thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving it was just the six of us; we had a nice, relaxing day and a wonderful dinner!

Sweet Ben and Little Miss Lexie (carrying on the family tradition of "olive fingers")

After dinner we decorated our Christmas tree.  The kids were excited to put up the ornaments they got at Disney World this year!

Lexie found a ballerina alligator ornament and HAD to have it.  Since she's obsessed with both alligators and ballet we figured it was a great representation of her 2011.

Jacob putting the star on the tree!

The kids always get Christmas pj's from Grandma and Grandpa and wear them while we decorate the tree and then throughout the holiday season.  I love getting pictures of them in matching pj's since it doesn't happen often!

Alexandra. Christopher. Nicholas. Benjamin.

After a fun-filled day we enjoyed some pie and then it was off to bed.

yellow belt test

Christopher has been taking karate for the past few months and in November, it was FINALLY time for him to test for his yellow belt.  He was so excited, especially because Grandma and Grandpa were in town to watch!!

Getting all lined up to test.

Kicks and punches.

Way to go, Christopher!!!!

fall fun (in pictures!)

We went to a local Farmer's Market to pick out our pumpkins this year.  The kids took their time and sorted through dozens of different ones before finding the perfect pumpkin.

Lexie fell in love with this bumpy pumpkin while the boys went with more traditional choices.

503d MP BN hosted a Fall Festival for all of the Soldiers and families.  The kids were excited to go horseback riding for the first time!!

We also painted pumpkins, went to the haunted house (at least Jacob, Nick, and Ben did), went on a hayride, and enjoyed the BBQ.

This year we made the kids pull the guts out of their pumpkins-- they enjoyed it!!

Lexie wasn't sure about it so Jacob had to shove her hand in.  And then she wanted to eat the seeds!

It was pouring rain and really cold out this year on Halloween so we ended up skipping trick-or-treating.

We put out candy for any daring trick-or-treaters and watched "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" 

Daisy Mae

charlotte-- dean & deluca

While we were in Charlotte we went to Dean & Deluca for breakfast every morning!!  We had our first taste of Dean & Deluca coffee in a gift pack we received after Christopher was born and we've been hooked ever since.  Though the locations are limited we go every time we're in a city that has one and everyone is hooked now.  They have the most amazing breakfast burritos, omelets, and pastries in addition to awesome coffee!!  We were definitely sad to say goodbye at the end of our trip.

charlotte-- the cowfish

After a busy day shopping and exploring Charlotte, we headed back over by the hotel to find something for dinner.  When we drove by the mall we saw a sign for "The Cowfish: Sushi, Burger, Bar" and were intrigued so we headed inside.  They're focused on offering both the best sushi AND the best burger in town.

The seared ahi tuna nachos and the little princess who loves ahi tuna.

Nick ordered sushi for dinner while Ben had the teriyaki chicken

Jacob and I shared a couple different types of rolls.

And then we all had the amazing "Apple Pie" Wontons for dessert!!

It was a delicious end to a fun-filled day in Charlotte and we all can't wait to go back!!

charlotte

Over Columbus Day weekend we headed west to check out Charlotte.  While not the capital of North Carolina, Charlotte is the largest city population-wise and interestingly, it is the second largest banking center in the US (following NYC).  We have been living in NC for over two years and never made our way to Charlotte so we figured it was time.  Plus, they have an IKEA AND a Jack in the Box!

We left bright and early (really, it was closer to 9) Friday morning and made it to Charlotte in time for lunch.  Our first stop of the day was IKEA where we had an AMAZING (and cheap!!) lunch-- we've definitely missed the swedish meatballs!!  After lunch we dropped the kids off for some free IKEA childcare and explored the furniture section ALONE!!  The hour seemed to go by way too quickly and it was time to pick the kids up and go through the second half of the store.  We didn't end up buying anything but it was a great way to spend the afternoon-- we were there for almost FOUR hours!!

