O-H-I-O

Right after Christmas, we went to Ohio to visit Papa, Uncle Mike, Aunt Nicole, and Dean. We were looking forward to some fun snow for these southern boys to play in, but no luck. It was cold, but there was no good snow for playing. However, that didn't disappoint us at all... we kept busy and explored all we could indoors. My pictures are a little backwards from the order we did all of these things, but I'm not up for moving them all around!

One of the days was spent getting lost in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. Michigan. What an amazing place! I think this has to be the best museum in the world for boys (of all ages) to visit... tractors, airplanes, trains, old cars, new cars, race cars, RV's, presidential cars... they were all there.They even got to build their own cars and race them down the tracks.

There were also exhibits that showed the results of a car-centered culture... McDonald's drive-thru, roadside motels, etc.We sat on a old train and heard a reading of "The Polar Express".Model trains with video cameras on them... we could see ourselves as they went by.

A paper airplane making station with a test strip to determine how well they flew.

The Weinermobile was a huge hit with the boys... each of them got in this big bun and had their chance to be a weiner...

One day we went for pizza for lunch before The Imagination Station. The boys thought it was the coolest thing ever to make their own pizza.

I think this was one of Jackson's most favorite parts of the trip...
the kid can eat his weight in pizza!

Next stop was the Imagination Station, an incredible children's science museum. I think we were there for at least three hours, and I feel like we got only an overview of the whole thing.
The best part of this day? Getting to see the boys playing with Nana, Uncle Mike, Aunt Nicole, Papa, and Dean. They truly loved the time with family.
One of the highlights of the trip was getting to see a Globetrotters game... what a cool time! All three boys loved it (as did all of the adults!), and all of their giggling certainly made me giggle... not one of them stopped smiling the whole timer we were there. The Globetrotters played some amazing basketball and were amazing entertainers.
I haven't been back to Ohio during the winter in over 11 years, and it was so good to go back then. It was cold, but the time was certainly warmed by all of my family there and having a great time. Thanks Papa, Uncle Mike, Aunt Nicole, Dean, and Nana for the great time... we are all looking forward to another visit (next time in the summer)!

Merry Christmas!

The Friendly Beasts

Jesus our brother kind and good
Was humbly born in a stable of wood
And the friendly beasts around him stood
Jesus our brother kind and good

"I" said the donkey shaggy and brown
I carried his mother up hill and down
I carried him safely to Bethlehem town
"I" said the donkey shaggy and brown

And "I" said the cow all white and red
I gave him my manger for a bed
I gave him my hay for to pillow his head
"I" said the cow all white and red

"I" said the sheep with a curly horn
I have him my wool for his blanket warm
And he wore my coat on that Christmas morn
"I" said the sheep with a curly horn

"I" said the dove from the rafters high
Cooed him to sleep that he should not cry
We cooed him to sleep my love and I
"I" said the dove from the rafters high

And "I" said the camel all yellow and black
Over the desert upon my back
I brought him a gift in the wise men's pack
"I" said the camel all yellow and black

Thus every beast remembering it well
In the stable dark was so proud to tell
Of the gifts that they gave Emmanuel

The gifts that they gave Emmanuel

Found

I was transferring some pictures off of a camera and found pictures that I forgot I had taken. Thought I'd just post some recent pictures of the boys.
Harris is extremely excited about the holidays. He is constantly asking when we are getting the tree (this weekend) and when we can put up the decorations. I think he asks at least three times a day.
He is not able to keep a secret. At all. Jackson told him about a gift he had gotten for Jason, and Harris spilled the beans as soon as he saw Jason. Do not tell him anything you don't want the world to know!
He is obsessed with the FurReal Friends walking dog. He saw it at WalMart over the summer and has talked about it ever since. He is desperately hoping he gets it for Christmas!
Jackson is diggin' his scooter right now. He will spend hours on it if we let him and loves doing "missions"... scooting somewhere I tell him to go in the neighborhood. I'm not sure if the cold weather will dampen his enthusiasm for the scooter, but it hasn't so far.
There was a holiday bazaar at his school last week, and he came home with Christmas gifts for me, Jason, Harris, Nana, and two for himself. His favorite? His new tye-dye socks. He has worn them for the past two days straight... tonight I have hidden them at the bottom of the laundry basket.
I love this picture of him. He has wanted to make snow angels for years, and the poor kids has to do sand angels instead. We are going to Ohio over the holidays... I pray (probably for the first time in my life!) for snow. He deserves to make a true snow angel.
Such fun these boys are! Every day it is something new, something to make me laugh, some super-cute smile, a huge hug, or an unexpected gesture of kindness. So much sweetness from them! I'm glad I found these unexpected treasures on my camera tonight!

Botany Bay

On Saturday morning, we joined the Eglestons for a family adventure day at Botany Bay, a South Carolina DNR wildlife management area near Edisto Beach. It was a chilly fall day, but a perfect one for exploring the plantation and beach.Jason finds a tree to climb everywhere we go. This amazing magnolia was only the first of the many climbing trees we found.

These little boys ran and ran and ran...

and ran and ran and ran...

and ran some more. I'm not sure they walked anywhere all day!

I love this picture of the boys, Harris, DuBose, Jackson, and Mills.
Everything about the plantation was amazing, and I think we were all in awe of the beauty as we walked.
The trees made the perfect playground... perfect for climbing, bouncing, swinging, and jumping off. What a big group of monkeys we were!
Since the plantation is a wildlife management area, nothing could be removed, which means no shell collecting on the beach. There were millions of shells. Harris found a huge conch shell and added it to this palmetto, decorated by previous shell hunters... he was quite proud to have been a part of it!
It was such a beautiful place, and we left so much more to explore. Thanks, Eglestons, for including us... we are looking forward to many more trips!