Merry Christmas!!

Lights of the South

So we made it to Lights of the South tonight, and it was AWESOME!! Shilo even said "That was fantastic!" probably mainly because it wasn't crowded - woohoo! (Everyone else must have decided not to brave the slightly damp 40 degree weather on a school night.) But we didn't have to wait in line to see this guy . . . well worth just that. (Although my 2 youngest children couldn't seem to think of what they wanted for Christmas - good, at least they aren't picky. Except we've been hearing about a certain "pink pewter" (ie pink computer) for a while from Eden. Guess the pressure got to her and her mind went blank.)



And then we did the tractor-pulled hayride through the Christmas lights - (Mommy's favorite part of that was when Eli said "Sit by me Mommy." SURE BUDDY!)



And then a train ride for the kiddos . . .



Eli said his favorite part was the "arsh-ell-ohs" and I'm pretty sure Eden's favorite was playing in the gingerbread house since we could hardly get her out of there. She told everyone to 'retend wash their hands - my sweet little germaphobe.

And Eve said her favorite part was spending time together with the family - I'm gonna have to agree with her on that one.

Snickers

No, not the candy bar . . . the guinea pig! We baby-sat our neighbor's pet over Thanksgiving. The kids loved it! (But he did bite Mommy TWICE!) Anyway, I'm dead set against getting a dog (which the kids keep asking for - been there, done that - uggg). But I'm liking this small animal in a large cage idea - contains the mess. AND I did promise Eve a guinea pig when she turned six (which was last April -oops.) That was one of those Mommy mistakes - when she was 3 years old, six seemed very far away and I can't believe she remembered. Well, somehow I got out of that situation, but I still feel a little guilty. Now I'm thinking maybe a bunny for the seventh birthday- they don't bite do they? Sssh! Don't tell Eve.

Here she is with her friend S and Snickers! (And by the way, Shilo acted like he didn't like him, but then I'd be in the bedroom at night and I would hear him talking to Snickers - Ha! A grown man talking to a guinea pig - it was really cute!)

The GASPING Gobbler

So, I think this all started when Mommy decided to try to do the Couch to 5K running plan. It's supposed to get you from being a couch potato to running a 5K in 9 weeks. The former description suited me perfect, so I thought it sounded good and might actually work. And besides the minor detail that it took me 6 months instead of 9 weeks to finish the plan, I did it! And so did Shilo! - he got recruited as my running coach/partner. And not surprisingly, it turned into a little friendly competition (and a little side bet) as to who could finish first. (We "tied" by the way - he had mercy and ran with me.) Anyway, The Gasping Gobbler 5K was November 21st. It was a blast! I won't mention our finishing times though - it's a little embarassing . . . BUT we finished, and we RAN 3.1 miles!! (I figured out where they got the name of the race from because the whole time I'm GASPING to Shilo - how much FARTHER? we have to go up THAT hill?!)

Anyway, there was a 1/4 mile Fun Run for the kids beforehand, and Eve got FIRST PLACE for her age group (6 and under). I just realized by looking at these pictures that she was WAY AHEAD of all the others too (probably encouraged by the fact that Daddy bribed her when she was in the lead by telling her he'd buy her a doughnut if she won - a little boost of motivation and energy. . . probably not a good example of a healthy living as practiced by all these other running-type folks but it worked nonetheless.) She was so much taller than all the other kids that I wasn't sure they would really believe she was SIX! Anyway, we were very proud of her! Here are the pics:

Lining up . . .


Last minute advice from Mommy . . . (I was telling her 'Please be careful and don't trip and fall.' All I could envision was multiple knee abrasions.)


And we're off . . . Mommy ran with the little ones . . .


And she can see the doughnut in her near future! Go Evie Go!


And Jessica our neighbor did a great job too!


A victory hug!


"Look Mommy! I got a medal!"


You Go Girls! Good Job!


And the older kids' race - Go Nicholas!!


And Mr. Family Y - I first thought he was a tooth or something . . .


Not sure if this picture will actually turn out (I tried to swipe it off Facebook) but that's me and Nassab (my colleague Dr. Ahmadie's wife). She did great (code for she finished WAY before I did!)


So that's it - our first 5K. (Well, since we got out of college and old, that is.) Hopefully in the next one, our time will be at least publishable to the public. :)

A Whole Lot of Turkeys . . . Oops! I Mean Pilgrims and Indians!

We had lots of pre-school and 1st grade Thanksgiving festivities to attend. I think they were supposed to be pilgrims and Indians, but they sure look like turkeys to me!! :)