Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I can't believe its 2019 already!
We had a great Christmas this year...well once we got rid of the stomach bug! Luckily this year it hit on Christmas Eve Eve...instead of Christmas day like it did 2 years ago! 5 out of the 7 of us went down but thankfully it only lasted 24 hours and we were well by Christmas Eve!
Unfortunately, because we were sick, we had to cram all of our Christmas activities into one day. So that meant a day full of Gingerbread Men decorating, Santa cookie making and reindeer food spreading...but we fit it all in just in time to get to bed early for Santa!
Here are a few highlights from our Christmas celebrations!
Seeing the Big Guy...lucky to get one picture without tears
Decorating our tree...Conner was very "helpful"
Thomas was full of Christmas Spirit all Month
Our very own Elf on the Shelf
Sobe got some new wheels for Christmas
So did Thomas
Matching Hats for the Boys!
Loving her new comfy chair
After our Christmas at home, we loaded up a few days later and headed to Atlanta and Columbus to celebrate with the Halters!
We stopped in Atlanta to celebrate with MamMam first which is always crazy and fun!
Conner really needs some shooting headgear
"Christmas" Dinner with the Cousins...a few days late.
After a day full of opening presents and eating a great meal, we continued on to Columbus for a few days. That of course means tons of cousin time. I don't get too many pictures b/c they are all too busy playing but I did a get a few.
We spent some time at the trampoline park, the big boys got to shoot skeet and the big kids got to ice skate for the first time!
Wishing he was one of the big boys like PJ
Everyone loved Reed's Hover board
First time on Ice Skates for the Frericks
Of course the Zamboni was Thomas' favorite part
While in Columbus, we also celebrated my parents 50th Anniversary at an amazing restaurant in Columbus! Hard to believe they have been married for so long and who would have thought 50 years ago they would have EIGHT grandkids now!!!
January and 2019 will bring us more basketball and some indoor soccer games.
Thomas starts Lil' Sluggers where he will learn all sorts of skills for baseball, football, basketball and hockey and Hudson starts Volleyball next week also! She has been dying to try it so we will see how it goes!
We hope everyone else had a great Holiday and your 2019 is off to an amazing start!
Here are the rest of the pictures from our December adventures:
We had another great month fly right by! I feel like I blink and 30 days have passed!
November meant the wrap up of the Fall TSC season and the beginning of basketball season.
Sullivan played a few friendly games in Hendersonville and did really well. They played 2 teams older than them and won one and lost one. But she played well! She is looking forward to getting back at it at indoor training!
Hudson's team went to their first ever out of town tournament in Memphis. We made it a special big girls only trip and carpooled with our friends. They had a big time but I think they liked being in a hotel with teammates more than any of the actual soccer.
Her team played really well all weekend and breezed through their first two games! They advanced to the Semi-Finals and Hudson played her best game ever. She scored 3 goals, but more importantly, she battled hard and also had a few assists. It was very exciting.
They won their semi-final game easily and went into the finals against a very strong team. After a long battle, we ended in a tie and had to go to PKs. Our girls did great. All 5 of our shooters scored and our GK saved their last shot....it was so fun to watch them go crazy after it ended!
TSC 2010 Premier White - GIT 2018 Champions
Showing off her Hardware
After we got home from Memphis, we had a few days before we loaded up for Columbus to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Halters.
We had a great time. I wish I had taken more pictures, but the kids were so busy playing with cousins, I rarely saw them!
MamMam made the trip down for the day from Atlanta and it was so great to see her. She loves seeing the Great-Grand-kids so I think she had a good day too.
Grandkids
Great-Grands
Eileen and I did the cooking - well MOSTLY Eileen did the cooking and it was all delicious! Pace Air-fried a turkey and it was amazing. I think the dessert was the best part.....at least according to this smile from Thomas!
Sweet Thomas
Kids Table/Counter
Thanksgiving night, we skipped the Black Friday sales and headed to Calloway Gardens to see their drive-through light show. It was really cool and the kids loved it.
We wrapped up our visit with S'Mores - always a favorite!
