Our Buddy: May 20, 1995- May 17, 2010

Little Carrots

On the way home from karate tonight... oh wait... rewind....

A couple of weeks ago, Chase decided that he no longer wants to take horse riding lessons. He just wants to ride a horse on a trail and was bored with all the "learning" involved with his horse lessons. Of course, this didn't come out of nowhere.  For the past few weeks, he has taken an interest in karate (this could have something to do with "The Force" he has been trying ever so hard to use on me... and not to mention all of the junk food in the grocery store.)  Finally, on Tuesday, Aaron took Chase to his first karate class. He had such a great time that he couldn't wait to go back tonight. On the way to his class, he asked, "Mom, you're going to sign me up tonight, right?!!" He's already made friends... "fought" with these "battle sticks" (they totally look like light sabers or the 'noodles' used for swimming).  He had such a blast... and, of course, was all smiles throughout the class.

So.... as I was saying... on the way home from karate Claire says, "Mom, how come we never have Little Carrots?"

"What??"

"Little Carrots. How come we never go there?"

"Claire, what the heck are little carrots????"

"You know that place with the orange sign.... Little Carrots, when can we go there for dinner??"

Obviously, I was completely baffled... THEN, it hit me.

"Claire you mean Little Caesars???"

Chase's Pink Ride

The other day, Chase kept stealing Claire's bike.  Claire was so distraught over it... crying wailing, "Chase won't give me back my biiiiiiiiiiiiiiike."  Of course, during his joy rides on Claire's bike, Chase thought that it was hilarious UNTIL Aaron pulled out his phone to take a picture.  Chase tried to get away, but was no match for his quick fingered Dad!

And all Chase could say while laughing was, "Don't put it on Facebook."

HAHA!!  This'll teach him to steal a pink bike ;)

Turtle Art by Chase

For the past several months, Chase has been studying sea turtles at school.  What's great about where he goes to school is that what they're learning in the classroom carries over into other parts of their education such as using their technology classes and art classes to explore different ways to learn about turtles.  Today, Chase brought home his turtle artwork that he's been telling me about for weeks....

It's crayon that's been painted over with black and then etched.  I think it's beautiful :)

(Click on the picture to see it enlarged)

A Note to the Tooth Fairy

On April 14, while pushing her friend on the swings at school, Claire lost her very first baby tooth.  She was so excited, except that she didn't want the tooth fairy to take her tooth.... SO... she wrote her a note :)

"Tooth fairy please can I keep my baby tooth!"

Words of Henri: The Table

Getting some cleaning done this morning... yes, I know...fun fun!

Henri and I were folding laundry--OK... really he was laying on my bed talking to me-- and I told him,

"When we finish with this, I need to go pick up the table."

His response: "How you gonna do that?"

Nice... my 3 year old is making jokes from my words.

Chase is 8!!

8 years ago today, I held my not yet one day old baby boy.

It's amazing to me how quickly time has flown by since he was born... but what is even more amazing to me... is that it seems like it was just yesterday.  BUT... it's not.

Yesterday, Chase celebrated his 8th birthday.  Ahhh... the 8th birthday... I'd been referring to this year for Chase as the "Countdown Year."  Months before his birthday, he'd ask, "How many days til my birthday?"  Then as the day grew closer his excitement couldn't be contained.  Anytime someone asked him how old he was... he would immediately start talking about his birthday and how he was almost..."well pretty much"... 8.

So yesterday... was the day Chase had been counting down for.  It was a really great day...  he took some cookies to share with his class and he said they even sang "Happy Birthday" to him.  If anyone knows Chase... they know that he absolutely positively does NOT like being sang to... years past he's covered his ears or hid...but this year he said that it made him feel kind of special :)  YAY!!  I picked the kids up early from school so that we could all eat lunch together... have cake and open presents.  (This is the first year since Chase started school that his birthday wasn't on Spring Break.)  We had our lunch... opened presents, sang "Happy Birthday" and plunged our forks into a special birthday request Chocolate Ganache Cake with Mint Newman O's.

We spent a few hours playing with all of Chase's gifts, then made our way to dance-- for Claire and me ;)  After dance, we met Aaron at Hiro (Japanese Steakhouse) for dinner.  Chase loves it for many reasons including (but not limited to ;) ) soup, the onion volcano, lo mein (hmmm... maybe it's called something different at a Japanese restaurant?), and rainbow sherbert.  Once again... "Happy Birthday" was sang (a candle in the sherbert) AND once again Chase didn't cover his ears!!  Dinner was loads of fun... getting squirt in the face with water by the Hibachi chef, jumping as food caught on fire... and celebrating 8 years of Chase :)

Check out this pic from 2005...

