Christmas 2008

This year for Christmas, we celebrated Christmas at home. Now that the boys are getting older, it is important to Shane and me that we create some Christmas memories here; therefore, we planned to leave the day after for my parents' house up north. Christmas Eve, we went to the candle-light service at church then drove around looking at Christmas lights (all in 70 degree weather...hmmm...). After our annual "light criticizing" tradition (started by the Loudenslager side of the family), we returned home for our Christmas Eve dinner. The boys were excited because I allowed them to have the "fancy" glasses and sparkling grape juice...oh, what little it takes to make them feel so special! Once the dishes were cleared, we sat down to open the traditional "one present" which, of course, is always a pair of brand new pajamas to wear that night. We finally set out the milk and cookies for Santa, oh, and the "presents" Xander insisted we must give Santa this year. He was concerned that Santa gave all of the children of the world so many gifts, yet no one ever gave him any gifts other than cookies and milk. I wrapped some packages that contained a "scarf, hat, and gloves" to be set out beside the treats and cards from the boys. Oh, the lies we tell...I'm sure I will answer for every one of them someday. But the joy on my children's face as they plan and speculate...I wouldn't trade for anything. Finally, we convinced them that it was time for bed by saying that Santa certainly would not arrive until they were sound asleep; and that was when our work began...
Hayes didn't really know what was going on, but he seemed to enjoy the excitement.

The boys were SO EXCITED to receive a note of appreciation from Santa...he MUST have LOVED his gifts! :)

Cade was able to fully understand what was going on this year, so it was fun to watch him get into the festivities!

Shane surprised us all by buying a "family gift." He wrapped the ingredients for S'Mores for us to open, then ushered us onto the back deck to find our very own firepit! We have been wanting one for some time (especially the resident pyromaniacs), so this was VERY exciting to us all! Come to find out, Shane had put it together after I had gone to bed the night before! Needless to say, he got very little sleep that night! Since the day was unseasonably warm, we spent the rest of the day outdoors with the fire. The whole day was relaxed and pleasant, just spending time together as a family. This is what memories are made of...

The day after Christmas, we journeyed up to Temperance, Michigan to visit my family. Because my brother's girlfriend (who lives here in Greenville, NC) was going with us and had to work on that day, we waited until she got off work at 5pm and then left to drive through the night. Just for the record, I am NOT a fan of driving through the night due to safety reasons; however, it IS easier as far as the kids are concerned, and we DID end up making record time (which was a BIG deal to my competetive husband!). As you will see from the following pictures, it was a wonderful visit packed with fun-filled activities that the boys have continued to talk about since.
Cade took a special liking to my grandmother and could be found at various times throughout the day in her room just chatting away about anything and everything he could think of to talk about. In the above picture, he had bundled his stuffed "friends" in one of her chairs and had asked that she babysit them while he was away for the afternoon. Yes, he was completely serious...

Grandma and Papa got the boys a Wii for Christmas, so you can imagine how excited they were...and what we've been doing since Christmas.

Chucky Cheese

In a desperate attempt to burn some pent-up energy, we took the boys to Chucky Cheese one afternoon for lunch and games. Because of the holidays, it had to be the most crowded I've ever seen any Chucky Cheese...ever; therefore, the noise was a deafening roar, and we were questioning our decision. Fortunately, we made it out in one piece and the boys were sufficiently exhausted. Mission accomplished...

Ice Skating

Strapping on our rental skates and saying a prayer, we were banking on the fact that we remembered how to stay upright on the ice. After 10 years, I wasn't quite sure I would; however, I was relieved to find that my legs remembered the routine and my ankles weren't as wobbly as I had expected them to be. Not that I was ready for the Olympics or anything, but at least it wasn't probable that I would eat ice chips on my first venture back in the rink. Xander and Cade were making their debut, struggling to hold onto their "walkers" as they inched along the wall. Determined to do it on his own and declining any offers of assistance, Xander worked tirelessly and was actually able to go solo by the end of the hour. Cade, on the other hand, was more than happy to prop his skates on the bottom rung of his walker and allow anyone willing and able to push him around the rink. Once again, a perfect picture of our boys' individual personalities!

