Lights Before Christmas- Riverbanks Zoo

We took the boys to Lights Before Christmas over my birthday weekend. The Zoo decorates the entire place in lights and then they open up at night (when they're normally closed) and you can walk through and look at all the pretty lights. They also have Santa there to take pictures. They have fake snow machines set up throughout the whole zoo and so every so often, snow would just come falling down--that was definitely the boys favorite part.

The 3 Westover boys posing in front of the enormous tree at the front of the zoo.

The fake snow.

These pictures make it look much lighter than it was when we got there. It was almost dark when we got there.

There wasn't much open, but we did get to walk through the barn and see the cows, bunnies, and turkeys.

Evan thought this was a really need light display.

Evan decided he wanted to catch some "snow" on his tongue.

They both became obsessed, running around with their tongues out, trying to catch a snow flake.

Evan just gave up and reached over and grabbed one that landed on Carter's hood.

And he stuck it in his mouth. And discovered the hard way that the fake snow is actually soap.

But, Carter had to try it for himself, so he licked one off his coat too. (pretty sure he regretted it)

 

It was nice to see the lights and the boys had fun, but I wouldn't go back for that. I'm glad we went once, but I wouldn't make it an annual trip. We went for Member's Night Out over the summer, where they open the zoo to members only after 6:00 and they had so many fun things to do. There were crafts and games set up all over the place. Activities, employees talking with the kids and telling them all kids of fun facts about animals, it was so interactive. That's kinda what I was expecting. I definitely want to try and make it to those next summer because the boys really enjoyed those.

Birthday

My birthday was on the 6th. Greg took the boys out to get me gift cards earlier that week (and they had actually kept it a secret) and they made little cards to wrap around them. They were going to give them to me at my birthday dinner at my parents, but they were so excited that they gave them to me that morning. They were so cute, Carter gave me a Starbucks gift card and told me I could buy some yummy hot cocoa with it (they know the Starbucks logo!) and then Evan gave me an iTunes giftcard, there's an apple on the front, so he said "and here's a gift card for you and you can buy apples with it" hahaha!!! So precious.

I wasn't expecting anything because I had asked to go to Stone Mountain and stay overnight at the hotel right there next to the park and do the Christmas stuff the night we got there and the Snow mountain part when we got up the next day. That was enough for me (that and the small fortune I spent on Thirty One things for myself the week before my birthday) so it was a surprise and it was very sweet to see how excited the boys were about giving me a present.

We had plans to go to my parents for lunch, but we stopped by Michael's first. They have kids club on Saturdays where they do a cute craft with kids. It's $2.00 a kid, so I checked online to see what they were going to be making and it was super cute, so we checked it out. It was actually the same woman that came to chick-fil-A two days before and made ornaments with the kids. So, Evan immediately recognized her and told her so! She's really good with kids and the boys had a blast making their little elf ornaments with her.

The boys actually listened really well to the instructions.

Afterwards, we slipped into Petsmart next door and checked out the fish, cats, and birds.

Carter let me take a picture of his elf ornament while were driving to my parents house. I think they're cute. Evan did not want me taking a picture of him or his ornament.

My parents had delicious steak, potatoes, grilled onions, beans and rolls for my birthday dinner. Mmmmmm......So yummy. I think it's safe to say that Evan likes him some steak too. :)

After steak, my mom made a Paula Deen Strawberry cake with homemade frosting. It was so moist and delicious. At least to me, apparently nobody else in the family are big fans of strawberry cake, the sacrifices they make for me. Awww....

While the boys ran off their sugar rushes, my mom and I got to crafty--it's not just for toddlers. ;) I didn't have a wreath for our front door and I also wanted on for the inside of the back door. First, I made a silver and blue one that will be on the inside of our back door, near our tree with the blues and silvers. I love how it turned out. It's not perfect, but I'm really happy with it.