YES!  That's Chase (3) blowing out his candles!

Backwards Thinking

Last night, Aaron and I were talking and out of the blue he asks me a ridiculous question.  Strangely enough, I can't remember the question.  Maybe because he had me laughing so hard with HIS response to my response.

Anyway, I replied to the question with a "No Way."

He's said, "Great, glad you see it my way."

What??  Was he deaf??  I said "No way."

To which he replied, "You know what 'no way' is backwards right??"

Hmmm.... I thought.  Then he said, "Yaw on!  That's southern for 'lets do it'!"

Now I know where our kids get it from ;)

We're Proud!

As I was nicely asked to get my desk cleaned up... I came across this certificate that Claire received the first week of March...

Remembering LA

Usually, this blog tends to focus on my relationship with my kids... our days, our weeks... our time and the littlest (and sometimes the biggest) moments that make them memorable. As a stay-at-home Mom, more often than not, my kids are always with me. Sure there is the weekly dance class and times when Aaron takes the kids while I get some "pampering" ;). A little over a month ago, I... with the push of my husband and a friend found in the most unlikely of places... bought concert tickets and a flight to LA. It had been a month of nerves...

But last Thursday, February 25, after picking up Claire and Chase from school, the month of anxiousness was upon me as we headed to the airport. It'd been years since I traveled alone... college to be exact. And, like I said, I had never even attempted to leave my kids for any longer than a couple of hours. The five of us sat in the airport talking as we waited for my flight... unfortunately, it didn't last long as long as I would have liked it to... because the longer we sat together the more emotional Claire got. Realizing that the situation was only getting worse, Aaron made the decision that they needed to leave. As I walked to the TSA screening area, Claire began to panic... wanting to hold my hand... and so wanting to go with me. We gave HUGE hugs... and as I walked away... her tears began to flow. It was heart wrenching as she screamed "I want my mommy." :( I had wished she wasn't so worked up over me... but knew that she just wanted me to know that she loved me that much.

I sat in Wilmington, for what seemed like an eternity. The flight coming in was late... therefore our flight leaving left late. When we landed in Charlotte, I was majorly stressing because I only had 8 minutes to get to my next flight. Luckily, we came in on C6 and I only had to go to C15! I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that I was going to make my flight to LA. When I finally got on the plane... all the stress that I had about traveling finally vanished. The flight was so long...and it was strange not having my kids crawling all over me ...but I was fortunate enough during such a LONG flight to sit by 2 young girls. One from Germany traveling from Central America on her way to Singapore and a rapper named Jayne Deaux (she's super nice and her music is really good.... if you like hip hop you should check her out ;) )

When I arrived in LA, I called my friend Catherine-- we were roommates at UNCW in 1999 and have been friends ever since. Catherine told me that she was on the freeway and that I should head towards baggage and she would pick me up at the"curb." Of course, being friends as long as we have been I couldn't resist, "Curb??? What am I a hooker??" Ahhh... and the fun had begun. It was so good to see my old friend... after not seeing each other for 3 years... I wondered if she would look different...ok... so she did a little... she added blond streaks to her brown hair... I told her that she was "totally trying to live up to my California stereotype". I also wondered if our relationship had changed... BUT... it's amazing how really good friendships work... it was like no time had ever passed between us. Before heading back to her house in Corona del Mar, we stopped at The Cheesecake Factory for a late night snack of Avocado Egg rolls... YUM. Once we finally made it back to her house, we stayed up talking for a bit... then my eyes couldn't stay awake anymore. Catherine told me just to text her when I woke up in the morning... which I did.

