Lunch at the Club

The kids both wanted to go to Costco to look for something fun to buy with Dave's gift card and have lunch. LOL  Soooo, when there isn't a huge list of requests for break, and they REALLY want to go to Costco two days before Christmas, you sort of have to agree.  It was insane as expected, but we parked in the shopping center next door and walked over so it wasn't so bad.  

We enjoyed samples, walked the aisles, and ended with lunch for the kids at the club cafe.  Sometimes, it's just the little things that mean the most. :)

The Nutcracker Ballet

One of Savannah's bucket list items for winter break was to see the Nutcracker uptown.  We had checked for tickets a few times, but it seemed that there were only super expensive ones left . . . until she realized that they offer student ticket discounts two hours before show time in person!!!  We made a call and found out that they had over 100 available, so our girls night out was planned.  We arrived before showtime and Savannah was able to get two student tickets for like half price.  Then we had plenty of time to knock off another thing on her list, Optimist Hall.  We were able to get her a new pin for her backpack and grab dinner before heading back to the show.

It was such a fun night of just hanging with Savannah!  The show was okay (super long), but the time with my girl was priceless!

Lots of "Indoor" Track & Outdoor Soccer

Preston is staying insanely busy with school track and club soccer.  Here is a glimpse of the competitions, but the hours he pours into everyday school track practice AND three days a week of club practice is almost too much to even think about.

To kick off the indoor track season, Preston was invited to run at a JDL event (only for the faster kids, as you have to have a qualifying time) on 12/13.  It was shockingly at an indoor track in Winston Salem!  The boys went and had a fun morning while I attended a ladies only Christmas party at Ms. Debbie's.

There was a club soccer game in SC that Dave took Preston to play in on Sunday, 12/14.

The next "indoor" event was not exactly indoors, or as fancy, but we were excited that Savannah was able to attend her first track meet to watch her brother run here in Charlotte on 12/16. Preston ran both the 55m and 300m.

Then, he had one final track event before Christmas break on Saturday, 12/20, here in Charlotte. Apparently, between all our phones and with us all being at the event, I still have no pictures of this one!  Never the less, let's just say this kid is due a much needed BREAK!!!

A Terrifying Encounter with Fire

Savannah came home from UNC for break this afternoon . . . and as she was pulling into the driveway I was putting out the luminaries for the annual neighborhood Festival of Lights. Little did I know how the next few hours would go!  It was a super windy day and there was something inside of me that said this could be dangerous, but I made sure our luminaries were clear of the dry Bermuda grass and almost in the road.  I mean, the neighborhood has done this for years and there has never been a problem.  

Our neighbor texted a little later saying to be careful as one of their luminaries fell over and caught a small patch of their grass on fire!  I was a little concerned, but again knew ours were well out of the way of the grass so I just texted her when we left for the pizza party and asked her to keep an eye out.  We came back and still no worries, so we settled in for a family game of cards.  As we were playing, I smelled something burning . . and it was when I got to the front door and everything was glowing orange that I knew we had a problem.  I opened the door and our entire front lawn was on FIRE! 

After that was pretty much a blur.  I was running around yelling commands.  Preston, please come help (he was on the phone with a friend studying for a German test), Savannah, call 911, Dave, find a hose!  We had literally just winterized the outdoor faucets and hoses before going to the block party. I ran around with a frying pan of water, thinking that would helpful, and was screaming for help.  Before I knew it the neighbors had come with fire extinguishers and Preston was practically in the middle of the fire using our extinguishers and it was finally out!  It was one of the most terrifying events I can remember. As the fire department pulled up, I completely lost it.  I remember just standing in the front yard (only in my socks) just sobbing . . so so thankful the Lord spared our house!

The firemen encouraged us to wet down the yard to make sure nothing relit, which we did, but it was sort of a restless night worrying that it could burn again.  Many, many lessons were learned tonight.  First, never again will we do real luminaries.  Dry dormant grass, wind, and fire do not mix well.  Second, we need more fire extinguishers as they really don't last very long at all.  Third, we have amazing neighbors and I have a well-trained son who doesn't panic in a pinch.  Lastly, who knew that fire could be good for the soil?! Apparently, this spring we will have super green grass.  But this is not the recommended method for obtaining greener grass!

A Carmel Christmas

Our church hosted the third annual Carmel Christmas tonight.  We were so grateful the weather cooperated and we were able to continue with the outdoor smores pits.  There were so many yummy treats with cookies, pretzels, popcorn, hot chocolate and chips too. The festivities included silent disco, crafts, live music, a movie, games, a cake walk and oh so much more. It was such a fun night seeing so many familiar faces and visitors all having fun celebrating Christma together.  Preston did make an appearance but then left quickly to go to a birthday party so it was just the two of us . . . a feeling we are starting to have to get used to.

 

PHS Soccer Banquet

Tonight the school soccer team wrapped up the season with an awards night and dinner.  It was a fun evening celebrating two conference championship teams. The JV team was actually undefeated the entire season.  Preston is pictured with his coach, Omar.  Thankful for a fun season of team building and skill development. ;)

November in a Nutshell

 Gracious, I'm so far behind with updating this blog . . . I'll just recap all of November in one post.  Honestly, it was just a big blur anyway. LOL

Savannah and Caroline went to Anderson to visit Lily and Anna Kate.  I love that these girls are still friends, despite being at different colleges!  They had a blast and enjoyed their time together.

We decided to have some fun at Activate as a family the day before Thanksgiving.  It was a blast as usual, although it was Savannah who injured herself this time.

One of Savannah's favorite holiday traditions is packing shoeboxes at Operation Christmas Child.  We grabbed CFA for dinner to take with us and had a family outing to pack boxes on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  No clue why I have zero pictures from Thanksgiving in Mebane at Denny's house, but we had a fun time!

We made a last-minute decision to do Christmas cards this year and called Ms. Lou to help!  Her camera was broken, but we made do with her cell phone and got some pictures good enough to use.

As a fun adventure (after the torture of getting outfits together, freezing outside with bare legs, and trying to get a few good smiles) we went to Nellie's for dinner.  It's the Jonas brothers' restaurant in Belmont, so it was a bit of a drive, but well worth it, especially since Dave had a mystery shop there!

Picture at dinner

After a VERY full day, we still wanted to get started with the Christmas decorations before Savannah had to go back to school, so I drug everything out, and we at least got the upstairs tree done . . . despite the shannagans of one younger child.  So now we are headed into an insanely busy December!