park and Ruthie -who is Kit's best friends (but not a real AG doll). Kourtney and Kamryn got a Laugh N' Learn Kitchen, dollhouses, clothes and lots of other neat stuff.
After we finished seeing what Santa brought we got ready to head to my mom's house. We enjoyed opening presents with Scott and Shanna. The twins had fun playing with the wrapping paper and bows and Kendall was excited to get some Barbies of her own. Karlee really enjoyed her mini voice recorder and outfit for Kit that Mama Sandy's friend made. We made personalized calendars for the grandparents with pictures of the girls and Kendall loved giving it and showing off the pictures. After lunch we headed down to Gray to celebrate with the Wells side of the family. After the dust settled from a whirlwind of opening gifts, Karlee received a Vera Bradley wallet and Kendall got an iron and ironing board. The twins were not into opening their own presents but they did like to play with everyone else's presents.

Holidays!! (Part II)

The week before Christmas we had several activities planned to keep us (and the kids) busy.

Open House: Ken's mom always holds a big Holiday Open House every year for all her friends and family in Gray. We go down early and help cook, decorate and set up food. It is always a fun evening visiting with friends and family and eating yummy treats. This year we were even able to get a family photo.

Caroling & Hot Chocolate: We headed over to the Griner's for caroling and hot chocolate a few days before Christmas. The kids had a blast - Kendall could barely walk in her big coat, hat, gloves and scarf - but she LOVES to sing and kept up pretty good with the big kids as they ran from house to house. She had a blast. Ken brought the golf cart for the pregnant ladies to ride on, while the dad's walked with the kids. After lively renditions of "Jingle Bells", "Rudolph" and "We Wish You A Merry Christmas", the kids were worn out and ready for hot chocolate and cookies.

North Pole Breakfast: Mary saw a cute idea in a magazine for a North Pole Breakfast so we decided to throw one for the kids on Christmas Eve morning. We served "Christmas Morning Pancakes, Busy Elves Bacon, Frosty's Fruit Salad, Rudolph's Mini Muffins and Joy Juice". The kids were so excited to see everything set up - we kept it as a surprise and had them come in their PJ's! We did some really cute crafts and enjoyed visiting with friends as well as the yummy food.

New Church . . . Finally!!!

We have been waiting for over two years for our new church building to be ready and that day finally came this past Sunday! It is so beautiful. I will post more pics of the church as soon as I get some.Santa brought Karlee a beautiful new dress that she saw at the last minute that she was dying to have. She was so excited about wearing it for the first service in the new church but . . .

it is sleeveless. And it is really cold here right now. Did I mention the dress is sleeveless? So her daddy came to the rescue and found an awesome faux fur shrug that looked so cute.

After church we enjoyed lunch at the Georgia Club with some friends - be sure to get the shrimp and grits if you go.

Holidays!! (Part I)

I am going to try to give you a summary of our busy, but happy holiday season.

Magical Nights of Lights: We started the season off the way we usually do with a trip to the Magical Nights of Lights at Lake Lanier. The fabulous mom that I am, I forgot coats for 3 of my 4 children, so we couldn't get out at the Carnival area. Ken took Karlee (who had a coat) and Kendall (wrapped in a scarf) to ride a few rides while the twins and I sat in the car. We still had a great time - it was not crowded at all so we could take our time with the lights. Kendall really enjoyed it this year.

My Birthday: We had a great dinner for me and Shanna's birthday at Olive garden and then chocolate cake back at the house. Ken planned a great outing for me and our friends. We had dinner and then saw the John Berry Christmas Concert. We had so much fun!! We have such great friends.

School Festivities: Next we celebrated with Kendall's Holiday Musical and Party - her class sang "Jingle Bells" and "Where is Santa?" while they were all decked out in their handmade Rudolph shirts and later had a party complete with yummy treats, story time and a craft. Karlee had her party the same day. They played Santa Bingo, made edible Christmas trees and marshmallow snow globes, had a book gift swap, made Magic Reindeer Food and ate yummy treats.

Christmas Baking: No holidays are complete without a little baking - we made Rudolph cookies, munchie mix, pretzel bites with Hershey's hugs & M&Ms and Rolos & pecans.

Book Club: My church has started a book club and our December selection was a great book, The Great Christmas Bowl by Susan May Warren. It was a cute little story about the things mother's do for their children and how they strive for perfection at the holidays. It was so funny!! I would highly recommend it for next year's Christmas reading.

Part II coming soon!