peppermint pancakes

We had peppermint pancakes and they were delicious! It was Quinn's idea to put peppermint in...and I had some reservations about how they would turn out...but they turned out great. We ARE a bit obsessed with all things peppermint in this house, however.  We make our pancakes like sticks because the kids love to dip them in syrup.

I had express permission from Quinn to publish the picture above (although it might embarrass her later...I think it is adorable!) to show off our finished pancakes. She really loves to roll her hair with these rollers that I have from the 80's...she unearthed them from some hidden place in my bathroom...do you remember these? Look how cute the finished product is!!

Quinn's 1st grade Christmas party

Mrs. Cox's class had their Christmas party and it was a ton of fun. They decorated sugar cone Christmas trees and one of the dads even sang and played the guitar! Tyndale got to come too, and he (and some other classmates' little brothers!) even got to participate in all the activities. He LOVED it!

Here is Quinn with her finished product. Voila! I think Tyndale ate more than he decorated!

You can see Ramie's daddy singing with his guitar above...and all the kids were jingling their parents' car keys to Jingle Bells. So fun!

Milk and Cookies with Santa

The kids were so excited to visit with Santa and tell him ALL about what was on their Christmas lists! (and other things from Tyndale, such as his favorite phrase: "When I grow up, I'm gonna be a grown up!") Santa took his time with each of them and really listened...and was sure to ask them if they were good!

 Tyndale asked for a "real Polar Express Choo Choo train with a whistle and a bell." Quinn asked for an Itouch...although I don't think that Santa quite understood what that was and it was a bit akward for a few minutes...but she stood firm in her request (even though Mama and Daddy have told her that she is too young for an Itouch and that we have personally contacted Santa to let him know that). She also let him off the hook by adding that she would also like a horse (stuffed) and an Easy Bake oven.

 After talking to Santa we decided that just in case he forgot their choices, we should write letters. Even Tyndale wrote one...and they put them in his mailbox.

 Right after some jump time and face painting, we were off to the milk and cookies! And then crafts where they made these darling reindeer antlers.

 Speaking of reindeer, that night after bed and after about ten minutes alone with his thoughts, Tyndale called Daddy back upstairs for a very important question. "Where were Santa's reindeer? And why did the fake one next to Santa fall down?" (I did not see the fake one fall down, but if he thought it was real, that WOULD have been pretty traumatic!) Daddy explained that his real reindeer were out back in stalls, and that they are actually pretty shy, so they didn't want to be around a crowd. Whew! Daddy to the rescue...all was well again. Love this age!

Sheshe fun and curlicues

One morning SheShe brought us some Twisted Peppermint shower gel...our favorite! She has been super fun to have around the house and we love finding her each morning. One morning she brought us donuts. Below is Tyndale showing her the video of JSU's Sonic Boom...he is still loving the band!!

One morning getting ready for school we noticed that Quinn and Aunt Bobbie had matching hairdos! Aren't they cute?

Elfy mischief and the Christmas Parade

Our elf, SheShe, flew in during Thanksgiving week and was waiting for us when we returned from Kanuga. Since then she has been keeping her eye on Quinn and Tyndale, and getting into some very silly spots!

 The Brookhaven Christmas parade is always an event that we look forward to celebrating. Food, family and friends get together and watch all of the floats. And this year the Jackson State band, the Sonic Boom came. They were A-MA-zing!

 Tyndale and Hampton pre-parade.

The Sonic Boom was an especially big hit with these boys! Tyndale asked for a "band costume" for Christmas so he could dress up like them!

Thanksgiving at Kanuga

We spent a wonderful week at Kanuga for Thanksgiving. We have never been there in the fall/winter before, so the views of the mountains were very different but equally beautiful. The activities changed up a bit too...it was fun to experience Kanuga in a different way.

 Many, many, many (many many) hours were spent fireside. Disregard Mark's flip flops in the picture above..it was COLD! Of course we all spent time in the library...reading books and playing giant checkers.

 This was the last the kids saw of the iPad...I told them a little white lie...that a man picked up all the iPads because they are not allowed at Kanuga. Although not altogether true, they needed this break from electronic-land for awhile...we all did! And below...the bathtub pic. I will be so sad when they don't want to take this pic each year...maybe they will just humor me!

 Look at those pretty girls headed to church! And below, Tyndale's painful "Im having fun" face.

We were in a HUGE cottage this year, so we bunked with the LeBlancs and for a short while, the Plues. They are some of our friends from Guest Period 1. We were NOT going to eat sub-par turkey with Mark LeBlanc around...he brought his turkey fryer and made a turkey that was TO DIE for! And Dorothy's mimosa skills were not to be taken lightly either!

The turkey was OUTSTANDING...did I say that already? What a super fun day! Afterwards we went on a family hike around the lake...and look what we found! A beaver had chewed this tree down. Cool!

This face Tyndale is making just cracks me up...like the harder he smiles the faster the picture will be over. So funny.

 They had family arts and crafts one afternoon and this was so fun. We made recycled paper ornaments and even some wooden ornaments that we wood-burned.

One afternoon we just wanted to be lazy and Mark had the brilliant idea to tell the girls that the one who stayed on the couch the longest would get a dollar for the canteen. They snuggled in right by the fire and loved it!

Meanwhile our "fire-tender" Tyndale made sure the fire was well taken care of. The picture below is from the Square Dance.

 One day Brad surprised Quinn with a trail ride through DuPont. They had such fun and had a special daddy-daughter day. Fun times at Kanuga and special memories made with family and friends.