Christmas Season 2016

Dear Leah and Logan,

We survived another Christmas!!  Christmas 2016 will always have the side-note that every one of us got sick at one point during the week, but we're all fighters so we gutted it out for a great holiday.

First, there was no shortage of Christmas parties at each of your schools. Santa even made visits to both Rockvale and to Stonebrook. (I'm not sure if you told him you were Naughty or Nice??)

Next stop was Christmas Eve, where you 2 jumped in with your cousins at your Uncle Shane and Aunt Amanda's house. They just moved into their brand new house in Franklin, so I'm sure you weren't allowed to touch anything. You came home with lots of presents.

Next....Christmas Day!  Santa decided to show up at Muirwood, and gosh- you 2 sure are lucky. As it turns out, you must have been on the 'Nice' list.

I was actually surprised that both of you took time to open each present nicely and even give each
new toy or game some attention (last year was just a mad dash to open everything in 20 minutes.)

After the grand opening, Christmas morning was spent being lazy and even playing family games like Pop the Pig, Hungry Hippoes, and Twister.

Once we had enjoyed all of our gifts for a bit, we got dressed and headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Again- you guys were spoiled. Uncle Caleb and Uncle Justin were there, and it was basically a lazy night watching movies and stuffing our faces with food that Uncle Justin made.

We're very blessed and fortunate to not only have a great families that love us, but also for all the things we're able to get each other for holidays. Thousands of people out there don't have any family to lean on or much money to spoil themselves with. I just want you two to embrace the foundation of family and always seek opportunities to help the less fortunate.

I love you both.




PS. New Years Eve was jsut spent at the house telling each other we'd stay up until Midnight. Leah, you fell asleep at 10pm. Logan, you made it midnight after playing Wii all night!

Love,

Daddy

Birthdays at Disney

Dear Leah and Logan,

November means that it's time to celebrate Leah's birthday!  Big #6!  I thought that #6 needed something extra special, so I designed the best Daddy-Daughter date I could think of, especially while you still believe in Princesses and Unicorns.

Our date started at 4:30am on Sunday, November 13, 2016, where I woke you up to tell you we were going to the airport.  Our destination was Orlando, Florida- home of Disney World!

We landed in Orlando at 9:30am and went directly to the Animal Kingdom.

From there, the week never slowed down.

Our intinerary was as follows:

Sunday- Animal Kingdom

Monday- Magic Kingdom

Tuesday- Hollywood Studios

Tuesday Night- Mickey's Magic Christmas Party

Wednesday - Magic Kingdom until 2pm.

I had set our Fast Passes based on mostly Princess and Character visits. However, you became such a big fan of roller coasters, you just wanted to keep riding bigger and faster ones.

Highlights from each park included the following...

Magic Kingdom- Ariel's Grotto, Seven Dwarfs Mine Ride (we rode 4 times), Space Mountain, Mickey and Minney, lots of fireworks, and getting your face painted (twice).

Hollywood Studios- Finding Nemo stage show. Disney Jr. stage show.... you weren't a big fan of Tower of Terror, so I quickly got you some ice cream after that one!

Animal Kingdom- A Bug's Life.  African Safari. Expedition Everest.

Logan- don't worry, bud.... Your 5th birthday is in a couple months, and I'm thinking you and I will do something extra big for your #6 (in 2018)!

It was a perfect 4 days, and I enjoyed watching how brave you were on each new ride. In fact, you didn't even want the kids rides- you wanted the REAL rides.  And don't worry- even though they aren't listed above, we did all the traditional Disney Rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and It's a Small World.

I hope you'll never forget our trip, and I can't wait to ride roller coasters with you again!

Here's a video to sum it all!!!   Daddy Daughter Disney Date 2016

Love,
Daddy

Halloween and Pumpkins 2016

Dear Leah and Logan,

The Halloween season arrived and left in a hurry, but, as always, we had a great time. Plus, it was October and the Summer weather never really left. It's still 80 degrees!!

We hosted our annual 'Pumpkin and Pizza Party', and this year it got bigger and better.

Attending this year were the McCartys (Ian, Tiffany, and Cadence), the Fontanettas (Tony, Jody, AJ, and Aria), and the Grahams (Greg, Kim, Ellerie, and Fletcher).

You kids actually did more scooping of pumpkin guts than you did carving. After 15 minutes of scooping, you kids were done with pumpkins and on to making the house into a giant playroom. The adults made the best of it, though, and got some good inner child time in as we chatted and did the carving.

