Christmas Cookies!

Sometimes its just worth getting

Flour.
Sprinkles.
Frosting.
Crumbs.
Everywhere.

The training wheels come off

Austin needs a new bike.
His wheels are bald, the chain keeps coming off, and it's just plain too small for the kid.

We are Santa is planning on bringing a new bike for him;
so a few days after Will got home from Kuwait they went outside with Austin to take off his training wheels
and practice riding without them.
My thinking is that it's easier to learn on a smaller bike,
so he better practice before Santa brings him a bigger one.

Low and behold Austin took off the first time Will tried.

He was a little wobbly at first, but 3 weeks into practicing he is a pro.

He can pop wheelies

"Speed super fast!"

And he can almost start on his own.

Poor kid just needs a bigger bike now.


6 days till Christmas!
All my shopping is done
I got my Christmas cards out today
Will is home
Papa Bill is visiting

It's a good year, but I do wish we lived closer to family...especially this time of year!

He's home!

He's home!

It's hard to believe Will has been home for over a week.

We picked him up at the airport on the day after Thanksgiving.

It was late at night, and the kids were tired and cranky, but we anxiously waited for him.

My friend, Jamie, was also waiting for her husband.

Maci didn't really understand what was going on, but once she saw Daddy she wouldn't leave his arms.

We have been having a great time as a family the last week.
Finding our new normal.

Saturday was Hunter's last day of "Ready, Set, Run"

He finished it off by running the 5K "Reindeer Run" in downtown Charleston.

He has spent the last 12 weeks training for it;
although I wouldn't really call sprinting for 20 feet and then walking a quarter mile training.
Despite a great coach...his running group didn't quite get it.

On the day of the run, Will and I decided that Will would "run" with Hunter, and I would take the stroller with Austin and Maci and run ahead.
We were both very surprised at how good Hunter did on the run.
He RAN the whole 5K and came in just a few minutes behind me and the kids.
He is very relieved running is over.
So am I!!!

We were very under dressed for the reindeer run.

Some people really go all out.

Christmas is just around the corner.
It doesn't seem like it's been a year since we moved to Charleston!

Last weekend we got the tree up and decorated and all of our Christmas decorations up.
The kids are getting excited for Christmas!

Will got our Christmas lights up.
I told Will that Maci loves Santa...next thing I know Will went down the street to Lowes and gotMaci a blow up Santa...
and put it on our roof.
Will has turned into the biggest softy since we had Maci.

For the record, he swore that would never happen.

When it got dark Will turned the lights on to show the kids.

The kids favorite holiday snack while decorating.
Sparkling cider and egg nog.

Right now, we are currently staying at an ocean front condo thanks to Operation R&R!!!
We are having a blast and I absolutely LOVE waking up to see and hear the ocean out the window.
We woke up this morning and we to get seashells on the beach.

Austin is still writing his name all over.

Maci has been copying EVERYTHING her brothers do.

Hunter's favorite thing to do at the condo.

Austin stuck his head in front of my camera while I was taking pictures of the beach.
This kid is so awesome.

Walking hand in hand with Will and watching our kids run around on the beach made everything feel a little normal again.

We are SO happy to have Will home!

Thanksgiving in transit.

Friday.

FRIDAY!!!
That's the day Will FINALLY gets home.

After 20 days spent in Germany for training

and over 6 months in Kuwait...

(that's 28 weeks.
196 days.
4704 hours.
Take your pick)

...we are SO excited!

My friend explained the tail end of a deployment perfectly by saying that she feels like a kid on Christmas Eve.
That is exactly how I feel.

I'm like that kid who can't fall asleep.
Anxiously waiting.

I'm so excited and eager, but I can't make the time go faster.

As a matter of a fact, I seem to be making time go slower.
(why is that by the way?)

I'm not going to lie, it is pretty sucky (improper grammar, but I couldn't think of a better word)
that Will won't be home for Thanksgiving.
It just doesn't seem right.
I feel like it should be a time to be together...and Will is without his family, and we're without him.
We were really hoping he would be home in time, but that isn't how it worked out.

But...

it is nice to be able to say my husband will be home this week.

random things I never had time to blog

This is all just random.
Some of it is from several months ago, and I never got a chance to blog it.

Every once in a while I see pine trees planted in lines.
I'm really not sure why, but someone told me they planted a ton of trees after Hurricane Hugo devastated Charleston.

I don't see this as often as I thought I would here.
Once you get closer to the beach you see a lot more palm trees
(or as residence call them, palmetto trees.)

A few weeks ago I was able to be my friends escort in the Atlanta temple.
I haven't seen Nikki since we lived in Minot 5 or 6 years ago!
It was the most amazing experience ever. She wasn't an
LDS member when I knew her in Minot, and it was amazing seeing her go through the temple. It was so good to see her and her daughters, and also meet her husband and son.

Last week I went to the midnight showing of Breaking Dawn.
It was SO fun to go and I was so grateful my friends son Brach was able to watch my kids while I went.

Maci loves going to pick Austin up from preschool because she gets 15 minutes of playtime.
That blur is her.
Stupid camera phone

We watched my friend Chelsea's dog Midget. The kids loved having a dog around the house.
We took Midget on a walk everyday.

This is Austin showing me how Midget lifts his leg to pee.

Maci getting herself a snack
*sigh*

This is what happens when I grocery shop with Austin.
These are all things I had no idea I bought