We got home just in time for our Second Annual Turkey Trot with the neighbors! We lost a few friends who moved, but gained a few new neighbors! The weather was great and everyone had a great time! Nothing like walking with 10 adults, 14 Kids and 4 dogs!
That is about for November! This weekend we are putting up all the Christmas Decorations and getting our Tree also! Of course we have to squeeze that in after our first 2 basketball games but it should be a great weekend!
We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and are looking forward to Christmas as much as our crew is!
Hard to believe October has come and gone already. It was a jam packed month of soccer, birthdays, and Halloween!
Part of our soccer season came to an end. The Green Team had a great season. They learned a lot and had a lot of fun!
The Purple Dragons also ended their season with a tough, close, 1-0 loss in a total mud pit! These girls battled all season long, playing against girls 3-4 years older than them. We won some, lost some and tied some....but got better every single week.
Sullivan also decided, mid-season, that she wanted to play TSC along with Hudson. She jumped right in and has done really well. She is playing forward instead of defender and is loving it. She has scored several goals and was put on the top team for her very first tournament in Bowling Green. She has gotten so much better in just a few weeks and we can't wait to see her continue to grow on the soccer field.
Hudson is doing well with her TSC team also. They have had a ton of games get rained out but finally got to play in another tournament and ended up winning the Championship. She has a few weeks left and gets to wrap up her season with a tournament out of town in Memphis. She is very excited - but mostly I think just b/c she gets to stay in a hotel.
Along with soccer, we had to celebrate a BIG 8th birthday! Our sweet, loving, kind, biggest, big sister turned 8 this month! She celebrated with a Cake Decorating party with some sweet friends!
And finally, October also means HALLOWEEN!
We had 3 great entries in the Pumpkin Decorating contest and brought home 2 ribbons!
Thomas made his into an Apple (with a worm and everything) and got Honorable Mention for his age group!
Sullivan made Humpty Dumpty and brought home 2nd in the 6-9 age group.
Hudson made a girl mummy and brought home 3rd in the 6-9 age group.
We didn't have time to carve, and barely had time to buy our pumpkins (we got them at noon on the day they were due to the contest) so I'm proud of the kiddos for making something happen as quickly as they did.
This year, we had a Super Hero Theme at the Frericks' house. We had a great night of trick-or-treating. The girls did the WHOLE neighborhood and Thomas and the babies did over half of the hood. They loved riding in their cars and watching everything going on.
Tinsley AKA Batgirl
Conner the Hulk
Thomas AKA Spiderman
Hudson AKA Batgirl
Sully AKA Wonder Woman
The Frericks Super Heroes
As if our night wasn't exciting enough, Sullivan also lost a tooth in the middle of Trick-or-Treating.....I guess the blood just added to her costume!
That's about all October.
November brings the end of soccer season and the start of basketball season and of course some family time with the Halters over Thanksgiving!
Here are the rest of our pictures from our October adventures:
We did it...we survived our first year! We officially have 2 ONE YEAR OLDS!
September has been full of soccer, school, and celebrations!
Tinsley is doing great. Even though she had to celebrate her first birthday with the flu and an ear infection, she was a trooper. She walks everywhere, is super silly, always giggles, is still high maintenance but so much fun. She loves to eat and dance. She also LOVES dogs. She is still the tiniest of the family, weighing 19lbs, 7oz (48%) and is 29.75 inches tall (75%).
Conner is also doing great. He walks everywhere, even tries to run a bit. He always smiles and is just a happy guy. He loves to eat and dance and also really loves dogs too. He is still our giant baby, weighing 22 lbs, 1oz(70%) and is 32 inches tall (>98%). Such a tall and skinny guy! Hard to believe they are twins when he is 3 lbs heavier and 3 inches taller than her! And to think she was bigger at birth!
We had a great weekend celebrating the big birthday. Of course the weekend was full of soccer. 5 games to be exact. Sullivan and Thomas had 1 each and Hudson had 3, as she was playing in a local tournament. But we were able to squeeze all those games in and follow them up with a fun pool party - of course mixed in with the outer bands of a hurricane....but a little rain never stopped anyone from swimming right?
