Snow Days!

Frozen!

Snow? Snow in North Carolina? Yes, I guess we do get snow in North Carolina. And, I'm talking more than just flurries. Twice in the past four weeks we have had four days in a row of "inclement weather" days closing schools. Granted, to this Northerner, a snow day in North Carolina is laughable. Of the eight snow days this winter, I would say four would pass as legitimate, and that's because they don't do much salting and plowing down here. We got about three inches the first time around and about six inches and quite a bit of ice the second go round.

Our wintry backyard

So, naturally, with two small kiddos and all that white, we could not skip out on the rare opportunity to play in the snow. We managed to score some snow boots on clearance at Target, so all we had to do was layer up, bundle up and head out!

Our snow angels

What do you do when you have a perfectly snow covered hill in your front yard, but no sleds, saucers, or even large lids that will slide? You grab some tarps and cruise down the hill! Oh my! It was fun! I loved watching the kids laugh and scream with joy, and of course I joined in and took a few slides down with them.

And, why exactly are tarps better for sledding than a small saucer or sled? They unfold and you can fit the neighbors on with you! This was, by far, the best part of the day. Watching all the kids slide down the hill, laughing, screaming, and capturing the joyous moment was priceless.

It has been quite an eventful winter here in the south. Now that I've seen how they cope with snow and ice down here, I'd be quite happy if we didn't get anymore of that white stuff until next winter! After all, we've had our fun, made some fun memories and have the pictures to prove it. We're good! Come on spring!

Six Years Old!

The Birthday Girl!

I know, I know! Time flies. They grow up so fast. Don't blink, your babies will be teenagers before you know. We are learning first hand exactly how true these statements are. Granted, we still have a while before we hit the teenage years. But, man! Our first baby is just getting so big, so fast. As I was laying in bed beside Clara tonight for good night hugs and kisses, she grabbed me tightly around the neck and held on. She said, "I'm just going to hug you forever." I was, I'll admit, greatly tempted to stay there all night long. I did enjoy the hug for a good long time. While I soaked in my little girl's love, I couldn't help but think, "before I know it, she won't want to do prayers and our special lullabies before bed and I'll be begging for never-ending hugs". Our baby girl is getting so big, so fast. It is a joy to witness her grow and I am reveling in the wonders she discovers as she grows.

Celebrating her sixth birthday was everything she'd hoped. First off, the lucky gal managed to arrange a snow day off of school for her birthday. Sure, the day before and the two following days were snow days, too, but she got to lounge in her jammies all day long! Grandma and papa visited. She got her favorite dinner, opened presents and got to eat purple heart cake! What six year old girl wouldn't be ecstatic?

Sis wanted mini heart cakes for her birthday cake!

Celebrating!

For the big celebration with our friends, a Barbie bowling party was planned and it was a blast! Kids bowled! Parents bowled! We ate pizza & cake, opened presents, laughed, celebrated, and had a wonderful day! Now, on to the next year of adventures!

Party time!

Yummy ice cream cake!

Make a wish!

Two More Sleeps

Just two more sleeps, until the magic of Christmas morning. Two more sleeps until our sweet babies wake us with excitement and joy and their eyes reflect the wonder that is believing in the unseen. Two more sleeps until they bound down the stairs with more energy than Aaron and I will be able to muster, on what is sure to be an earlier than usual morning. Two more sleeps until all the waiting is finally over and we can see their faces light up as they open the gifts they've been wanting so badly. There aren't many things that make me smile more than seeing our children adore and enjoy the excitement and anticipation of Christmas. I revel in seeing their eager fingers pull the link off the paper chain each night, search for our Elf on the Shelf each morning, write letters to Santa, dance to Christmas music, hear them "ooohhh" and "aahhh" at Christmas lights, gobble up Christmas treats, kiss baby Jesus in the manger of our Nativity, and learn the words to "The Night Before Christmas" as we recite it together each night. The kids are old enough now to understand that Christmas is truly about the birth of Christ and I have enjoyed talking to them about that as we've gone to masses this Advent. The magic and true meaning of Christmas is still alive in my heart after all these years and I absolutely cherish witnessing my children live it every day as we have count down the sleeps to Christmas.

Clara & Colton with the big guy!

Our gorgeous tree, albeit a bit crooked!

