The Holidays are Over...Finally!

Ahhh, the holidays are over...well, kind of. Charles' dad leaves tomorrow and then we'll take down the Christmas trees, lights and other decorations. I can't wait for it all to be over--the holidays this year were a bit too stressful for my liking.

Mom and Doug arrived on the 24th, Riley's birthday, and we had a blast opening presents and eating one of the coolest birthday cakes EVER...

The birthday table is all set.

The presents are waiting...



Seriously, how cool is this cake?



Eight yummy layers inside!



Cool! A Darth Vader Lego alarm clock!

Play-Doh and Lego games!

The birthday celebration was fun, but we made sure to get in bed at a decent time for Santa. Riley left him a special red and green donut with sprinkles from Dunkin' Donuts with a glass of milk. She also sprinkled special "food" she made at school out on the lawn for the reindeer.

Santa left lots of presents...and an AT-AT!!

Opening presents Christmas morning with Daddy.

Riley and Papa testing out the new toys.

Late Christmas night, it began to snow. And it kept snowing. And snowing. Mom and Doug (mostly Doug) insisted on leaving in the middle of the storm to head back to Charlotte and, then, on to Morristown. We tried to get them to stay, but no dice. They said it was the worst trip ever and that, at one point, it took them over an hour to drive 5 miles. I doubt they'll ever make the drive to our house for Christmas again. Bummer.

The snow was beautiful here though--the weatherman said it's the most snow the area's gotten since 1989. We got just a bit over 4 inches--it doesn't hold a candle to a New England storm by any means, but we'll take it. It was really cool to see palm trees covered in snow!

Preparing the snowman.

Riley and Charles discussing strategy...

The finished product.

The neighborhood covered in snow. We got about 4 inches.

I'll finish with a picture of one of Charles' gifts which, ironically, I'll most likely be the one to use.

New toys for Mommy and Daddy for the New Year.

Okay, now for some random items:

• Riley can kick some serious a$$--here she is breaking a board at her Taekwondo Christmas party.
• From my uncle Butch, two amazing holiday videos: Santa Went Down to Georgia and The North Point iBand, too cool!
• Here's a great instructional video for all you zombie fans, A Very Zombie Holiday.
• Allie does it again--makes me laugh until tears are dropping on to my keyboard: The Year Kenny Loggins Ruined Christmas.
• You gotta love A Christmas Message from Bill Maher.

Hell Must Be Freezing Over...and Green Bananas

Well, the impossible has happened--Atlanta got a second round of snow on Saturday! It began coming down at 11:00 am and snowed until about 3:30 pm. This event was just as beautiful as the snow we got on Tuesday, but I think a bit of the novelty had worn off with Riley. She was happy it was snowing, but she wasn't as eager to get out and play this time! Here are a few shots of the rare, second snow...(make fun of me if you will, but this is truly a unique thing here in "Hotlanta!")

The snow covering Riley's playground.

Snow on the UT flag. Go Vols!

The "second" snow covering the back yard.

Now, the forecasters are calling for another chance of a sleet/freezing rain/snow mixture sometime on Tuesday and I'm not sure if we'll be lucky enough to actually see more of the white stuff. I am sure of one thing--Riley has decided she would be happy if it snowed everyday except Halloween. She's worried that if it snows on Halloween she won't be able to go trick-or-treating!

Just a quick little story about Riley: Earlier this week we were all at the grocery store picking up fruits and veggies. She and Charles aimed the cart for the bananas, but Riley became anxious and pulled on Charles' sleeve for him to come closer. When he leaned in, she whispered, "Daddy, maybe you should tell someone that these bananas are green!"

According to Riley, these bananas are "weird."

Snow...in Atlanta?!?!

I miss seeing snow. Growing up near the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, I was used to getting a few good snowfalls as a child. We used to have at least one or two significant storms every winter--enough snow for a snowman and a kid-sized snow fort! Since moving to Atlanta though, I've seen a dusting or two that never lasted more than a few hours.

Riley and I were extremely excited when it started snowing this afternoon at approximately 4:20 pm. I took a quick video to at least document the snow coming down...

I was convinced that the snow wouldn't last long--I even told Riley not to get too excited. About 30 minutes later, the snow was still falling and actually starting to stick to the grass...

By the time Charles came home, Riley was ready to go outside and experience her very first encounter with snow! We bundled her up and Charles took her outside to play with her friends across the street.


Riley, Charles and the McCollum kids had a wonderful time...




Here are a few other shots of the snow--kinda pretty, huh?




It's now 8:00 pm and the snow has turned to freezing rain/ice, but it looks as though we got about an inch here. I doubt it will last long tomorrow, but I was wrong once earlier today!

I've also reached another milestone in parenting...I'll have to get up in the morning to see if Riley's preschool has closed for the day! I remember as a child getting up early after a snow storm and listening to the radio with my mom to see if my school was closed for the day--it was almost like Christmas morning.