I woke up on Friday, at 6:10 am. I waited until about 6:45 to text Catherine, "Good Morning :) I've been up for 30 minutes and I can't fall back asleep. Sorry." To which I got a return text: "You're a pain in my ass. I don't get up this early on a work day." I bust out laughing because that is SO the Catherine that I know and love. I headed into her room... to get in a morning chat... and let her know how I was starving. On our walk to breakfast, I started becoming enamored with her neighborhood. The trees... the trees... the trees...from Palms to Pines they stood strong and were amazingly beautiful. We shared a breakfast burrito (whoever came up with that food invention is a genius) and fresh squeezed orange juice with so much pulp I could've used a fork... ewww, I know... but it was yummy ;) On the way back from breakfast we walked to her beach... which I have to say was AMAZING. Living on the Southeast Coast, I'm used to seeing sand dunes and sea grass... 2 things that seemed to be non-existent on the California coast. Instead of dunes and sea grass.... there the coast line was marked by high cliffs and rocks/boulders. It was so beautiful. The juxtaposition of the smoothness of the sand and the hardness/roughness of the rocks was a sight that my eyes couldn't get enough of. As we stood there, over-looking the beach, I noticed a spot called "Inspiration Point" and as I looked around I was in awe of how the seemingly "locals" were stopping and taking a moment just to look out at the ocean... it was obvious... they love where they live. After our brief stop at the Corona del Mar beach, we headed out to drive PCH to Laguna Beach. Going from the more spacious area of Corona del Mar to Laguna... was a quite a change. Laguna was a sight to see. So much going on... beach volleyball games and people everywhere. Until... we walked out onto the beach....

As I looked down, I knew I had found my "gifts" from California to my 3 children. Purple (that's my color) shells everywhere and sea glass. I was in heaven. I've always wanted to find sea glass! After Laguna, Catherine and I headed to her favorite Mexican restaurant "Javier's (?)". I have to say that it was the fanciest Mexican restaurant that I have ever been to... BUT... fancy or not... the food was AMAZING! After lunch, we headed back to Corona del Mar to go to the beach. Huge pelicans...I touched an anemone and I could hear sea lions barking in the distance... I was determined to see one... so we started walking down the jetty wall... yes... I was nervous that I would fall into one of the giant holes... but I was determined... unfortunately, my determination was not going to convince my brain to make it all the way to the end... so we turned around. Just as in Laguna, sea shells and sea glass abound. However, so did litter. I tried to leave "myself" at home... but my conscience quickly woke up as I saw a straw laying in the surf. It was in that moment, that I stopped collecting shells and started collecting litter. With only my 2 hands, I filled them until I could hold no more... then made a trip to the trash cans. Catherine... not one to pick up litter... came around when she started noticing sharp pieces of glass everywhere. I immediately said, "How shitty would that be?? To step on glass at the beach. That's just messed up." AND, of course, she agreed and started picking up EVERY piece of glass. (I'm thrilled that I have at least convinced her to pick up some sort of litter... YAY... Catherine!! ;) ). On the way back to Catherine's home (2 blocks from the beach), I couldn't get over the beauty of all the landscaping (and the LEMON trees!!)... but the flowers were calling to be photographed. All that know me, know that besides taking pictures of my kids... I have a major thing for taking pictures of flowers.

We went out to dinner... to some Crab house, then to See's Candy (to get chocolate for the kiddo's... ok... me and Aaron, too) and to the Huntington Beach Pier. I've been on piers before... but holy moly... never one THAT big. Sure it was in the dark of night... but it seemed monstrous! By the end of the day, the time change had really taken it's toll on me... as Catherine and I chatted... I could no longer keep my eyes open. I quickly fell asleep, only to awake at 3:30 in the morning! The rain was pouring outside and after about an hour... I managed to fall back asleep... only to again wake at 6:10 am!! I guess one could say that I'm consistent! I laid around for about an hour listening to the rain before waking my sleepy headed friend ;) Then we got around and went to the crazy good breakfast burrito place... I'm thinking that I could live in Corona del Mar if I could go there EVERY morning... hmmm... they have lunch, too!!

We then headed to LA in the pouring down rain. I'm not sure if I had been living in a bubble... but I was under the impression that rain wasn't something that happened often in LA. hmmm... Anyway, we made it (safe and sound) to my friend Adriana's a little later than I had originally planned... but on this trip... I had told myself that I would not overly plan... what happens happens... and I will go with the flow... to some extent ;) Now, back to Adriana... before Saturday, I had never met her in person... and most had asked me if I was nervous about meeting someone for the "first" time... and strangely enough... I wasn't. Meeting her for the first time... was like seeing a friend that I hadn't seen in years. I immediately felt comfortable in her presence... she was a busy bee... trying to work out a "kink" in the LRO video. Once everything was "seemingly" under control... she took me on a driving tour of some popular LA areas. Her "short cut" was through the area where the Playboy Mansion is and other ginormous houses. She then took me to "Café Audrey" and "Jones". Café Audrey was absolutely stunning... the walls are covered in pictures of Audrey Hepburn. A definite spot that I will return to when I go back to LA. And "Jone's"... mmmm....I'm semi-wishing we had one here in Wilmington... because the menu was so diverse that I honestly would LOVE to try a bit of everything. Oh, and I also got to go on an audition (casting call??) with Adriana. I didn't audition for anything... not my schtick... but a lady there asked me if I was there for the "Bare Essentials" casting call. "HA!" But she told me I had great skin and I was perfect for it... I was OBVIOUSLY completely flattered.... not that I would've gotten the "job"... but it still felt really nice.