We made the scenic drive through Charlotte-- it's a BEAUTIFUL city-- to our hotel and got checked in and unloaded the van.  Our hotel was "conveniently" located in the South Park Mall parking lot (ahhhhhhh, a REAL mall!!) so we walked over for some window shopping (and some real shopping at a&f kids) and dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (we don't have one of those in Fayetteville either!!).  Then we headed back to the hotel to get a good night's sleep before our busy Saturday.

Saturday (in pictures):

We started our day with an amazing breakfast at Dean and Deluca which quickly became our home away from home.  And yes, we knew some of the staff by name by the time we left Charlotte.  :)

And then headed downtown to check out Discovery Place- one of the leading hands-on science centers in the country!

We saw "Tornado Alley" in the IMAX dome theatre and Nicholas was ENTHRALLED

Nick thought this microscope that hooked up to the computer was the best thing ever.  We had to drag him out of this exhibit (after he inspected his hair and nails-- and all the rocks and shells that went with the microscope)

Scientist Lexie checking out some leaves

The touch tank is always a hit!!  Starfish and horseshoe crab.

It's Nemo!!  And a seahorse!!

Nick on a bed of nails

We learned about pulleys on the Pulley Chairs

Lexie and Ben had fun dancing-- every time they stepped on a color the music would change

Nicholas was really excited about the circuit board.  He wanted to take it home!

Everyone enjoyed the ride on the air chair-- a vacuum creates a pressure differential great enough to life people several feet in the air!!

Ben LOVED the Vortex Cannon that shoots a powerful blast of air.

We constructed floor plans, built buildings, and created cities

Jacob with the tower that he built!

While we were at Discovery Place Lexie got separated from the rest of us.  She was intently watching people at the Pulley Chairs and didn't realize that we moved on to the next exhibit so when I realized she was gone about a minute later I went back to find her crying hysterically.  I calmed her down and she made sure to hold my hand through the rest of the museum.  When we got to the museum store she found this white alligator with HUGE eyes.  Alligators are Lexie's favorite animal so of course she wanted to get the alligator.  When I told her that we weren't going to get it today her eyes welled up with tears and she said, "but the little alligator is lost and can't find her Momma!  Just like me!!"  So OBVIOUSLY, we ended up getting the alligator.

St Peter's Episcopal Church-- In 1865 Jefferson Davis and his retreating Confederate Cabinet worshipped at St Peter's following the assassination of President Lincoln

The Bank of America building-- the tallest building in Charlotte

After our fun day at Discovery Place we headed to Cabo Fish Taco-- a Guy Fieri "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" find for an awesome dinner and end to our day!

hurricane irene

At the end of August we got to experience our first hurricane since moving to North Carolina.  Though Hurricane Irene was predicted to make landfall in North Carolina as a Category 2 hurricane it was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall a few hours northeast of us.  We had strong winds and a good deal of rain but nothing as severe as was predicted.

Hurricane Irene rolling in

We lost power for a couple hours in the midst of the storm-- luckily during the day so no one was too scared!!  We stocked up on water and non-perishable foods (including MRE's) before the storm as well as some take-n-bake pizzas from Sam's Club.  Jacob made some AMAZING pizzas on the BBQ and to this day the kids prefer their pizza cooked on the grill!

Delicious BBQ'd pizza

By bedtime the storm had passed and we were able to enjoy a BEAUTIFUL sunset before everyone headed off to bed.

Amazing sunset.

first day of school 2011

So I am RIDICULOUSLY behind on the blog.  I'm hoping to be able to use what's left of the long weekend to get caught up, even if it means that posts are predominantly just pictures.

WAYYYYY back in August the boys started the 2011-2012 school year and they are all at different schools this year.  Christopher's school is 3-5 grade, Nick's is K-2 grade, and Ben is in Pre-K.  Our mornings are quite busy with getting Christopher to the bus stop and Nick and Ben to their schools.

