Christmas at Dixie Stampede

Wednesday night, we arrived in Pigeon Forge and dropped our luggage of in our hotel room. I dressed P and C in some (coordinating, of course!) Christmas outfits, and we headed out the door for dinner at Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede.

When we arrived we took some time to visit with the horses. I love this picture of my dad and C. C was loving the animals, and then he saw a hostess "princess" in a gold dress and had to stop and flirt with her! C is in a MAJOR princess phase right now. I don't think I've mentioned it on the blog yet, but he definitely appreciates the beauty of a princess or a mermaid... he loves his Dora mermaid bathtub toy and Playtex princess sippy cup. I'm sure it will pass on its own, so I'm not too worried. For now, I'm enjoying C's proclamations of things that are "soooo booful" (so beautiful). It melts my heart when I hear, "Oh my gosh! Mommy - you are SO booful, Mommy!"

We enjoyed the music during the pre-show before heading into the arena for the North and South Pole competition. We were on the North Pole side, and P was a bit disappointed. The North Pole's color was green, and not only is red his favorite color, he has been anti-green for a good year now.

Daddy A was chosen to compete for the North Pole in the horseshoe portion of the evening. He received a medal, which I offered to P. P declined, because the ribbon was green. As you can tell from the above photo, C had no qualms about wearing a "green" medal.

We enjoyed the meal and the show just as much as we did last year!

Christmas Place draft

Over Veterans' Day weekend, Grandma Paige and Poppa Fred took us back to the Inn at Christmas Place in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The hotel is Christmas-themed year round, and when we arrived in our suite we noticed the familiar tree right away. (C is convinced this is Grandma's Christmas tree, and that we were at Grandma's house when we saw it...)


Santa left some gifts for P and C under the tree the first night we were there, and the boys discovered them when they awoke on Thursday morning.

P and C also had a chance to visit with Santa before breakfast on Thursday. Neither of the boys is intimidated by Santa this year, so it's fun to watch them interact with him. P is making his signature "cheese face" in this picture.

The boys discovered the fountain in the shopping center across the street from our hotel while we were waiting for our table at lunch one day. They both enjoyed throwing coins into the water. C kept exclaiming, "I need moneys, Mommy!" Seems like someone is starting that refrain a little early... and I have a feeling a penny or two isn't going to seem so wonderful in about ten years... I'll definitely enjoy this stage while it lasts!

We had lots of fun adventures in Tennessee... stay tuned!

Halloween night

As we were leaving school a few days before Halloween, P asked me if he could be a Bubble Guppy for Halloween. (Bubble Guppies is a preschool show about some merboys and mergirls who go to school underwater and have a grouper fish for a teacher. Both of the boys have caught the Bubble Guppies bug.)

P pointed out that he had worn his shark costume "manyer times", and that he planned to wear it "manyer other times" too. He did wear it to multiple other functions, and I think it might fit him a while longer, and it could definitely be passed down to C at some point. I explained that they didn't sell Bubble Guppies costumes, and he replied, "Well, you could just sew me one." I get really excited when the boys ask to wear something I've made, so I thought about it. P asked if he could call Grandma Hen and see if she had any "tail fabric" I could use.

I relented. P planned out costumes - complete with colored hair spray - for himself and C.

And on Halloween night, I took Nonny and Gil trick or treating.


When we stopped at church for the Trunk or Treat, the (mer)boys ran into Bumblebee.

We did go to a few houses, and between that and the church Trunk or Treat, the boys came home with bags FULL of candy. They considered their Halloween a huge success!

C's first school party

Halloween was the first event that C celebrated with a school party. I was fortunate to have Grandma Hen visiting - she came to school with C and I on Monday and then she and Daddy A helped prepare for and host P's class party at our house on Tuesday. I loved having an extra set of hands to help me out!

We did pumpkin printing in the art center during our regularly scheduled center time.


We headed out for recess about half an hour early and some of the students' parents came in and decorated the room and set up for our party. They brought baked goods and treat bags. One family brought pumpkin masks, markers, and glitter glue. The project was a big hit with everyone in the class!

C would "hide" behind his mask, say, "Where's C?" and then pop out and shout, "Boo!" He was thrilled to "scare" me over and over. I loved seeing everyone have fun at our first classroom holiday event!

Halloween fun at dance class

Grandma Hen came for a visit at the end of October. She and I took P to dance class the last Saturday in October. The students were allowed to wear a Halloween costume to class and there were some treats.

I mostly put this picture in the blog post so you could see the shark fin and tail on P's costume. Grandma Hen took it before class started, while P, Jack, and Madison were playing on the mats.


This year I remembered to bring my camera to dance class so I was able to snap a group photo. They all look so cute in their costumes!

I'm so glad P is enjoying dance so much this year! C is chomping at the bit for his "turn to dance". It will be here before we know it!

Fall Festival

Man, oh, man... it is probably a very good thing that C isn't a girl. Remember when I said that his shark costume was too small? Well, we traded that costume for an octopus costume in a bigger size (because (a) there were no bigger shark costumes left, and (b) C originally wanted to be an octopus but settled on a shark since I was afraid that the octopus costume, which only came in bigger sizes, would be too big).

When the octopus costume arrived, C opened it and exclaimed, "It's my octopus!" He carried it all over the house. He put it to "sleep" at the foot of his bed. He WOULD NOT put it on.