New Year's Eve

In true Britton Family fashion, New Year's Eve went from being a small, quiet (as quiet as MY children allow anything to be) family gathering to being a full-fledged mini-Britton family reunion! (and by comparison, I really do mean "mini") By mid-afternoon, in addition to our crew, we had Uncle Mark, Aunt Margaret, and Julianne from Canada; Uncle Rob, Aunt Arleita, and Michael from the Cleveland area; and Evangeline and Dempsey on the way up from Cincinatti! Playing games and catching up, the day flew by; and before we knew it, we were bringing in the New Year!

Evangeline and Dempsey

Michael and Uncle Rob

Becca and Steve

Uncle Mark, Julianne, and Dempsey

Cade and Aunt Margaret

Xander and Aunt Arleita

Jump-n-Bounce

One afternoon, my mom and I took the boys to a place that has inflatibles so they could jump out some of the energy they had stored up! The boys thoroughly enjoyed it, and it accomplished our goal!

Snow Fun in Michigan

Well, we didn't get as much snow as we thought we might while up north, but that didn't stop the boys from getting out and having some fun! Papa and Shane took them out sledding and had a blast in spite of a few bumps and bruises along the way!

"Class of '93" Mini-Reunion

After the Alumni Game at SLCS, Steve Worley invited several of us "Class of '93"-ers back to his house so that we could catch up on life while our children ran around like lunatics. Fortunately, we were all used to the noise; therefore, it didn't bother anyone at all. It was amazing that so many years had passed, yet we were all able to pick up right where we left off. I wish the years wouldn't get away from us like they do, but life has a way of making it difficult to keep in touch as much as we would love to do so. However, I can't help but thank God for the wonderful friends He gave me so many years ago and for allowing us to be able to maintain that friendship near or far, whether we talk every day or once a year! I am truly blessed!

Burke and Christen Davis

Steve and Joy Francis

Steve and Leah Worley

The Holidays 2008

Okay, I know I've been terrible about posting; but in my defense, it has been a CRAZY couple of months! :) Very little time to spare...and then when I DID have time, I was just plain too tired to think. Therefore, I am going to give you the condensed version. For more pictures, you will have to visit my Facebook page (if you haven't done so already).

Thanksgiving

(Aunt Michel- from Florida, me, Sara, Aunt Char, and Amanda)

Once again, we hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year. Although we didn't have as many able to come as last year, we still had a wonderful time together! Starting later than we have in the past, we had an evening meal and thoroughly enjoyed the food and fellowship. As always with this group, we did plenty of laughing to burn off all of those Thanksgiving calories! :)

(Mommy and Hayes; Gage)

(Uncle Vincent, Xander, Cade, and Jeff; Sara, Josh, and Xander)

Mike's Farm Christmas Lights

Last year, we started a new tradition by going to Mike's Farm during Thanksgiving; so the day after Thanksgiving, we returned to the farm for the kick-off of their Christmas Lights hayride. It's the perfect way to get into the Christmas mood!

(The Golden girls; Becca and Steve- my brother came down for Thanksgiving, but we didn't see much of him...I think you can guess why! :)

(Cade and Mylee; Landen and Xander)

(Gage and Josh)

Christmas Cookies

(Justin, Landen, Mylee, Ashley, Xander, Cade, and Charlie)

One Sunday afternoon in mid-December, a group of my good friends and I gathered together with our children to make Christmas cookies. We met at Dawn's house after church and began a tradition that we hope to continue for many years to come. For obvious reasons (just take a look at the rest of the pictures on Facebook to find out why :), the girls and boys separated into groups and took turns rolling out dough, cutting the cookies out, making cards, frosting the baked cookies, and then decorating them with sprinkles. It was a fun-filled afternoon that will be remembered for years to come (well, especially by Dawn who is probably STILL cleaning up "stray flour" and sprinkles in places she didn't even know EXISTED in her kitchen!). The next evening, our husbands joined us, and we traveled around town caroling to many of the "older" couples that have come to mean alot to all of us over the years, presenting them with the homemade cookies, cards, and plenty of hugs. It was such a wonderful way to teach the children that it really is more enjoyable to GIVE of yourself during this special time of the year!

