Halloween 2019!

I tell you what, each Halloween gets more and more fun each year.  Even though we have the same costume as last year (just in a different color - ha), it was still so exciting!

Nolan basically saw these two huge swords and decided that whatever costume he got HAD to go with the swords, so another Power Ranger it was!  He wasn't in the mood for pictures in the beginning (can you tell?!) but he perked up when we got the gang together!

Third Halloween in a row for these guys!

Next year I think we will be adding even MORE neighbor kids to this picture...so fun!

We did our usual "loop" around the same circle, but since the kids were getting older and it wasn't too cold, we decided to hit a few more houses down the street as well.  Some of the neighbors had lots of fun decorations, and the kids loved racing from house to house.  Nolan definitely got his fill of candy and it was such a fun night.  Only a couple of more years until Halloween is on a WEEKEND again so we can really live it up!

Vote for Nolan!

While we were at Great Wolf Lodge, we got an e-mail from Nolan's school telling us that he was nominated to run for President of his school.  We were thrilled, but also a bit surprised, to say the least!

It turns out, his classmates voted for 4 kids to run for office - each child would "campaign" for their votes, and on actual Election Day, the whole school would vote for their choice.  It was neat how the school attempted to give the kids a look into the entire election process.  Nolan had to create campaign signs (Ok, I did), speak during a school-wide (televised) debate, and represent himself during the school parade.  It was a lot of work, but we were so excited to support our guy through this process.

He/we decided to go with a Superhero theme...my thought being that 98% of the kids in his school can't read yet, but they would remember the Superhero signs...hey, my advertising degree taught me something!

His official campaign photo...lol!

I was so impressed with the whole ordeal.  They made campaign signs, had a LIVE debate (which was broadcast on Facebook), and had a parade.  I created a login for FB JUST so I could watch his debate.  He was a total HAM and had no problem at all speaking in front of the room and of course, acting goofy.

A photo from the school's website announcing the candidates.

The parade was also adorable and G, Ollie and I were able to make it.  Essentially, Nolan's class and the other three candidates walked from the back of the building around to the front, where all of the rest of the school was lined up parade-style.  They carried their campaign signs and waved and all that good stuff :)  When they got the end of the line, they gathered around the flag pole and said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang songs.  It was THE cutest thing!

[ADD PHOTOS]

And on election day, he was ready to go!  So proud of my little guy.  Just not sure I want him to make a career out of being a politician...ha!

A Surprise Trip to the Great Wolf Lodge

Since I knew October was going to be crazy this year, it didn’t seem like planning/throwing a big party at our house was feasible.  I mean, I would have done it but I didn’t want to give Anthony a panic attack J

SO, we still had to do something special since it was Nolan’s first birthday, so we decided a trip to the Great Wolf Lodge in Concord was in order!  The plan was to completely surprise him with the trip, so we decided that he could miss school Friday and we would head up there to beat the weekend crowds.

Growling...of course!

Howling...of course!

We simply told him that we were going to visit Granny (which we actually did), so he was just happy to be along for the ride.  He didn’t actually get what we were doing until we pulled up to the Lodge like I was lost, went inside, showed him the HUGE pool, and then TOLD him we were staying there for the night!

I still don’t think he really got what was going on until we checked into our room and told him to grab his swimsuit J

Tricks on the dirt bike...haha!

After we swam for a while (it was freezing in there), we headed up to the room for a quick nap and then got ready for dinner with Memo!  She came to visit us and to follow us around while we let Nolan Trick-or-Treat in the hotel.  It was actually great timing since we were there around Halloween, that they had some pretty cool things set up and a neat tour around the hotel with candy stops along the way.

Memo was a great guest and we picked a buffet place to eat and enjoyed a great dinner.  Once dinner was over, we watched the show in the Great Tree, played around while getting ice cream, and then headed back to our room to watch TV.  It was hilarious that since we don’t have cable that Nolan was just as happy to sit in the room and watch his shows.  Not going to lie, I wasn’t bummed when I saw The Pioneer Woman was on either J

Overall, it was a great trip and he is already talking about going back there for his 6th birthday, so I would say it was a success!

Nolan's FIFTH Birthday!

I don’t like it, not one bit!  My boy is NOT supposed to be 5 yet, but oh it’s so exciting for him!  My awesome, spunky, fearless, precious, energetic little nugget is 5 today, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude for being his mommy.

Since his actual birthday was on a weekday this year, we put up some small decorations around the house.  We weren’t having a party AT the house this year, so I still needed to get some sort of decorations up to celebrate my little man.

I had a small “mom fail” moment when the school called to tell me that the cupcakes we picked out for his special treat weren’t allowed, but Gie saved the day and took in some popsicles so he could still celebrate with his friends!  Don’t worry, I did let him eat the cupcakes later J

He had a good day at school and then we ended with his favorite dinner – Mexican!  Our guys at the restaurant were so sweet to him and he of course devoured his ice cream.  Nothing says “5” like a sombrero and queso!

Nolan – we love you more than words can say, even though I will always try to tell you what you mean to me.  Daddy and I know that you are a precious blessing and we will spend our lives living for you.  Happy Birthday, my little man!

Hurricane Florence

This past weekend we endured yet another hurricane, but thankfully, it did not damage us here as much as they had initially forecasted.  The eastern portion of our State, unfortunately, was not so lucky.


The storm was set to make landfall on Thursday night, and thankfully my office decided to close on Friday.  Nolan's school was closed on Thursday and Friday, and so was Anthony's office.  This created a whole lot of panic for everyone, and we actually spent much more time than normal trying to buy supplies and prepare as best we could.


After all was said and done, we had some rain, but we dodged the biggest bullet and pretty much just had light rain for the weekend.  We even made it out Saturday night to celebrate Mr. Justin's birthday, so it wasn't too bad.


Here are a few pictures of the storm rolling in on Thursday...

I really can't even imagine the damage that some people have had to endure throughout this storm.  Hurricane Matthew two years ago seemed like the worst possible scenario for flooding, but this has topped that by a ton.  We are now three or so weeks out from the storm, and there are still places that are underwater.  I don't like posting about so many dark things, but this is part of our story and this will be something that we lived through and will remember for a long time. 


It will be interesting to see if I look back on this in several years and see a trend of global warming or something like that...I pray that God gives us protection and guides those going through this with strength, resilience, and hope.

Uncle Jake's Wedding

We had the honor of attending my cousin's (Uncle Jake to Nolan) wedding this past weekend and we could not be happier for Jake and Lauren!

Me and my beautiful mom...

Plus - we had an excuse to actually go out of town for once and stay in a hotel - woot!  We packed up Friday afternoon and headed straight to Greensboro so we were sure to make it to the rehearsal dinner.  Nolan had his cousin Adelie and some other out-of-town cousins to play with, so he was right at home.


It didn't hurt that our hotel had a huge indoor pool, which allowed him and Daddy to swim while Mommy and G got to shop - everyone wins!


The wedding was beautiful and it was so cool to see some great spots around Greensboro that I had never been to before.  Jake and Lauren have really cool taste, so it was a special treat.

My handsome boys...

We are so happy for Jake and Lauren - and cheers to a wonderful life together!