Christmas with the Carlson's!

Spending Christmas together can be difficult for my family since we all live so far apart, so this year we decided to meet Stacy half-way in Ohio to celebrate. Mom & Dad made the 9 hour trip to be there too, so we were all together for the first time in a while!

The weather was a little iffy...lake effect snow had dumped over 2 feet at the resort the previous week, and another big storm was expected, but we all made it safely to Punderson Manor Lodge. The kids were thrilled to have snow to play with, and the lodge had a sled riding hill that was VERY fast and fun!

The kids had plenty to do...when they weren't sledding, they were swimming in the pool at the lodge. But best of all, they could just hang out together. It makes me so happy to see my kids play with their cousins. Even though they only see each other twice a year, they love to be together so much! Joey idolizes his big cousins Nick & Drew, and Claire & Ethan were joined at the hip all weekend.

The lodge was the perfect location for a cozy winter get away; it was filled with fireplaces, turrets, nooks & crannies to escape to to play a game or read a book. It was the perfect place to gather and be together! I know the kids will cherish the memories we made for years to come!

Over 2 feet of snow!

Emma & Drew lounging by the fire.

Stacy & Nick

Granny & Pappy got an iPod for Christmas!

The Crazy Carlson Cousins!!!

Finding the PERFECT Christmas Tree...

The annual hunt begins...how will we find the perfect tree!?!

Is this one the perfect one!?!

YES!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Celebrating Thanksgiving at Grandma & Grandpap's house!

Spending time with our family & enjoying an amazing feast!!!

We have so much to be thankful for!!!!

Zip-Line!

Check out these crazy cousins!

They have just discovered that Aunt Dina has a zip-line...yes!...a REAL zip-line in her backyard!

Who better to introduce our kids to the joys of a zip-line than cousin David?!? Giggles....smiles...shrieks of delight...it was not possible for three kids to have more fun!

This was the highlight of our last visit to Centerville....how did it escape our attention that Aunt Dina had such a gem hidden in her backyard?

After hours of entertainment, I was able to drag them away from the zip-line. And I know that all three of them are hatching a plan of how we could recreate this little bit of Centerville back home in Greencastle!

Greencastle Christmas Parade

Aren't these the cutest little penguins you've ever seen! Emma's Brownie troop participated in the Christmas parade, and of course, that means Claire gets to participate, too! What a great way to put us in the spirit of the holiday season!

Happy Birthday, Tio!

We celebrated Tio's birthday with a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium...since we bought a year long membership and we've only been ONCE this year, we thought it was high time we made another trip down there & I'm so glad we did!

The inner harbor is such a great place to visit, I don't know why we don't go more often. The aquarium is an awesome destination; the kids could wander around there forever. They were especially digging the jellyfish exhibit and the moray eel. We even got to see the stingrays being fed. Super cool!

And of course they LOVE the dolphin show...hence the expression on Joey's face...pure love, no wait...he just looks like that sometimes :)

We finished our trip with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (thank you to the waitress for snapping this lovely family pic), where Tio got a special piece of birthday cheesecake! Yum!!! Here's to the start of another great year!!!

Dash For Drew

Here we are...at another "fun run". We're lucky enough to live in an area that has lots and LOTS of "fun" running. I love it, I just wish I were better at it :) It's always nice when the kids can participate in a fun run/walk, and this is a really special one; the Dash For Drew. This race benefits the Drew Michael Taylor foundation which does a lot of good in our community.

Most of the races the kids run are 1 mile or less, but this one is a 2 miler. I signed all three kids up, thinking that I would stay in back and walk with Claire, and Joey and Emma would run ahead at their own pace. Little did I know that Claire had other plans!!! She took off at a dead sprint...and didn't stop running for the entire first mile. Her first mile split was 10:31...not too shabby for a 4 year old. She slowed down a little for the second mile, but still finished the race with a time of 23:30. I think we have a future runner in the family!