Nutcracker

Anna and I went to see the Nutcracker again this year. It was beautiful and so much fun. Anna really loves watching the dancing and listening to the music. She has actually been watching different ballet versions on TV and talking about the differences in the performances. Next year we will have to go see the Russian Nutcracker performance...it is supposed to be spectacular!

Christmas tree farm

We went to a real Christmas tree farm to pick out a tree this year. It wasn't far from our house, and it was so much fun! Anna and Henry loved the hayride and hot chocolate! They also loved choosing our tree! As you can tell, Anna found finding the perfect tree very serious work.

Happy Thanksgiving...

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you...very late, but oh well. We had a nice Thanksgiving this year filled with friends and some relaxation! Our neighbors invited us to join them on Thanksgiving day. It was so nice and we really enjoyed it. We made a few dishes to share, and we enjoyed their "Northern" Thanksgiving dishes. We are so thankful for so many things this year, but mostly we are thankful for the health and happiness of all of our family! We missed them!

On Friday, we enjoyed football and an amazing tribute to Chad's mom via the iphone. We were so sad to miss it, but Gene and Linda had set up an overlook on the Arkansas River named the Martha Myers Smith overlook. It has a beautiful plaque, view and bench. We are looking forward to visiting it when we go back to Little Rock.

Anna's School Feast and Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday Daddy! We love you so much! This morning Anna and Henry couldn't wait to give Chad his presents! They brought them to him in bed!

Anna also had a school feast today! It was at beautiful Jordan Lake. The kids and adults had so much fun. Our feast was not the traditional Thanksgiving feast, and it was so interesting to see what everyone brought! Here are a few of the foods we enjoyed: yummy Korean BBQ, Rice balls from Japan, ham rolls (a NC food tradition), fruit, pumpkin pie, etc... Chad roasted marshmallows for everyone and made s'mores. Some of Anna's friends from other countries had never had these. We all enjoyed sampling so many different types of food.

Tonight we will go out to dinner with everyone and then have cake at home. Tomorrow night Chad and I will go out together! :)



The s'mores birthday boy...needless to say, he was quite popular!


Time for a hike...or RUN through the woods!

Girls talk...

Boys play! :)






Anna and friends with Mrs. Edmonds...We are so thankful for her!

Nanny and Grandpa's visit

Nanny and Grandpa came to visit for a little over a week...We had so much fun, but we were so thankful that they kept our kids while we went on our trip. Thank you Nanny and "Pa"! Anna and Henry loved having them here!

Nanny and Anna went to a Sugar Plum Tea at the Carolina Inn while we were gone. Some of Anna's friends from school were there. Anna loved seeing all of the ballet dancers and getting their autographs!

Costa Rica

Chad and I went to Costa Rica last week and stayed at his dad's house!!! Thank you Willis...it was fabulous! Stephanie (one of my oldest friends) and Kevin joined us! The views from the house were amazing. It was oh so relaxing! We loved exploring the area around the house with all of the restaurants, beaches, etc. I only wished that we could have stayed longer...I guess it means we have to go back!

Pura Vida!

Halloween

Willis and Elaine came to visit this past weekend for Henry's birthday and Halloween! We all had so much fun...you would not believe Halloween in our neighborhood. I have seriously never seen anything like it...there were thousands of kids trick or treating, no exaggerations, there were lines of people at our house waiting for candy. Decorations galore! It was a blast. Anna and Henry loved trick or treating, but I think that they loved passing out candy more! Henry was telling people, "Now you say thank you!" He gave the kids candy and a little manners lesson. :) He is so funny!

Ready to trick or treat!

Typical Anna

Typical Henry...after this he safely stowed the sword away. Amazingly enough, he never pulled it out again. It now has a new home WAY UP HIGH...it may even disappear altogether! :)

Friends!

This is a son and father wearing masks...Henry was nervous!

The dad took off his mask, and Henry was still nervous! Grandpa helped him out! :)

Anna's friend Emily's Dad, "The Butler"! He even passed out adult treats to us!


After trick or treating, Anna and Henry set up chairs and passed out candy. We were out of 5 HUGE bags in 45 minutes...CRAZY! I guess next year we need 10 bags?