GCA Christmas Concert

(Cade with his buddy,Lowell; The Thee Muskateers- Landen, Charlie, and Xander)

Oh, if you only knew what it took to get these boys to this program in one piece and looking decent! Yes, I knew this event was coming and that they would need the proper attire for it; however, I did not realize that they did not have the "proper attire" for such an occassion. My children are not ones that really "dress up" for church (polo shirts and khakis are the best we do, I'm afraid); so when I went into their closet to dress them for the evening, I was seriously alarmed to find their one dress shirt WAY too small, as were their dress pants. Since Shane was working late and was planning to meet us at the concert, I was in a complete panic. After calling my two closest friends who were in a similar dilemma and unable to assist me, I called Shane. He promised to meet me at Sears as soon as possible; so I grabbed the boys and an iron and ran out the door. We tore through Sears (by the way, we chose Sears because we knew it wouldn't be as busy as other places at this time of year...no offense if you're a big Sears shopper. :) and finally settled on a shirt/tie combo and dress pants. With only time enough to get to school and iron the shirts and pants on Shane's office floor, we were dismayed (okay, HORRIFIED) to arrive there only to find that we had SOMEHOW purchased the wrong size pants for Xander. Shane grabbed the pants and bolted back to Sears setting the record at 7 minutes round trip! What a man! Looking like I had just been through a tornado myself, I was pleased to escort my handsome (and appropriately dressed) children to their classrooms...on time too!

Family

Christmas Cookies

Every year, we get together for our annual Christmas cookie night. Because I am the type who loves the "ritual" of making Christmas cookies rather than the "actual" cookie making process, Sara is in charge of the yearly event. She's the resident "baker" of the family, so I am more than happy to take orders, snap photos, and basically take care of crowd control. And as you can see from the below pictures, it's actually the ADULTS we have the most trouble controlling! :)

Golden Family Christmas

For the Golden Family Christmas this year, we gathered at Josh and Sara's house. With each passing year, these events become more and more festive as the children multiply and grow older! Someone is certainly going to have to get a much larger house if we expect to contain these "active young boys" in the years to come! After eating our "appetizer" dinner (everyone brought appetizers and desserts), we all exchanged gifts. Because of the aforementioned ever-expanding family, we exchanged names this Christmas among the adults but still bought for all of the children. The highlight for my boys, of course, would have to be the bike Cade received from the combined effort of Josh/Sara/Aunt Char/Uncle Vincent; and Xander's Lazer-tag game from the same group. However, I think the "big boys" (Josh and Shane) enjoyed the Lazer-tag game the most.

Grandma Golden

Sara and me

Jeff and Amanda

Uncle Vincent and Aunt Char

Cade and Uncle Josh

By far, the highlight of the night for me was a surprise gift master-minded by my unbelievable sister-in-law, Sara, and assisted by Aunt Char, Amanda, and Jeff. When handed the package, I was extremely confused, because I had already received the gifts from Amanda who had drawn my name; but when I tore off the paper, I was even MORE confused! Staring back at me were my very own children, dressed in matching shirts I had not bought them and framed in pictures I had not arranged to have taken. It was a very surreal moment! After the initial shock, I just burst into tears probably startling everyone watching. You have to understand what a huge thing this was to me. The fact that I was forced to cancel their appointments back in October and had been unable to find another time to reschedule because of how busy we were was such a sore spot with me! Once I was able to compose myself, Sara explained how they had been able to pull this off without us finding out! When she found out that Char was watching the boys for us the previous week, she had gotten the shirts and made an appointment. After we left for the Christmas party, she, Amanda, and Jeff joined Char and carted the boys off to the sudio and had ONLY gotten them home and into pajamas before we arrived back home! The amazing thing was that the boys never said a WORD about where they had been all evening! Oh, to have been a fly on the wall of that studio! Once they described how they were jumping all around trying to get them all smile at the same time, I could only imagine what it would have looked like! :) I STILL can't believe it all; but every time I look at those beautiful pictures, I think of how fortunate I am to have people like that in my life!

