Our accomodations

I love a deal; Nathan doesn't mind splurging, especially on vacation.  We compromised by staying in the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. 

I wasn't too sure about it at first, but it worked out perfectly for our trip.  Besides an hour or so each morning, we were literally only at the cabin to sleep.  Nathan slept on the bed that pulled out of the wall (I am standing in the kitchenette taking the picture):

I slept in here with the kids.  This bed was allegedly a double, but I'm not buying it.   But did I mention we all slept great?

There was bus transportation throughout the resort, as well as to the different parks.  But to get to the Magic Kingdom, we rode a bus to the back of the park, and then took a boat:

The boat ride took about fifteen minutes and it was so nice not to have to deal with parking lot traffic!

We're back...

Yes, I'm well aware that the month is one-third over and I have only posted once.  A new record.  I promise I will make up for it in the days ahead.  Last week we switched things up a little bit, and I worked Tuesday.  My parents stayed over Thursday night on their way up to Boone, and Friday after preschool we started heading south with a quick detour to Kings Mountain to drop Colette off at her favorite place in the whole world.

Where did we go?  Disney!  I'll go into more detail later, but here are a few highlights:
-my kids actually slept like normal kids five straight nights in a row (in three different hotels)
-AAA has great Disney packages.  Even the penny pincher in me appreciated that we didn't have to move our car the whole time, we didn't have to have cash for food purchases, that the meal plan was ridiculously generous, and all the little perks made our trip more "magical" than it would have been if I had planned it myself.
-Florida has awesome weather in mid-November.
-Amelia is a freakin' chatterbox right now, but thankfully didn't seem interested in potty-training during the trip.
-Seth has taken to counting in Spanish...while in the bathroom.
-Nathan is participating in a challenge to run every day this month, and did not let vacation get in the way.  I took the week off...healing a boo-boo, not just lazy, I promise!
-Ida did not interrupt our play time, but it sure made the drive home less pleasant!

Halloween 2009

We hope everyone had a great Halloween!  Seth has always loved it as much as we do.  Amelia, not so much.  She did not really like wearing her costume.  She boycotted it at the costume party Tuesday.  The kids were supposed to wear their costumes to the YMCA Friday.  I put Amelia in her tutu.  I should have saved my money and just had her wear that this year.  Oh well.  Thursday night Nathan carved Seth's pumpkin.  Seth just wanted a simple jack-o-lantern this year...easiest pumpkin yet!

Amelia just colored "itsy" (spiders) all over her pumpkin, no carving required:

This year I got trick-or treat duty (and yes, I went out like this):

Amelia rode around for a few houses, and then she went home to help Nathan give out candy.

We bumped into Seth's neighborhood BFFs and ended up trick-or-treatin' with them (Seth is Spiderman):

We kept the kids up later to help with the time change...Seth took the bait, Amelia didn't.  Nathan said he heard her talking at 5:15.  Hopefully we'll get her transitioned quickly, it's another busy week around here!

20 months old

On Wednesay, Amelia turned 20 months old.  When she got her flu shot last week, she weighed almost 23.5 lbs.  She's lookin' really lean these days, and I have had to retire a lot of outfits this week.  Granted, they were 18 month outfits, but it's still sad!  This shirt has been one of my favorites:

...because it reminded me of another shirt:

My very first memory is of the day Bryan was born (mostly because the hospital bed had a remote control, but I also remember the neighbor sleeping at our house, and thinking my new outfit was the coolest thing ever.  "Big Sister" shirts have nothing on it!)

Another picture from later in the summer, four generations of the Swedish mafia (plus Bryan):

And now you see where Seth gets his teeth from.  (Someday I'll put a picture of my dad as a kid on here, and the blame can be passed on another generation..)

But back to Amelia.  She is still precocious.  She's starting to talk in little sentences:  "I miss you daddy", "I don't like it".  Her hair is a hot mess, but with three cowlicks (another one of my bad genes she inherited), I'm trying to let it grow until I can figure out what to do with it.  But it is long enough now to go back into a messy ponytail, it's pretty cute. 

Third annual Halloween party

After having to postpone for Seth's bug last week, we had our annual costume party Tuesday afternoon.  H1N1 is making its way through the Triad; we didn't have as good of turnout as in years past, but the kids that were there had a blast!  I love hosting the party, and I love that the kids love coming to the party every year!

Trunk or Treat 2009

Sunday evening our church held Trunk or Treat.  Seth had heard about it the week before, and immediately started coloring pairs of animals, gluing them to construction paper, and cutting them out.  The trunk contest was favorite Bible stories, and Seth knows Noah and "baby Jesus child".  Don't laugh at the finished product; all but the winner looked a lot like ours.  The kids had fun playing little games and doing crafts, and we ate hot dogs.  It was fun!

second annual Octobeery weekend

Seth came home early from school on Wednesday with a fever/virus, and with this year's guidelines, he was out of school for the rest of the week.  But he was feeling much better by Friday morning, so we were able to sneak off to Boone a couple hours early (Nathan left early Thursday morning for a golf trip with Eric and a bunch of other guys).  The vicars have Fridays and Saturdays off, and we have had this trip planned for a long time...but we didn't realize until we got there that we had also visited them on the same weekend last year!  Lisa and Michael live in the parsonage right next to Michael's church; there is access to a horse pasture on the other side of the church.  Michael was a true horse whisperer and coaxed the horses to us with a carrot.  The first day, four horses came to see us (the second day, Michael did not have any trouble getting all nine horses to visit...quick learners!)