 

I started on one for my front door, but didn't finish it, so I'll have to post that in another blog post. That night, we went to Lights Before Christmas at the zoo, but I'm doing a different post on that. I ended up having a great birthday, spending it with family, good food, presents, got some crafting done,and then ending it with a fun outing, It was a good birthday, I LOVE making goal lists every year, around my birthday of things I want to accomplish by my next birthday. I'll probably do one for this birthday too. I don't ever do but half the stuff on my list, but I just like having it, in black and white, goals to strive for. I'll probably do one again this year, and if I do, I'll post it on my blog.

End of the Semester

 I'm finally done with this semester. My first semester back to school since 2006 has worn me out! I was taking two very difficult classes (Anatomy and Microbiology) and just learning to manage my time and balance everything I needed to do. I was so ready to be done at the end that I actually took my last final exam a day early. My microbiology class met on Thursdays at 3, but he also had a class on Wednesdays at 6:00, I just went on Wednesday night to get it over with.  I ended up with an "A" in both classes, which I am ecstatic about!! I have two more classes to take in the spring (plus the TEAS exam)  and then I'll apply to nursing school for Fall 2015.

 

 The boys enjoyed my last week of school too. I didn't do homework while they were home unless they were sleeping, but it just felt like a huge weight had been lifted. I was able to enjoy what we were doing more when I wasn't worried about an upcoming test or something I needed to be doing for school.

 

That Tuesday (the day before my last final) we did an inexpensive reindeer craft. I'm trying to do something crafty with the boys every day. I've found so many cheap and easy things on Pinterest. The boys and I both enjoy our crafty time.

We've done a little shopping at Hobby Lobby.

The boys get to look at Christmas stuff and push the buttons on all the things that make noise (sorry fellow Hobby Lobby shoppers, we are THOSE people) It's a win-win, they have fun and I'm in Hobby Lobby--so obviously I'm happy!

We went to a story time at the library downtown that we went to a few weeks ago for Lego time. The boys really, really enjoy story time at Barnes and Noble, they listen to the stories, interact with the reader, and have a blast doing the craft at the end. I haven't found a library story time that like as much as Barnes and Noble, but we're going to keep looking.

Waiting on story time to start.

There was a preschool there on a field trip, we were the only ones there that weren't apart of the field trip.

The theme was "cookies" They had cookie themed books and sang songs about cookies. They even had cookies from the Kroger bakery to give all the kids with a juice box at the end. The cookies had peanuts in them, so the boys didn't eat them, but I thought it was pretty neat that the library had all that for the kids. Evan and Carter really surprised me, when it was time for cookies they told me "we can't have those, but it's ok, we have Bear Paws in the car, let's go" It didn't phase either of them that they didn't get to have a cookie.

After story time, we went and got some hot cocoa from Starbucks. I wanted to get a picture of them, and just so you can see what it's like to get a picture of these two monkeys, here's the outtakes. #1--Evan snarling.

#2 Carter looking confused and annoyed

#3--haha, oh Carter.

 

#4

There we go!! Finally. ;)

 

Thursday was our last MOMS bible study before our Christmas break. We don't meet again until January, so we all brought goodies to munch on and talk about Christmas traditions. We meet at 9:15, so I didn't have time to make anything in the morning and I had my final at 6pm the night before. So, Greg was sweet enough to pick up some pound cake and strawberries at Sam's Club while I was taking my final and I made these super easy kabobs when I got home that night.

After bible study, the boys and I went to Chick-Fil-A with the boys' sweet friend, Cooper and his mom and little brother.

When we got home, the boys and I did another easy and inexpensive craft. I thought I'd set the beads out and the boys would work on it for awhile and I'd get some laundry done. It took Carter about a minute to finish his candy cane. Haha. He decided that he wanted to put two white beads and then two red beads and Evan about had a fit! He couldn't stand that Carter wasn't doing it "just right" he even told me "mom, make him do it right" After Carter saw that it annoyed Evan, he decided to just start putting random beads on there! These two!

Evan doing his candy cane, the "right" way. ;)

Carter working on his candy cane. I barely got a picture before he was done.

Carter's candy cane.

Since I didn't have class that I had to rush off to that afternoon (which was such a great feeling) I went ahead and had the boys paint their paper plates and things for some crafts we're going to be doing this month, so they could dry and be ready for us to use.

