How to Do the Zoo

Our last hurrah in the south was Zoo Atlanta!

Here's how we do the Zoo:

1. 

Let the toddler direct traffic.  Just make sure the map is right-side up...you got it Layne!

2.

Do not be afraid to become one with the animals.  Monkey around a little!

3.
When your little legs get tired, be on the lookout for a free ride.

and then park the baby on your lap to draw attention away from the 30 year old dude being pushed around by his wife!

4.

Get the panda hand-stamp on both hands!  Way more fascinating than the actual panda!  Especially to the 2 year old!

5.

Pet the pot-belly-pig.

and the sheep and the llamas.  Just don't get caught downwind!

6.

Just wash around the panda hand stamps.  You aren't going to win this one.  And really, a little dirt on their hands just builds up immunity.  And those stamps will bring smiles for the next week.    

Santa's Lap

My 3 little kids know Santa.  They watch the Santa Claus 1, 2, and 3 movies numerous times each December.  They have it all figured out!  Abbey has taken a guess that the Santas at the malls are obviously not the "real Santa" but helpers or elves dressed up.  Because we have Buddy taking all our messages straight to the North Pole, she wasn't too concerned with seeing Santa.  But Layne is another story.  She has been begging to sit on Santa's lap.  She has promised me, in her 2-year-old language, that she won't cry...he's not scary.  She goes crazy each time we are at the mall and we catch a glimpse of his snowy white beard and red suit.  We have hit long lines and the dreaded "gone on break" sign each time we have attempted, so I thought we would just see the Atlanta, Georgia Santa.

This is as close as we got!  This 2 year old may never speak to me again!  As we practically skipped through the empty line dividers, I was abruptly stopped by the guy who was in charge, who was sadly not wearing the red suit.  I got up to speed quickly.  I had to have an appointment to see Santa.  The only "walk-in" days were Fridays and Saturdays, and I could expect to wait up to 5 hours on those days.  Every Santa in the state operated the same and I would have to go home and call the appointment line to have a shot at sitting on Santa's lap before Christmas.  Seriously.  I had no idea that Santa had gone union!  More importantly, I had no idea how my kids were going to see Santa with just a few days before Christmas.  Sean and Ashley thought the appointment Santa was as crazy as we did, so Ashley came up with a plan!  She works at the Forum and had spotted a great Santa there, with Mrs. Claus and a sleigh.  With no advertised appointments necessary we headed up there.

and this little one got to sit on Santa's lap!  No tears!  A little bit of a concerned look, but that didn't keep her from hopping in the sleigh!

and then we all really wanted to hop in the sleigh too!

Airborn

LAX to ATL

Early Gifts

Handmade.  Little treasures made with special care and given with enormous excitement.

I'm Getting Nothing For Christmas

Let the kindergarten festivities begin!

The decorations, the songs, the musical instruments, the smiles and giggles...there is nothing more fun than this little class of kindergarteners performing!  They just eat up the attention and applause, and we ate up their delicious personalities!  Landen has been singing bits and pieces of "I'm Getting Nothing for Christmas"...or maybe that isn't the real title...but that is what they love to belt out!  We have been hearing it for weeks, as a solo.  Today, we got the whole production!  Hilarious!  No wonder it was Landen's favorite tune.

The front row with bells in hand.  They were so cute concentrating hard to ring at the right times.  It was a huge hit!  The room was filled with handmade holiday decor...above is Landen's snow globe.  

Layne clapped and cheered for Landos and Royal and I grinned at our little guy singing his heart out!  Let the holidays begin!

Packing our Suitcases, and Checking them Twice

We are headed to Atlanta for Christmas this year.  We'll stay at Uncle Sean's house for 2 whole weeks!  We are so excited!  There have been a few concerns as to where our presents will go and how big they will be because we will have to carry them home on an airplane.  Abbey has written Buddy (our elf) numerous notes to explain the situation.  She has come up with many options for Santa, so I think we are covered.  Landen can't wait to play with Mimi and Mai Tai and sleep at their house, maybe even in Mai Tai's bed.  Santa baby, above, is hoping to speed things up a bit by climbing into the suitcase herself!  Perhaps she'll reach the east coast a little quicker as luggage!  Soon enough, this suitcase will top off at it's 50 pound limit and we will be off on our Christmas Vacation!

Christmas Jammies Have Arrived!

Around the House

Since we are spending Christmas back east this year, we almost skipped the tree.  Well, I guess I mostly dreamed of skipping the tree, the lights, the decorating, the stockings.  But, the kids.  It's all about the kids.  Funny how that happens.  Landen began begging for the Christmas tree to make an appearance on Thanksgiving Day, and it went up, on Thanksgiving Day!  In record breaking time, we had it decorated, along with the rest of the house.  We even strung some lights on the trees and bushes in the front yard!  There is something magical about twinkle lights all around the house and the sparkling reds and greens on every shelf.  I'm so glad we didn't miss out.  Even if Santa won't see our house this year, we enjoyed it.

decorating the tree

landen's boat tree

abbey decorating her tree

some sparkle

The rain came down, but the party went on!