Trick-or-Treating, October 31, 2008

Well, I will begin by saying that I know not everyone agrees that it's acceptable to take your kids trick-or-treating, and I respect that. I grew up taking part in the festivities, and we have continued the tradition with our children (within reason).

This year, since Hayes has been sick lately, he stayed back at the house with Shane and helped hand out candy while Josh, Sara, and I took Xander, Cade, and Gage around in our neighborhood. As you may see, Cade is wearing a different costume than the one he had on at the Fall Festival. I don't know if someone finally convinced him that Venom is a "bad guy" or what, but he decided that he wanted to pull out is old Spiderman costume for this occasion.

Packing the little ones into Gage's little red wagon, we set off for a chilly evening. For us northerners, the weather was just perfect for the holiday and made us think of our own childhood Halloween memories. While carting the boys from house to house, we greatly anticipated the warm bowl of chili and hot spiced cider back at the house.

Oh, I just LOVE fall!

This was absolutely hilarious to me! As we were walking, Gage was chucking his candy over his shoulder onto the road while Cade was hysterically laughing at him and Xander was running behind them picking up the candy. Anyone who knows these three children will understand that this SO exemplifies their individual personalities! Gage is such a bulldozer, leaving mayhem wherever he may go...Cade is the free spirit who loves nothing more than a good laugh, especially at someone else's expense...and Xander is SUCH the rules boy, unable to stand disorder however little it may be! I could hardly stand up, I was laughing so hard! Oh, you just gotta love kids!

Gage was trying to get a head start on his candy!

Wrapper and ALL!

(we had only been to one house so far! :)

Josh and Sara got all of the boys these cute personalized buckets from Anything Joe's to match their costumes. We love that Aunt Sara understands that the LAST thing they need for Halloween is MORE candy and gets them something that won't give them a sugar-high!

One house really got into the spirit with costumes and decorations!

I was afraid our resident scaredy-cat (Cade) would freak out, but he handled it pretty well. The people really seemed to enjoy the kids and kept loading them up with candy!

Super-Gage and Super-Mom!

Heading back home after another successful year of trick-or-treating!

Xander and Cade

Even super-heroes vote for McCain-Palin!

Sara and I wore our "Palin Power" shirts trick-or-treating, and to Fall Festival, and to the grocery store, and to...well, you get the picture!

After two fun-filled evenings in a row (the night before was Fall Festival), the boys crashed hard. Don't you agree that there is nothing cuter than a sleeping child?!

Well, that wraps up our October Festivities...on to Thanksgiving!

Growing up in a family filled with traditions and making family memories, I am thoroughly enjoying establishing these wonderful traditions and memories for our children.

When all is said and done, these are the moments they will take with them and remember fondly for years to come!

Fall Festival, October 30, 2008

Every year, our school has a Fall Festival which is our biggest fundraiser of the year and is open to the public. The kids dress up in their Halloween costumes and enjoy the many booths, inflatables, hay rides, and much more. This was Hayes's first time attending the festivities; so as you can see, he was "thrilled." Xander and Cade decided to dress up as Batman and Venom (even though Cade is still under the impression that Venom is a "super-hero"), so we thought we'd dress Hayes in a Spider man costume to match.

Here we have the battle between "good" and "evil"; and it's a little sketchy as to who was "winning"! :)


Cousin Gage rounded out the super-hero team by dressing up as Superman! Watch out villains! You've now met your match!

Soo....have you heard about the fairy tale where Raggedy Ann and Venom fall in love and live happily ever after? Okay, so neither have we...but we do know that Raggedy Ann (aka Laura Grace- the little girl my sister-in-law nannies) and Venom (aka Cade) love being friends!



