The Long Way Down Holiday Road

Twas the week before Christmas and van filled with a load,
Our family took off for a LONG trip on the road

The kiddos were nestled all snug in their seats
And mommy and daddy had a cooler full of treats

We drove and we drove and then drove some more
To see lots of family, what the season is for!

On NC, on SC, on GA and Bama
On Mississippi and Louisiana to Texas to see Gramma

Miss Grace was just fine with Toy Story on the screen
and Noah, sweet Noah was the opposite of serene :)

After 22 hours, we finally arrived
Aunt Becky and Uncle Stephen welcomed us from the drive

We all shared some hugs and said "good to see you!"
then were off to Grandma and Grandpa's to see the rest of the crew

There was Shayla and Seth, little Katie and Ian
Janae and Nathan with Kaya and Pepper (their two furry bein's)

Amy was there too and later came Ben
at Grandma and Grandpa's house, the fun just NEVER ends!

We talked and we ate and we can't forget the singing--
Seth's version of "In the Jungle" -- oh my ears are still ringing!

We all opened gifts and the goodies were great
Santa visited the kiddos -- they just couldn't wait.

We had such good times, we were sorry to go
But our mortgages were calling us back to the road

So now we are home, we've had time to unwind
When Wednesday rolls around, it's back to the grind

It was so worth the drive, our memories make us grin
Maybe in a year or two, we'll do it all again!

Noah Balboa

Very early in his life, Noah got the nickname Noah Balboa. When we call him that, I always think of Spanish explorer, Vasco Núñez De Balboa. We even have a little song we sing:

Noah Balboa
was an explorer
Noah Balboa
he sailed the sea
Noah Balboa
was an explorer
and then one day he sailed to me

Even Grace can sing parts of the song (because she's heard it hundreds of times).

But this week, little Noah Balboa looks more like ROCKY Balboa. He's gotten brave and a few days ago as we were playing on the bed, he pulled up on me and launched himself over me (and right into the nightstand). By the next morning, he had his first shiner. Like most black eyes, it gets a little worse each day (the pictures below were made the day after he did it). He looks so pitiful, but he's still a happy little camper.

Too cute not to share!

'nuff said...

Say Cheese?!?!

With the holiday season upon us, we decided it was time to update our family picture (which we haven't done since Noah joined us) and get Grace's 2-year pictures made. The whole process reminded me why we don't do it very often!

First, there's the outfit planning for the family portrait. Fortunately, my mom had purchased something for all three kids to wear, but finding something appropriate for Aaron and I to wear that blended and looked somewhat festive proved challenging.

Then, there's the actual studio experience. I decided that if we ever do it again, we'll dress in our holiday outfits in July to avoid the crowds. I know that portrait studios are out to make a buck, but when you specialize in a business that thrives on people looking happy, making them wait in a 90 degree studio for any longer than 10 minutes or so just doesn't make good business sense. Kids get hot, they get tired, moms and dads get flustered and in a hurry and you just don't sell as many pictures as you would have if you scheduled fewer appointments for the day! The thing is, these pictures are around for like...ever...and nobody wants their great great grandchildren looking back and laughing about how stressed everyone looked. Yeah, my great great grandparents look VERY stressed in their pictures, but with much better reason than a photography studio that overscheduled appointments! They were raising 13 kids and working in fields with no deodorant, so I cut them a whole lot of slack! But I digress...

We finally got our pictures made. And when we got home that night, I fell asleep a couple of hours earlier than normal. It was work, but we got it done and managed to get a few good shots. Lots of you will be seeing some of these on forthcoming Christmas cards. Act surprised! :)