December Already???!!!

Where did fall go???   I guess the saying is true...time flies when you're having fun, especially when it involves your husband coming home from Afghanistan after being away for almost a year.  We gave November one last hurrah with a trip to the Outer Banks in North Carolina during the week of Thanksgiving and had a fantastic time.    Some highlights included...

...lots of yummy food, including some that was personalized just for us since we were there in the "off-season"...

...fun checking out the Wright brothers monument... 

 ...the boys loved all the wide open space...

...and pretending they could fly...

...we all had a great time and I have to admit it was even cooler than I imagined it would be...

We loved the chance to be cold and bundle up... 

...and not sweat while playing outside... 

It was pretty cool to check out the beach with all the wind too... 

Colton

Mason

 We checked out the settlement at Roanoke and got to try out some gear....

...he said it was surprisingly comfy, lol.  Colton and Mason were more interested in the swords...

....and the indoor, much warmer museum... 

We also had a great time at the North Carolina aquarium...

...the shark tank was a favorite...

The lighthouses ranked high on our list of favorites too... 

...as well as this beautiful property in Corolla, which was originally just a little hunting getaway... 

...must have been a rough life.  It was an ideal duck-hunting spot, still is in fact, and we enjoyed the scenery...

The boys got a kick out of playing in the leaves, something we don't really get to do here in sunny Florida...

We took a hike, trying to find the wild horses in the maritime forest...

...the boys were real troopers for the 1 1/2 mile hike and our only find included some big pinecones. It was good to move around if nothing else.  

We made a return trip to the Wright Brothers memorial, this time on foot...

...if I lived there, I'd be running on that property all the time.  It was fantastic!!

We got in more bundled up beach time...

...and warmed up with some indoor fort building...

...the boys had no idea what they were missing with our attached couch cushions :-)

Towards the end of the week, Mickey's sister and her family joined us.  It was FANTASTIC to watch the cousins play together...

...us adults didn't mind catching up either.  I wish we lived closer together.

Bowling was especially entertaining...

...as was movie night...

Thanksgiving morning found us at the local Turkey trot in 30 degree weather...

...BRRRRRR!  It was fun to get in some exercise on our day of over-indulgence though.  

We revisited the lighthouse for some fun photos, like this...

...and this...

...as well as another chilly stop at the park.  Those boys don't let anything keep them from playing :-)

Before we knew it, it was time to head home.  Thank goodness for our fearless pilot... 

...900+ miles each was is no easy task and he did the whole thing while I just sat and read.  He's a SAINT!!!...(and a martyr too ;-) if I may say so myself)

It was a fantastic trip and I'm so glad we got the chance to go.  

We didn't slow down once we got home.  Over the weekend, we hit up the Home Depot for a tool box building clinic...

...and afterwards we hit up the new Bass Pro Shop which included a visit to Santa... 

...we've made some serious progress since last year.  There were no tears, and the boys even told Santa what they want for Christmas, they just needed a little parental support, thus the parents in the photo.    Maybe next year we'll get smiles?!  One can dream :-)

We finished up our day with the Beach to Bar 5k.  The boys did their typical stroller thing and fell asleep while I pushed them over 2 bridges...

...which made for a kids run with less than excited toddler runners...

...and even a few tears since they thought their race included mommy pushing them like usual...

...whoopsies!!  Our family made a pretty good showing though and came home with the loot to prove it...

...a 2nd place age group award for Mickey, finishers medals for the boys,  and a stroller division winner award for me.  Not too shabby!  I'd say it was a successful holiday. 

Now it's back to the grind and time to gear up for Christmas.  Our house is decorated, the shopping is almost done, and now the real fun of enjoying the season begins.  I LOVE this time of year!!  

Christmas Decorations, a 5k, the Air Show, Family Fun and More...

To say last weekend was a lot of fun would be an understatement....here's a glimpse into all the excitement we packed in...tis the season after all, right??...

We kicked off Friday morning with a trip to BJs where the highlight of the outing was this giant snowman...

...the boys are already getting amped up for Christmas and everything that comes with it.  Who can blame them??  I'm excited too!

After some quick shopping, we hit up the library for the family place...

...Miss Lisa and her activities are always a winner in our book.  We get lots of practice in sharing and using our words while we're there too...good stuff!!

We spent our evening kicking butt at a local 5k...

...Mickey and I both won our age groups and had a great time racing.  It was fun to run at the airport while the air show was going on.

Saturday kicked off with a trip to Home Depot to build some ships...

...I'm pretty sure the paint was the best part, in their opinion.  They had fun and were so proud!

You better believe we had to spend some time checking out the Christmas gear there as well...

...I'm pretty sure they're convinced if you have a rocking horse, a dancing santa, and some piano playing winter creatures, you've got all you need to have yourself a merry little Christmas.  They were in HEAVEN checking it all out.  We spent at least 20 minutes taking it all in...good times!  

I decided to get in the spirit of things and indulge in my first skinny peppermint mocha of the season as well...

...DELISH!!

After a quick stop at the gym, we spent the rest of our Saturday around the house before joining some friends for a backyard bbq in this gorgeous fall weather.  After that fun night, I'm convinced we should be including a bbq in every weekend from now until next summer.  It's such easy, family-friendly fun.

Sunday morning kicked off with a run with my favorite running buddy...

...before heading off to church.  The boys are really getting into the whole sunday school thing...

...apparently even Bible characters like to climb trees, just like the boys  Check out how they kept the color mostly on the trees...making progress!  Seriously, I love that we're all happy at our church.   It's a great place!

We spent most of the rest of our Sunday at the air show, or airplane show as the boys call it...

...the boys loved all the planes and helicopters on the ground...in the air was a little bit of a different story at first but they got used to it.  We survived the whole time without a stroller too.   We're moving up in the world!  

We spent a lazy Sunday evening watching a movie.   It was a LOVELY day!!

It was back to reality on Monday with an EARLY trip to the gym for some weights and the elliptical.  I love getting my workout out of the way.  After breakfast, it was time for play group for the boys while I ran some errands and pampered myself a bit with a massage.  Too bad I can't get one of those every week...my back finally feels great today.  Maybe I need to sign Mickey up for massage therapy school so he can take care of me even more...lol.  I wish!!

We managed to squeeze in a quick trip to the park too before it was time for lunch...

...it was SOOOO windy out there yesterday and the boys thought it was fantastic.  

I rounded out my day with a little tutoring which always makes me smile, some laundry, some cooking, and some family time.

Today started bright and early again with a lovely run in the rainy weather...

...what can I say, we're die-hards, lol!

We managed to squeeze in story time today in between rain showers.  Today's features were...

and

...two silly stories about silly animals.  What's not to love??

We also had a fantastic time at music class and managed to squeeze in a quick trip to the library and the fresh market before lunch....

...can't pass up those Tuesday deals.  I see pork on the menu this week.  I'm excited about my new vanilla maple coffee too.  YUM!!

Looks like a rainy rest of the day...perfect for vacuuming and painting my nails before the boys wake up.   Life is good.