New York City!!

I promise I haven't quite given up on the blog - I just can't seem to keep up!

The weekend before Thanksgiving, one of Josh's vendors inviting him to New York City for a 2 day conference. We had some airline tickets that we needed to use in the coming months, so the kids and I tagged along and we turned the trip into a long weekend visit. We flew in early on a Thursday morning - it was a little chaotic, as Bear and I were on a different airline than Lily and Josh, but we met up in New York and rode together into Manhattan.

As soon as we got checked in (we stayed in Times Square at the Marriott Marquis - AMAZING!!), Josh had to head off to his conference. It was rainy and very cold, but the kids and I braved a bit of sightseeing in Times Square. We loved the huge Disney Store and spent over a hour in there looking at all the fun items. We then headed to the M&M store and Hershey store for a quick snack before going back to the room for naps.

Bear and Lily in front of the M&M dispensers - so many colors to pick from.

Helping make some Hershey kisses

I have a similar picture of Josh holding the huge Hershey syrup bottle - my boys love them some chocolate milk!

Daddy got done working while we were napping and we headed out for a night time tour of Times Square.

The huge ToysRUs was our first stop - the kids had been begging to go that afternoon, but I wanted Josh to get to be there for that. The kids were absolutely amazed by the toy story. They loved the Ferris wheel inside the store, so of course, we had to ride it!

Bear has gotten really into super heroes recently - he loved spotting SuperMan from the Ferris wheel ride.

We did a bit more sightseeing, had dinner, and then called it a day!

On day 2, Josh was up bright and early to finish the conference. Lily, Bear and I bundled up and headed towards Rockefeller Center. We waited and got tickets for a 5pm show that night of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and then watched the ice skaters at Rockefeller Center. We stumbled across a Legoland store which had the most amazing Lego creations. Here is Bear and Lily checking out the Rockefeller Center replica.

Since we took our trip so close to Bear's birthday, we skipped having a big birthday party this year and let him pick out some extra things while in New York. He had gotten a few things at ToysRUs the night before, but loved his first Lego set he picked out too!

After leaving LegoLand, we walked - and walked - and walked, to 34th Street to the big Macy's. The kids were troopers, especially Lily. She loved the atmosphere and hardly complained at all! Bear got a little sluggish towards the end, but I was so proud of them both. Along the way, we got to see lots of store windows decked out for Christmas.

We were meeting a friend for lunch at Macy's, so while waiting, we took advantage of a Letters to Santa station and wrote some quick notes to send to the North Pole!

We had lunch - after going to every floor via the escalator, and then took a cab back to the hotel (one of the highlights of Bear's trip). I struggled to get the kids to take a quick nap, as we had a busy afternoon and evening still awaiting us. Once Josh was done working, we got dressed and went to see the Empire State Building. The line was a bit long and the usher offered a group of us to climb the remaining 6 flights to the top. Let's just say we have a new appreciation for the brave firefighters who carried grown mean out of the Twin Towers - we struggled carrying a 5 and almost 3 year old up the steep flights of stairs.

The view was worth the workout though - it was a clear afternoon and we could see a ton more than when I went before.

Once we finished at the Empire State Building, we hailed a cab (or so we thought - black town cars are much more expensive than yellow cabs :) ) and headed to Radio City Music Hall.

Lily, her doll Elizabeth, and Daddy in line for the show.

Bear trying out his 3D glasses before the show - he lasted through 2 or 3 acts and then fell asleep! So thankful that I had gotten a discount on our tickets, so his was technically "free".

Lily and Elizabeth - Lily loved the show. She was mesmerized by the Rockettes and was so disappointed when she realized Bear missed the big Nativity finale!

One of the few pics that turned out - no flash and my amateur camera skills weren't a good combination.

The amazing Nativity finale! Though I'd seen it before, it brought tears to my eyes again! Such a great way to kick off the Christmas season and the celebration of our Savior's birth!

