Reindeer Run

Mari Cagle and Nate participate in their first race! It was a race just for kids...the Reindeer Run. They got numbers, tshirts, medals and ribbons just like when Mom and Dad run their races so they were very excited! Mari Cagle ran a 1 mile race for Kindergarten through 8th grade. And Nate ran a 100 yard Toddler Dash. They both had a great time. Mari Cagle's favorite part was getting the medal and passing other people on the race course. She has quite the competitive drive. I can't imagine where she got it! :) We hope you enjoy the pictures from the morning as much as we enjoyed the morning itself. I wish I could share the pancake breakfast we had afterwards, but they haven't quite come that far with computer technology. :)



At the start/finish line before the race very anxious to get things underway.



Pretty good form huh? He was very determined running hard the whole way.




Being such a natural princess, I was very proud of Mari Cagle. She ran for most of the entire mile with just a few short walking breaks. And I didn't have to coax her along like I thought I would. She did mention the sweatiness at one point, but quickly moved past it. :)

The Start of Our Christmas Season....

It's officially Christmas here at our house. We got the Christmas tree, our first since moving to Florida (and yes, I purchased it wearing shorts!). I'm almost done with my shopping. Mari Cagle and Nate are counting down to the big day with the help of Nana's embroidered advent calendar filled with Smarties candies. They are learning lots of carols in preparation for their Christmas programs. Nate's favorite to hear on the radio is 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.' Mari Cagle is still partial to 'Rudolph' which she has learned to play on her violin! If she's not playing shy, she should be able to play an entire concert for everyone as her violin teacher has given her 'music' for several additional carols. It has been real motivation for her to practice; she absolutely loves playing Christmas songs.

St. Nicholas payed Mari Cagle's classroom a visit last night and stuffed their homemade stockings with treats in honor of his feast day, today, December 6. Mari Cagle's teacher is from Wisconsin and it is common tradition to celebrate St. Nicholas' feast day in this way. She said growing up it was always the way they officially began their Christmas season culminating, of course, in the birth of Christ, our Savior on our beloved Christmas Day. I have been intrigued by the custom (maybe because I have roots in Wisconsin too) and have been inspired to learn a little more of St. Nicholas and how his legend evolved into our American Santa Claus. If you too are inspired, below is a link to the website I found most helpful and interesting.

http://www.stnicholascenter.org

And another interesting link many of you have probably seen. But the kids convinced Brandon to 'Elf' our family. It's pretty funny.

we've been elfed!

I hope you all are having a blessed Christmas season filled with lots of the joyful Christmas spirit!

Thanksgiving Fun!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a lot to be thankful for this year. We are so very blessed! Over the holiday we enjoyed lots of family fun and just as much eating. MariCagle and Nate love seeing all the family. I only have a few snapshots...I was having too much fun to remember the camera. (So Kim and Kristen, that's a hint that I need you to share some of your pictures from the week.) :)



One of the highlights was time spent with Hudson and Quinn. Here are three of the munchkins enjoying what MariCagle has proclaimed 'Grammy's Art Table.' Whether that was Grammy's intention or not, it is most frequently used for drawing and such.



I'm not sure what the name of this game was, but you can tell they enjoyed it immensely. Who knew that throwing a pillow shaped like a ball would be that much more fun when standing on the couch?

Now this next video clip is one of those that Nate will one day forever wish I had never taken. Pa was so kind as to let Nate and MC watch and borrow his 'Power Ranger' movie. Nate has really taken to the especially cheesy superheroes as you can tell by his demonstration below.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are very much looking forward to Thanksgiving this year! It's amazing how the kids remember and learn and understand so much more about the holidays each year. And I just love Thanksgiving because it's like a sneak peak of Christmas. I post this video and picture to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving from myself, Brandon, Mari Cagle and Nate. If we will see you for the holiday, we can't wait!! And if we won't, please know we will miss you lots.

This video is of one of the songs Nate has learned at school. It is a favorite of his even though you can tell he doesn't quite remember all of the words. But he doesn't let that stop him. (You can check out his new 'do' as well.)

If you're looking for some good recipes for the holidays, check out Mari Cagle's Pumpkin Pie Recipe.

Translation:
First, sugar.
Then you add pumpkin.
Then cherries.
Then stir.
Then cook.
Finished.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Trick or Treat!

Nate and Mari Cagle had a great Halloween. They both had classroom parties and costume parades. We went trick-or-treating at the zoo and then to Pizza Hut for dinner. (MC got to use her first free pizza ticket that she earned for reading 4 books in October.) Nate was especially into the whole Halloween scene - playing ghost, talking of a 'creepy, creepy house' and hearing 'strange noises.' And he's already got his next three Halloween costumes picked out - a ghost, Superman and Batman. I don't think that's carved in stone though. For this year, they were both adorable in their costumes. Hope you all had a great Halloween and we can not wait for the holidays this year. We're so excited to see everyone!!

Brandon carved a ghost pumpkin for them this year. I've provided a picture of the pumpkin I carved back in 2005 for comparison. Needless to say, we can see who gets pumpkin carving duties for all future Halloweens.

End of Soccer and a Violin Concert

Halloween's not even here yet and its already an exciting week. Nate had his last soccer game this past Saturday. After the game, he got his trophy, or as he lovingly refers to it...'his Piston Cup.' (For those who have not seen "Cars" one million times as we have, that's the award given to the winning race car - the equivalent of the Nascar Nextel Cup.) You can tell that he's very proud as are we.

MariCagle has been busy too. She performed in a recital for students with less than two years of lessons. She was fantastic!! Don't just take my word for it. Check out the stellar performance for yourself.

Nate is potty trained!!!

Knock on wood as you read that headline, but we think he's done it. We actually think he's fully grasped the concept and mastered all required techniques. No pictures to go along with this update for obvious reasons, but we are VERY excited. Though I haven't yet experienced the high school or college graduation of one of my children, I feel certain that those milestones will pale in comparison to this accomplishment. Yeah Nate! Wish you all as good a week as we're having here!