Nutcracker!

Nutcracker!

We went to see the Nutcracker! It was so fun. I remember one year in high school, a bunch of my friends felt so grown up when we dressed up fancy and went to the Fox to see the Atlanta Ballet perform the classic. But it's the only time I've ever seen this particular show. So when Violet's friend Taylor invited us to join for a mother-daughter date, I jumped at the chance. For Violet's first foray into ballet watching, we went to a local production, rather than trek all the way downtown. I wasn't about to tackle the Fox without knowing if Violet would even be able to make it through the entire performance without demanding to know why no one was talking or deciding that this ballet thing is for the birds. And considering she had exactly zero background on what was about to take place, I thought she did awesome!

Before the show.

Our seats were fantastic. The theater was intimate enough that we scored seats in the front row of the balcony and it was perfect. We had a wonderful view (although when Violet got a little squirmy halfway through the second act, I freaked out a bit that the audience behind us was getting too good of a view of her feet propped up on the railing). After the show the dancers gathered in the lobby adn our girls got a few pictures. Violet declared Arabian her favorite (isn't it always) and I was very impressed by the professionalism of the cast, especially given that these are not professionals. Overall I think Violet enjoyed it. I certainly did! I hope we'll be back!

Breakfast with Santa

Breakfast with Santa... and the principal! 

A couple weekends ago, we engaged in the age-old tradition of having breakfast with Santa. I don't know who came up with such an idea, but it's always a favorite event at our school. Last year Annie refused to sit on Santa's lap, so I have a beautiful picture of just Violet. But this year things went perfectly and both girls hopped up there. Violet panicked a bit afterwards and informed me she only had time to tell Santa one thing she wanted (a watch) and Annie apparently told Santa she wants a "cupcake maker" (translation: Easy Bake Oven... I think). Here's hoping the Big Guy remembers!

O Christmas Tree

Well, the tree is up, the lights are lit, the elves have returned and are busy running amok every night (just kidding, our elves are fairly tame... clearly they are getting old and lazy). We picked out a tree at Pike's Nursery again - I'm always taken in by their set up... it's like walking through a forest, complete with snow-covered branches. Plus the people are always friendly, they'll hoist it onto your car for you, it's the way to go. And one of these years we might just have a splurge for a white flocked tree. They are magical!

Deck the Halls!

The girls were so funny putting up ornaments. They were far more interested in playing with their ornaments than hanging them on the tree. In fact, when we went to Target to pick out this year's ornament, they both opted for a fuzzy little white owl that they could not stop petting! I'm still not sure if those owls actually made it onto a branch or if they're upstairs in the girls' room somewhere.

In sad news, a quarter strand of light on the garland on my stairs is out. And it's the top part, which means I am not nearly motivated enough to take the whole thing down and restring it the way I say I'm going to do every year. I'm too excited about decorating to want to do it at the beginning of the season, and too over everything by the end to even care. I should probably buy a fresh string and just pack it in the garland box so at least everything will be ready to go next year. Oh well.

O Christmas Tree!

Let Me Get This Straight

Straight hair, don't care.

So I got a hair cut, my once-annual chopping of the locks. I'm just so lazy low maintenance when it comes to my hair. The good news is, curly hair can handle it. After all, every day it curls in a different way. My lovely stylist Jennifer feels my pain - she also has curly hair. But like so many curly haired girls I know, Jennifer always straightens her hair. And as a special treat for me, she insisted on straightening it at my appointment.

It's like I'm a completely different person with straight hair. I keep catching sight of myself in the mirror and marveling at the shape of my head... normally all you see is a mass of hair. Now there is actual a form under there. I keep thinking my face seems longer, or my hair somehow looks more brown without the distraction of the curly frizz that normally takes over. I like it for a change, but heaven help me, it took longer to straighten than it did to cut and I just don't have that kind of time in my life. Short of Jennifer coming over at 5 a.m. each day and doing it for me, this look will last until I finally break down and take a shower. Still, it's fun for a change. Although I rather think I would (gasp!) miss my curls if this were a permanent thing.

