Kauai, Hawaii 2012

Grandma and Grandpa agreed to come to Hawaii with us to help out with Ivey after Joe found an exceptional deal on a 2 bedroom condo in Kauai. It took a little while to convince me it was a good idea to take an almost 2 year old somewhere that far away. The travel was not as bad as I had anticipated and Ivey had a blast. The weather was cooler than we anticipated due to high winds. High winds were also at fault for very rough seas that would not allow us to snorkel or swim in the ocean. We did enjoy the pools at the resort and lounging by the beach. We also hiked and explored a bit and relaxed a lot. We had trouble getting used to the Christmas decorations while we there - just didn't feel like Christmastime in such a warm, tropical place! 

Leaves, Leaves and More Leaves

Ivey still loves to be outside as much as possible. Fortunately we had really nice weather every time we needed to bag leaves this fall and Ivey was happy to help. She liked riding in the wheelbarrow while transporting the bags of leaves from the backyard to the curb. She also enjoyed hiding and jumping in the piles of leaves.

Preparing for Christmas

Ivey was planning to help decorate the Christmas tree, but decided it was more fun to play with the ornaments.

 Ivey decided Santa wasn't so scary this year and did not shed one tear while she sat in his lap. She even gave him a high five!

Thanksgiving 2012

Gammie came to visit us for Thanksgiving this year. The weather was nice and mild during her stay so we stayed outside most of the time. We even took a walk to the playground after our Thanksgiving meal.

We headed to the mountains Friday afternoon where the weather was quite a bit colder. We met Karen, Gil and Lillian for lunch in Boone and then headed to a Christmas tree farm to get our Christmas trees. Ivey fell asleep in the car on the way and missed the whole Christmas tree event. Oh well, there's always next year.

Great Wolf Lodge

In lieu of a beach trip for Thanksgiving this year, The VanDusen, Faircloth & Piacentino families visited The Great Wolf Lodge in Concord. Adam, Jackson, Sarah and Ivey all had a blast playing in the water and sliding down the waterslides. Even the big kids were able to join in the fun on the big waterslides.

 Story time Saturday night