The Twins and all of their "big brothers and sisters"
A big cake and 2 Smash cakes
Conner was slightly interested in his cake....until everyone started to sing Happy Birthday to him...and then well...not so much
Tinsley wanted nothing to do with her cake....it might have been the 104 fever and Flu we didn't know about at the time...
After the party the twins got to open their presents. They especially love their new cars! They will ride in these all day long if someone will push them!
Of course we have played a lot of soccer this month. Thomas is doing great and gets a little bit more into it with each game. Although he much prefers to give his friends hugs....he does kick the ball every once in a while.
Sullivan's team is battling every game. They are playing mostly fourth graders and after a few ties and a couple losses, they finally got their first win this past weekend! It was a great game! Hudson is still playing well. After a few rained out weekends, she has her next game coming up this weekend and a few tournaments left in the fall season. Including a trip to Memphis which she is so excited about!
We also wrapped up the month with everyone's favorite Crievewood Baptist Block Party! It is such a fun (and all free) event! The kids wait for it every year! It was a day full of face paint, balloon animals, snow cones and of course the photo booth!
That is about all for now! We are on our way into October which will include more soccer and of course another big birthday celebration!
August flew by in a hurry and brought with it the start of school, the start of soccer and the end of Summer!
These nuggets are 2 weeks away from turning ONE! I have no clue where the last 11 months have gone but we survived and are excited (and slightly terrified) to have 2 little toddlers in our house!
Tinsley is still high maintenance but also so funny and silly. She just giggles to herself all the time. She LOVES food and is a great eater. She also surprised us all but actually liking school. We thought for sure she would scream all day but seems to have adjusted just fine!
Conner is still his smiley, laid back, happy self. He also LOVES to eat and is also still a good sleeper. He loves the pool and cars and balls! He is also doing ok at school but surprisingly needs more cuddles throughout the day than Tins. But I don't think the teachers mind too much!
In other news....we also officially have TWO WALKERS! Conner has been on the move for a couple months but Tinsley finally figured it all out and walks everywhere too!
Before school started for everyone, we were able to sneak off to the Splash Pad for one final day of fun. The kids had a blast and we spent half a day there with neighborhood friends just soaking up the sun!
August of course means the start of school for everyone.
Hudson is loving Second Grade. It has brought with it some pretty strict rules and lots of new homework but so far she doesn't seem to mind. She loves her teacher and had a few good friends in her class so all is well!
Sullivan got lucky and landed the same First Grade Teacher that Hudson had and she was so pumped! She LOVES her teacher and has made a few new friends as well. She is doing really well and is already improving on her reading and math so much!
August also meant the start of Pre-school for the 3 littles!
Tinsley and Conner are going 2 days a week at Judson Baptist and seem to be adjusting well.
Thomas is also at Judson but is able to attend Pre-K this year which means 4 days a week and No naps! He loves his nap time so he has been coming home and putting himself to sleep a few days a week! But he loves his teachers and playing with all of his buddies from last year!
August also means the start of 3 soccer seasons.
Thomas is back on the Green Team with our teammates from last season and so far they are off to a great start. Thomas is very into it this year and even dribbled the ball...down the field...during a game! That never happened last season, so I think he is getting the hold of it!
Sullivan is back on the Purple Dragons again and they are also off to a great start. We lost Hudson and another teammate to Travel soccer, but are still doing great. We are playing up 2 age groups and are enjoying the competition. Our first game was a hard fought 0-0 tie against 4th Graders but I love to see how our girls battled and actually played some nice soccer against bigger girls on a bigger field!
Hudson has been playing since Late July but played her first Travel soccer tournament a few weekends ago. Her team did great and really played well together. They battled hard and lost in the finals to the other half of their team. So It was a 1st and 2nd place finish for TSC and you can't get much better than that! So far she is loving TSC and seems to be learning a lot.
Finally...out of nowhere...Thomas decided to ride a big boy bike! He got it after really only a few tries. I am now a huge believer in balance bikes b/c he had no problem making the transition!
That is about all for now. September brings us more soccer, more school and a BIG FIRST Birthday!