We then headed to Long Beach for the "Cord Progression" concert to benefit "Life Rolls On" (LRO). It was a good haul from LA... and my talking (do I normally talk so much??) wasn't doing Adriana any good as she kept getting off on the wrong exit ramps! Future reference to myself: shut it! No stress or worries, though, because we had plenty of time. OH! And we saw the most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen in my life. I took a picture to share with the kids... but its grandness and beauty just didn't come through. Oh well... I suppose it's still etched in my memory. When we got to Long Beach, I (once again) couldn't get over how beautiful it was. If I'm being honest, when I hear Long Beach I immediately think of Snoop Dogg ;) However, Long Beach totally blew my expectations out of the water. We walked around an area that had lots of restaurants, shops and even a game room that was humongous... my kids would have gone crazy for it. After walking around a bit, Adriana and I headed over to the venue for her to get the LRO video that she produced ready for the concert. She had to be there at sound check which meant us getting into the venue early... I have to say... it was really an experience. I've never been to a sound check... walked across the stage (besides a dance recital anyway ;) ) or seen what goes on before the show. I sat on a little couch while Adriana worked... met some really nice people... and listened to Timmy Curran sound check. The hope was to see Jason sound check... BUT... even though we didn't... I loved EVERY second sitting still, listening and taking in every moment of being there. Once the video had proven itself to be in working order, we headed to dinner.

We got back to the Long Beach Terrace Theater at the perfect time. Walked around for a bit... walked backstage looking for a different bathroom to use-- you should have seen the line!! Then settled into our seats just before the lights dimmed. AND the concert was absolutely AMAZING!! It opened with The MakePeace Brothers, Bushwalla, and Timmy Curran. What I loved is that they all were completely different... MP Bros. are super chill, Bushwalla is a little hip hop and hilarious, and Timmy Curran... wow. I was amazed that anyone could get up during any of their sets... although my reason for purchasing the tickets was because Jason Mraz was headlining... I certainly didn't want to miss a thing. Before Jason came out... the video that Adriana worked so tirelessly to get to the show played... I'd seen it before... but somehow on the big screen (and a room full of energy) it was even more hilarious than the first time I watched it. The video ends with Jason saying, "...out of respect for Jessie... I have someone carry me.." With that he enters... being carried. I thought to myself... I know her... the girl that made that all possible :) Like the acts before him... amazing. His voice is so pure... I could see him in concert a thousand times and never tire of his voice. As I sat and stood and sat and stood... I dreamed of laying in a hammock. Maybe my fatigue was setting in... because I kept having to say to myself, "I am not tired. I am awake. This moment is so short."

Here are a few of my favorites from the evening...that I could actually find on YouTube... trust me there was SO much more!

After the concert, we headed backstage. Adriana had hopes of me meeting Jason... but instead, I met a lot of really nice people. I know that chances of that all happening again... is so teeny tiny... that I stood there absorbing the moment.... the sights and sounds... I felt out of place... but completely comfortable all at the same time. After hanging around for awhile, we decided to head back to LA. It was a long drive and Adriana was whooped... I was, too... and I finally stopped repeating the previous phrases to myself and gave in to the fact that I was beyond tired. I went to bed around 1 am and woke at 5 am! With the flight home on my brain (and the fear of oversleeping), I couldn't fall back asleep. I laid under the blankets-- as not to wake Adriana--talking to Aaron and then got all of my stuff around for the trip home.

On our way to the airport, I listened as Adriana spoke in Spanish to her Mom. I sat there in awe of the effortlessness of it all... and I smiled because I had absolutely no idea what they were saying...and as I smiled... I remembered that the conversation was not a light one. I stopped and paused thinking... as I often do... languages are amazing. We stopped for bagels and not untypical of my short visit with Adriana had the best of conversations. As Adriana says, "The universe conspires..." and I am so grateful that it conspired to bring us together.

