2nd (3rd) Birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas in 7 days or less....

We had a whirlwind Thanksgiving week. We picked Jake's mom Diane up from the Austin airport on Saturday afternoon and didn't stop moving and shaking for the next week. On Sunday we had a nice pancake breakfast before Grandma and I hit the shopping. In just under 2 hours we completed all of our Christmas shopping. Amazing!

Monday was Baleigh's actual Birthday so we picked up the cake we had ordered the week before to have with dinner. She loved her princess cake and managed to get enough frosting on her to look a little like the cake herself.

Tuesday I had to work so everyone else spent time at the park and doing a little more shopping. We went out to dinner on Tuesday night to an Asian Buffet that we like here in town and the kids learned to use chopsticks- its amazing what kids can do in under and hour! After our international affair we drove out to BLORA to see the Nature In Lights show. We drove through the park looking at over 100 Christmas light displays - it was really beautiful and the kids enjoyed it so much.

Wednesday morning I got up and took the kids to my Brigade Turkey Bowl on post. That allowed Jake and Diane an opportunity to sleep in a little. That and Grandma wanted to do some of the Turkey day cooking so she did the day before things like the pumpkin pies and stuffing for the turkey. That afternoon we took the kids to see Tangled 3D. They didn't want to wear the glasses but still enjoyed the movie immensely.

 Thursday morning the kids and I got up early and stuffed the bird and finished up the rest of the side dishes. When Jake and Diane got up we were able to sit and relax until lunch time. Lunch was amazing. Diane shared two family recipes with me and I was so excited to learn how to make the holiday potato bread (that both Jake and I love) as well as her version of pumpkin pie....its just better than mine and such an easy recipe.

We all stuffed ourselves and then went into our respective food comas.

We had decided to celebrate Christmas on Friday with Grandma since we will be with the Nielsen family on actual Christmas. At 1:30 on Friday morning I headed out to do what little Black Friday shopping I wanted to do. I got to Kohl's and got in line (15th in line wasn't too shabby) for their 3 AM opening. I had planned out my shopping strategy earlier in the week so that I could be done with shopping and back in bed before 4AM. I got in snatched up my treasures and was checked out before 3:18 AM!

At 6AM Thor and Baleigh both popped awake and were ready to see what Santa had brought. They got games (board games are the new greatest thing lately), and each got a digital camera (thank you Kohl's black friday sale- I saved $110 just on those), and several new outfits. Then we sat them both down and had them close their eyes while Jake brought in the holy grail of Christmas presents. Thor got a bike and Baleigh got a motorized Motorcycle (Hot pink!). I am going to try and upload the video of their reaction to it - it was priceless! I think that Grandma was just as excited about her new Kindle as the kids were about their bikes. lol It was really nice to finally get her something that she truly wanted.

Saturday morning we all piled in the car at 5:30 AM to take Diane back to the airport. Baleigh was so upset when she got out to leave- She kept saying "I'm gonna miss grandma!" - poor kid.

Overall it was  a great week- now we need to start prepping for the Christmas in 4 weeks. So excited!

BBQ, Road Trip, and Giant Pandas...

We decided this year that since we don't live close to family that celebrating birthdays would become a nuclear family thing. Thor really wanted to see Killer Whales and Baleigh wanted to see Giant Pandas. Pandas are only located in three zoos in the US. SanDiego, Atlanta, and Memphis. So Memphis won because it was the closest, and Jake and I have wanted to go there for almost a decade.

We went over Veteran's Day weekend since I had 4 days off. I had been in the field for 11 days before that so it was nice to spend some quality time with my family. We headed out on Friday morning not knowing exactly where we were going to stop and a loose plan that we would get to Memphis around 9PM. We stopped for a great lunch in a little town in Arkansas(my first time in Arkansas BTW). The Bodacious BBQ was just that BODACIOUS! We weren't sure what to expect but it was amazing. In fact it was so filling that we didn't actually make it around to eating again until the next morning! I would say it it the second best BBQ place I have ever been too and we have been to alot of places in the past couple of years.

