Halloweeney, American Girl Store, Lake Day, Snowboarding, and more....

Halloween has come and gone, and Thanksgiving is this week!  I've been feeling the pressure from all the eager Christmas warriors who like to pave the way and put their trees up as the Jack-o-lanterns cave in.  Can we have some turkey first people...please???  So, once again, I'm short on time, and falling behind on my blog.  Shopping for Christmas?  Visiting Santa?  Christmas card pictures?  Oh, the pressure of the joyous holidays.  Can I just sleep until 2015?  Haha.  I guess I better get started!

So, here are pictures from various Halloween events...our annual visit to The Morrison Spooktacular, the kid's school Halloween celebrations, and of course, HALLOWEEN!  There was NO questioning what either kid wanted to be this year.  Payton went with something original.  "Elsa," from "Frozen," as did EVERY other little girl aged 4-7.  Of the 5 girls in her class, 4 of them were Elsa.  Griffin, well he's all into Transformers.  He was "Optimus Prime," one of the good guys.  He did run into 2 other Optimus Primes over the course of the Halloween adventures, and he was SO happy to see another little dude dressed like him.  (After seeing the 74th Elsa, he began to wonder why he hadn't seen any other Optimus Primes).  So, here you are....our Halloween adventures.  Hey, even Mom and Dad dressed up this year!!

Anna and Payton...or should I say "Rapunzel and Elsa?"

There is just something so special about a father-daughter connection!

My friend, Bryan Paschal, who was a great sport to let all the kids tug on him, and his new bride, Tonya.

I can't get enough of these two!  Best of friends!

From front...Chloe, Pav, Allison, ?, Brooke, Sierra...

The prettiest Elsa I've ever seen!

Zata, Griffin...

Zata, Griffin, Robert, Reece, Betito, Nolan

Lauren, Brooklyn, ?, ?, Jackson, Branner, Ella, Payton, and Anna

Reese, Robert, Charlie, Betito, ?, Griffin, Noah, Nolan, Toley, Kennedy, Zata, and Stella

Payton, Griffin, Marley, and Reese...best buds!

Katherine, I mean "Cruella," and her awesome makeup job!

Maleficent and Cruella DeVille

Buddy the Elf and "Zipper Face"-sidenote, Griffin called Brian "zipper face" all night.  Hey!  Zipper Face!  Look at all this candy.  Hey-Zipper Face!  Come with me this way.  Too funny.

Look at those tears...smile!  it's not a rough life, Minnie Mouse.

JC dressed as yours truly for Halloween.  The resemblance is uncanny.  He and Brian were going to a Halloween party, and I stayed with the kids.  So, JC went as me, with Brian, in my absence.  Too funny!

He had to carry the wine glass to make the outfit complete :)

Little Reesie!

Marley (5.5) and Payton (4.5)...best of friends

I made the kids "rest" before the two birthday parties they had on this afternoon, while I got ready....this is what I came upstairs to find.  So sweet.  So peaceful.  I hated to wake them up to leave!

At Pav's 5th "Ninja" birthday party!

I love this of Payton and her "sister" Chloe...they look so tough!

Toley and Griffin...always acting up!

HIIIII-YAH!

We left Pav's party and headed straight to Brooklyn's party. Guess what?  It was another karate-similar party!  The kids LOVED both of them, and were full of cake and cupcakes!

Payton was really good at this stuff...may be looking into getting her in a class soon!

G$ has ups!  And yes, I photobombed my own picture.  haha.

Payton and her friends, Brooklyn and Lexie.

We hosted some of our favorite friends, the Blackwells, for dinner one night.  I had done a little mini Christmas photoshoot for them, and our night turned out later, and way more fun, than expected.  It actually turned into a sleepover, and everyone had a blast.

JC, Chad, Ashley, Brian...and a photobomber named Julie

I love my girlies!!

Our good friend, JC, asked me to accompany him to the airport to take pictures of his proposal to his now fiancee, Ashley.  It was amazing...he had quite the audience, and Ashley, no doubt, said "YES!"  Congrats to them.  We couldn't be happier for you, and Payton and Griffin can't wait to be in your wedding :)

Look at the smile on his face!  I've never seen him happier!

 

Nana and Granddude have taken the kids to ImaginOn TWICE.  They even took the light rail.  The kids LOVED it!

