Christmas In Kentucky

I'm running a little late...

Christmas in Kentucky!

Once again this year, on the weekend before Christmas, we declared it Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Kentucky. Once again, It was nearly as fun as the old Christmas Eve tradition. Growing up, we always spent Christmas Eve dropping by several houses (a stop by the Trimble family gathering, then dinner at Grandma Iris's, then a stop by the Goble family gathering, and sometimes the Crum family gathering, and always by the Ellie and Arlen family gathering, and then out to Grandma Eb's house to open Christmas Eve presents). I think that's why I love the idea of hosting a drop-in on Christmas Eve, now that we've declared we stay home for Christmas.

The big WIN by having Christmas early is that a lot of the people that we used to see on our own Christmas Eve route now drop by the house while we're there pretending like it is Christmas Eve. That's a pretty big advantage.

So, here are the pics. Maybe out of order, because at this point, I'm just happy to clear 1200 pics (yes, 1200 pics) off of my phone. It was a busy fall, people. A very busy fall...

Our little elf.

With Catie Gullett. When Catie walked in, Quinn immediately attached to a baby doll she brought with her, then Cora became super possessive of Uncle Hadee (because clearly he is the most prized possession for any kid who comes in the house???). 

They had a great time playing together. 

Catie brought Cora a gown for her dolls that matched a gown she brought for Cora. A HUGE hit - this was her first gown like this. Of course, Hadee had to wear it.

Q with Catie's baby.

A Christmas Eve ride behind Papaw's tractor. 

OK, it's a lawn mower. Don't tell my kids. From the way Cora describes Papaw & Mia's house, Papaw is a farmer with a big barn and a lot of animals :)

Aunt Erin and Cora, making their annual gingerbread house (I'm calling it annual - Erin did it with the kids last year and was STILL willing to do it with the kids again this year. She's locked in forever now!).

Guess which house was Quinn's...

And, PRESENT time!

Uncle Shew sat down in the floor to open a present for the girl; I love how Quinn just tottered over and plopped down in his lap. They don't see Uncle Shew often enough, but when they do, he plays hard the whole time.

Baby Alive. Huge hit. The babies pee.

Dr. Quinn isn't too happy with her patients.

Cora letting Mary give her a pedicure.

Quinn NEVER lets us touch her feet, but since CORA was getting a pedicure, Quinn insisted on having one, too.

A Christmas Eve family pic. Posed behind the Craftsman tool. We take any moment of all 4 of us in one place we can get!

Landon got mom a new kitchen spigot for Christmas. Part of the gift was installing it. Yes - this took about 3 more hours than he expected... but he got it finished in time for breakfast the next day.

Clippity Clop horses from Aunt Bum.

Our little sugar-stuffed giggle box. 

Merry Kentucky Christmas Eve!

Birthday party

Cora set- up a birthday party.

"Dad, can you feed them? Cause they can't feed themselves? I have to go to the bathroom."

Poor kids without ketchup

We've been iced in for a whopping 24 hrs. We had the essentials for a snow day - milk, 3 eggs, bisquick, pancake syrup, coffee, hamburger, noodle shells. Plus our freezer is packed - I didn't even make a special trip to the store for the weather (Landon DID stop to buy 2 gallons of milk, Hershey chocolate syrup, a can of rotel to mix with velveeta in case he goes down the street to watch sports... The essentials). 

Last night for dinner, we had bison burgers,French fries, and baked beans... During dinner, we finished off the very very last of the ketchup and pickles in the house.

Fast forward to today. We sat down for leftovers at lunch plus some Mac and cheese (ultimate post-ice-play-) comfort food. Let's just say the lack of ketchup on our plates was noted by our resident noticer of things like missing ketchup.

Me: shall we say a quick prayer?

(Then drawn out dramatic sign of the cross from our children)

Landon: Dear God, We pray for all those people out in the cold today, and those people who do not have good food like we have, and as always, we pray for our friends down the street.