After Adriana had dropped me off at LAX, I ran into a little snafu... I reached into my bag to get out my flight info/tickets when I couldn't find my purse!!! I immediately started to panic and thought that I had left my purse in my friend's car. I quickly borrowed a phone (mine was in my purse)... and as I stood there I said, "I don't know her phone number." (NOTE to self... start dialing numbers instead of speed dial!!!). I called my husband who called my mom to get Adriana's number from my email. Aaron called Adriana (my purse wasn't in her car). And all the while this is going down, I hear my name over the intercom. Longer story short, I guess my purse fell out of my bag at LAX... and someone (an amazing someone) turned it in!!! Someone must have been looking out for me... because I had over $200, my iPod, and my phone in my Kate Spade purse. Anyone could've taken it... and no one would have ever known... I am so grateful for honesty and genuinely good people. After that whole fiasco, the rest of my trip home was great! I sat by the best people on the way to Charlotte... never laughed so much with complete strangers... a 21 year old Navy boy and a 42 year old mother of 5...which after they shared their ages... I, of course, had to share mine...AND they were completely shocked to find out my age because they thought I was 25-26!! Woohoo!!  I SO needed this trip to LA.

To LA: I thought that I may feel insecure because I am surgery free...and I don't dress to the nines......

Thank you to my friends and those that crossed my path for opening my eyes and showing me that LA is more than a desert filled with superficial fake plastic people. :)

Yes, I took pictures.... not as many as I usually take. For some reason... having a camera glued to my face... just didn't feel right. Maybe it's because the whole time in LA... I had this song stuck in my head.

"Today I finally overcame trying to fit the world inside a picture frame."

Words of Claire

"Gabamo" (G-uh-b-ah-mo)

That's Claire for hello.

Pinecones Are Yummy!

I'm not sure why I forgot about this... but the other day, Henri came running out of Chase's room and said, "Mom, can I have some pinecones?"  He had the sweetest look on his face, while I was laughing thinking he was joking around and that Chase had put him up to it.  "Pinecones?  For real?"  I asked.

"Mmmmm... pinecones are yummy.  I love fruit"

Then as he jumped up and down, he pointed to the unripe pineapple sitting on the kitchen counter.

Best Day Ever...

Earlier in the week, I had heard that there was a chance for snow.  The "rumor" was everywhere... you see I call it a rumor because living in Wilmington... it's one of those "I'll  believe it when I see it" type of things.  After checking the weather Friday morning, I became excited!!  The forecast was 1-4 inches!!  I made a typical trip to the grocery store to stock our house for the weekend.  Ok, now I wasn't worried that we would be snowed in... I was a little nervous that Wilmington would "shut down."  When I was out here for college at UNCW, we got a couple of inches and grocery stores, government buildings (include the post office), restaurants, and shoot even Blockbuster was closed.  I figured if they're calling for anywhere between 1-4 inches... I should be prepared.  Everyone else must have had this same thought... as the grocery stores were slammed.

Later that afternoon, I checked the weather again to learn that some areas may see 5 inches.  I was hoping to see at least a dusting... but the possibility of something more was nice.  SO...Friday night, as we were putting the kids to bed... snow flurries began.  The kids were so excited... running around the house... looking out every window... and then when it started accumulating... they would come up to me and say, "MOM... I am just SO excited about the snow!!".  As they should be... snowfall in Wilmington isn't something that happens often.  We had to coax them to bed with promises of an early rise to play before the sun melted the snow away.

This morning (Saturday), Chase must have remembered our promise of an early rise.  In the midst of dreaming, I heard my blinds moving... deep in sleep, I thought it was all part of my dream.  Then I wake up to realize that it's Chase.  As he hears me stir he says, "Mom, how much longer until we can play in the snow."  It's pitch black and the electricity had flashed several times in the middle of the night, so I tell him that I have no idea.  With the thought of our promise in the back of my head, I struggled to get back to sleep.  I finally got up to find that it was only 5:38.  When we said early, we did not mean THAT early!  I quickly let him know the time and that he needed to try to get back to sleep... another hour or so would be nice.  Next thing I remember is hearing Henri's footsteps and then Claire's.  Our day had begun.  AND it was a beautiful day to begin!!

