{Elfie} Sightings

Elfie, our Elf on the Shelf, has been a little playful and fun this week!  Here's what he's been up to!

1st night with us!

Playing in snow!

Elfie showed up the next morning on a bike just like Camden's ~ the day before Camden had learned how to ride all by himself without any help from us!

Trapping us in our room ~ I thought Camden would be a HUGE fan on this...I was really, really wrong!

Hiding in a tree!

{Our Home} At Christmas!

Just a little post to show our home this year at Christmas!!!  I saw some cute things on Pinterest that I was able to incoperate into our home ~ which always makes me a happy, happy girl!!

Family Tree upstairs

{The Best Birthday} Gift!

(I always get up at 530am every morning...even on weekends, just to have a little time to myself before the day starts.  Even on my birthday!  This morning I got my coffee ready, opened my email and read this....)

To celebrate Holly's birthday this year, I wanted to write a blog post as a gift to her. She is still as graceful and beautiful as the day we met and I feel very lucky to have her as my wife and the mother of our children. Although I sometimes dread seeing the Nikon D5000 camera come out - I do really appreciate having pictures to remember all the things we do together as a family. She is a very talented photographer and does a marvelous job with our blog. She is the CEO of our household, mother, chef, classroom mom (for both kids) and a wonderful wife. Happy birthday Holly, I love you!

(What a fun surprise!  Isn't he the greatest!  It is a great gift to hear all of those sweet words and by the way...for my birthday he's going to make out the Family Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Menu for the whole week, something I alwasy dread when Monday comes along!  Such a great birthday already and no one is even up yet!)

Camden's hand drawn birthday card!



Bexley's hand drawn card with exact words from her written by Scott
 

{Bringing Home} The Tree!

We always love getting our tree home and Scott always loves showing off how strong he is by getting it off the car all...by...himself!  This year we went for a slim tree (my favorite and it takes up less room)!  One tree done...one more to go!

The best present we could get is already under the tree!

{Elfie} On Our Shelf

We got a BIG surprise when we got home from the mountains yesterday....ELFIE was back!  The kids were so excited...and eating all of his M&M's (I don't think that qualifies for touching him.  Must not have because he moved this morning!).  We just love him!  Isn't he the cutest?

{Thanksgiving} Day & Traditions

We were lucky enough to be able to spend Thanksgiving in the mountains again this year!  We love Echota on the Ridge (the condos we've been staying at the last 4 years)!!!  It's so beautiful and there are so many things to do!  This Thanksgiving was no different.  We ate a HUGE Thanksgiving dinner, went for a hike and then....picked out our CHRISTMAS TREE!!!  One of our favorite traditions!  We pulled up to Hensen Farms (the tree supplier of the Cole Fam for the last 4 years) and we were in for a shock....there were no trees and there was a road built leading up to new college apartments!  I felt like crying!  What in the world was going on?  Where were our cute little guys to cut down our tree?  And what were we going to do?  There are a ba-jillion tree farms in the area, but we wanted Hensen Farms!  We drove down the road and found another tree farm.  Feeling a little deflated, I was willing to give this farm a chance.  I canNOT believe what we came across ~  100 perfect trees!  And get this...a 14' tree for $40!  This lifted my spirits IMMEDIATELY!!!  Just a few minutes before I thought no other farm was going to compare and this new one blew me away!  I hope next year we will pull up to our newest tree farm and find another perfect tree and not a new apartment complex!!!  What a great Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving snuggles!

Gumdrop Turkeys!!!

 

Camden's Thanksgiving placemat activity!

 

Getting ready for our hike!

"Found a good one Mommy!"



Our "perfect" tree on the left!

{Thanksgiving} Day!

We all have so much to be thankful for, but I feel especially lucky to have  a fun, loving and healthy family!  We are so fortunate to get to go all of the places we go, do all the things we do and have all that we have!  Here are some fun Thanksgiving photos we took this year on our thankful day!

Bet you can't pick out who was grumpy they didn't get to be the indian anymore?  Such a pouty-pants!

{Happy Thanksgiving} From The Cole Fam!

Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!

{Thanksgiving}Tree!

We tried something new this Thanksgiving.  Starting November 1st up until Thanksgiving Day everyone was to write something they are thankful for daily!  It's been so much fun and something we will probably do every year!  Scott & I would take turns doing ours, but the kids had to do 1 everyday.  Camden loved writting his out and Bexley would say the same thing everyday, "I am thankful for Mommy & Daddy!"  Either she is really thankful for us or she didn't understand the game!  I just go with the 1st idea!  Camden had some really fun ones...Here are my favs!

Our Thanksgiving Tree

{Gangnam Style} Camden

The new craze is the song, "Gangnam Style" said with a Korean accent!  (Click HERE to see the video to understand the pics below)  Anyway, Camden has been loving it the last few days (doesn't help that Scott keeps singing it to him)...they even have Bexley involved in it too!  This morning Camden was begging me to take his picture after he got dressed like the singe!.  Then wanted me to do a video!  I love our little crazy Gangnam Style singer!!!

{Ocean Isle Beach}...Just One More Time!

We just can't stay away!  We had nothing to do this weekend so we thought we'd head to the beach!  We feel really fortunate ~ it was in the the 70's and a.b.s.o.l.u.t.l.e.y beautiful!!!  Although, we didn't really plan to be able to go out to the beach ~ we were out there every day!!!  We also did all the regular things we do...eat, play, and (my favorite)shop!  Goodbye beach...see you next summer!

That 1st glimpse of the ocean ~ feelin' the love!

Bocce Ball!!!

Sand rocks are so interesting!

Anyone for a game of catch!

Bexley's 1st "Smiley Face" and Camden's R2D2 sand drawing!



Sand Twirling!

Beautiful sunrise from the condo!  (Yes, even on a mini vacation the kids are up at 530am ~ thank you daylight savings time!)

{50th Day of School} 50's Day!

On the 50th day of school the kids get to dress like the 50's!  Rolled jeans, poodle skirts, slicked hair, Grease!  We had fun getting stuff together!  Camden would have fit right in back in 1950!