Plan B: Build-a-Bear Workshop

The weekend after my sister watched Carter and Addison, we planned for Seth and I to have their kids for a night so they could go for their overnight date night. But the day before, Owen started getting sick. The morning they were to come confirmed that Owen was too sick to sleep over...and McKenna came home from school sick too! The problem was that we both told our kids about the sleepover already (ROOKIE MISTAKE!!) so we knew they were all going to be devastated when we told them.

Which they were. Eli cried and so did Carter. And Carter didn't just a little bit cry; he sobbed and sobbed and was trying to come up with ways that Eli could still come even though his siblings were sick. 

We told him we'd have to reschedule and went out for dinner. On the way home, my sister called me and said that her and Eli had to get out of the house for a little and they were heading down toward our area to do something fun for a mommy/son date. They asked if Carter and I wanted to go too. We couldn't really think of anything creative to do because it was already 7 p.m. and a lot of the things like Monkey Joe's (the inflatable place) closed in an hour. 

I had an idea about Build-a-Bear so we decided to go for that. The fun part was that I didn't tell Carter what we were doing or that Michelle and Eli were meeting us. We went to the mall and casually waited for a minute for them to get in from the parking lot. When Carter noticed Eli, he was definitely confused and said "Eli?? Why are you here??" 

(filling them up with stuffing)

Carter had never been to Build-a-Bear, so he was really excited! I discreetly directed him to the bears that just cost an arm rather than an arm and a leg. But once he chose an outfit, it didn't matter anyway--we were in deep. :) 

(making a wish on the heart that goes in the bears...well actually, Eli got a turtle and Carter got a dog)

(bathing their animals)

I missed some pics in here, but he had a puppy dressed like a ninja turtle (you can see it a bit below). When it came time to make the birth certificate for the puppy, I asked him for a name and he said "Ruff, Ruff." Creative, no? 

We took them to Dairy Queen for blizzards and then told them we would go ride the virtual reality rides at the mall, which they got a kick out of. 

Michelle and I wanted to go to Old Navy to see if we could find any deals, but alas, we walked out with many superhero hats for the kids and nothing for us!

Despite the change in plans, the kids had a blast and thought it was pretty cool they got mommy/son dates while still seeing each other! 

Christmas in New Jersey

We had a pretty busy Christmas season this year. The day after Christmas, we got together with my dad's side of the family at my aunt Annette's. On Saturday, we headed into New Jersey to celebrate. 

The whole way in, Addison was a RASCAL. Figures that 10 minutes out from the restaurant where we were meeting Allie, she falls asleep (he fell asleep about 30 minutes out). Stinkers!! 

It was so awesome to see Allie--even if for a quick lunch. This year was a rarity. I got to see her last Christmas, April for a weekend visit in NJ, November in her hometown of Atlanta, and then again for this trip in when she was up visiting her family!! 

On Saturday night, we hung out at Ben and Salli's. The kids were able to burn some energy and we had dinner together.

On Sunday, Matt and Erin (and kids) arrived as well and we did our big celebration. The kids were super hyper and the space seems to be getting smaller and smaller every year! :) We did confetti poppers which went everywhere. Then, the true chaos began as we did gifts! 

Carter got his bedding set for his big boy room, some new clothes, LeapPad games, and some magnatile accessories. Addison got a new sleeping bag, clothes, and new LeapPad games. Here is the sweet boy showing off all the games he has now.

Then it was time for pictures...does this not look like a group of monkeys?! :) 

Oma and Opa wanted to recreate the Deep Creek Lake photo from summer of 2013. It's kind of funny because in that photo, Cooper was crying (and he was in this one as well). And, just like that one, Charlotte was calm and pretty while the others had to be wrangled. 

We were heading home yesterday, but Oma and Opa's neighbor was having trees cut down, so there were five interested little kids. :) They sat so still and interested for so long! 

The twins' school fun run and 5k

Carter and Addison participated in a fun run that was held by the twins' school a couple weekends ago. It was a chilly morning but I'm not sure toddlers notice that. :) 

Silly kids before the race! 

Carter did pretty well -- he ran probably the first 1/2 a mile but then began to tucker out a little. Aunt Michelle found him and helped him along a little bit. Poor little boy's cheeks were so red! 

He just looks so tiny on the big course (and in his youth shirt). :) 

Sissy "ran" it too, but only did about 1/6 of a mile before she was over it. I carried her for a bit and then we headed back to the "finish" line.