The boys love painting, their favorite crafts are anything that they get to paint or use glue with. Of course.

That evening, the boys and I went to Chick-Fil-A for family night. They had people from Michael's doing crafts with the kids. The boys each got to make an ornament.

I thought they turned out so cute and they were so easy to make. Chick-Fil-A has several events each month for kids that are free, so we try and go when we can. The boys always have a good time.

The other ornament.

 So, basically, I'm out of school and there's been a lot of crafting going on. :)

Welcome Back, Dennis

The Saturday after Thanksgiving (November 29) our Elf on the Shelf, Dennis, arrived. This is our second year doing it and the boys love it. The night before he came, we put the boys in Christmas pjs and read them the story of the Elf. They were pretty excited.

Evan before story time.

haha, I tried to get a sweet picture of Greg reading to them (in their super cute pjs) and Carter made the funniest face. Plus, I need to move Carter's name, I had it centered over their toddler beds, but haven't moved it since we switched them to big boy beds. Greg got called in from work after we put them to bed. He had to go in early on Saturday and ended up working the entire day, so he missed our North Pole breakfast. :(

We have a North Pole breakfast when Dennis comes. We have pancakes, bacon, cinnamon rolls and hot cocoa. This is when the boys get their Christmas pjs (they only had the ones on the night before because we had to give them to them for the Christmas pictures we had done) We also do a Christmas book advent, where you wrap 25 (or more, depending on when you start) Christmas books and put them under the tree and they get to open one every night before bed. This is also when I give the boys anything that is Christmas related. This year they got some Christmas puzzles, an Elf on the Shelf game, a couple Christmas movies,a Christmas coloring book, and a few Christmas books that I wanted them to have for the whole month like, "Merry Christmas Stinkyface"and "Little Blue Truck Christmas". I also put some wintery or snow related books under the tree for them to read whenever they want. I feel like it sounds like a lot when I type it out, but it wasn't that much, really.

The boys were so excited when they came downstairs. They love Dennis and they love finding him every morning. They had so much fun opening their gifts and they were excited to have a fun breakfast.

After our breakfast, I took the boys to Home Depot for their kids workshop. This was our first time going. Greg was going to take them and I was going to stay home and study for my finals, but since he was at work, I decided to take them. They had so much fun. They both got an apron to keep, they got to pick the project they wanted to do and both picked the Wizard of Oz birdhouse. I helped Evan with his and Carter waited so patiently. Then, Evan decorated his with stickers while I helped Carter with his. Afterwards, they each got a fruit snack and capri sun, a certificate, a coloring book, and a Wizard of Oz pin, plus they get to keep the project they made and it was all FREE! We're going to start going to more of these because they enjoyed it so much.

 

We came home after Home Depot and the boys watched a couple Christmas cartoons that they got that morning "from Dennis" and then we went to lunch at Mcdonald's. The boys had a gift card from their Grandma and Grandpa Westover, so they got a kids meal and some ice cream and played in the play area for awhile.

After lunch, the boys and I headed downtown to a library we've never been to before. They were having Lego Club, where they get legos out for kids to sit and play with. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was free, so I figured we'd check it out.

The room we were in had this fun picture booth thing, so the boys immediately ran over to stick their heads in.

The guy working there opened a brand new bucket of Legos when we got there and dumped it out on the table for the boys, which made me so happy. The thought of them playing with community toys during "sick season" stressed me out, so I was so happy when he opened the brand new, germ free toys. haha.

The boys had a blast. They played with them for the entire hour and were so creative with what they built. There were hardly any kids there, maybe 5-6 other kids and there was another table full of Legos, so plenty for everybody.

Carter made a sled.

Evan made a machine with an eye on it and called it an "eyenator"

Then, after playing for awhile, they decided to team up and build something together. They were so good about sharing, with each other and the other kids. We'll definitely go back when they have this again. I found out about this while searching for story times to take the boys to while they were on Christmas break. This library does a ton of fun activities for kids all the time, so we'll definitely be going back some.

So, that was our fun little Saturday while Greg worked. It was sad that he missed the North Pole breakfast, but the boys and I ended up having a really fun day.