I decided that I needed to know... how much??  I, promptly, put on my boots and walked out front with a ruler.  On the sidewalk/steps we got 4" and in the grassy areas we got between 5" and 6"!!  Amazing!

While I made breakfast, Aaron took all of the kids outside to play.  They attempted to build a snowman... and made something that looks a bit like Jab of the Hut.  Chase has named him "Fred".

Not long after breakfast, I decided that I was going to attempt to make a snowman of my own.  I told the kids of my plans as they played trains on the living room floor.  I went out onto the front steps and started my first ball.  Impressed with how well the snow was sticking, I popped my head in the front door to have the kids come see.  Claire was impressed.  Before I knew it, she was outside with me helping me with my snowman snowgirl.  We decorated her only with things we could find outside.  Hair made from spanish moss, eyes and mouth and buttons from sweet gums, a nose of snow and magnolia leaves for a hair piece.

After we finished our snowgirl, the boys decided that they were ready to come back out into the snowy world.  We started building a snowfort as Chase built a snowdog for our girl.  The dogs must not have been too happy with the snowdog because it quickly disappeared :)  So, we all got to work on what we hoped would be a complete igloo.  Claire got cold and decided she would watch us make the fort from the window inside.  So the boys (not including Aaron... he had to go get adjusted because of a mishap on Friday) and I got busy.  Block after block and patting in extra snow... we made it pretty tall.  Then it happened... I... finally got cold.  Chase decided that he wanted to keep building, so I rushed inside to grab my camera.  After several pictures, we then all decided to go inside and warm up in front of the fire.



Ever since we moved back to Wilmington after living in St. Louis for a year... Chase always says that he wants to live where it snows.  Today, that happened.  BUT... it's different here.  Because here... snow is so rare that it is SO special.  There is something amazing about living in a beach town when it snows.  People aren't cranky about the impending weather... the grocery stores may get busy... but it's full of excitement and hope (for snow).  The most unlikely of places craft snowmen from the church down the street to Chick-fil-a... snowmen are everywhere.  (In fact, at Chick-fil-a they were going sledding and having snowball fights during breaks.)  Here... snow is not a burden... it's a gift.

To quote Chase, "Today was the best day ever."

To see all the pictures, visit my Shutterfly site:  www.daniellerpictures.shutterfly.com

Not Bad Words

I'm not sure what has been going on lately with my kids and bad language.

At dinner tonight, we were talking about "bad words" and Chase says, "Why did people even make bad words up?" I explained to them that it's not necessarily the fact that a "word" is bad, but more so the meaning placed on the word. For instance, someone could've made up Sloppy Joe and it could have been coined as a bad word.

Then Chase chimes in and says, "Yeah, but there are words that aren't even bad. Like shit. Shit is definitely not a bad word, because if you step in dog poop... you might say, 'Aw, shit I just stepped in dog poop.' See that's not bad." (I immediately covered my face) Then Claire added her two cents about what isn't bad (Damn) and then Henri his....he took the more appropriate route by saying "poop is better to use than shit." Nice.

All the while, I was in the midst of holding back laughter because they were SO serious.

Of course, I'm finding it rather funny that they are trying to justify this all at 7, 5, and 3... because I once did the same. Only when I was in middle school... my English teacher didn't like the way I made my cursive f's. She counted a spelling word wrong, and I said out loud, "That's a bunch of crap." She told me not to use bad language in her class... to which I replied, "Crap??? Crap's not a bad word."

Hmmm... for the most part the words they learned didn't come from me (nope... that's ALL Aaron... ok... and maybe Kanye... and a few other artists), but the justifications are all me :)


Come to think of it... here's where Claire got damn:

How Old is Grandma??

While Claire and Grandma Pam where coloring at the table... they started talking about how old everyone is. I-- the constant eavesdropper-- couldn't help but listen in... and in the end had a real good laugh.

When they get to how old Grandma is, Grandma says, "How many numbers do you know? What can you go up to?"

Claire says, "Oh, I can count to 100."

Grandma says, "Ok, well... I'm less than 100."

"Ummm... so you're like 90?"

Grandma quickly let her know that she's only 51 :)

Go Figure...

Our last night in Beech Mountain, we all watched National Lampoons Christmas... of course, it was the kids first time seeing it.  They laughed a lot and I wondered what would stick with them... the cat getting electrocuted? Clark almost falling off the roof?  the tree?  the sledding?  Maybe the squirrel??