Bear woke up once the show was over and enjoyed a birthday dinner at Johnny's. The waitstaff even sang to him when they brought out the huge slice of cheesecake he wanted!

We had Daddy all day on Saturday - no more conference. We walked toward 5th Avenue, making a quick stop for him to see Rockefeller Center.

The big Christmas tree was up, but not yet lit! I couldn't believe all the scaffolding required to decorate the tree. It is massive!

Bear strolled down 5th Avenue on Daddy's shoulders...he was not excited about the day, but rather wanted to stay in the hotel and "play". Riding on Daddy's shoulders was the only way we could get him to cooperate.

We had a quick breakfast and then waited on FAO Schwarz to open. We were actually there when the toy soldiers unlocked the door and all the employees were lined up singing and cheering - it was a great memory!

Bear perked up once in the store - he loved all the stuffed animals. We finally convinced him to pick just one, but I think he would have brought home a zoo if we had let him!

Posing in the colorful candy store

Lily and one of the toy soldiers

After window shopping up 5th Avenue, we made our way back to the American Girl Place. Lily was so excited to go and was planning to just get Elizabeth's hair done and pick out a new outfit for her.

After seeing the pure joy on her face, Daddy happily told her she could pick out a new doll too! Sweet girl was so excited! Bear and Daddy headed back to the room to "play" while we got Elizabeth's makeover done and picked out a new doll to bring home!

Watching Elizabeth's stylist braid her hair.

Pretty girls!

Lily picked out a new doll - one that looks like her with short brown hair. She is loving having 2 best doll friends now! We spent the rest of Saturday resting, taking one last walk through Times Square for souvenirs and had dinner at our hotel. Our trip was such fun and full of memories that we will always cherish! Lily is definitely a "city" girl just like her daddy and I can just see Daddy/Daughter trips to New York in Josh's future!

Fall in a Flash

In case you've been wondering how we spent our fall...

We had a blast at the annual CCC Fall Festival - bouncy houses, train rides, and a dragon egg hunt when the sun went down!

We painted pumpkins at our local Chick-fil-a

We celebrated Halloween with Bear's preschool class - look at all those crazy characters! I'm a little partial to that cute little Superman!

We cheered Lily on during the CPS Book Character Parade

Lily chose to be Angelina Ballerina this year.

We took a Sunday morning drive up to the North Georgia Mountains - such beautiful color and views!

We had tons of fun bobbing for apples and riding on a hay ride at the Adams annual Halloween party.

We got our fill of candy at CFBC's Candy and Costumes event on Halloween night

We made lots of animal friends while on Bear's class field trip to a local farm!

Fall flew by...and so has December! More blog updates to come soon, including a little man's 4th birthday!

Fun Fall Weekend

Earlier in October, my parents came down for a long weekend visit over Fall Break! They had tons of fun entertaining Lily and Bear on Friday while Josh and I were at work! As a treat, we headed to North Georgia for a fun Saturday day trip.

Our first stop was Hillcrest Orchards for some apple picking and farm fun! This was such a fun place to visit and we will definitely come back again next year! There were lots of play areas for the kids, a wagon ride, apple picking, and lots of yummy (and bad for you) festival food!

Welcome to Hillcrest Orchards

Riding the trikes, with a little help from Granddaddy

Lily loved bouncing on the huge jumping pillow...Bear did not :(

On the wagon ride

We picked some delicious apples - the pickings were slim on the trees since it was late in the season. We were able to buy many more in the apple store!

After spending the morning at the orchard, we headed down the road to Burt's Pumpkin Patch. I've never been to Burt's but have always heard a lot about it. Since we were so close, we decided to stop and look around! The pumpkins were huge - and there were sooo many of them! We took a few pictures and had a snack and then continued down the mountain road!