I didn't push the issue, but eventually the day of our church's Fall Festival arrived. I tried to get C to put on his octopus costume. I calmly stated that it was time to get dressed. I suggested he help me get his costume on his body. I told him to put his costume on. I tried to bribe him to put it on. He cried. I suggested he wear a Halloween t-shirt to the festival. He begged for a costume.

I went downstairs to the closet in the guest bedroom and got out some old Halloween costumes. I offered Elmo (P's costume two years ago), Swiper the Fox (P's costume last year), and Boots the Monkey (C's costume last year). C went back and forth. He would start to get a costume on, then take it back off. Some he "didn't yike", and others "scared" him.

Just as I was ready to wrestle him into a shirt and pants so we coul get to the festival, C settled on Boots. Seriously, if he were a girl would there have been 20 more costume changes? And an argument about hair? He's only two, people!


P happily wore his shark costume again. C later told Daddy A he was scared of his octopus because of the octopus in The Little Mermaid. I had to take the Swiper costume and the octopus costume out of his bedroom.

As you can see from the above photo, most of C's Boots costume didn't stay on either... but C, P, and Colby had fun at the festival playing games, climbing the inflatable slide, and going on a hayride around the church, and family fun was the ultimate goal. Costume drama aside, it was a pretty relaxed afternoon and evening.

P's last soccer game (of the season)

I know you've seen quite a few soccer posts now, so I'll just hit the highlights of this game for you. (This would have been P's second to last game, except he ended up getting sick and missing the game the following Tuesday... so it was P's last game. He did get his medal after the last game, but we still need to connect with his coach to pick up his soccer pictures. It's on my to do list this week.)



P had a great attitude. He listened to Coach S.



C asked if he could please have some face paint like the soccer team. Coach S obliged. C was pleased as punch.


P's team played against his friend Grace's team. It was Grace's birthday. He posed for a photo and gave Grace a birthday hug and good wishes.

We went to McDonald's (P's choice) to celebrate his hard work and the fun we've had this season!

Foothills Corn Maze - a field trip

Since I am working at the boys' preschool this year, I can't make it to any of P's class field trips that are on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday... which, so far, is all of them. Fortunately, Daddy A has been able to go on all of this year's trips. (We did host a class party at our place and I have volunteered in P's classroom, so I don't miss out on all the fun!)

One Friday in October, P's class headed to Foothills Corn Maze. Daddy A and P both said it was a BLAST! P was pleased to discover that red was the color chosen for students to wear that day, since red is his favorite color. Not only did he wear a red shirt, he also wore a red coat.



P's group headed into the corn maze. The guide let the group decide which way to turn about every fourth time there was a decision to make. That worked out well, because the kids had a great time getting "lost" and "finding" their way out of the maze.



Everyone made it out just fine, and they were on to the next event.



Time for a hayride!





There were hands-on learning activities. The kids got to see and touch cotton and corn, and learn about how things grow. Last stop was the pumpkin patch!



After choosing a pumpkin, everyone had a chance to decorate their produce.

P had a chance to "drive" the hay tractor, and the kids all enjoyed being out in the fresh air.

After I got home from school and reunited with C, our family of four headed out for lunch at "Gracias," a local Mexican restaurant. I got to hear all about P and Daddy A's trip. It was a great way to spend my Friday afternoon!

Galaxy pictures

You knew soccer season wouldn't go by without a chance to purchase team pictures, didn't you? Even though we did buy some soccer pictures, we snapped a few with our own camera as well.

A group shot


and another pre game photo of P and Colby made the cut for the blog.

P ran "super speedy" and played the majority of the game. He even got right back up and went on playing after a player on the other team pushed him down. I was really proud of his effort!

At the end of the game, the teams lined up for high fives.

Hard work and good sportsmanship! What else could a mother ask for?

The Great Pumpkin Patch

While they were visiting over the holiday weekend, Grandma Paige and Poppa Fred took us to the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad.

We rode a train out to the Great Pumpkin Patch!

There were so many activities we could have stayed all day (except that we had to take the train back on time)!

There was an apple picking game.

P was a big fan of the corn table.

We took a hayride. We found out that C's costume was about six inches too short, which is at least one of the reasons that he didn't want to wear it when we went to Tweetsie Railroad.

When we came back from the hayride, P and C discovered the inflatable slide.

The slide was followed by tattoos. (I may have posted this first tattoo picture because you can see one of P's Great Pumpkin tennis shoes. I really really really like those shoes. We got them half off last fall for both boys. C outgrew his, but P wore his for the second October in a row. I bet they won't fit P next year, but they might fit C.)

The trick or treat area was inside a building and was tented so that it actually appeared dark and the trick or treaters could go door to door for candy. The theming was excellent, and it gave the boys a chance to practice saying "Thank you!" for their treats before Halloween night. C even kicked it up a notch and said, "Trick or treat, please!" when he asked for his treats.

Somehow we convinced to boys to put down their bags of freshly gathered treats and choose their pumpkins from the patch.

They even posed for a photo for me and were both looking in the general direction of the camera!When we met the Peanuts gang, P was not feeling a photo op. He sat that one out, but C was happy to pose.

We had just enough time to grab a quick lunch and catch the train back to "town". This trip was definitely a highlight of our fall season!

Columbus Day weekend

Columbus Day weekend we had a visit from Grandma Paige and Poppa Fred. We enjoyed seeing family and spending time together. The boys loved hanging out with some of their grandparents showing them some of their favorite weekend activities.


We made sure there was time for playing outside



and art at the dining room table.

C even showed us where he stashes his "pap paps". (You know, the ones he's only supposed to have at naptime and bedtime!)