So...yesterday, on the way home from school... I learned what stuck with them as they started talking about the movie amongst themselves... laughing Chase says, "Wasn't that funny... the shitter was full."  Claire chimes in, "Yeah... the shitter was full."  Giggling ensued.

I should have figured that was what they would remember.

(Special note:  I talked to the kids about saying "shitter" and let them know that "pooper" is probably a better choice of words for them ;) )

Beech Mountain

As we've done so many times this year, on Wednesday morning we packed up the Sequoia and headed out of town.  This time our destination was to Beech Mountain, NC.  The drive was uneventful, until we got to to the Blowing Rock Boone area... snow was everywhere.  We tried to take the Blue Ridge Parkway, but quickly realized-- thanks to cars and trucks scattered on the side of the road-- that the scenic route was not in our future.  We arrived safely at our cabin (rented with friends) and settled in with a hot dinner.

Here's Aaron helping a lady that was stuck at the entrance to the Parkway.

 Thursday morning, we woke up to a fresh dusting of snow.  The day warmed up to a comfortable 43 degrees... which while nice for being outside... the snow was melting and there was a light rain.  After lunch, we set out on a mission to find me some boots-- yes, I actually wore shoes!!  Once we were suited up, we all went tubing at Hawk's Nest on Sugar Mountain.  It was so much fun!!!  We went so fast... even knocked over some of the workers as they tried to stop us.  AND...having a conveyor belt to ride to the top of the hill made it so much more enjoyable with 3 kids.  We finally ran into our friends at the very end of our tubing experience and the kids played on a big pile of snow until they were told not to :)  Back at the cabin, the kids played fort, found treasure (a hidden door under the stairs) and ran around crazy!!

New Years Day, we woke up to another fresh snow... this time a couple of inches.  We decided to take the kids up to the town and go sledding.  It was a much colder day... 17 degrees!!  It was made even colder because at one of the sledding locations the snow makers (blowers???) were blowing.  Freezing cold wind, with wet snow hitting your face is no fun!!  We hadn't even been sledding for 10 minutes when Claire announced that she was done-- crying ensued because her poor face and hands were bright red from the cold.  We decided to switch hills and leave the snow maker behind, which made Claire happy for another 10 minutes ;)  I-- not being fond of the cold-- happily volunteered to take Claire to the car to warm up while the boys finished sledding.  Once they were done, we headed back to the cabin to warm up with hot cups of cocoa.

We ate some lunch, played outside and took a walk down the road where we saw animal tracks-- deer, raccoon, turkey, rabbit and crow.  The kids lay in the road and made snow angels and we walked through the woods where we saw a small waterfall.

We spent the later part of our afternoon playing games.  And at one point, I looked out the window to see a family of deer eating leaves of the trees outside the kitchen window.  We also saw a turkey.  It was like watching a nature show, just without the TV :)

Saturday morning, it had snowed again.  This time we woke up to about 6 inches of powdery snow.  We had originally planned on going skiing and ice skating, but when Aaron called the ice rink and learned the temperature (not including the wind chill) we changed our plans.  The temperature had once again dropped... this time it was a mere 5 degrees!!!  We decided to hang around the cabin all day.  Sledding when we felt like it and walking inside when we'd had enough of the cold.  We played more games and saw more deer.  The whole week there had been a fog over the mountain or blustery snow... and that afternoon the skies cleared and we headed out to get a picture.... it was cold freezing, but well worth it :)

After we braved the elements for a couple of pictures, we went to the cabin for dinner.  Just as we started eating, the electricity flashed.  It flashed several more times before going out for 30-40 minutes.  We ate our dinner by the light of an oil lamp.  Something we say we should do more often, because it was so nice.  The electricity came back on... but we weren't convinced it would stay... so we started packing up the house.  It only made sense to be prepared to leave if we lost electricity again because we couldn't stay there with no heat.  Through the night the power flashed several times... BUT... Luckily, it never fully went out again.

Today, we woke up to another light dusting of snow and the coldest of temperatures by far.  We packed up our belongings, returned our ski pants and took our recyclables to the drop-off site as we headed out of town.  Here's the temperature...

It was a great vacation.  A winter wonderland for sure.  As we drove up the winding hills the trees glistened and looked just like they were covered with powdered sugar.  It was breathtakingly beautiful.

The kids-- unaware of spelling-- think that Beech Mountain should be changed to Snow Mountain.

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