Our last stop was Amicola Falls...everyone else seemed to have the same idea as us as it was so crowded! We drove to the top of the falls and could hardly find a place to park. It was a beautiful fall day and we spent some time playing outdoors and enjoying our surroundings!

This little boy is becoming "all boy" right before my very eyes! He loves to play in the dirt, throw rocks in the water, and find sticks to use as tools. I'm sure the day is fast approaching when I'm going to find frogs or bugs in his pockets from his outdoor adventures!

Such a fun way to spend a fall weekend!

Kindergarten Bible Presentation

Each year, our church presents the kindergarten students with their very own Bible. I just love the preschool and children's ministry in our church. They do such a good job showing our kids the importance of learning and knowing God's word. Last Sunday morning, Lily and her friends were brought into the sanctuary and presented with their Bibles.

Pretty Smiles!

Love that there are sooo many kindergarteners in our church and love getting to see the friendships Lily is developing with so many of them! I know this foundation will be so important as she gets further in her school years and faces temptations and obstacles in her faith!

Getting her Bible from are wonderful children's minister, Mrs. Lisa

Lily and Mallory checking out each others new Bibles

Roll Tide and Fall Festival

It is finally starting to feel a bit like fall in Georgia - football is on tv, my pumpkins and mums are on the front porch, and festivals are in full swing!

Last Saturday, Lily's school held their annual fall festival! We of course had to support our Crimson Tide since it was a big football Saturday!

The festival is a big fundraiser for the school and it always so much fun. Lily and Bear had their faces painted, played lots of games, and went on a hay ride. Each class decorates a pumpkin and puts together a basket which are then bid on during the festival. We didn't win a basket, but did get to bring home Lily's class pumpkin!

Bear wanted his face painted like a rabbit - he looked soo cute!

Cake Walk

Fishing for treats

Emma, Lily and Bear at the BINGO table

We left the festival and headed to a birthday party and home to watch football! What a great fall Saturday!

Fire Department Field Trip

Bear's class had their annual trip to the Cartersville Fire Department a few weeks ago. The field trip was the day we returned from SC and Granddaddy's funeral, so we were excited that we were able to make it back in time. Bear loves fire trucks and often times will say that he wants to be a fireman when he grows up - this trip is always a great time for him!

The firemen do a great job trying to get the kids comfortable with them, in the event they are ever involved in a fire. They dress up in full uniform and let the kids come up to see that they are really the same person, just with big protective clothes on. Bear loved getting to give the fireman high fives as hard as he could!

They got to climb through the truck and Bear even climbed up into the driver's seat! He was in heaven, pretending to drive the big red engine.

Each child got a fireman's hat and badge to wear - they even had pink hats for the girls!

Bear's precious 3 year old preschool class - it's impossible to get 10 kids to smile all at once for a picture. This is as good as it gets!

Soccer

This fall, Bear is getting his first chance to play an "organized" sport - soccer! He's playing in a Under 4 league that meets each Friday evening for about a hour. They aren't really on a team, but rather break into groups and learn basic skills and fundamentals. It has been the cutest thing ever! Some of the kids are really good - they look like they've been dribbling a soccer ball since they were in the womb. Others are trying so hard to learn, but still don't quite have the motor development to put it all together! And the rest - my sweet Bear included - think it is playtime and love to goof off and see how much attention they can get from the instructors :)

Notice the 5 kids listening well - and Bear doing his own thing!

Sweet boy - he spends more time on the ground than on his feet! His favorite thing to do is stop the ball with his foot and then topple over on the ground.

Here's one drill where he was trying really hard - he ran hard and kicked the ball in the net! Goal!

I'll add more pictures later - this was their first night and they've gotten cute little jerseys since then. They've also been playing a few "games" and it is classic little kids sporting events - kids playing in the grass, kids picking up the ball instead of kicking, and kids tackling each other (again - Bear is in this category and I'm thinking he might be better suited for football). We've had a great time and I think Bear has really enjoyed this "first" sporting experience!