Christmas through Valentine's Highlights of Happy Times

We loved gathering at Rodger and Melissa's for Thanksgiving. 

Some of our Holiday Advent Calendar activities included making sugar cookies, homemade ornaments, writing  notes to teachers and birthparents, having a basement campout, and spending time at Grandmama and Papas.

The kids got to tour their new school in December and started the second semester at Cherry Park Elementary in January. 

For a special surprise in December, we planned a trip aboard the Polar Express in Spencer, NC. The kids had a blast riding the train, getting their golden tickets, drinking hot cocoa and eating cookies, visiting the North Pole, chatting with Santa, and picking out a new ornament for our tree. 

 I got to eat lunch with the kids one last time at Richmond Drive in December and we had a blast attending their special holiday programs as a family.

 Our annual QCP Christmas party is one of the highlights of the season as well. The best gift of the night was by far, the giant poster of David's head!

Our neighborhood in Shiland does a beautiful job with the luminaries every year! This year, the kids helped get the bags ready and were rewarded with s'mores after their hard work!

 Maggie had asked Santa for a girl elf to be Zippy's sister and she came on Christmas Eve. We attended a candlelight service at North Rock Hill as a family and then went to Akahana Asian Bistro in Fort Mill with Grandmama, Papa, and Aunt Connie. Then we checked out some awesome Christmas lights and got ready for a visit from Santa. :)

 We headed up to Indiana after Christmas to visit with Chris'family and we even had a Sibling Night Out at the Mouse and Hideout in the big city of Yorktown. :)

  

We spent New Year's Eve in a hotel in West Virginia and got to open our first time capsule that we put together 5 years ago. It was so special revisiting our old memories and resolutions! 

 This is one of Maggie's creations with markers! This colorful girl loves to create pictures that are as bright and bubbly as her personality.

We got to spend some time in January with Kelly and Dustin and Harley (Grandmama's newest addition to the family). We played lots of games and ate lots of great food! 

Maggie earns a piece of candy after every allergy shot and in January she learned how to blow her first bubble! 

 We love eating at Viet Thai and this time, Riley discovered a love for pho!

 Maggie is the master sign-maker in our family! Check out her newest additions/warnings! 

 Riley read about a National Icecream for Breakfast Day on Saturday, Feb. 2nd, so of course, we HAD to celebrate it! Look at the love that these two share!! Even on the hard days when we feel like they fight like cats and dogs, deep down I know that they love each other more than words can explain! Their bond is so special! I hope it never ends!

 We are so incredibly blessed with great friends! I love that we can spontaneously gather on a Saturday afternoon for drinks and games. And we are so grateful for the beautiful family ties that we have as well!

 I love my little (and big) scout! Chris has taken on a leadership role this year with Maggie's Tiger group and has executed a lot of great lessons. And then he sacrificed his time to attend a scout "Creepy Nature" campout at a museum with Riley. They checked out some wild animals and plants, slept next to an alligator snapping turtle, participated in a late-night scavenger hunt, and got to scope out the grounds. Meanwhile, Maggie and Mommy had a date of our own to Amber Buffet and then to Cracker Barrel to buy a toy with some hard-earned allowance money. The next morning, Maggie got her hair done by Ms. Carol.

 Love my little princess and prince! This year for Valentine's Day, they received their own Bibles and lots of sweets and treats!

 Riley had a special pirate presentation that I got to attend at his school the morning of Valentine's Day and then for supper we had our annual fondue family meal. It was delish! More than the food though, was the love that we have for each other. The hearts that we put on doors this year is one of my absolute favorite traditions and the kids and Chris blew me away with their kind words and affirmations!! What a wonderful way to lift each other up!

 Just two days later, we had a friendly Lego-creation competition during the morning and then joined our friends at Fuji Japan for a hibachi meal and game night in the evening.

 On February 23rd, we had yet another fantastic family day! We bought the kids tickets to Wild Kratts live performance for Christmas and were able to enjoy a neat show together. Then while they got to spend some time at Grandmama and Papa's, Chris and I got to add a Broadway musical (Miss Saigon) that he had purchased as a date night for the two of us in advance as well. We ate at Hibiscus Asian restaurant and stayed up late into night just talking and relishing our alone time! It's so important to date your mate and I'm so thankful that mine was sweet enough to plan this special night for us.

Maggie's acrostic poem "Love Poem" touched my heart. I love her reference to "not to be priding" and "eternal life"! Out of the mouths of babes! :) 

 Read Across America week was last week and while the week was filled with silly costumes and themed outfits, the joy of reading is what really stands out to me! I love this little nighttime reading station that Maggie set up in our bedroom. I guess Dr. Seuss was right: "The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." Keep reading my sweeties! I know you'll have many adventures if you do! 

 This past Friday, I got to take Riley to a Mother Son event at my school. It was packed with all kinds of games, loud music, and plenty of pizza and chips to satisfy even the hungriest of 3rd grade boys! :) I loved that Riley opened my door for me as I got into the car (with just a little prompting) and that he decided he probably wouldn't date on his own until he's at least 20!

 Not to be outdone, Maggie and Chris went on a one on one date as well. Maggie chose to eat at Amber buffet again! She loves their chicken nuggets, fries, sugared donuts, and little cakes. Not sure if she ate a single healthy thing! And then they went to a paint your own pottery place and again, shockingly, Maggie chose to paint a kitty! I love that we can spend some time with our little ones letting them know that they are valued and loved individually!

 Last night, I put together a Progressive Restaurant Dinner and Game night. We went to 3 different places (Chris was able to join us for the first one before he left town to see his buddy Collins in Greenville). It definitely added some spice to the night! The Nitro icecream was a really "cool" way to end the evening. Thanks to Grandmama and Papa for taking us there!

"The best thing about memories is making them." "A good life is a collection of memories."  "Life brings tears, smiles, and memories. The tears dry, the smiles fade, but the memories last forever." 

Dr. Seuss may have said it best though: "Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory." Thanks my sweet family and friends for doing life with me each day and for the memories we are making along the way!