Swim lesson.
Wow. I am shocked at Ty’s progress in the pool this week! His first day in level L1 was Saturday morning. He was in the pool without Jay or I, only the teacher and 4 other kids. He used a kick board to tool his way around the pool, put his face under water, and “swam” out to get toys without a life jacket, noodle, or kick board. Amazing.

Christmas tree.
We stopped at Kmart on our way home after swim lessons (remember Kmart is better than Target here) and picked up a Christmas tree, some balls, and lights. Notice that there is no tinsel…wasn’t because there was a lack of options… It isn’t as extravagant of a tree as what we have back home, but it will do. And thanks to Memaw and Papa we even have presents under it already!

Christmas Party.
I was so looking forward to the office Christmas party at the waterpark. The weather here has been perfect waterpark weather pretty much every day, with an occasional afternoon rain shower that comes and goes pretty quickly. Imagine my disappointment when I woke up Saturday morning to gray skies, rain, and “freezing” cold weather. It was around 63 when we woke up. But, hey, what the heck. It’s a waterpark, going to get wet anyway, so off we went. Ty and I went straight to the lazy river and thankfully the water was warm, but after 2 laps his lips stated turning blue, so we sat in the “hot” tub for a bit to warm up. After warming up and eating a lunch of…any guesses…sausage…jay and Ty went out to try the wave pool and kids pool area, complete with a giant pirate ship. Then Santa arrived (in flip flops) and gave all of the kids awesome presents. Lily got a little stuffed toy that plays music. Ty got a Batman airplane deal that he is super excited about. Really nice things. Pictures to come later. Jay did some of the extreme rides. Lily fell asleep so one of the ladies from work kept an eye on her while Ty, Jay and I went for one more pass through. We had a great time, despite the chilly weather!

Turkey.
We cooked a turkey (breast) and mashed potatoes Saturday night. We decided that although the turkey was good, it didn’t taste like home. Not sure if that is because they feed the turkeys something different, or if it was because we weren’t eating it with our families. Jay made a delicious batch of mashed potatoes (mashed by hand) and even though we didn’t have all of the good stuff, grandma grandma would have been impressed. I made a pasta salad (was just OK) and guacamole, just because I love my fresh guacamole. :). I said I was thankful for a beautiful family that was willing to go on this great adventure with me. Jay basically copied me. Ty was thankful for candy and trees (not really sure, was speaking jibberish…)

Iceman.
Ty’s elf, Iceman, made his grand re-appearance Sunday morning! He put our tree up and decided to hang out on top for the day – best view of the kids’ behavior. Look closely at the picture.