I woke up this morning to two little kids in my bed and pouring rain outside the window.  The rain was predicted, but sharing my bed with Abbey and Landen for part of the night, was not.  Something about bad dreams, and it's funny that if one comes into our bed, the other one is sure to follow.  Thanks goodness Layne is still in a crib because a king-size bed is really not built for 5!

We all rolled over and took bets as to whether or not Abbey's final soccer game scheduled for 12:30 this afternoon would go on.  An email confirmed that they would play!  I was sure they wouldn't send out 7 year old girls in the mud and rain, but when it's the last day of the season, they do!

It was windy and chilly, but the rain stopped just long enough for these girls to play.  The game was a dogfight, and we didn't come out on top, but the girls played hard and finished with smiles all around.

The girls and Coach Tom agreed that they finished up just a little too clean, so they found themselves a mudhole and 9 little girls wrestled their coach to the ground!

We brushed off as much mud as we could and piled into the cars just as another downpour hit.  Perfect timing.  Off to our season finale pizza party!

It was such a fun team!  We will miss the Electric Orcas and their mean soccer game!

We had pizza and we had cake!  Homemade from my kitchen!  It was an undertaking and sometimes I wonder why I offer to make these things in the first place.  Like at 11pm last night when I ran out of powdered sugar and that big square cake had only been dirty-iced!  Or when the moist-delicious corners were cracking apart!  Luckily, an early trip to Walmart and a few pounds more of buttercream did the trick!  Not perfection, but I think it was a fun addition to our party!  And the girls loved cutting into that soccer ball!

Kindergarten Thanksgiving

There are close to 30 little squirrelly kindergarteners in Ms. B's class in room 221.  I know most of their names because I get to go in, every other Tuesday, to help with centers.  Maybe half of them know my name.  Most of them just know me as Landen's mom.  I love these times to be a part of the classroom.  I get to color and paste and read to these little people and be with Landen and I get a close look at what he's learning and how he's doing!

Today, these little squirrelly kindergarteners were all lined up, wearing their best-behavior faces, and singing about turkeys and Thanksgiving while almost 60 parents beamed with pride!  They are so cute as they concentrate on the words and the hand motions and then break concentration for just a second to look up and make eye contact with mom and dad!  I have to admit that part of me is beaming with pride and another part of me is crossing my fingers that Landen stays still and makes it through the whole performance.  He has a bad history.  In preschool last year, he glued himself to my leg, turned on the tears, and refused to go up and sing.  Both performances.  In the primary program at church, he goes up happily, then makes a racket through the whole hour-long sacrament meeting.  Our last program was just last month.  I couldn't decide whether to crawl under the pew and hide or run to the front and pull him off the stand.  I think the combination of him jumping up and down, whacking the girl behind him, making funny faces, and then pulling his shirt collar over his head, for the entire program, just got a little embarrassing!

I'm proud to report that he did great today!  He sat still, sang, smiled, and raised his day-of-the-week sign at the perfect times!  Kindergarten has done wonders for this boy!  We finished off the afternoon with a popcorn turkey and plate of Thanksgiving treats outside.

Sights

It's good to live in San Clemente.  If you hit the pier on a Saturday morning, you have gone on a little vacation.  If you hit the beach trail and run 9 miles, the vacation ends abruptly.  But, the sights are beautiful.

Future Soccer Star

She'll play soccer one day.  She'll run up and down the field in her soccer jersey and cleats as her mom and dad cheer her on from the sidelines.  Just a few short years away.  In the meantime, she does have a few things figured out.  It's just as fun to bounce the ball and throw the ball and carry the ball as it is to kick it.  It's much easier to score a goal coming in from the back.  And, there's a handy hole in the net that makes it a sure thing.  It's fun to play and it's fun to watch.  But even if you don't participate in either way, a cute smile is sure to get you a gatorade and a snack when the whistle ends the game.   

Trunk or Treat

After the shoot-out on our doorstep, we took these little cowboys and their trick-or-treat bags for some candy at the Trunk-or-Treat.  

Woody and Jesse

Layne wasn't thrilled about getting up from her nap and getting thrown into the car, but when she saw the candy, she was one happy camper.

Layne dressed as the rag doll (from Toy Story 3) and Royal sporting his authentic 1980's flannel

Abbey met up with another cowgirl...

Abbey and Delaney

After dark, the trunks popped open, and the trick-or-treat stampede began!

peeking at her candy                        collecting candy                               sorting candy   

Everyone got to sample a few treats from their bags.  

          maybe more than a few!

And then, it was time to head inside.

Goodnight spooks and monsters and pumpkins and cowboys.

Spooky Treats

have some cookies draped in spider webs

or some haunted brownie bites

for a more substantial bite, choose eyeball taco salad

with a few mummy dogs on the side

wash it all down with a glass of magic potion

and ensure a house full of happy little halloweenies