The days preceding all the sleeps leading up to this time have been filled with their own wonder and joy and excitement.Christmas in a new house and in a new town means making new traditions and finding new ways to carry on already important ones. Clara and I managed to find a local production of The Nutcracker to see earlier this month and we have discovered a great little Christmas village full of lights, a tram ride and Santa that we explored with some new friends. We saw Disney on Ice and are trying some new tricks with making Christmas cookies. Naturally, Giselle, our friendly family Elf on the Shelf returned this year and we have had fun each morning discovering where she has found to hide in the new house.

"Giselle"

Decorating in and out was fun as we had to figure out new ways to use the old decorations. We have been enjoying our first real Christmas tree since being married. We'll will be spending our first Christmas in our home and not traveling up north to be with our extended families this year, so I just couldn't wait to have a real tree. There is nothing like walking into the house after work and smelling the aroma of a fresh tree. I love it!

It is bound to be a magical Christmas, but we'll just have to wait two more sleeps to find out how magical!

Best looking house on the block!

Merry Christmas, from the Barrett Family

Fall in Fayetteville

Our smiling blondies!

Fall in the Fayetteville area is turning out to be quite lovely. With the exception of a couple pretty rainy and drab weeks, the weather has been so beautiful. We picked one of the most beautiful days to explore a nearby pumpkin patch. We have so many fond memories from our visits to the pumpkin patch in Kentucky, the kids couldn't wait to check out a new one. Gross Farms was less than a half hour away and had tons of fun things for the kiddos to do, leaving me with plenty of opportunities to snap some pictures of my loves in action, smiling, laughing, and loving life.

Our babies exploring the corn maze

Mr. Man lookin' cool

Classic "insert head here" pic!

Me and my boy

I love how they love one another so much...most of the time!

Clara catching some air

 Naturally, we scored a few pumpkins on our trip to the pumpkin patch. We wasted no time and carved those babies as soon as we got home! They added just the right touch to our already Halloweened-out front yard.

The First Day!

Tuesday was a BIG day for Clara Rose. The first day of Kindergarten and the first day of her ballet/tap dance classes. Clara has been so excited to start Kindergarten she was thrilled when the day arrived.

Clara ready for her big day. 

If the quantity of ruffles equals 

the amount of ready, she was

very, VERY ready!

After an exciting morning of getting ready and having a nice breakfast, we packed up the car and headed off to the school drop off line. I was anxious how our girl would do. She still tends to get a little emotional when I drop her off at daycare each day. How was she going to do with me dropping her off at a sidewalk, into the hands of a stranger/teacher, while I remained in the car. Our big girl was proud, strong, and confident. We did our "kissing hand" kisses, said "I love you" and she was off. I, on the other hand, began crying as soon as I started driving away. Colton was confused as to why I was sad. I didn't think I was going to be that Mom that cried. At least I didn't cry in front of Clara; that could have been disastrous!

After picking her up at the end of the day, Clara only had one word to sum up her day, "Great!" Next, it was time to rush home, heat up some leftovers and head off to the first night of ballet/tap class.

All ready to dance!

We finished up, and went back home with one exhausted little girl. All that excitement wears a young lady out! Here's to a great year for Clara Rose with lots of new experiences!

Sunflowers: Weeks 7, 8 & 10

I've gotten a little off track with documenting our sunflowers this summer. I've been getting the weekly pictures taken, just not finding the time to upload them. We did miss pictures last week (week 9). We were working out in the yard and by the time we were done and ready to take pictures, it was starting to rain and thunder, and we had a bit of a fire ant problem.

June 9, 2013, Week 7: Love those big grins!

June 17, 2013, Week 8: Clara is quite happy, but Colton would
apparently rather be golfing than posing!

Our poor sunflowers. They were not doing well at all; I'm pretty sure the sandy soil just wasn't a good fit. They weren't  dying, but they weren't exactly thriving, either. So, in a desperate attempt to revive them, last week I dug them up, dug a huge hole and filled it with garden soil. The sunflowers were replanted in hopes that they would take off. Well....we have some casualties. There are several that have perished since last week, they probably weren't doing so hot and the shock of transplanting just was too much. On a good note, the ones that are left seem to be doing very well. They look sturdier, greener, and taller. I'll have to work harder next spring to get a good plot of soil ready before we plant the sunflowers next year.

June 30, 2013, Week 10: My goofs posing in pjs and rain boots!

June 30, 2013, Week 10: The remaining 10 plants, post replanting from
last week. Here's hoping they make it...