Christmas Travels

We had such a wonderful time over the past two weeks, visiting in Atlanta. We finally got to spend some quality time with our families without rushing around exhausted. Michael and I flew into Atlanta on the 11th, and JD joined us a week later. We had so many fun adventures! We visited the carousel:

 
 
 Philip, Vickie, Mom, and I took Michael to the Aquarium:

 He was amazed!!

 
 
 
 
 
 We also took Michael to Monkey Joe's for the first time. We all loved the bouncing gym.

 
We also visited friends, went on walks by the river, played at the park, shopped, and relaxed. Michael learned three new words over the first week too--"juice," "night, night," and "go." He's changing so quickly. Christmas was wonderful as well; Michael got so many great presents from both sets of Grandparents!

JD even got a Michael shirt! It's always nice to be home, but we sure do miss our Atlanta home. 

Getting Ready for Christmas

We've only been home a week, but Michael and I are getting ready to head back to Atlanta this Sunday. That means there's lot of things to do to prepare for another, much longer, trip. Still, we're finding some time to get in the Christmas spirit!

Thanks, Beth, for the awesome pjs!

We had a really great, really busy Thanksgiving this year. Of course, we traveled south, but we headed to Birmingham, AL first to visit with JD's family. There, we got to meet our new niece, 4-month old Shiloh. Michael really enjoyed Stephen and Lindsey's dog, Dierk, too.

 
 Our sweet boy traveled really well, although when we got back home Monday, he was so happy that he started laughing.

 It was wonderful to see JD's older brother, Phil, and his wife, Nim. It's been too long!

 
 Michael didn't really know what to think of Shiloh, but he tolerated our attempts to get some pictures of them together.

 It was nice that our two families were able to spend some time together as well. Michael, of course, was so excited to visit with my parents' two cats, Callie and Rosco. I'm not sure they felt the same way.

We're in town for a week and a half now before Michael and I head back down for Christmas. It's a crazy time of year!

The past couple of weeks have actually been nicely quiet. I guess things are gearing up for the big holiday season. Here are the boys enjoying some TV time (who knows what they're watching: it could be Gold Rush or Dora the Explorer!).

 This past Saturday morning, we went to the indoor Thanksgiving Farmer's Market. The whole town showed up, and it was a blast. I've been missing my Saturday morning almond crossiants.

 Precious boy.

 Is that Elmo on my feet?

 Saturday night, we celebrated JD's 31st birthday with dinner and a roller derby match. Great fun, great friends! I think Kyle's trying to figure out the rules in the back...

 Somehow, Michael ended up with a Daffy Duck balloon that was almost as big as him. Since he wouldn't put it down, we all got wacked with this balloon all night.

We're leaving for Birmingham today for Thanksgiving. Can't wait to see the family!

I'm kinda amazed that fall is still here, but we sure are enjoying it. Michael loves to crunch around in the leaves. It's been busy around here lately: I'm still applying to jobs and working on a conference paper. JD has had to work a lot lately; he's in Indiana tonight. But we're really looking forward to the holidays and the chance to visit our families. It's been way too long.

Halloween 2011

We had a great Halloween this year. JD carved us a cool pumpkin that looked scary at night and friendly during the day! It shocked Michael a bit.

 

Michael was the most adorable garden gnome that's ever been sighted.

I was Ms. Academia: beautiful and brilliant! JD was an award-winning Gene Kelly from Singing in the Rain. And I do mean award winning. He took the prize for best costume at the Halloween party Friday night.

 Beth and I tried on some candy teeth.

 Michael eagerly awaited kids at the door who thought he was the cutest thing!

 Group shot 2011.

I think part of JD's award was for his convincing heel-click.

Fall Michigan Trip

Whew! It's hard to find time to blog these days. This past weekend, we visited the Batsons in Michigan for yet another fun trip with them. Besides Eric's exciting football game, we all went to an apple orchard for some fall fun.

Michael loved driving the old tractor.

 And feeding the goats was an adventure in itself.

 But the best part was picking apples off the trees.

 It was a bit hard to convince Michael that the apples hanging from the trees were more interesting than the rotten ones on the ground.

Joey and Michael really bonded this weekend. It was nice to spend some time with the second-youngest Batson boy.

Needless to say, it was a quiet drive home.

Crazy Days

Well, Saturday was a good day at least. We attended the ISU homecoming parade with the Liberts, and the boys LOVED the floats, the bands, and the animals. There was so much to see! It's become a tradition!

 

 

But, unfortunately, Sunday was not such a good day. We had to take Michael to the hospital because he tripped and fell right into a concrete parking block. By the time we picked him up two seconds later, he already had a grey golf ball sized lump swelling above his right eye. We jumped in the car and drove the three blocks to the emergency room. The doctor recommended against a CAT scan (because of the high levels of radiation), but we have to wake him up every 3 hours tonight. It's going to be great.

We decided to keep him home and quiet, which only worked so well. He later slipped on a toy and fell again, cutting his lip. I'm so ready for this day to be over.

On a happier note, check out the new commercial that features our favorite little town of Normal, Illinois: Normal/Mitsubishi Commercial That's where we live!