ELF, strep and Bethlehem

Mom and I went to one of the first showing of ELF at The Rep and I'm so glad we got to go!  We went on a Sunday afternoon and really enjoyed ourselves.  I'm not a HUGE fan of the movie, but I really enjoyed the show!  I'm not sure how R would have handled it though!

While we were doing that, Ryder was off at his Great Grandma Jones' making sugar cookies!  I'm glad he gets to do this with other people and I don't have to be the one that does it with him.  [Yes, I just admitted that.]

Ryder spent Sunday night at Mimi's and I had a bad feeling he was getting sick.  And I was right.  I could tell by looking at his checks in this picture she sent me while I was at school.  

I'm so glad I went straight to the Dr. after picking him up from Mimi's because he had a 103 degree temp when we got there.  We had a sweet guy nurse we have had before.  I really was afraid it was the flu because two girls at his school had just been diagnosed with it (and they had both gotten their flu shots).  They did a flu and strep test.  This was the first time R just let them swab him, without 4 nurses and me having to hold him down to get it done.  PHEW.  Such a relief.  Signs he truly is growing up.  

Luckily it was Strep and not the flu!!!  We loaded up and headed off to the pharmacy to get some meds from Mr. Chuck!  

As much as I hate to miss school, I was looking forward to spending the next day at home with this little guy!

Mom made some ham and beans and dad brought it to my back door.  So thankful for them!  I read up on some Social Studies books I had ordered for my classroom off of Amazon and let Ryder do whatever he felt up to doing. 

He missed school on Tuesday, but Wednesday we were back at school and went to Bethlehem at church that night.  R has been 2-3 times before, but we missed it last year because of the rain, so he was super exciting to get to go back this year.  

We visited all the shops R wanted to visit, and then made our way to the Inn 

So thankful for these precious memories with my little guy during this wonderful season (even if it involves a lil strep throat!)

Squeak the Elf Pajamas

I have a funny story, that is just too funny not to share with you guys.  It wasn't really funny at the time, but we are able to laugh at it now, so that means we are safe to re-share!

Even before Squeak (our Elf on a Shelf) made his appearance at our house for the 2014 Christmas Season, he sent some Squeak pajamas to our house for R to enjoy!  

He was so excited about them and thought the "fire retardant tag" was a note from Santa/Squeak--he asked me to read it to him, so I just made some stuff up on the fly! 

This particular Saturday, Ryder said "My goal for today is to stay in my PJs all day"  Luckily we didn't have anything planned for that day...so it was a reasonable goal for him to achieve! 

It was a pretty Fall day out...but it had rained a couple of days before.  He wanted to go outside and play and I had no reason not to let him out on such a pretty day!  He was out the door in his PJs before I could tell him to change and at the time I didn't see anything wrong with it.  Until...he started playing in the mud, like hardcore, playing in the mud.  

He came in, I made him strip in the laundry room, and took him straight back to the bath to get the dirt out of his hair, and out from underneath his fingernails!   

So...a couple of days later when I pulled the washed PJs out of the dryer and give them to R to put on, this is what they look like.  OMG.  Shocked.  He was SO upset ya'll!!!  I had no idea the dirt would leave such a mark and that I would need to Spray 'N Wash them!!!

...and poor guy thinks they came straight from The North Pole and that Squeak made them and we can't get another pair and that these are "RUINED!!!!"  Well, they were ruined, but we might be able to find another pair! ;)

Luckily Squeak's helper found another pair at Target a few days later after looking for them online with no luck!  His first pair was an 8, but I got a 10 for his second pair so maybe we can wear them a few years longer! ;)  

Pumpkin Patch with Snuggle Bug [2014]

For the past two years I've been working/in school/teaching and unable to "take off" to go to the Pumpkin Patch with Ryder's school, but luckily this year I had the ability to take off and go with them!  It had rained pretty hard the day before so we had to reschedule for a few days later, and I'm so glad we did.  It was still a bit wet, but much better than it would have been.

He was basically a pro at all the play places since this was his third year visiting.  

With Dexter and Ian.

Little farmer boys...

Picking out the perfect pumpkin to take home!

We had pumpkin cookies and decorated water to celebrate Ms. Carol's birthday while we were there!  Then we all headed out to eat lunch together at Chick-Fil-A!  

christmas with GA fam

We were so lucky to have Tonya and Luke, and Aunt Kathy and Uncle Sam visit us during the second weekend of December to celebrate Christmas.  We usually do this every other year...the year we don't go to Atlanta to see them for Thanksgiving, and this was that year!  

Tonya and Luke flew in Thursday night...and Squeak the elf brought them some goodies to welcome them to AR! ;)

All of our parents (mine included) took Friday off to spent time together...and the "kids" all went to work!  Well I went to work, and Luke and Tonya worked from home!  It was a lot of my kids last day at school because they didn't have to take semester tests and I got so many goodies from my kiddos.  I felt so blessed!

Friday night we had BBQ and stayed up way to late as you can see!  But it's nice to hang out with everybody and then walk back across the street to go to bed!

Saturday we got up and walked back over to my parents for some breakfast.  It was a beautiful day and it was hard to believe it was December!  The boys worked on stuff outside (cars, boats, trailers, etc.) while the girls just hung out.

Later in the afternoon Tonya, Luke, Ryder and I all went walking on the bike trail near our house.  It was tempting to get Chick-Fil-A as we were leaving since it's right there, but Luke and Tonya have Chick in GA, so they wanted to try Pitza 4 2!  I'm so glad I got to take them there...they LOVED it!  

Saturday night we got all fancied up for a traditional Christmas dinner!  Luke even gave R his own GT pin!  It looks great on him!

Cousins!  It's been us for a long time...so glad we are still celebrating together after all these years! 

Ryder got a Wubble Bubble.  It's a fun toy!  But the big kids popped it after 30 minutes.  Womp.  

Ryder loved having Luke around to "play with him" and do boy stuff that I guess I'm not so good at doing!  He is still saying, "I wish Tonya and Luke were still here..." 

Too much Wubble Bubble FUN!

Sunday they went to spent time with their other side of the family in LR and then flew home that evening.

Ryder went out to the farm with his dad and road his dirt bike for the first time in a long time...church clothes and all!!

Monday I took Allie and Josh's Christmas card photo for them.  Let's just say, taking a picture with kids maybe easier than taking a picture with two dogs!  Ryder snapped this picture of me staging Fitz!  Ha!  I'm just glad we got a decent enough one for them to send out!

Tuesday night was Craft Night at our new Chick Fil A.  R got to make a Gingerbread house to hang on the tree.  

This was Wubble Bubble #2 that I had for back-up in case/when the first one popped.  Yeah, it lasted 3 days.  They say they have a life time warranty, but I've yet to take them back to Target to see what they say.

We had a great time with our visitors and are already ready to see them again!  It's always fun to get into the Spirit a little bit early!

See GA family Christmas 2012 HERE.