Monday, December 15, 2014

Thanksgiving

We knew Thanksgiving was going to be different this year since we had decided to stay in NC for it because that 18 hour drive gets longer every time...

Luckily for us, Gramsy and the aunts were planning on making a trip to NC and we convinced them to schedule it over Thanksgiving and they did!

We got our house clean and the tree out up. Paxton even helped decorate with some toilet paper...
They got in late Tuesday night but the boys stayed up late and got lots of playing time in. They were so happy to see everyone. It was awesome. 

The next morning, we woke up and went to breakfast at Rise. It is probably our favorite place here and they agreed that it's anazing and if you're 3.5, a little messy. 
After breakfast, we had to take them to our other favorite place, Trader Joe's. Even though we were there with all the last-minute Thanksgiving shoppers, we got some good stuff. Then we went to Patterson Mill which was a historical little country store. The boys were awesome and somehow weedy without breaking anything. 
The boys were exhausted after staying up late the night before so Jared took them home for naps while the ladies went to lunch and shopped. 
That evening, we started Thanksgiving prep while the boys played with all their aunts. 
We took everyone to the Tobacco Campus for dinner and when we got there we were pleasantly surprised to see that they had decorated it for Christmas. There were lights everywhere!
We ate at Tyler's Taproom and it was so good. 
Afterwards we attempted a quadruple selfie which turned out kind of perfect. 
The next morning came early. Gramsy and I did all the cooking while the boys watched the parade. It was my first time to actually help make the meal and not just peel potatoes or bring a couple of sides. It was really rewarding. I loved it. 
The boys had naps and some of the adults did too. Then it was time for leftovers for dinner and the first tradition of the Christmas season. Gramsy let the boys open their first present...
...which was matching Christmas jammies and Rudolph! The only picture we took was Paxton in time-out and Porter keeping him company....
The next morning, we headed to the science museum. 
Then we ate lunch at Elmo's and went to see the Duke Chapel. Porter climbed the steps and flashed some midriff. 
Then we went to Parker and Otis and the Brightleaf District to shop. That didn't satisfy our shopping needs so we headed to Target. For dinner we went to Champa for some sushi. 
The next morning, everyone had to pack up and get ready to go. Paxton squeezed in some more snuggles. We went to Bojangle's for lunch since they had been talking about it the whole visit. 
Then they had to hit the road and we had to return to reality...which included lots of packing for our move back to OK!

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Another Fun Saturday

As we draw to an end of our time here, we are trying to soak up as much of the NC fun as we can. Saturdays are perfect for that. 

This Saturday, we started with some cinnamon rolls and cartoons. 
Then we went to the Farmer's Market. We found some hot apple cider and let the boys run around the park. Porter found a guitar player and was his biggest fan.
Then we headed over to the American Tobacco Campus to let our busy little boys run around some more and see if the Christmas trees were up yet (they weren't).  
Porter and I recreated my one maternity photo again. 
And then we walked to the new burger place, Only Burger. The boys loved it. 
It was a pretty perfect Saturday. 

Monday, November 24, 2014

October in Review

As the weather started getting cooler this month, we found ourselves snuggled up under balnkets more. 
We visited the NC State Fair and had a blast. Paxton loved riding rides. 
Paxton re-discovered his love of Starbucks. 
We spent lots of time outside...

Hiking,
Playing at the park,
Hanging out at the science museum,
And having picnics in the driveway. 
We celebrated Halloween for an entire week starting with a Trunk or Treat,
Then a pumpkin patch,
Painting pumpkins,
And trick or treating!
I think Halloween was Paxton's favorite part of the year. He loved trick or treating and the pumpkin patch. He loved dressing up like Mickey. He loved the candy. He asks almost every day when it will be Halloween again.