Our Christmas

Our Christmas week has been one of the most relaxed that I can remember.  Andy was out of town the week before Christmas so we have just been enjoying spending time together.  We've spent many hours in our pajamas, watching Christmas movies, baking Christmas cookies, and relaxing by the fire.

Oh, this kid.

We spent Christmas Eve with my in-laws for our traditional celebration. It was crazy to see how much the girls had grown from last year.  They did amazing at church and their excitement about everything was so much fun to witness.

Once we got home, we set out Santa's cookies, read The Night Before Christmas, and said our goodbyes to Lana the Elf.

Christmas morning came fairly early and the girls dove into their gifts. We had breakfast and sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus at the top of our lungs.

Each Christmas seems to get better and better. These sweet girls love Christmas and they blow me away with their love for Jesus and the reason we celebrate on this special day.  I am so blessed to have these two precious babies to celebrate each day with.

Waterfalls, Deer, and Bears, Oh My!

Yesterday we took a trip up to the mountains to visit Cade's Cove. Cade's Cove is a section of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  The valley was home to early settlers in the mountains.  Many buildings are still standing and it's a great place for sightseeing. We drove the 11 mile loop and made a few pit stops to take in some history.

The girls enjoyed the old buildings and settlements, especially Emma, who has been reading Little House on the Prairie. She loved making comparisons to the book with the houses we saw and seeing a mill, just like the one where Charles Ingalls worked.

Of course, they were more interested in the wildlife and became expert animal spotters. We saw horses and wild turkeys, but their favorites were the deer and bears. Poor Sophia fell asleep and missed the bear, but loved hearing all about it!

This spider completely freaked me out. Even though I tend to exaggerate about the actual size of spiders, I'm not exaggerating when I say this monster was the size of Sophia's hand. Not that I let her near it for comparison...it might have eaten her.

For me, my favorite part was spending time with my sweet family and enjoying the peace and quiet of the mountains. The trees, the woods, the rivers...it makes me a little homesick for my beloved Grass Valley, but it's a joy to be so close to such a beautiful place that I can visit and share with my girls.

Squeezing in Some Fun!

The countdown is on...less than a week until I go back to work. Two weeks until the girls start full-time preschool. I can't even believe it. I didn't even get a chance to do a "Day in the Life" post like I usually do in the summer. I guess I'll have to wait until Winter Break!

We always try to squeeze in a couple of day trips before summer ends for some last minute family time. This weekend, we took a trip to the zoo.  Our zoo has made some major improvements over the years and we always have so much fun.

The weather here lately has been on the cooler side and we had perfect weather for our trip. We packed a lunch and made a day out of it. It was a great day spent with my little family!