Above left: The boys with Landen

Above right: Cade and Leah



Our close friends, Lee and Dawn



Tinkerbell (aka Kyla) and Peter Pan (aka "Uncle" Neal)



Cade and his good buddy, Lowell.

Oh, no! TWO Venoms! :)

As you can see, we had a wonderful time! At the end of the night, everyone was thoroughly exhausted and very glad the next morning we had "late-start" at our school! (we didn't start until 9:30am)

Pumpkin Carving Party 2008

Once again we had our annual Pumpkin Carving Party at our house, and once again it was a huge success! We literally start talking about and planning for next year's party almost immediately after we have concluded this year's party! And that's no exaggeration! For the past four years, we have gathered at our house to carve our pumpkins, toast the pumpkin seeds, eat wonderful fall dishes, and kick off the holiday seasons! The above picture is our "couldron" of "Goulish Punch" to go with our yearly "Cheeseburger Soup," "Fall Spiced Cider," "Pumpkin Cheesecake," and many other wonderful autumn dishes!

The children of the group! It's hard to believe that when we started having this party, Xander and Cade were the ONLY kids! Seems like we add a couple every year! :)

The girls of the bunch. Poor little Kyla has to endure a houseful of little boys!

The boys of the bunch. Well...all except Hayes. He was already snoozing at 7 o'clock as usual.

Cade with the pumpkin Shane and the boys carved.

Xander and the pumpkin that Shane and the boys carved.

Gage and the pumpkin he and Josh carved.

The Sarah Palin Rally

Several weeks ago, Shane was able to get us tickets (which was NOT an easy task!!!) to the Sarah Palin rally at the Minges Colluseum so we attended the event with Sara (my sister-in-law) and Michelle (Laura Grace's mom). Over 8,000 people were in the colluseum and over 1,500 people were seated in the ECU football stadium next door to watch on the big screen. It was AMAZING to see all of the support for the Republican Party, more specifically Sarah Palin!

Brazillian Steakhouse in Raleigh (Sunday School Class Activity)

This past Saturday, we went to Raleigh with some of our Sunday School couples for dinner at the Brazillian Steakhouse. With an exotic salad bar (some things unrecognizable! Okay, most...) and endless meat choices, we walked out with our bellies full and our wallets empty. Although I'm not much of a meat-eater, I enjoyed sampling the choices and taking part in the entertaining conversation.

Dan and Sarah Wall with baby Ian

Pedro and Jill Hernandez

(we later realized that Pedro looks like a "Who" off of "Horton Hears a Who" with that flower coming out of his head! Bad photography blunder on my part! oops! :)

Terry and Sara Dawson

Andy and Crystal Blease
(with those wine bottles and Andy's half-closed eyelids, they look like the heavy drinkers of the group! :)

Cade's First Field Trip (Briley's Farm)

We all remember our first field trip...right? Okay, maybe not. But our MOTHER'S probably do! The same will probably be true for this "monumental" occasion in Cade's life; therefore, I made sure to capture every second in pictures so that I can later "remind" him of what fun he had! :) Starting the day off with a bang, I lost the bus at a stoplight and thus proceeded to get lost only to FINALLY arrive at the farm just in time to watch the hayride with my precious little 4-year-old on-board rolling out of sight. Typical. (I guess it's a good thing he won't remember everything about this day.)

Once the hayride returned, Cade jumped off the wagon with pumpkin in tow and trotted past me without even questioning my tardiness. Gotta love kids. The rest of the morning ran smoothly, and the spontaneous hugs and kisses more than made up for my initial greeting!

Cade and his best buddy, Lowell

Cade "milking" the mock cow

Cade picking his own cotton

Mrs. Stephens and Cade

Super-Hero Fun!

Our little super-heroes! Recently, Laura Grace came over with Sara and Gage for the day. As always, the kids dressed up in their favorite super-hero costume.