Polar Express Night at Murabella

Tonight our neighborhood hosted a "Polar Express" Night for the families.  Santa visited at 5pm and then there were activities set up in the fields for the kids.  There were hamster ball races (which I steered my kids clear of), bouncy houses, lit Christmas trees, hot chocolate stations, a Smores roasting pit and plenty of crafts.  The night culminated in an outdoor viewing of "The Polar Express" so we all gathered 'round and watched the Christmas movie.  Mia lost interest in the movie fairly quickly but had no problem spending the majority of the time on the playground swings.  It was so funny watching Makaela hang out with her girlfriends...they were miniature 16 years olds, hopping up every few minutes or so to some some activity and pop back down to watch another few minutes of the movie.  They were mingling with all the other neighborhood kids and frequently I heard, "Oh, there's ___. Let's go say hi" and off they went.  I had an interesting time trying to keep an eye on them in the dark, but we managed- all the parents were sharing babysitting duty.  Great night overall and I am so glad I live in a community that organizes events like this.  The next event is a luminary night, where all the homes light up sanded candles.  People pay money to ride on horse drawn carriages to see the holiday lights and our community lit up and all the proceeds go to a food bank.  

movie time

Makaela and her girlfriends chatting it up while everyone was watching the movie.

Our new master bath

Matt has a thing with blue...always has.  I had found a picture on Pinterest of a shocking blue color (the hallway stairs pictures for those who follow me on pinterest) and Matt fell in love with the combo of the blue, white and dark wood, so he decided he would try it out in our bathroom.  At first I didn't like it, but after some time (and me scouring Pinterest for ideas to soften up the room), I got used to it and am enjoying it now.  I went out to Hobby Lobby and found a paisley fabric that matched the dark wood and the blue perfectly, so I covered the stool seat with it.  I also bought white towels and stitched a band of the fabric into the towels to make them more decorative (since we really had a tough time matching towels up with this color).  I had a war with the sewing machine and so for the past few weeks I have been hand stitching towels while watching my DVRed shows (and I only have a few pin pricks to boot).

Need to get some large brown vases for the crazy blue flowers I bought and need to find a large piece of art for over the tub but for now, this works.

another pinterest inspired creation.  I took pictures of the fabric, isolated the paisley and make photos out of them for wall art.

A better close up of my towels and my newly repainted clock.

Sea World

We didn't have a big birthday party for Mia this year but we wanted to do something special for her so we did a family weekend at Sea World with a special dinner show as well.  Mia was amazing.  A perfect angel- she was so thrilled at seeing all the marine life and interacting with them.  She loved all the rides and I now have two little dare devils on my hands.  

Getting a better view of the dolphins from Daddy's shoulders.

Mia was all about trying to touch a dolphin...takes after me!

 

Matt got the honor of going on all the rides with the girls.  My belly prevented me from boarding any of the rides.

Our dinner show got us in to see Sesame Street's Christmas show. 

Mia was so entranced in the Sesame Street show...until she passed out.

like literally, passed out!

She slept right through the Santa show and almost through dinner.

She did perk up to meet Santa.  She was very excited about that.  Makaela made sure that Santa knew that she wanted a Barbie house too. 

At one point, it started "snowing" (soap snow) and it was so festive.

Makaela trying to catch the "snow" in her mouth until she found out it was actually soap.

Shamu Christmas show

Had to sneak a few more rides in before we left.  I am so impressed with Mia- this one was pretty scary.

Cheese!!

Mia kept saying "val-rus" and he kept popping his head out of the water.  A crowd of people started gathering around and got a kick out of her.  She really thought he was listening to her.

A great time was had by all.

10 Years!!

This year it was Matt's turn to plan our anniversary celebration (last year I planned a scuba diving day out- we take turns).  Originally Matt had planned to take me on a cruise for our 10 year anniversary, but the pregnancy put those plans on delay.  Matt planned for the girls to be picked up from school by our babysitter and he picked me up from work.  He whisked me away to the Ponte Vedra Country Club for a Spa session.  We had a soaking/sauna session, a couples massage and aromatherapy.  So nice.

Our spa room with massage tables

Love the matching robes

total relaxation

Last time I had a spa day was with my friends in Hawaii so it brought back really nice memories and was exactly what I needed.  Then we headed to the Country Club's restaurant for dinner which overlooked the beach.  When we got home, the girls had already been put to bed and it was time for some cuddling.  A great way to celebrate 10 years together!!

Parent Observation Night at Dance School

I got to watch Makaela's dance class one night. So cute!!  Considering I danced for so many years, it was so fun to watch Makaela learn.  Of course, I found myself wanting to correct her, but I was a good mom and refrained.

Makaela and her teacher

 

 

 

Sick Sick Sick

I took the Monday off after Thanksgiving to give Mia an extra day to get better.  Poor kid just wanted to lay on the couch and watch Dora all day long.  She napped on and off for a bit and while we were on the way to pick up Makaela, I snapped a shot of her in the car.  My little bug is so cute when she is sick.  Love her!!

Prepping for Christmas

My aunt Deb came to visit us the Friday after Thanksgiving.  She generously donated her 7ft prelighted because as she says, "Decorating trees are more fun with little kids" and right she is.  We usually buy real trees but with since we are going to be traveling this season, we thought fake was a pretty good alternative so we don't have to worry about coming home to a dead tree.  So my aunt loaded up all her Christmas decorations and drove the 8 hours down to FL.  We always love when Aunt Deb comes to visit and this time was no different other than the fact we were completely homebound.  Mia's fever was still hovering around 100-102 degrees, so our outings were not existent.  However, we had plenty of decorating and carols to keep us busy.