Bringing home the tree 2009

Bluffton Christmas Parade 2009

Dan put chairs out early in the morning to save a spot for us to watch the parade in front of the Sippin' Cow Cafe. The rain almost spoiled the parade, but it prevailed and we walked away with smiling faces and lots of candy!

White Christmas in Pennsylvania 2009

We drove to Pennsylvania the day after a record breaking blizzard. They had about 2 feet of snow on the ground that hung around for Christmas Day. Dan helped the kids build two snowmen and one snow fort. James and Hayes didn't even complain about the pink snow suits we borrowed from their cousins.

Silly Goose Photo Shoot Calhoun Street in November

My friend, Janet, is a talented photographer. She spent an hour with us and worked her magic.

Thanksgiving 2009

We celebrated Thanksgiving in Bluffton with Gram, Papa, Aunt Alicia, and Uncle Adam. Halle, James, Hayes, Mama, and Aunt Alicia made chocolate chip oatmeal raisin cookies to celebrate Papa's birthday.

Halloween 2009

Bats and cats and camou, oh my! We had a fun Halloween. Dan carved all four pumpkins that we brought home from the pumpkin patch. We lit them on our porch Halloween night. Halle chose to be a cat, ears, tail and all. James was happy with his Batman pajamas he has had since Valentine's Day. When his mask wouldn't stay in place we decided to use costume make up and paint it on. Easy to apply, not so easy to remove. Hayes took a spin off of Amanda's school theme and with a camouflage warm up suit, he became little Army man. The kids had the most fun visiting James' friend, A.J.'s house. His parents gave out Play-do, bottles of water and had a blow up haunted house on their front lawn. From there we filled our pumpkin pails and headed back to Gram and Papa's to show off our loot. Everyone slept well that night. It is now November 19 and we still have plenty of candy left.

Visiting Papa's Office

Mama and Gram took Halle, James and Hayes to Papa's office for the first time on October 26, 2009. They had fun coloring at Papa's desk, looking in all his cabinets and finding pencils in Papa's ceiling!

Fall Fun

We enjoyed the Arts and Seafood Festival on Calhoun Street in Bluffton. James school had a little fall carnival within the festival. Halle and James had their faces painted, played in hay maze (Hayes loved that too) and bounced in bouncy houses. In Simpsonville, the kids loved looking for and collecting bright leaves and playing football with Papa.

Visiting the Apple Orchard 2009

Amanda and the kids drove with Gram to Hendersonville, NC to meet Papa and Uncle Adam at Skytop Orchard. This was the fourth year we have gone to pick apples at this orchard. This year the apples were already picked, but we still had fun drinking apple cider, eating apple cider donuts, playing in the playhouses, seeing the animals on the petting farm, walking through the bamboo forest and having a family picnic.

Oyster Run 5K

We participated in our fourth Arts and Seafood Festival 5K through downtown Bluffton. Dan pushed Halle and James in the double jogging stroller and Amanda pushed Hayes. Even with the extra weight, Dan managed to pull out third place in his age group.

James Before He Lost His Curls

Dan took James in for a trim one Saturday morning. These are some pictures from just before he lost his curls. :( Mama is still awaiting their return.