Cora: and all the people without ketchup, right?

(Right Cora Jane, all the people without ketchup)

Amen

There are moments when I have to dive under the table to keep from letting my children see me explode with laughter. That was definitely one of them.

 At first Cora was not happy to be outside because Quinn got the cute pink mittens and she had to wear a very small pair of adult gloves)

I can see why the bridges are closed. Look at the depth of ice on our mailbox and this was today at noon... We'd already broken the thicker layer off the top. The world was covered in ice today. 

It really could be years before we see snow on our roof again. I'm really liking this snow day but I wouldn't like a whole week of them!

Little Messals Unite!

It's become an annual thing - the Florida little Messals come to spend New Years Eve with the South Carolina little Messals. We love it!

A lot of time on bicycles...

Trying out slides...

And cuddling to watch some Disney Channel...

With a lot of awe and wonder...

Our annual New Years Eve (Eve?) trip to Sullivan's for lunch...

Everytime I am on Sullivan's at New Years, especially when it is warm enough to enjoy the island, I ALWAYS think of the trip Amy, Allison, Brynn, and I took to Sullivan's for New Years in 2003. It's officially been 10 years since that trip. 

A little stay-cation. As many times as we've been to Sullivan's, parked our car at Ft. Moultrie, and beached or jogged or visited the cannons (a hit with Cora), we'd never explored inside. It's free! The fort idea may or may not have been lost on the little Messals - we couldn't tell.

Fun, but also a little bit of a stressful place. There are a few sharp drop-offs. Quinn ALWAYS wants to be carried, except when there is potential danger to be had. Then she sniffs my concern and prefers to run free. Stinker.

(Below) - Quinn is doing a face I LOVE! She smiles real big and looks upward and to the side. Super cute - Super Quinn.

You can see Paul, Jen, and Coop up above (yes, that's a straight drop from where Coop is standing).

Cora, enjoying a winter trip to the beach.

We tried to get all little Messals together - Quinn was off distracted.

To my knowledge, the only pic of all 4 little Messals together was one of them in the bathtub. A great memory, but hardly one that is appropriate for the blog. Jen, Paul - any on your phone? Maybe we didn't capture it here, but we had a really great break together. A lot of dinners in. Some bike rides. A few shopping trips. No real plans. A lot of relaxation. We love the Florida Messals!!!

2014 begins...

Another year. Quinn has tough shoes to fill. Literally.

Post Christmas play

It was another Christmas whirlwind, though a bit less chaotic than last year's Christmas Break Tour.

Here, just a few Christmas break playing-around-the-house pics.

Quinny does everything big sister does...

Quinn insists on doing everything Cora does. In her best moments, Quinn tries to predict what Cora wants to do, then get their slightly before her to get it done.

So now when Cora comes running to me announcing, "I have to go potty", Quinn makes a beeline for the one downstairs bathroom, ripping down her pants and diaper and hiking onto the potty before Cora. She sits there and smiles. She makes a little water noise with her mouth. She reaches for toilet paper to wipe. She enjoys her spot on the throne as long as possible.

One time she actually managed to tinkle while sitting there, but it only happened once (maybe twice now), and we think it purely coincidence.

The good news is, it doesn't typically upset Cora.

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Last night, we had an impromptu neighborhood "party". It was REALLY cold for Charleston (like 30 degrees), and I declared that I really didn't even want to leave the house all day. I texted a few neighbors, found us all in the same boat, and I declared a potluck cookout at our house, with only the guys going outside to deal with the grill. The little Shellpoint kids (this time, 9 of them, all 5 and under) made a huge playground of the house. It was chaotic, but there was only bleeding once, and it was a legit nosebleed (imagine 8 mommies sitting back down at once - a nose bleed isn't an injury, afterall, so there was no justice to be doled out and no misbehavior to nip in the bud).

It's times like this when I am glad that we haven't put a dining room table in the dining room yet - where would all of these kids play?