We made it to Memphis around 8:30PM and drove down to Beale St. The best way I can describe it is its like an old down town area that has a bunch of shops and bars on it. It is closed off to traffic at night and so we took the kids for a walk down it. Baleigh was in her own little word -skipping along with her hands in her pockets. So cute. We saw horse drawn carriages and Thor wanted a ride so badly. Baleigh however was reluctant. One guy told her she could sit in his carriage and see if she liked it- she got in and immediately said "I'm just like a princess"?! And that was that. We took a 45 minute ride around what looks like a really beautiful city. Our guide told us about the typical things that tourists do and then gave us the 411 on where to go and what to do with two toddlers. His first suggestion was the Zoo which we were going to anyway but he also advised us against spending a hefty amount on Graceland admission. He said you can get a good look at the mansion without actually going in and that the kids would most likely be really disinterested in what there was there. Kind of disheartening but good to know.

Zoo day dawned bright and beautiful! We grabbed a quick breakfast of muffins in the hotel lobby and raced to the zoo. We were the second car in the parking lot -even after getting a bit disoriented - not lost. I take full responsibility for that as the navigator. The zoo did not disappoint. All the animals were very active and the exhibits are designed in such a way that there is no bad vantage point. Each animal is in an area that is surrounded by buildings that look like they would be found in the area they are from as well as vegetation that is native to their home.We saved the best for last - Le Le and Ya Ya - the Giant Pandas. Baleigh was SO excited to finally get to see them. She ran back and forth to their enclosures trying to get as close as she could.

We made a pit stop in the China Gift Shop. Here she chose a baby Le Le of her very own and a hat and t-shirt to commemorate the trip. She couldn't have been happier.

We had not eaten all day so we headed to a famous BBQ place on the other side of the city. However, when we got there we discovered that it was only open from 4 PM to 3 AM. So we opted to go to the Neeley's (a couple who has a show on food network). Gotta say - worst dining experience/food EVER! : ) I guess we should have read the reviews because of the 100+ on the site I checked out afterward there was not a single positive review.

On that note we headed back to Texas. We had thought that we would stop around the Texas/Arkansas state line but by then the kids and I were sleeping and our amazing pilot drove us home getting us there at midnight. It was so nice to sleep in our own beds and still have two days off before heading back to work. We loved Memphis overall, and Graceland will still be there next visit.

                                                          Memphis Bound!

                                                              Pink Panda Cupcakes - as requested

Halloween 2010

Last year in Missouri we had a stellar Halloween and were looking forward to the same here in Texas. This year Thor decided he wanted to be a Puma. You would not believe how hard it is to find animal costumes for a 4 year old. We could find black cat like costumes that I could have altered for him but he had his heart set on looking like a mountain lion. We scoured the internet and all the local stores to no avail. In the end he changed his mind and decided he would be a leopard. We found one costume that fit that bill and it still needed to be altered to fit him. He loved it though.

Baleigh was SUPER easy to shop for. She walked into target looked at the costumes and decided right then and there she wanted to be a lion. So a lion she was. She wore that costume for three weeks solid before Halloween and for a couple weeks after.

We went trick or treating in the town just north of Killeen the night before Halloween since Halloween was on a Sunday this year and I was leaving for the field early on that following Monday.

The kids had a blast! Baleigh found a few places a little scary but Thor soldiered on and got candy for the two of them at those places. They both walked at least a mile before deciding they had had enough. I have never seen such a good haul.

The following night we handed out candy in our driveway. Apparently our neighborhood is notorious for giving out good candy because we got mobbed and were out of candy(we had 10 lbs) in less than an hour. The kids even ended up giving away a good bit of the candy they had gotten the night before. I think it was just as much fun for them to give it out as it was to go trick or treating. They are such generous kids.

Thor's Birthday

Its been forever since I last updated the blog so here goes.

For Thor's 4th Birthday we drove down to San Antonio to go to Sea World. Every part of it rocked his (and everyone else's) world. Seeing an Orca that close up is truly a wonder. The sheer size is enough to make you stop and gape, but to see them do flips and tricks with such ease is amazing.

The day we went was really perfect. It was starting too cool off and was on a weekday so the park was virtually empty. We stopped for a pancake birthday breakfast before hitting the park and then hit the ground running. We saw the dolphin show which features acrobats and is combined with an exotic bird show as well. Strangely enough Thor's favorite part of that was the part where the Macaw's flew right over our heads multiple times.

He had the opportunity to go shopping in Shamu's gift shop and came out with a 4 foot Orca who has slept with him every night since.

When we got home he helped me make and decorate a his cake with Orcas. IT was fun to have some time doing that together and he really liked the cake. We haven't quite made it to Cake Boss status yet but we are trying.

its been forever