Visiting Santa

We took the kids to see Santa Claus this year at Bass Pro Shops. They have a Santa's Wonderland set up with a bunch of games, crafts and carousel rides. We went on a weekday so there wasn't very many people there. Before Santa got there, we tried to get a few pictures of the kids on Santa's chair, but they didn't want to stay still very long.

We got on the carousel, but we did one at time since we had to stand next to them while they were on the ride. Kevin rode with Ashton and I rode with the girls. Brittany wasn't too excited about it at first and wanted to get off, but she ended up liking it at the end.

When it was time to meet Santa, they were excited! Then none of them wanted to sit with him. Kevin and I had to get in the picture with them and hold Brittany and Caitlyn. Ashton sat on his lap, but wasn't happy about it. We tried to get the best picture possible... but it's very hard to try to get 3 two year olds to look and smile at the camera! Maybe next year we will get one!

Oyster Festival Camping Trip

We went on our last camping trip of the year the first week in November. We went to Bethpage for the Urbanna Oyster Festival. This is an annual camping trip that Kevin's family does. We had to work something new out in the trailer because the kids have starting to climb out of their pack'n plays so we didn't want them to climb out and try to get out of the trailer while we were sleeping.

We took our 2 play yard gates with us so we made a big sleeping area for them. We didn't take them down to the fireman's parade on Friday night because it's too loud. So Kevin's parents and family watched over the kids while Kevin and I went downtown to get some food. We made sure we were back before the parade started.

Saturday was the Oyster Festival Parade with all of high school bands and different floats. Before the parade started the kids were playing in the front yard with Kevin and Allison, so it gave me a good opportunity to take some good photos of the kids.

Halloween

This year for Halloween we went with our friends Jerry & April to April's dad's neighborhood to trick or treat. Ashton dressed up as a Washington Redskins football player and Brittany and Caitlyn were Washington Redskins cheerleaders.

We got each of the kids a pumpkin bucket to use to get candy. Ashton got the hang of trick or treating very quickly. He would go up to the houses and say "Trick or Treat" and then "Thank you".  There were a few times where he would say "more" but we just told him that he could only have one piece. Towards the end of the night, he didn't want to do anymore. But for their first time going up to the houses, they did a very good job.

Music and Dancing

We have found that the kids like certain songs that we listen to. The other day in the car Ashton asked us to turn on "Boom Boom" (he calls "Drunk on You" by Luke Bryan "Boom Boom"). So when he turned it on, he was full of smiles and laughter!

We had the CMA Music Fest on a few weeks ago and when that song came on, he got so excited!! I was finishing up giving the girls a bath so once I was done with that, we rewound it back, grab the recorder and recorded him this time! Check out the two videos of "Drunk on You" and "Country Girl Shake it For Me".

The next video is Ashton dancing to Zac Brown Band. He usually does this for "Red Solo Cup" also. 

We listen to music a lot! They have started to pick up on some of the songs and started to sing them. One day when they were coloring, the song by Gloriana "Goodnight (Kissed You)" came on and Ashton started singing it. When a song comes on that they know, they will tell you what song it is! 

Meeting a NASCAR driver

Brad Keselowski was coming to NASCAR Sports Grill in Hampton. Our friend Amy reserved a table for her family and mine and everyone was getting wristbands to meet Brad Keselowski. Since the kids don't go to the races with us when we go, unless it's the family trip to Charlotte for the week, this was a good opportunity to for them to get a picture with a celebrity! They already got a picture with Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne the year before.

When we got to NASCAR Sports Grill, our table was front and center!! Dennis Bickmeier (the president of Richmond International Raceway) was there and doing a Q&A with Keselowski. After the Q&A was done, it was time for everyone to get in line to get an autograph and a picture if they would like. We brought our Spring Bristol tickets (that Keselowski won at) and our Checkard flag that we have been collecting NASCAR drivers autographs on.

When it was our turn to get an autograph, Kevin asked if he would hold the kids for a picture. He didn't even hesitate to answer! Two of the three sat still on his lap and I had to hold the other one up. Kevin and I got into the picture with them!

Animal Kingdom

Thursday was our last day to visit one of the Disney parks. We really wanted to visit a Zoo while we were down in Florida since the kids love animals. Since we got a 2 day park pass, we decided to go to Animal Kingdom as our 2nd park. From reading advice from other people, we got there as soon as the parked opened and immediately went to the Safari. On the way to the Safari we stopped to see the pretty pink flamingos!!

The Safari was an open car ride around the animals. Kevin sat one end of the isle and I sat on the other while the kids were in between us. We saw Hippos, Elephants, Giraffes, Rhinos, Lions, Ostriches, and some other animals. The kids loved to see all of the animals up close! After the Safari was over, we walked through the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. During our walk, we saw Monkeys, Yellow-Backed Duiker, Frogs, Insects, Fish, Birds, and Gorillas.

Once we were done with the trail, we took a train ride over to Rafiki's Planet Watch.The kids got to meet the character Rafiki from the Lion King. After they met Rafiki, we went outside to the petting zoo. This was their first time being up close with no boundaries to animals other than dogs, so I was a little concerned on how they would react. They walked straight up to the animals with no hesitation. They pet them and used the brush to brush them. Of course they did not want to leave that area, but we had to go see the rest of the park. Once we got all cleaned up from the petting zoo area, we got back on the train to take up back to the Africa area. We stopped for lunch, then back to our adventure around the park!

We walked through another area in Asia to see more animals! We got to see Bats, Tigers and Peacocks. There wasn't many animals out in Asia, maybe because it was so hot!! After our trip through Asia, we made it back to the middle of the park for the Parade. After the parade was over, we took the kids over to Dino land and let them ride a few rides.

It was probably one of the hottest days that day, so we didn't stay all day at the park. After us big kids rode the roller coaster there, we took the kids to Camp Minnie and Mickey and let them see Mickey and Minnie before we left.