We went costume shopping at Sprit Halloween, and neither of you wanted to leave because the place

was decorated like a creepy Haunted House. A Sparkly Witch and a Donkey Kong. Both costumes were perfect and matched your personalities- especially the fact that Logan has played 1,200 hours of Donkey Kong Country Returns in the last 2 months.

Then came Halloween. October 31 came on a Monday this year, so we started ramping up as soon as

we got home from school.  After the costumes were on, we did a quick trip to Sonic to get us fueled up for the walking....Then it began.  I had every intention of going to 3 neighborhoods, but you guys hit Blackman Farms so hard, we didn't need to! Mommy met us there after she got off work. You guys were champs, and you made out like burglars with sooooooooooooooo much candy!! 


We tried to save Grandma some Whoppers, but Logan ended up liking them and ate every one in site.


You guys make parenting so much fun, and I look forward to the fun costumes you'll choose next year.

By the way, as the night went on, you guys got tired of wearing and carrying your costumes. So guess who ended up carrying them? (see below)

Love,

Daddy

10/31/16

Fall Break 2016: Navarre Beach

Dear Leah and Logan,

We just got back from one of the greatest vacations I've ever had- Navarre Beach (near Destin and Panama City).  Grandma and Grandma first started planning this trip a few months ago and wanted us all to go. After all of my brothers cleared their schedules, Grandpa got us a Beach House.

So after Logan's Soccer game on Saturday afternoon, we packed up my Jeep and headed to the coast! It was about a 7 hour drive to get to the gulf beach, but you 2 have always done road trips well! I packed lots of snacks, things to draw with, and the Nintendo DS...and we were off!

We got there Saturday evening and you could hear and smell the ocean as we got out of the car. My entire family was there: Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Mike, Uncle Justin, and Uncle Caleb....and we even had a surprise guest....Aunt Daniela surprised us for a couple of days because we thought she'd be in Germany.

The week was amazing!  We got 7 days of perfect, 80-degree sunshine, and barely saw any rain the entire week.  Just 400 miles away on the East Coast there was Hurricane Andrew causing havoc and making people evacuate...we got lucky...all we ever felt was strong winds.

Starting on Sunday, you 2 wasted little time getting to the beach. It was a quick walk from our balcony. Daddy also went and got his fishing license and a bunch of night crawlers, and we fished every day. Both of you caught several fish throughout the week, and Uncle Justin cooked one of Leah's catfish for dinner one night.

On Monday night, we got 2 more visitors in the house: Gigi and Cousin Courtney decided to fly in for a couple of days and join the fun.

Throughout the week, Uncle Justin put his chef hat on and cooked us giant meals.  You guys helped him make homemade pasta, and both of you got to watch him cook up the shark he caught in the water.

One of your favorite thing to every day was 'wave jump' with your uncles. The gulf was getting a lot of the hurricane wind, so some days with waves were huge. Uncle Mike and Uncle Caleb entertained you 2 for hours.

 

 

On Wednesday night, we all put on goofy Hawaiian beach shirts and ran down to the beach to take a

bunch of crazy family sunset pictures. We got there a little late because we ran out of daylight, but that didn't stop us from having a

bunch of fun.

On the last night, me, you two, and Grandma and Grandpa took a walk on the Navarre Fishing pier. We saw all kinds of stuff- including people catching flounder and mackerel, a bunch of sea turtles, and our last sunset from the water. It was a great ending to an incredible week.

I hope we are able to go on several vacations, but we'll all be lucky if we ever get a week that was as perfect as the one we got in Navarre Beach in the fall of 2016.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

You 2 are amazing, and you're very fortunate with all the things we get to experience!!

Let's pick a new beach soon!


Love,

Uncle Justin's shark

Daddy

October 2016

Beach view from our balcony.

Spartan Race, Fort Campbell

Dear Leah and Logan,

On August 20, 2016, you two and Daddy got muddy again! We all ran the Spartan Race in Fort Campbell, which on the border of Tennessee and Kentucky.

We decided to make a vacation out of it, so we drove up to Clarksville, TN on Saturday night where we stayed in a La Quinta Inn and swam in the pool all night. You two made friends with a little boy named Sebastian who had a bag full of pool toys including super soakers. Leah, you worked on your diving (with coins) and Logan you worked on your paddling. We had quite a fun night.

Then Saturday we got up and had a giant hotel breakfast before heading out to the race.

Once we got to Fort Campbell, we got quickly checked in for the Spartan Kids Race at 10:30 am. We then made it to the Starting line around 10:20am and took some pictures. Everyone was

ready for the race to start when.....the sky

completely let loose with some crazy hard rain.

