Christmas Eve in Mebane

 With all of the craziness lately, it really didn't feel like Christmas Eve.  We didn't get to enjoy the entire day together (both Dave and I worked in the morning) and we had to miss the Christmas Eve service at church too since they didn't have a morning one.  We also had to miss our annual take-out dinner from Chili's.  BUT, dinner at Denny's did not disappoint!!!  We drove to Mebane and had a late lunch/early dinner with my side of the family.  It was wonderful to see the cousins and spend time together.  We ate, laughed, open gifts, and then drove back to Charlotte.  It was fast and furious, but we enjoyed our time together for sure!

Preston's Gift Came Early!!

While we were away, I arranged to have Preston's gift built in the back yard!  Corey was so gracious to volunteer to build it for us and did an awesome job.  It was super dark when we got home on Tuesday, but we knew Preston would see the treehouse right away this morning so we let him open the gift early.  He went CRAZY!!!  His top three gift ideas were "swimming pool, cell phone and treehouse" so this was what we opted for this year. :)

 I can already tell both of the boys will spend lots of time in the house.  Preston is anxiously awaiting to get some neat things to add to the house . . . lights, a rope ladder, a safe, fireman's pole, etc.  LOL!  Super thanks to Corey for making this happen and for doing such a great job!!

A Surprise Disney Christmas Adventure

We avoided all travel this year, including the beach, thanks to fear of Covid. Our original Disney trip in June was canceled as well.  BUT, enough was enough!  Dave and I decided to take a risk and plan a surprise Disney trip for the kids at Christmas.  We made it all the way until Thursday to tell them we were flying out on Saturday at 7am. The surprise was awesome! 

After getting up around 4am, we made it to the airport in just enough time for our 7am departure.  The airport was pretty empty, but our flight was full. 

We finally checked into the hotel, Disney's Yacht Club, and made it to Main Street before noon.  Let the adventure begin!

At my request the first ride was It's a Small World!  The wait was ridiculous, but it was fun to start our trip with my favorite.

While the boys were on Space Mountain, Savannah and I rode Buzz Lightyear a couple times!

We had a full, long day in Magic Kingdom and ended with this awesome castle picture! 

The next morning we were up bright and early to walk to Epcot.  We hit soaring first to avoid the lines and then made our way around the park, saving the countires for later.  The wait for Test Trak wasn't that bad even though the posted time was 70 minutes.  It was my favorite Epcot ride for sure!

We enjoyed the countries and ended with a delicious dinner in an Italian restaurant, our only table service meal for the trip.  We sure missed the meal plan since they stopped that due to the virus.

Savannah and Dave outside the Germany entrance.

Day 3 was spent at Hollywood Studios.  We did our favorite Toy Story interactive ride first and then the boys went to ride Slinky while Savannah and I enjoyed LOTS more on the spinning ride and more Toy Story rides too.

Preston outside the rockin roller coaster.  He was so proud to do his first upside-down coaster . . but didn't know going into it that it actually went upside down. ;)

The longest wait of our entire trip was almost two hours for the Star Wars ride (we would never have waited that long, but the posted time was much shorter).  Thankfully, we made it out just in time to race over to make our reservation for the exclusive Star Wars adventure.  I think after waiting so long for the first one, they weren't as happy coming off, but at least the three amigos got to do both Star Wars rides!

And we say goodbye to Hollywood Studios . . it was fun to ride the skyliner back to Epcot and then walk to the hotel.

Our last day was spent back in Magic Kingdom.  The boys hit the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train first and there was still a small wait (even at 7:15 in the park!) while Savannah and I rode a few other rides that the boys didn't care about.  Of course, we all rode Buzz again and a few other favorites before grabbing something quick for lunch and heading back to the resort to catch the Magical Express to the airport.

We are so thankful for the safety measures Disney had in place.  From required masks (we didn't see anyone without one) to distancing and sanitizer everywhere, we felt pretty safe.  Obviously, it wasn't as magical as normal, but it was a super fun way to spend some of Christmas vacation and a trip they'll never forget.  Thanks for the memories Disney!!  We'll see you real soon . . . 

Bachmann Christmas Celebration

 

We were so thankful to be able to find a time to celebrate with Dave's family in Simpsonville!  It was quite a challenge with so many trips planned, but we made it work!  Thankfully the weather was amazing and we enjoyed lots of time outside, but our inside time had to be masked of course.  We enjoyed opening our stockings and then some gifts too.  It didn't take Preston long to start his concert in the treehouse on his new ukelele. :)  

Then we enjoyed a wonderful meal and opened the rest of our gifts.  It was such a fun time to spend together as a family, especially since it's been almost a year since we had seen everyone.

The cousins were long overdue catching up too!

It was a fun day and we're just thankful everyone was healthy enough to celebrate together.

Our Gingerbread House Tradition Continues

 

Today we met up with our favorite family, the Marions, to continue our tradition of visiting the Ballantyne Resort's Gingerbread Lane.  After the kids were out of school, we headed over and enjoyed a socially distanced display.  We were excited to find that by going earlier in the season, the houses were not as broken too.   There were much fewer houses this year, but they were still quite impressive to see.

Thanksgiving Homestyle

 

After we found out that a cousin tested positive for Covid, we had to quickly adjust our plans for Thanksgiving this year.  It was so sad at first, but then we decided we would just stay in Charlotte and enjoy NOT traveling for the first time ever on Thanksgiving Day!  

Dave and the kids planned the menu and went to work Wednesday night making the Oreo dessert.

This morning I started with a short run in the pouring rain.  Thankfully, by the time I got home, the rain stopped and we were all able to get ready for the neighborhood Turkey Trot.  I promised Savannah I would walk with her so I had to get a quick run in earlier. :)  It turned out to be a beautiful morning and we enjoyed our time outside.  We came home, showered, and put the turkey in the oven.  

It wasn't long before the sides were all ready and we were enjoying our first ever Thanksgiving meal with just us four at home. I have to say I missed the conversations and laughter around the table, but it was nice to stay home.  We spent the afternoon decorating for Christmas and then we ready for dessert.

The boys spent some time setting up our outdoor lights too.

We are truly counting our blessings this Thanksgiving. Sure it's been a pretty yucky year with Covid and things are most definitely different, but we are so grateful for our health, family, friends, and that we have not been devastated by this awful virus.  We choose to be thankful today!!  

Saturday Shoeboxes and Soccer

 

Bright and early this morning we traveled to Morganton for Preston's soccer game.  We were thrilled that they pulled out a WIN today!  It was a long trip, but worth it for the team to get another W.  To celebrate we stopped by Chick fil A for nuggets on the way home.

After we arrived back in Charlotte we had lunch and then Savannah headed out with her Sunday school group.  Mrs. Poats has been such a blessing and continues to hold these precious girls tight under her wing (especially now that she is an empty nester).  They started at the Dollar Tree where the girls filled two huge carts of goodies to stuff their shoeboxes.  Then it was off to Panera to fill the shoeboxes and enjoy dinner.  They filled a total of 42 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child!! Savannah had such a wonderful time and talked nonstop about how much fun it was to be with her little group again.