The holidays, in pictures!

Happy New Year!  This post will be a big fat sloppy mix of the last month, we've been busy!  The holidays were pretty spectacular.  I'll admit, I was a little worried that not being in a cold climate would make Christmas feel silly this year but I was so wrong.  We made the most of every minute all over Florida with a lot of family and friends.  (oh, and my favorite Christmas song of all time is "Oh Come all ye Faithful, in case you were wondering).

If you didn't get a Christmas card from us, it looked a little something like this:

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My in-laws gave us (well, the kids really) a trip to Disney for Christmas.... they sent a few puzzle pieces every day in the mail and once they had all arrived, the puzzle showed a picture of Mickey Mouse and it said on the back "We're going to Disney"!   Very creative way to tell them!  They were SO excited, it was one of the best trips EVER!  Luke of course rode every ride we could stand in line for and Olivia braved the Thunder Mountain roller coaster (about 6 times).  SO MUCH FUN!  We stayed in a villa at the Wilderness Lodge which I would HIGHLY recommend. 

Grandmama, don't be scared - just hold on to the bar!

 

This was the tree in the Villas..... only about 1/4 of the size of the tree in the main lodge

Warming up after a little night swimming and hot tubbing!

 Can you spot them??

Running off the roller coaster - she is SO proud of herself!

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The kids started playing soccer too..... We are in a league called "Massive Soccer Coaching" where the coaches come from England to train the kids in their soccer skills.  I am SO impressed with how amazing the coaches are with the kids... they are broken up into teams and they run for the full hour.  The kids barely even noticed we were there..... it's Liv's FIRST team sport ever and she's loving it.  Check her out.... cutie pants!  (obviously I hadn't switched the white balance on my camera before I snapped this - sorry for the hyper green tones)

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Here is our tree..... I LOVED sitting at my computer at night with only the tree lights on in the room....   we got it at a tree lot (I'll admit, it was kind of hokey and 80 degrees) where all the trees were picked up in North Carolina.  It was beautiful and we enjoyed it just as much as our trees from up north.

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Liv's Pre-K class did a Holiday Lights program where they went through all of the holidays in December and sang about them, it was ADORABLE and she was beside herself with excitement to "sing on stage".... she's a natural, you watch out for this one!

(ps - the scars on her face are from a skateboarding accident..... she's extreme, y'know)

Olivia and her friend Maddie...  (and Liv is sporting my vintage mickey mouse bracelet that her nana had been saving for her for almost 40 years!!!)

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We attended Luke's class in December to hear all of the kids read aloud thier favorite writing piece.  Luke chose to write about a package he was waiting for in the mail ~ it was a set of Super Mario figurines... he was so excited!   They read into a microphone.... he was so adorable and of course I started to tear up over my big boy!  SO proud!

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Then, Liv's class had their holiday workshop... we attended with Auntie and Grandmama.... we sat with them and did a craft, read a book and had a snack.  I love how involved we get to be in their school activities! 

Liv and Colin.... one of her best buds.

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Santa paid a visit to our development via the Martin County Fire Department!  He delivered a gift to each of them. The kids were so excited...  Luke ran right up and gave Santa his list and Liv stayed far back in the driveway, she is not so comfy with big furry anythings.  Maybe next year....

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Mom and Tom flew in to spend Christmas with us.... we enjoyed a candlelight Christmas Eve service at the Presbyterian church in Palm City.  When we got home, the kids sprinkled the lawn with glittered oats to help the reindeer see our house.  

Christmas jammies are always a favorite in our house!  Before bed, the kids chose one gift to open, it was SILLY straws from my Aunt & fam in Chicago... HILARIOUS! 

This post is so full, I'll have to publish Christmas Day on the next one... Stay Tuned!

xo