Seth wanted to take a picture of everyone, Colette included:

Saturday morning we checked out the church's playground, fed the horses again, and drove to the outlet mall in Blowing Rock.  I found Seth's winter coat, and a new coat for me!  (Every year since 2004 I have said I was going to replace it, and every year I never get around to it...)  By the time we finished shopping, Boone was getting busy, because ASU had a home football game.  We ate lunch at Chikfila, but of course we had to talk to the cow first. 

Amelia could make it through the entire indoor playground unassisted, and wore herself out for the ride home.  It was a very nice way to break up the time when Nathan was gone.

(If you want to keep track of what Lisa and Michael are doing, their blog is listed in the right-hand column.)

Good Game!

Last night ended Seth's soccer season.  He has come a LONG way since the beginning of the season.  He loves the little drills they play and he is his team's biggest cheerleader during their scrimmages.  We think he will be a defender when he gets older.  Their scrimmages are three-on-three with an open goal.  Whenever the ball gets past the melee in the middle, Seth falls back to protect the goal.  He is also a very good scorekeeper, and is very excited to count both his and the other teams' goals.  He told me that the next time he plays, he will need new clothes.  Cleats, maybe, but I'm pretty sure his uniform will still fit.  Good game, Seth!

Ardmore 5k

Yesterday Nathan and I ran in the Ardmore 5k.  This was my first race ever.  I thought I was prepared.  And then I saw the weather forecast (cool)...which made me a little nervous.  Friday night we went to pick up our race packet and we drove the route.  There are some brutal hills in Ardmore.  The route looked a good 100 miles long.  I came home with nerves equivalent to those I experienced pre-c-section(s).  I contemplated bribing the other Sara to come into town and running in my place.  But I actually slept pretty well and by morning had control of my nerves, with my mental game intact.  Then five minutes pre-race, my geriatric iPod died, and I about panicked.  Nathan went to the front of the pack (because he's fast), and I gave myself one last pep talk and it was time to go.  I wasn't fast, and probably could have gone faster, but I ran the whole way, and passed a lot of people during the second half of the race.  Having not run hilly routes before, I was pretty proud of myself.  Nathan finished in under 23 minutes, and I finished at about 32 minutes. 

The great thing about these races is you're not only helping yourself out, you're supporting a cause.   The local food bank can make 100 meals out of each race registration, and I'm pretty sure there were over 500 participants yesterday.  That's going to help out a lot of people in need.  Here is our post-race picture (we did get race shirts the night before, but we did not run in them and the picture will not upload):

F is for freezing

Okay, it's not officially freezing, but last week we were wearing t-shirts, and this week has been cold and rainy.  Bleh!  Thursday Seth's class took their first field trip to the library to see a puppet show.  It was "The Three Little Pigs", and I was very worried I would never get who's afraid of the big bad wolf? tra-la-la-la-la out of my head afterwards, but the kids (Amelia included) really liked it.

Friday morning Melissa and I met at a Buckhead Betties warehouse sale in Greensboro.  Great deals!  I bought teacher gifts for Christmas and a few other things!  I will be back next year!  During Amelia's nap, Seth helped me give poor ol' scratchy Colette a bath.  She hated every minute of it.  When I was cleaning up afterwards, I found Seth like this:

You know you're skinny when you can fit inside a hanger.  Sheesh!  Seth got his flu shot Wednesday, and he's actually gained two pounds since birthday, but he's grown 1.5 inches, so you'd never know he's gained weight. 

Seth's creativity is still in bloom.  This weekend's project appears to be flowers.  When my dad asked him who the flowers were for, Seth said, "the girls" (smart boy).  Yesterday he asked me to cut out all these flowers; today he is making stems and sliding them through two slits I've cut in the middle of each flower.  This is all his idea.  Or Caillou's.

pumpkin patch 2009

Sunday, after both kids took BIG naps, I took the kids over to our favorite pumpkin patch while Nathan mowed the grass.  The guys that work there are super nice, and for $12.50, I came home with two smaller carving pumpkins, three tiny pumpkins, and a bag of apples.  I also came home with a blooper reel of photos.  Seth's posed smile right now makes him look like he's in pain, and Amelia just isn't fond of cameras.  Enjoy!

LR Homecoming 2009

Update to family history and new picture added!