I've also been wearing my glasses for the last few days (I know, who AM I?!) I woke up with what seemed like a touch of pink eye, so I dug some eyedrops out of the cabinet and started self-medicating. It's been an adjustment, though. Every time I walk in a store, my instinctively go to take off my sunglasses, only to remember I'm not wearing any. And without sunglasses, the world has been a much brighter place, literally. Today I'm finally back to contacts and sunglasses, but I found myself riding around without the shades... it turns out that the fall colors are so much more vibrant when you're not hiding from the glare. I guess sometimes it is worth it to face reality as God made it, even if it makes your eyes water. (Insert deep metaphor about the current state of affairs here.)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

The girls have been at the grandmas since Saturday, which means Matt and I have gotten to run around reliving life as a young married couple, doing spontaneous things like couples date night (you haven't lived until you've had sparkling sake... you're welcome) and dinner/movie. I got a massage one day and popped into approximately 27 different stores on the hunt for various event-related items (bridal shower luncheon Christmas ornament gift - how specific is that?, lingerie shower gift, room mom gifts, teacher gifts, pre-Black Friday anxiety shopping). I cannot even imagine how horrible those errands would have been with two children in tow. I even busted out the Christmas decorations, minus the tree stuff. We'll wait until we have the girls back before we put up the tree - we're not total Scrooges. But it was nice to get some things out without their "help". I'm super excited about our advent calendar this year - various crafts, events, and stories for each day, handmade from our church. Isn't it beautiful?! We are really going to commit to following it through this year. With Lukas and Virginia's wedding closing out December, it's already guaranteed to be an extra-busy season, so I think it's important to make the time for this one.

Advent is coming!

Finally, I'll close this one down with a picture that's been 25 years in the making. We got together with some of Matt's closest high school/college friends. These guys have been through it all together... their friendship circle expanded to include girlfriends who then became wives and now we all have kids. We took over and pretty much shut down the local pizza joint with this crazy crew. Thankful for these friendships.

Party of 23!

Two Wheels

Last Christmas, Santa brought Violet this new bike, complete with training wheels. It was good times. But one of my summer goals was getting Violet to learn to ride it as a two-wheeler. (The other goal was potty-training Annie. Hey, one out of two ain't bad.)

Violet just wasn't interested in taking those training wheels off. We tried a time or two, but a few wobbles was all it took for her to lose all desire. Well, enter Annie's birthday balance bike. While it was way too small for Violet to be riding, she would still get on and zoom around the house. She got so good at it, Matt finally convinced her to try her real bike again, promising it was the exact same idea.

Lo and behold, within minutes she had mastered her two wheeler! Awesome! Even though Annie still won't touch the balance bike, it certainly proved its worth. Best way to get a kid to learn to bike, in my (now) opinion. After all, it's not the idea of pedaling that proves tricky, it's the staying upright on two wheels. And a little balance bike will quickly accomplish that part. 

Halloween!

Ah, Halloween! Not my favorite holiday of the year, but I'll go along with it. This year we headed back to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens (thanks to the annual pass Matt got for his birthday) to celebrate at Goblins in the Garden. It was a rough start - the parking deck was full, leaving us to look for street parking in the neighborhoods across the street and then endure a half-mile trek just to get to the entrance... and again, the heat. Stupid fall. But we persevered (and perspired) and eventually gained entrance. It was super crowded but we had fun decorating pumpkins, building in the Home Depot kids workshop area, and just generally running around.

Decorating pumpkins at Goblins in the Garden

Not-so-scary black cat

And can you say yay to the easiest Halloween costumes ever?! The girls decided early on to be black cats, and surprisingly never wavered from their decision. A trip to Party City for ears and tails, then another stop at Target for black shirts, pants, and skirts, and boom. The least stressful Halloween costumes were complete. And they can actually wear these things again.

I love how Annie always checks to see what her big sister is doing when it comes to posing for pictures.

Halloween was on Monday this year (oh the horror). I hosted our usual neighborhood meal share, everyone jumped into their costumes, we gathered the rest of the troops, and set off to get our loot. Usually the boys opt for gross, creepy costumes, but this year was fairly tame (baseball player, pink unicorn, etc). I don't think the fake blood even made an appearance! Matt surprised us all by participating in his work costume party and nailed his look as Men in Black/Secret Service agent. I wore my token witch hat and called it a day.

Our Halloween crew!

Happy Halloween!

Wondering how this Halloween compares?
Halloween 2015
Halloween 2014
Halloween 2013
Halloween 2012
Halloween 2011
Halloween 2010

Pumpkin Patch!

We made our annual trek to a pumpkin patch. We headed back to Kinsey Family Farm this year. It's a little more low-key - no corn shooters or mazes. There was a lovely tractor ride, however, and so many pumpkins to pick from. It has been the warmed fall I remember in a long time... we wore long sleeves more for the effect than anything else. (It's just wrong to wear shorts to an October pumpkin patch, but that's Georgia for you.) Happy fall, y'all!

Hay ride!