Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!  Will awoke bright and early this morning letting us know that Santa had visited our house last night.  It was a sight to behold with gifts and toys everywhere.  Will was so excited and didn't know what to play with first.  Susan slept in and awoke around 8.  It was nice that we were able to do Christmas with Will first and then later do Christmas with Susan.  We spent the day in our pj's playing on the floor with the kids and putting together the toys Santa didn't have time to.  

As much as I enjoyed today, it was somewhat bittersweet in that this was the first Christmas in 33 years that my sister and I were not together.  She and her family remained in FLA, but thanks to modern technology, we were able to see her and my nephews and talk to them over the computer.  This is a picture of me and my sister taken Christmas Day 1975-the year Jen was born.  If you are wondering why I look so excited to see her, it's because I'm 2 and her birthday is December 20.  Mom just so happened to bring her home from the hospital Christmas day.  I know I asked for a puppy that year....

I want to introduce you to the newest member of our family-Koda the interactive Dinosaur!  This thing is pretty cool.  Here is Susan sitting on him.  He sings and plays music when you ride on his back.  If you roar, he will roar back at you.  He also sleeps, likes to have his chin rubbed, and...

eats!  Here is Will feeding him his leaves.  After he is done eating, he will burp.  The kids think it's hysterical!

Susan feeding Koda.

Susan wanted a baby for Christmas so Santa brought her a baby, high-chair and doll bed among other things.  Her baby took a lot of naps today.

All Will wanted for Christmas were dinosaurs and the Artic igloo.  He has not abandoned his love of ocean creatures, he is just expanding his passion to include dinosaurs.  He got a box of dinosaurs and a dinosaur named "Spike" for Christmas.  This one has a remote control and will walk and eat boulders.  Susan is not too fond of Spike, especially when Will chases her with him.  Brotherly love...

Here is Will setting up the animals on his Artic igloo he got.

Cookies for Santa

What would Christmas be without cookies for Santa?  After gathering everything we needed, the kids got down to business.  Armed with frosting, sprinkles, M&M's, and Mike and Ike's, Will and Susan created confections Martha Stewart would be envious of.  My sources tell me that Santa thought they were some of the best cookies he has ever had!

It's not any fun if you don't get to eat some along the way...

Some of Susan's finished product.

Some of Will's finished product.

Will's School Festivities

Will's pre-school hosted a Christmas Program and pot-luck dinner at the church on December 17th.  The kids sang songs and were dressed in costumes representing the Nativity.  Imagine my surprise when I learned my son was playing the role of "Joseph."  He is standing in the front with the 3 Wise Men behind him and Angels to his right.  This was prior to going on stage.  The kids were really cute!  Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of the actual performance because I opted to video it instead and George was chasing Susan at the time. 

On Friday, December 19th, the kids had a Christmas party during school.  The kids all put on reindeer antlers and decorated cookies.  They did a book swap and SANTA made an appearance.  It was a memorable morning.  16 kids, lots of sugar, and SANTA-you do the math.

Meeting our Elf and the Advent Calender

When we arrived home from FLA, we found a very special someone waiting for us.  It was our very own elf sent to us from the North Pole.  The elf arrives at your house for the holiday season and watches to make sure you are being good.  He returns to the North Pole every night to report to Santa and then is back before morning bringing a special treat with him.  Will named our elf "Mr. Tom" and both kids had a great time looking for him when they woke up in the morning.  You never knew where Mr. Tom would be perched.

This year, mom was a little late in ordering our Advent Calender so we decided to make our own.  I channeled my inner Martha Stewart and we went to work with paper bags, foam stickers, and markers.  The kids had a great time!  This is one of Susan's bags that she made.

This is Will's bag.  He called it "his igloo of penguins."  It represented the 13th of December.

Here is the finished product hanging on the doors on the sunroom.  The elf would put a special treat in each bag to help count down the days until Christmas.

Will making one of his bags.

Susan working on her bags.

Mote Aquarium

Sunday we headed for the Mote Aquarium.  Will loves aquariums, big or small, and this one had some fish and other animals that we do not have at the Georgia Aquarium.  The exhibits were smaller and featured only one to two animals which was great for the kids.  We had a great time!!!  Thank you for a great visit, Auntie Jenny!

This was Will's favorite animal at the aquarium-the big green eel.  

Susan, Auntie Jenny, and Tyler at the touch pool.

Will face to face with the Hammerhead shark, also one of his favorite animals.

Susan touching the sea urchins.

Will and the manta ray.  "Hey mom, how would this look in my room?"

Anna Maria Island, FLA

On Friday, we left Orlando and made the short trip to my sister's in Bradenton, FLA.  While we were there, we were blessed with some warm weather and took the kids to Anna Maria Island for some time at the beach.   The water was a chilly 63 degrees, but that didn't stop Will.  He dove right in.  Susan, on the other hand, stuck one toe in and was out of there.  

Susan looking at a starfish that a woman found along the beach.

After the kids were done in the ocean and Will's lips were blue, we headed over to the playground to run around and thaw out.

Lunch time and ice cream

As I mentioned above, Susan didn't want anything to do with the ocean.  She was quite content to sit in the beach chair and eat her lollipop.  Something tells me that she got all the brains in the family.

Here's Will waiting for the perfect wave...

Florida-Day 3 Dining with Shamu

One of the best parts of our visit to Sea World was dinner Thursday night.  We made reservations to "Dine with Shamu."  You were taken to a special are called "The Cove" where they had tables set-up right next to one of the pools the whales swim in.  The had a wonderful buffet and we were treated to our own private show.  It was worth every penny.

They took our picture as we entered and gave us private passes for the evening.

This picture was taken during dinner.  No telephoto lens required here.  The orca whale was about 10 feet in front of us.  It was truly spectacular.

I included this picture of Susan so that you could get a feel for how close we were while we were sitting and eating.  

After the show, several of the trainers came out and signed autographs and answered questions.  Will asked the trainer how they got the whales to jump out of the water.  The trainer is showing Will the sign they use when they want to whale to jump. 

Florida-Day 3 Sea World

On Thursday, we left Disney behind and headed for Sea World.  Will was so excited and couldn't wait to see Shamu.  The weather was perfect and the crowds were no where to be found.  We had so much fun that we went back on Friday morning before we headed to Auntie Jenny's.

Will sitting atop Shamu outside of the stadium.

Both kids having their picture made with Shamu.

Will feeding the dolphins.

Susan feeding the dolphins.  She was a little bit scared of them and tended to just throw the fish at them.  It was quite the site.

Susan was a trooper on our trip.  She rarely got a nap and we just kept going and going.  She was so tired while we were at Sea World that she feel asleep sitting up in the stroller and then slept through the Shamu show.  She woke up as we were leaving the stadium and wanted to go ride the merry-go-round.  This picture makes me laugh every time I look at it.  Believe it or not, she had a great time and we rode the merry-go-round 2 more times.

One of Will's favorite things at Sea World was this climbing structure they had.  It was a maze of nets, ropes, and tunnels that reached about 2 stories high.  I even joined in on the action and was soon reminded of just how old, and how tall, I was.  Will had a great time laughing at me every time I got stuck and kept telling me to "hurry up."