Boys At Play / Bass Pro Shop

A few random pictures to finish up 2011. 

I looked over to see what the boys were doing and all I saw was the tops of two red-heads, had to take this picture.

And . . . of course I had to go around to the front and take a picture.

Jackson just can’t leave a buckle undone, as soon as he gets out of his booster he has to buckle it and Davis’ buckle as well if Davis doesn’t beat him to it.

Jackson sat in the wagon and Davis saw him and started pulling him.

This is their new workbench they got from the ManMillers for Christmas.  They play with it all the time,  hammering and drilling away.  The drill reminds me of Carl when he got a drill for Christmas and he went around drilling everybody.  I think he was about the same age as they are.  They use the orange tool box for standing on at the workbench.

Bass Pro Shop set up a big Santa area in their store and they offered free pictures with Santa.  This is the 2nd  year they’ve had their picture taken there.

Shopping at Bass Pro shop.

Whoa, look at that fish!!!  It’s just a mail box.  They do have a really big fish tank with lots of cool fish in it though.  Of course Abby has to really get in there and take a close look at it.

The new couch, plenty of room for everyone.

Mr. Joe cool!  I laughed when I saw Davis walking around with these glasses, his sippie cup, his reindeer pj’s and reindeer slippers.

So much for 2011!?!

Holiday High Tea

For my birthday Amber took me to The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Charlotte for Holiday High Tea. We went on a Sunday and the drive was nice with very little traffic. Charlotte is a pretty city.

Right after we entered the lobby we saw this huge Gingerbread House. The chefs at the hotel had made it. It was about 10-12 feet tall with amazing details.

The Tea room was on the 15th floor with a beautiful view of the city.

Here we are waiting anxiously for the first course which was Tea Sandwiches; Traditional Egg Salad, Smoked Salmon with Dill Cream Cheese, Maine Lobster with tarragon Aioli, Marinated Mozzarella with tomato and Basil, and Tangle Wood Farms Chicken Salad. Sorry no picture, it looked so good we ate them before we realized we didn’t take a picture. Next they served warm scones with house preserves and Devonshire Cream. We requested the recipe and they gave it to us.

Finally, we remembered to take a picture. Clockwise starting at the top was Pumpkin Bread with a spice glaze, Linzer Cookie, NC Mountain Apple Tartlet, Neapolitan with chocolate gnache, and in the middle was a Pecan Tart. Yum! We had a different tea with each course and then after the desserts we were served their Signature Hot Chocolate which was rich and delicious. By this time we were feeling well fed. Then it was onto the Concord Mills Mall. Very nice day! Thanks Amber, sweet memories.

Christmas Cookie-Decorating Party

This is the 2nd Annual Christmas Cookie-Decorating Party that Amber has had for Abby’s friends and now the boy’s friends as well.  The kids love it and actually so do the Moms.  It’s a fun Christmas outing free of charge and you get to eat all the cookies and pizza you want.  What’s not to like?

The entertainment of the day was the movie Elf.

This is the little people’s table.

I can’t begin to tell you all the toppings Amber put out so I’ll just let the picture do the talking.  I will say the most unique one was the small gingerbread flavored and shaped marshmallows.

I don’t think Abby moved from that spot for about an hour.

This is the result of her hour long art project.

Amber also had a table for coloring Christmas pictures.

Then it was on to pizza, chips and juice.

Hopefully by the time the mom’s got their kids home the sugar high was worn off and they were ready for their afternoon nap.

Disney On Ice ~ 12/1/11

One of the highlights of our Christmas season was going to Greensboro to see Disney On Ice.  It was fantastic.  Amber got us great seats.  The kids were so excited, Jackson kept saying (loudly) WOW WOW.  People around us were laughing at his wowing.  Abby couldn’t take her eyes off the ice.  I was really impressed with the performers and the plays.  They did 3 different Disney stories; Cinderella, The Frog Prince, and Tangled, a take from Rapunzel.

Jackson and Grandma, he’s mesmerized.

Great seats, great views, great snacks, all smiles.

The Frog Prince.

Davis and Jackson are loving it.

Cinderella, of course.

Cinderella also.

It was fun watching the kids.

This is Tangled.  It was so impressive when they picked her up and whirled her around in the air as though by her hair.  All of the Fabric was her hair.

These two pictures were of the finale when all the performers came out.

. . . and they lived happily ever after!