We enjoyed a quiet Thanksgiving at home with my parents this year. We were excited about my parent's arrival on Wednesday night and started

the Thanksgiving preparations by Jackson helping me bake a pumpkin cheesecake.

Thursday morning, Joe and my dad decided that they would conquer the dead tree in the backyard once and for all.

Finally success, Charlie and I yelled timber as it fell. The boys enjoyed running around outside among the branches and I think that Charlie thought he would help with the tree clean up with his sword.

We enjoyed a fried turkey this year for the first time and

it was delicious. The boys wanted a little time to play outdoors so we piled the leaves and the boys had a jumping contest into

them. Joe came up with the

idea that they could also slide into the leaves and it was a huge success.

We closed our day with my dad (BaBa) wrestling with the boys prior to bed and they had a blast. I tried to join in and one head butt and an ice pack later, I had a fat lip. That just solidified the "Mommy doesn't wrestle" rule.

Christmas Card Reminiscing

Every year we like to send out a Christmas card with a photo. Since we just completed this year's card, I thought it might me fun to look at the years past to see how our family has grown and changed.

2010

Jingle Bell Run/ Walk for Arthritis

My friend Kristen asked if I would like to participate in the Jingle Bell Run/Walk 5k that was hosted by Mid Towne in Huntsville. It sounded like a good race and a fun time for the kids: with Santa, moon bounces, Santa Chase, and various other characters sprinkled in the mix, and it was for a very good cause.

The boys got their Santa hats in place and were prepared for a good time.

Prior to the race Jackson and Charlie were very excited to see Santa; however since we had just watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Jackson informed Charlie that the Grinch was a bad guy and was to be avoided.

The Grinch did have a good time chasing Jackson around with Jackson laughing uncontrollably. The boys both agreed that a picture with Dora was a safe bet (although Joe and I agreed the Dora was kinda freaky looking), but only Jackson was 100% sold on The Cat in the Hat.

The race was a lot of fun and the boys had a lot of fun

playing while the race was going on.

The big event, however, was Jackson participating in the Santa Chase. We did have to go over some ground rules with Jackson prior: No blocking, weaving to stop passing (thank Joe for that advice), pushing, and overall be a good sport. Jackson had a good start but when he slowed down to run with another girl, he was hit and knocked down. He got back up finished the race and got his candy cane, the other boy in the collision ended up with an ice pack; maybe we have two Race Warriors in the house.

Galaxy of Lights

Every year Joe and I like to take the boys through The Huntsville Botanical Garden's Galaxy of Lights; this year we decided to shake things up and do the walk thru instead of drive.

Once we arrived we ran into our friends The Beckers by complete coincidence and were excited to walk the gardens together. Charlie was so excited about the lights and kept saying over and over again, "This is fun!", while Jackson was just concerned with playing peek a boo with Claire, the Becker's youngest daughter. As you can see from the picture of Jackson with Claire, he is

still wearing his race t-shirt (chocolate milk stain and all), which he refused to take off.

The walk thru was only offered prior to Thanksgiving so we had to break Joe's "No Christmas until after Thanksgiving Rule," but I think in the end he was glad we did.

The day's festivities started to catch up with Jackson about half way through the gardens, while the little man that never sleeps was still going strong. And if you are wondering, yes, Jackson is sleeping in his race shirt tonight.

One Step Closer to the Naughty List

Charlie has never been a big fan of afternoon naps, well I guess you can say sleep in general. It is always an ordeal to get him to sleep, usually requiring books, rocking, singing, humming, and occasionally I have resorted to threats. So when at nap time today Charlie asked to be put in his bed and no books or any of the other hurdles that are required I was a little suspicious; however I granted his wish and laid him down and left the room.

About five minutes later I started to get a little curious because it was too quiet. I ventured back into the room for a peek and I found Charlie doing headstands using the side of his crib to balance. When he heard me , he flipped back down, gave me a mischievous smile and pointed to the door and stated, "Go away Big Bad Wolf!"

I don't think that Charlie fully understands the "Santa's Naughty List" threat!