In years past, I have probably used "LRC Homecoming 200-" for my titles; however, Lenoir-Rhyne is now a university, and I just can't quite get myself to say "LRU".  As I've mentioned before, we have a lot of alum on Nathan's side of the family.  Here is your official geneology lesson.  Nathan's PawPaw, Dorus Huss, went to LR (and so did his brother and sister).  Both Nathan's mom, Sarah, and her sister, Margaret, went to LR at the same time as one of their first cousins and met their husbands there.  Margaret and Tony's sons did not go to LR, but one of their wives (Suzanne) did.  Their daughter, Mary Margaret, did (her husband did not).  Now to the Mayses.  Marie, Nathan, and Elise all went to LR.  So did Eric and I.  And Elise met Chad during a semester in DC, so if it weren't for LR, they wouldn't have met.  The Jacksons have four grandchildren and the Mayses have six, so we may currently have one of the most bountiful family trees in recent LR history.  So Homecoming is really just a family reunion...bonus that we get to see old college friends as well!  And have I ever mentioned that the kids like playing with their cousins?

Will getting in some snuggle time with Brian:

We don't usually actually go to the game, but if we did, this trip to the bear would have been right before halftime.   The five oldest grandkids channeled their inner monkeys all day...if they weren't climbing the bear, they were trying to climb one of the trees nearest our tailgate.  But they were very good, considering naptime just didn't happen!

Earlier in the day, Amelia was afraid of the bear, but she was a tough cookie when she was playing with the big boys!

I'm fairly certain there are better pictures floating around on other cameras, I'll post/link others later if I find any!

Amelia, me, Tiff, and the chillest little guy you'll ever meet as we were closing up shop:

Dixie Classic Fair 2009

Nothing says early October like the Dixie Classic Fair coming into town.  Our weekends have been busy, so Nathan took Friday afternoon off and we headed to the fair after nap rest time.  (Amelia slept all of 20 minutes and then sang for the next hour.)  The kids were good, the weather was great, and the crowds weren't too bad at all.  We had a great time!

Last year's favorite ride was also this year's favorite ride (although the ferris wheel probably was a close second):

We went on not one, but two different carousels over the course of the afternoon.  Besides the little train, there's not much else Amelia can actually ride yet. 

The biggest hit was probably the petting zoo.  Amelia said to hello to every animal in the barn, and wanted to feed them herself (are you surprised?).  Seth also fed the animals, but he's an old pro at the fair now.

We got home just in time for baths and everyone went to bed early, we had another busy day ahead of us!

Take Flight Triathlon 2009

Nathan completed his second triathlon yesterday.  This one was in support of Garrett's Wings, and was located in Huntersville, NC.  He did great!  He started ninth, and passed four guys and tied with a fifth right at the end of the swim.  Each swimmer starts ten seconds after the person ahead of him/her, so obviously those guys weren't as fast as they said they were!

Next up, the bike ride...

...and then the run:

The race advertised bounce houses and pony rides for the kids, but they weren't there.  We had to entertain ourselves.  At least the music was pretty good:

Finish line!  (His actually time was 1:07:20)

And this is the race shirt:

Triathlon season is now over, and now it's running time.  We are running a 5k in two weeks. 

another home repair

Alternate title:  Yes, Grace.

Evidently I loved all the home improvements projects we did earlier this year so much that I decided to create just one more:

So last night I went into the attic to bring down the Halloween decorations.  I misstepped off the plywood and my foot slipped between it and the stud four inches away.  So now we have a 12-inch hole in our upstairs hallway.  Nathan has covered it with cardboard until the repairman can come fix it.  I am okay, but it looks like I'm going to have two baseball-sized bruises (darn platelets!).  Amelia was traumatized at first, and then spent the rest of the evening asking me if I was okay.  Seth kept asking me why I broke our house, and was more than willing to tattle on me to my parents this morning.  I have never seen so many emotions run across Nathan's face that fast, but I must admit, he was way nicer than I probably would have been if the roles had been reversed...I tend to freak out about unexpected expenses. 

"D" is for...

...not as many nouns as you'd think, we went generic this week for show-and-tell with "dinosaur".  And Seth wore his new drum shirt:

D is also for..."do you see a clue?"  The local children's theater presented "Blues Clues Live" last night.  Both kids really enjoyed it.  And we both enjoyed watching the kids have fun.  It was interactive, so luckily we didn't have to try to keep them quiet.  Each child in the audience got their own notebook to put their clues in:

D is also for..."didn't know there would be fun stuff going on at the Y this morning when I went to run".  The were having a family fun day.  The kids played in several different bounce houses...

...we ate snowcones, and I let the kids go on their very first pony rides (pardon my appearance, it was post-work-out.  

another baby in the house

...for twenty-four hours, anyways.  Elise spent Tuesday night with us, and of course Brian came with her.  Look at what a happy three-month-old he is!  And he's been sleeping through the night for weeks, I'm so jealous!  (He looks like he's on Team Sara, right?  Unfortunately, he gave his Uncle Nathan the same gummy grins...)

The kids LOVED having company.  Amelia played little momma the whole time.  She was queen of the burb cloth and pacifier, even when unnecessary.  Brian was very tolerant of all the attention.  We're so excited that we'll be able to see them again in less than two weeks for Homecoming!