Christopher- 3rd Grade.  Nicholas- 1st Grade.  Benjamin- Pre-K

remembering 9/11

I cannot believe that it has already been ten years since September 11, 2001.  At times it seems like it was yesterday-- I can vividly remember everything that happened that day.  I overslept (big surprise).  My roommate, Taryn, woke me up with the news that the World Trade Center had been hit by a plane; I thought that she was joking and I was annoyed with her for waking me up.  I went into the living room and turned on the TV.  Still consumed in feelings of disbelief, I watched in horror.  I called Jacob and he immediately headed over.  He too, was amazed and in shock.  We were all glued to the news for the next several hours watching the events of the day unfold.  I remember that we all ate Eggo waffles for breakfast, and even still, every time I have one I think of September 11.  We continued watching throughout the attack on the Pentagon and the crashing of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.  In between watching the events, we talked about what we would have done in the same situations.  We heard that gas prices were going to go up, so we each took our cars and filled them up.  When we got gas that afternoon, it was $1.35 a gallon.  We went out later that evening to get groceries and it was up to $4.25.  None of us went to our classes and later found out that they had in fact been cancelled.  Most of them were for the remainder of the week.

Our lives, like the lives of many Americans changed that day.  While none of us were directly affected by the attacks, as a country we were.  We (at the age of 19) were too young to remember anything like this happening in America before.  The most horrific war that we knew was the Gulf War – not even a war when compared to the great tragedies of the World Wars or even Korea or Vietnam.  We were not old enough to remember a brutal and deliberate attack on American soil, such as Pearl Harbor.  While we did know of things happening to Americans abroad, they never seemed as important because they weren’t happening here.  We, as well as others, remained in awe.  Horrified that something like this could happen in the US, we discussed the possibilities for the future.  We debated whether or not America should go to war and blow up Afghanistan as a whole, or take it slow to limit the number of innocent lives lost.  As one would expect, emotions did get the better of us at times and we thought the US should use any and all force to seek revenge.

In the decade since September 11, 2001, my life has drastically changed.  I'm no longer the naive 19-year-old pondering what America should do in response to the attacks on 9/11.  I've gotten married, had four kids, and proudly watched as Jacob enlisted and went off to war.  As a military family the events of September 11 and the subsequent "War on Terror" touch our lives more closely than I ever would have expected a decade ago.

I'm envious of those that are able to keep their kids shielded from the events of September 11.  Kids that are able to maintain their innocence for awhile longer, trusting that people are inherently good.  As "Army Brats", our kids have been exposed to war, death, and the tragedies of 9/11 younger than most.  In school they learned about what happened on September 11 and seemed to grasp most of it.  They understand that Daddy went to Iraq last year because of what happened that day.

However, this year we went into even more depth explaining it to them.  We watched "Nick News: The Story of 9/11" earlier this week and it did a great job of answering most of their questions.  And then this morning, for the first time ever, they watched the events unfold as they did a decade ago.  Christopher and Nicholas sat there in shock as they watched the planes fly into the towers.  Nicholas was deeply offended when the plane hit "the GREAT Pentagon", and they were both in awe as Flight 93 went down in PA.

I'm thankful that I got to spend today at the park playing with my kids.  And thankful that all six of us got to sit down to dinner together tonight.  I'm thankful for those that lost their lives a decade ago and those that have lost their lives fighting for our country since then.  I'm thankful, and proud, to be an American.

happy 8th birthday, christopher!

We celebrated Christopher's 8th (oh, where does the time go?) birthday this month!  Per his request we went to see Smurfs in 3D and followed it with dinner at Mellow Mushroom- his fave pizza place!  We came home to do cake (brownie sundaes) and presents and HAAAAAD to do Christopher's yearly fake "surprise" party.  One of these years we'll have to do a real one a few weeks early!!  :)

It's MYYY birthday?!  I'm so surprised!!

The birthday boy with his presents!

Little Miss Lexie

Ben watching intently as Christopher opens presents and showing off his new glasses!

Daisy Mae

The birthday boy making a wish!!