Christmas #3

To complete our Christmas travels, we arrived in Johnson City, TN late on the 30th (after Otis' party). We were greeted by Greg's parents, Ripley (the dog) and Aunt Gena & Aunt Julia - who had travelled from Connecticut to see us!!! #bestauntsaward

The kids woke up on the 31st, excited to open presents for the 3rd time this holiday season (yes, they are *very* spoiled)! While Abby was waiting on all the adults to come downstairs, she scoped out all the presents :)

 As usual, the kids got WAY too much stuff. (Thank you, everyone!)

Abby got her long-awaited stilts, plus an awesome Polaroid camera and Kate Spade necklace. Highlights for Nate included a Garmin watch, Ripstick, and tent for Scouts.

 For lunch, we headed to our favorite spot.....Pal's! Jr Pal's, Frenchy Fries, and strawberry milkshakes for everyone!

 The afternoon was spent playing with new toys.....

Nate had a ball with Aunt Julia's new VR set 

Abby quickly mastered her stilts

and Nate got a hand from Aunt Gena on the Ripstick. That thing is hard!!

 Aunt Julia always comes up with fun crafts / activities for the kids, and this time was no different. The kids got to cut open oysters and find pearls!! It was so neat. I had no idea they could come in so many different colors.

 Late that afternoon, it started to snow! Well, flurry. Nonetheless, these Alabama kids suited up and headed outside to play in case it didn't last. Nothing like doing a snow angel on concrete with 0.01 cm of snow! :)

 It continued to fall all evening, so the kids went out with Aunt Gena for round #2. There is an empty lot with a hill at the end of the street, and the kids went SLEDDING for the first time!!! They could not contain their excitement.

 We had a wild & crazy New Year's Eve - I was in bed by 10:30 pm - but woke up to this pretty sight on January 1st.

 Greg took the kids sledding again, and managed to get a video. Click here to watch.

The kids had been asking to go roller-skating for weeks, so we decided to dot hat after lunchtime. I skated with the kids, along with Aunt Gena & Aunt Julia. (Greg is NOT a skater!) We had so much fun! Both kids have been skating before but it's been over a year since they last tried it. Nate caught on pretty quickly, but Abby wanted me by her side most of the time. After an about an hour, she was on her own and doing great!

 Unfortunately, both myself and Julia had some pretty nasty falls......Julia in the first 5 minutes and myself at the very end. We both came home and had to ice/rest! #weareold

Greg and I cooked a steak dinner for everyone (yum!) and then after dinner Abby got asked by Aunt Gena & Aunt Julia to be the flower girl in their upcoming January 2019 wedding!!!

She doesn't look excited at all, does she!? :)

That night, we watched Alabama play Clemson in the Sugar Bowl. Once again, Grandma here didn't stay up for the whole thing, but I hear it was a great game! Nate lasted till about 11:30 pm with Greg. ROLL TIDE!

We woke up on the 2nd and it was a wee bit chilly as we packed the car! I have never seen this temperature on my weather app, and had to take a picture ....

 All worn out from our travels! It was a fun week with family and we are grateful we got to make new memories.