The Lighting of the Christmas Tree at Bridge Street

Joe and I decided that we would head to Bridge Street for the annual

lighting of the Christmas tree. We thought it would be a fun outing with the kids and help kick start the holiday spirit at the Morton house. When we arrived, the festivities around the tree had just completed and the crowds were pretty thick, so we thought the we could slip into the Chocolate Crocodile and get some hot chocolate and assorted treats; three hot chocolates, white chocolate pretzels, and a snickers candied apple, we were all feeling the holiday spirit.

The Christmas tree was beautiful and the boys were very excited that Santa had come to check out the tree as well. Jackson

was not shy at all and went right to Santa and was beaming with joy. Charlie at first was not sure but by the time we said good bye he was saying, "Bye Santa!" and blowing Santa kisses. I think maybe Charlie is afraid he might be on the naughty list.

Happy Anniversary

Joe and I will be married 7 years tomorrow; however, my friend Alicia volunteered to keep the boys today so the celebration was a day early. I suspect that like most parents offered a chance to go out to eat sans children, we decided on a restaurant that they would never in a million years take our kids.

We chose The Melting Pot. At The Melting Pot all courses are served fondue style; as you could imagine this would spell disaster for Jackson and Charlie.

Joe had tipped them off about the anniversary and they had

a card signed by the entire staff and set us in a secluded alcove to enjoy our fondue experience. I was reminded of the joy of marrying an engineer when the waitress went over the exact cooking times for each item. Joe prepared his stop watch to follow instructions exactly.

My favorite part of the dinner was without a doubt the dessert. We ordered the White Chocolate Creme Brulee that came with an assortment of dipping options: strawberries, bananas, rice crispy treats, pound and cheese cakes. Joe was so excited about the chocolate deliciousness he even threw a couple of elbows trying to get to all the treats.

The whole experience was a lot of fun, a little time without the kids, a new experience, but I think the most memorable part was Joe's toast: "To the seven year itch not being so itchy!"

Huntsville 1/2 Marathon

I was excited to participate in the Huntsville Half Marathon this year. The boys were excited for race day, especially Jackson who called dibs on the finishing medal. After the start of the race, Joe, Jackson, and Charlie headed over to a local Bojangles for some biscuits and cinnamon rolls; afterwards, the boys took turns rolling down the hill next to the church that was hosting the race. By the time I finished, the boys were full, exhausted, and covered in grass shavings. Jackson not only swiped my medal but he quickly decided that the post race pizza was suppose to be his as well, you can see remnants on his face. After enjoying a few refreshments, Jackson looked over at me and said, "Gracious for the medal." Charlie replied, "De Nada". I guess Spanish word of the day at the Morton's house seems to be working.

Picture Day

Fall pictures were today at Jackson and Charlie's school. Jackson is always so particular about what he wears to school: t-shirt only and comfy pants. When he saw a button down shirt and the hairbrush he sounded the alarm. I explained to him that with it being picture day we needed to wear a nice shirt tucked in and brush his hair. He gave me a little face and declared,"I have a bad feeling about this!" After a little encouragement and Jackson deciding that his hair was just right, he decided that he would go along with the picture day requirements and even got into a little hamming it up for the camera.

Creepy Surprise

My friend Jennifer brought the boys a surprise today: hockey masks. The Huntsville Havoc is a local hockey team and Jennifer is a season ticket holder. As a free prize for coming to a recent game each spectator was given a free hockey mask upon admission. Jennifer was kind enough to share this prize with the boys.

Upon arriving home, I prefaced the boys with a little background of the sport of hockey and the idea of the goalie mask, since they have had little contact with the sport.

Jackson and Charlie were very excited about the gift and were running around the kitchen and laughing at each other in the mask. True to form, within 5 minutes Jackson was trying to decide which Star Wars character the mask most reminded him. He decided that he looked like General Grievous and ran around the house with two light sabers and proclaiming, "I'm Grievous!"

I must agree I can understand where he sees the resemblance. That being said, the masks kind of creep me out. I have a feeling the masks will be hidden by the morning; I don't want the first thing I see in the morning to be that mask requesting Disney Channel and a cup of milk.