This little lady LOVES computers, iPads, tabs, iPhones...anything electronic.  She loves playing games and learning.  She's going run the world one day.  For now, she wants to be a pediatrician.

Dinosaurs...this little dude is in heaven!  He knows SO much about dinosaurs and can pronounce them way better than I can!  He wants to be "Optimus Prime" when he grows up.  Or a Super Hero.  He's still on the fence.

Playing at Clipperdoodles...where they get their hair cut.

Payton being brave, and very happy, getting her cavity filled.  She did awesome.

Ashley, Me, Kev, & Katie representing Team K2 and celebrating Ashley and John getting engaged.

 

I ran my annual half marathon on November 15th.  To say it was cold would be an understatement.  The temp at the start was 24 degrees, and you can see the "real feel" temp.  At least it wasn't too windy!  I hadn't trained as well as I should have but still finished in under 2 hours.  I'll take it!

Getting air on November 2!!  (Yea, okay...some of these pictures are out of order.  That's what happens when I don't have time to keep up with my blog!! :)

Surf's Up!

Evan, Sydney, me, Todd, Katie & Kevin

The boat heater was key later in the day.  Brrrr!  That sun sure goes down fast, and with it, all the warmth!

We went to visit Santa.  I always like to go before Thanksgiving to avoid the lines.  I thought maybe, just maybe, we'd get all smiles.  On the way, in the car, both kids were ecstatic.  Lists were being rattled off.  They had it all planned.  As soon as we turned the corner, and Santa was in sight, Payton ran into the sitting area and started rattling off her list well before she was within Santa's earshot.  Griffin saw Santa and ran....the opposite direction.  When I caught him, and brought him over to Santa, the alligator tears began to fall, and he stuffed his face in his blanket.  Well, you'll just have to wait for your Christmas card to see the resulting picture :)

While we were at Southpark, we took the kids into the new American Girl Store.  Oh my.  It was quite a visit, and we now have TWO kids addicted. Brian, well he's on the fence, as you may be able to tell.  haha...

We will definitely be back!

We met Andy and her sister, brother-inlaw, and cutie pie little nephew one evening.

And had post-half marathon celebratory drinks.

 The slopes of Sugar Mountain have been open since November 2nd, the earliest opening ever!  While I had friends snowboarding there, we were on the lake here, wakeboarding and surfing (previous pics).  The conditions have been excellent and I've really been wanting to get on the snow.  So, my friends, Hannah, Chris, and I headed up for the weekend.  We got to ride on Sugar's new slope, "Gunther's Way," which was AWESOME!  I don't think there's been a new slope added anywhere in NC in my lifetime, so this was super exciting.  There were NO lift lines, and I was able to meet up with several local friends and play on the snow ALL day.  It was amazing!

Corduroy!  First run of the season...

Bluebird day.  No crowds.  Great snow.  Super fun.

Sweet Hannah and me...

View in the morning from the house.

Awesome day.  50 degrees!

While I was gone, Brian took the kids to a Christmas tree lighting in Southend.  Santa was there, and the kids seemed to have a good time!

 Also, Payton went to Anna's birthday party while Daddy and Griffin went to the UNCC football game.  Thanks, Granby, for taking Sweet P!  She had a blast with all of her friends!

And both kids had the parents and grandparents in for songs, then to visit the Bookfair.  The kids have been learning all about Pilgrams and Indians for Thanksgiving, and each had a school "feast."  We loaded up on new books too!

The kid's "soccer shots" is winding down...they have just one more day of it, after Thanksgiving. Here are some shots from last week's session.  They have a lot of fun, and it's a great program for learning the basic ball handling.  They may even be ready for a "real" team next year!  They both really enjoy it.

Payton and her "sister" Chloe

I've had horrible back pain lately...pinched nerves mostly.  I've been going to see my friend, Dr. Rob, who is a chiropractor.   I'm hoping it's helping!  For now, I can't move my neck!!  Getting old sucks ;) Here are the kids at Dr. Rob's office.  Payton was being my chiropractor while we were waiting, and then she wanted to climb on the table.

 And here are the kid's 2014-2015 class pictures, along with last year's, to show how they've changed and grown up.  Griffin age 2 and 3.  Payton age 3 and 4.

We hope you all have a very wonderful, safe, and blessed Thanksgiving, and hope you remember to wear elastic waist band pants :)  I will be!