The rain made the rest of the day a huge adventure. The Spartan Kids Race went from a mud race to a triple mud race.  Poor Grandma got soaked with no umbrella.  Daddy tried to take pictures of your race, but the rain was so heavy, my phone got soaked and ended up not working. But, you two were champs and tackled every obstacle on the course even though it was pouring. Well done!

After that, you two and Grandma were supposed to head home during my race, but Grandma couldn't find the car :)  So you guys were there when me and my friends finished. Logan, you came with me into the final photo shot and got in a group shot with Brady.

Another mud race medal for all of us!


Love,


Daddy

Dinosaurs and Kindergarten

Last day at Stonebrook with Mrs. Reba

Dear Leah and Logan,

Wow. The summer went by so fast. Technically, we still have a few more weeks of summer heat, but that didn't stop the new school year from coming.

Leah, your school journey took a big leap this month as you started kindergarten at Rockvale Elementary. Congratulations! You're a Rockvale Rocket.

School Tour: You're Rockvale Rocket

Before we talk about your new school, we first need to thank Ms.Adele and Lascassas Baptist and Mrs. Reba at Stonebrook.  Despite having 2 different teaching styles, they both loved you so much and did a fantastic job with preparing you for Kindergarten. I'm very grateful for all the experiences that your two preschools brought you.

Logan, the week after Leah left Stonebrook, you took her place in the Dragonflies class and now have Mrs. Reba too.

Leah, on Day 2 of your school experience...you took bus #13 and daddy teared up a bit as you got on the bus with no fear and drove away like you were a school pro. You're so brave!!  Your Kindergarten teacher is Mrs. McGregor, and she's excited to have you.

 During your first week at school, you sold Smart Cards and met your new after school group from the YMCA. You also became a big fan of 'hot lunch' and eating breakfast at school

Logan, I came to a realization with you this week as well....in exactly one year, you'll be starting this school journey too!! Where did my babies and toddlers go?? I miss you both when you could crawl and barely walk. You both grew up so quickly!

Oh, and don't you worry, bud. You and I had a big adventure this month too!! I took you to a giant dinosaur exhibit in Nashville. It was 102 degrees that day, which was a bit of a bummer for the outdoor fun. But we made the best of it with some Kona ice and the misting fans.

The fair included: Life size dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes.

A baby dinosaur show.

Dinosaur rides.

Fossil digs.

Bumper cars.

And tons of inflatable toys and obstacles.

Just about everything any dinosaur lover could ask for....

I just want to thank both of you- you helped give me an amazing summer!!! And we still have a few weeks to go!!

Love you both,

Daddy

8/28/16

The Cabin, Cold Water Lake, and Super Man Ice Cream!

Dear Leah and Logan,

In July 2016, we had another amazing week at 'The Cabin' in Weidman, Michigan. We started our journey after school on a Thursday. We met up with Grandma on the road, and drove 400 miles until we got tired. We got to Weidman at 2pm on Friday, July 7, 2016.

From there, it was non-stop fun every day.

We:

Took hikes.

Road the Quads.

Made lots of campfires.


Went fishing.


Went to Cold Water Lake 4 times.


Ate lots of S'mores.

Invented a new game of throwing the tennis ball in the pool.

Slept in a tent.


Went to a giant Waterpark hotel.

Ate 3000 blueberries.

Had a lake photo shoot.


Protected a fort with Aunt DeeDee.


What a fun week!     Family came and went while we were there, but GiGi, grandma, and me (and you two) stayed the whole time. 


It also became a tradition that every day after the lake, we'd go to Cool Dips for a giant ice cream cone. Logan, you had Superman Ice Cream every time!!  Daddy got the same thing every day too- Peanut Butter and Fudge Swirl.


On the last night, GiGi got us an amazing hotel room at a Water Park hotel. We road slides and the lazy river until the park closed. The hotel bed was a last night treat too...a good night sleep before our trip home.

We got up early on Friday, and we drove the entire way back to Tennessee. We got back to TN around 8pm (we drove the entire way in one day), and it was just in time to enjoy the Chilton's pool party (Claudia, Olivia, and Liam's house).

Phew!! what a week. You guys were both troopers for the entire trip, and I'm glad we were all able to enjoy a great week with some great weather and great memories.  We told GiGi we'd be back to The Cabin next year!!

Thanks for being such great travel buddies,


Love,


Daddy
July 2016