Miss America

Abigail was up watching the Miss America pageant with me last weekend. She loved the talent portion. First, there were the dancers, so Abigail became a dancer:

Then, we had singers. And, of course, she had to sing, too. (And, in case you are wondering what she is saying... it is "My mommy told me to SHAKE your booty tonight!").

The Trampoline

Allan's parents gave A.J. and Abigail a trampoline for Christmas. Because we didn't see them until after Christmas and Allan has been quite sick and couldn't get out in the cold weather, it is just now getting done. However, it was worth the wait. The kids love it. Today, Abigail had a friend over to play all day. Here is Abigail and Alyssa breaking it in:
After school, Alyssa's brother Trey and A.J. joined the fun. Trey was an excellent jumper!

A.J. always has fun using up energy! Here is the before:

And, here is the after!

And... of course... a video clip of the girls!

Cleaning

I hate it. There is no better word to describe how I feel about cleaning... I simply hate it. However, the problem is that I LOVE a clean house. I am miserable without it, but I despise the work it takes to get it there (and keep it there).

We are having some friends over tonight for dinner. They are new to town, but Allan has known the husband for many years. I want things to be nice. That means one thing... COMPANY clean. Not just to please mama clean, but company clean.

I love the smell of clean. I love the look of clean. I love the feeling of clean. But, I hate to clean. Any suggestions? (And P.S., writing this blog entry was my excuse to take a break from cleaning)!

Upward Basketball Game #1

A.J. is playing Upward Basketball this season. It is simply wonderful. He is in a huge league at Parkway Baptist Church in Auburn. It is a non-competitive league, focusing on Christian principles and teaching the fundamentals of the game. They earn stars for their shirts by having good sportsmanship, good offense and defense, learning their Bible verse, etc. Each practice session and game has a team devotion and prayer.

A.J.'s team is called Lightening, and they had their first game this weekend. I had been praying A.J. would at least score one goal this season, and he did the first game! He earned a star for that (as well as his Bible verse). Here are some pictures of the game and a video clip.

(This picture of A.J. looking at his orange wristbands is really funny to us. Each player was assigned bands matching a player on the opposite team to help them know who to cover. When A.J. realized he matched Josh, who was the quarterback on his football team last season, he was not happy. Josh had already scored several goals in this game, and A.J.'s reaction was "Oh no!")

Good Trip

We really did have a nice trip with Allan's family. We all left saying we wish we could see them more often. Here are a few pictures that didn't really fit with any of the other entries.

Here is Abigail and Aunt Laura (a really good picture I think). Abigail loves her Aunt Laura and spent lots of time snuggled up with her on this trip.My favorite picture is this one of the dogs and the popcorn. Notice the size difference between Jake (Laura's oldest dog) and Ruby (our dog). Needless to say... Jake won the popcorn war!
Both A.J. and Abigail absolutely adore their Uncle Michael! As soon as they woke up each morning, they wanted to know what time Uncle Michael was coming over... and boy... he better not be late!

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

On Friday of our trip in Raleigh, we went to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. To be honest, I am not really much of a museum person, but seeing an entire whale skeleton was quite impressive. Here are some pictures of our day.

Marbles Kids Museum

While in Raleigh, we found a great new children's museum (thanks to the help of our GPS for locating attractions). Marbles Kids Museum was very exciting for the kids and actually quite relaxing for the adults.

Abigail enjoyed the play town area. The ironic part was that she really loved the ambulance the most, which is what she actually rode in just a few weeks ago! She even made a new friend to "take care" of her in the back of the ambulance.
A.J. enjoyed the huge pirate ship the most. He found friends to be his shipmates. It was fun to watch his imagination at play. Nana and Aunt Laura took him back a few days later to see the Polar Express 3D on the Imax. He really enjoyed that, too!

Raleigh Christmas

After Christmas, we headed to Raleigh to have Christmas with Allan's side of the family. It was a long drive, but well worth it. We really enjoyed a week of rest, relaxation, and football! When we arrived, opening Christmas gifts was first on the to-do-list. The kids loved their gifts and are already asking Allan when he is going to put together the trampoline from Nana and Papa (they only got a picture of it in Raleigh because it was too big to take with us).

Christmas Day

Of course I took tons of pictures of everyone Christmas morning, but really... what reasonable adult wants pictures of themselves on the internet in their Christmas pajamas early in the morning (and I mean EARLY). So, here are a few shots of the kids and a video clip of them seeing what Santa left for them.
(This is A.J.'s new Spider-Man web blaster. And... note to self... it does not wash away in rain! What fun to clean up.)

(Listen closely to Abigail at the end of this clip. She points out that Santa didn't leave the gifts in the same spot as last year. Sorry... Santa is getting old. His (or her) memory isn't so great anymore!)

Christmas Eve

We had a very busy Christmas Eve this year. We started a couple new traditions. We decided to make a birthday cake for Jesus. Please note I am not going into the cake making business, and I have already decided next year we will make one that does not have to be decorated!
We also opened our presents from Grandma Ina and Grandpa Wally. When I was a child, on the Christmas we didn't get to be with them, we always opened the gifts they mailed on Christmas Eve. I told A.J. that one time, and since he can't stand to wait to open gifts, he decided we should do the same. A.J. got some Air Hog planes and Abigail got clothes and a magnetic nativity (which she loves). They really enjoyed opening and playing with these gifts.

Before leaving for church, we put out our reindeer food A.J. made at school.

We then headed for church where A.J. sang "Away in a Manger." He mixed up the verses a little and got very frustrated, but it was cute!

After a Chinese dinner (which was a very crowded restaurant), we continued with our favorite Christmas tradition. For several years now, we have opened 1 present on Christmas Eve, and it is always pajamas. Then, we all get in our Christmas pajamas (mom, dad, AJ, Abby, Grandma, and Pa) and go look at Christmas lights together. It is quite a sight! (Of course, before leaving, we left out our cookies for Santa).

The Leaning Tree of Christmas

We have a family tradition of making a gingerbread house (or something) every year. We have done several houses and a train. However, it NEVER has a happy ending. Our house usually crumbles before we even finish decorating it! At least it is always good to eat!

This year, we decided to go simple in order to be successful. We made a gingerbread Christmas tree. All you have to do is ice each layer and stack them. Simple, right? Well, not so much. Our tree is now named "The Leaning Tree of Christmas." Any suggestions for next year???