NDN 1/2 marathon

Jeremy was suppose to run a half marathon earlier this week, however a really bad storm blew through and caused a lot of damage on the race route.  They had to cancel the race.

 So....later in the day, Jeremy checked out the rate and it was cleared up, so we made up our own race for him.

The kids counted down from 10 for his start.

 We went back to the park where the girls worked on a trophy and a medal for him.

 Then, we chased him around Port Royal and cheered him on along his route.  This was around mile 4.

 It was cold and windy...but we had fun!

 Hannah was worried we looked like homeless people as we sat on the side of the road.

 Of course, we swung by the beach at sunset time before he finished.

 The girls held up a finish line tape for him.  He did awesome!  He came in first place, not just in his age category, but over all ;)

Truly, it was amazing to watch him work so hard.  He finished 12.9 miles in 1:48:12.  It takes a lot of grit and determination to run that far without a crowd.  He did it!  We had a blast chasing him around town and cheering him on.  

Mommy/Daughter Tri

 Nicole and I signed up for an open distance triathlon that took place a few weeks ago.  This was a pretty big even for our area.  The day before I volunteered at the finish line of the full and half triathlon.  These athletes swam 2.5 miles, biked 112 miles, and ran 26.2 miles.  It was so inspiring to watch them finish!

The next day, Nicole and I took our turn.  We were suppose to have a 100yrd swim in the Gulf, 3 mile bike, and 1 mile run.

 Aren't our tri-tats cool?!?

 However, the race director canceled the swim for our race because of the dangerous rip current, so the race changed to a 1 mile run, 3 mile bike, and 1 mile run.  Nicole was pretty disappointed.  We had really psyched ourselves up over the swim, knowing that there would be waves, so it was disappointing and a relief that we didn't have to swim.

So, Nicole warmed us up for our run.  I followed everything she told me to do.

 We ran our first mile together.  I followed her on the bike, and then she blew me away on our final mile :)  I really enjoyed doing this race with her...and I think she enjoyed it too.

Dance Party

I think that one of Nicole's favorite parts of the cruise a few months ago was the midnight buffet.  She wanted to have her own mid night dance party with her friends.  After about 2 months of off and on talks, we finally convinced her that her friends' parents would not bring them over at midnight for a dance party, and we talked her into a noon party.

She spent several hours planning a play list, creating a menu, and shopping for items.

The big morning came, and I woke up to a living room with all the furniture pushed to one side and our fancy table cloth on the table.

 Her friends all made it over in time for the first fun dance.  They did the Cha Cha Slide, danced to the minion version of the YMCA, the Cuban Shuffle, and other fun songs.

 Lunch came soon.  Check out this beautiful display she came up with!  She did this all herself!

 Turkey and spinach rolled bites.

 Cucumber sandwhiches

 Cheese, crackers, and fruit tray.

 The girls all loved their lunch.

 Lunch was following up by more dancing.

It was so sweet to watch Nicole serve and act as hostess to her friends.  She made sure everyone felt welcome, had fun, and was well fed.  My heart was ready to burst with pride.

January Sneak peak.

Nicole got a kid's cook book for Christmas.  She spent quite some time going through the recipes, made a list of ingredients and asked to go shopping.  She planned two days worth of breakfast and lunch. It was delicious.

The first day, she made Dutch Baby Pancakes.  I've never even made these before!  We didn't have the right kind of dish, so we improvised with tortilla shapers :)  It worked.

 Isn't it pretty?  It has a blueberry center.

 The next meal was spinach and tortellini Alfredo.  She made her own Alfredo sauce.

 The second day for breakfast, she decide to try her hand at making crepes...again, something I've never made before!  They were filled with nutella, and of course, delicious!

 This sweet boy got a Bible of his own for Christmas.  He walked in one day and asked me to read it to him . Of course, I stopped everything I was doing to read...how can you not?

 Nate and Hannah wanted to raise some money.  Hannah was offering an $8 car wash.  Nate was trying to sell his paper airplanes for $5 each.  Daddy was their only customer ;)

 Jeremy and I got a really fun date night. We went to a local paint studio and tried our hand at painting the pier at sunset.  It was harder than I expected.

 A work in progress....check out his concentration!

 Ta-da!

Nate's missing teeth

This dude right here pulled out his second tooth.  It had been loose for quite a while, and he finally decided to do something about it.

Funny thing was....three days later I put my arm under his pillow as I gave him a good night hug and found a plastic bag with his tooth in it.  I asked him about it, and he said "I'm waiting for the tooth fairy to come. Maybe tonight."

ahhhhhh....mommy fail! hahaha.  I made sure the tooth fairy came that night, but all she had was one dollar ;)

Of course, the next morning, he asked if it was me.  What a cutie!

Christmas

I have really been struggling to get in the "Christmas Spirit" the past few years.  I don't know why.  But, I don't seem ready to do "Christmasy" things until the day before.

Anyway, Christmas eve we visited the huge Gingerbread house at the Ritz Carlton.  It was impressive.

 Then we drove around and looked at Christmas lights, which is my personal favorite thing to do.

 Nicole practiced several songs for a few weeks with the intention of waking everyone up on Christmas morning by playing Christmas carols for us.  She is so thoughtful.

 She was also so excited to buy her brother and sister presents this year.
Nicole really wanted them to know about Saint Nicholas, so she found a  poem about it and attached it to a bag full of chocolate candy coins.

 A Florida fire place...on TV.

 This is my very favorite picture from Christmas.  Look at Nicole's face.  She is SOOO excited that Hannah is opening the gift that Nicole picked out and paid for.  She can hardly contain herself!

 A sweet necklace.

 She picked out and bought for me some wonderful cooking mitts, which I desperately needed :)

 Hannah is so sweet and thoughtful as well.  She didn't have any money this year, so we wrapped a "huge and a kiss" .  I love her heart.

 Nicole got a running watch.

 A gift from the Davis Family!

 The next day, Nicole took Nate and Hannah out for one more Christmas gift, to pick out their own Beta Fish!

 It's stocking time at Yaya and Papa's!

We had a lovely Christmas week!