End of November

Nicole got a green cheek conure! We named him Mango, he is four months old and pretty awesome. Not loud, slightly messy, and very personable.

Katy gave me this picture at bedtime. I asked her to explain the picture, and the bug looking person is me. Sitting on a broom. And Katy was so thrilled to give me my likeness haha.

Jim and I have been running together at 5:45 since August. Usually 2 miles each day we go. I've never found jogging to be so easy. We go SO slowly, just talking and jogging and before we know it we've gone two miles. The other day we did 9:30 min miles. So I guess we're getting better, but just going can be so hard sometimes and it's so much funner together. Can't believe we've done over 100 miles now.

We took the kids to a Transiberian Orchestra Concert. It was a fun adventure with laser light effects!

The fire was a favorite effect!

Then we were off the next morning to Myrtle Beach! Our school had a 10-day Thanksgiving break so we got there before any crowds for a little family getaway. The hotel upgraded us to an oceanfront penthouse suite and the weather was so nice. This is the first time I wasn't ever cold at the waterpark!

Our big excitement of the trip was a dinner show with Christmas at Pirates Voyage. They combined Scrooge, pirates and the nativity in a fun, funny, and sweet show.

The preshow had juggling, singing, and even a seal!

And somehow our tickets were front row- best in the house! All the animals and pirates went right in front of us it was awesome.

Nicole and I had fun corralling the energy of John, he was so excited!

All the pirates did tons of flips!

Seal right in front of us! Diana was just certain it was just a person in a costume for so long until it was this close.

Oh and there was a bit of the Nutcracker in here too haha. What a mix!

Pirates battle scene where Scrooge decides to be good.

Mary on a donkey.

Wise men on camels.

Goose chase. Another random awesome part of the show.

During the pirates battle John was simply in awe. He stood up and his head was going back and forth watching every detail.

A great show!

Breakfast at the hotel when you run out of the cereal bowls and decide to use a 2 quart bowl. Filled to the top. Michael can really put away food!

Diana selfie!

Park playtime in the morning

View from our hotel window of the kids playing with Jim at the beach. Such a beautiful morning.

Michael dug a pool for the fish we would catch. Although the "big one" never came we still caught some.

Tiny little fish enjoying the pool and hiding by Nicole's foot.

We took a bike ride along the beach and since there was hardly anyone there it worked out great. We rode 2 miles to an ice cream shop. Also saw some Villanova basketball players and their families. Chatted with some grandparents of one player. Turns out there's an invitational each year here. 

Many MANY times I turned around to see Mike stopping his bike to grab a potential shell for his hermit crabs. He's pedal really fast trying to catch up, then stopping again- unable to pass up a potential home for his beloved pets. He is so fun!

Lunch was at Joe's Crab Shack, our favorite for family style seafood.

Getting a little souvenir on the boardwalk.  

Another early morning fishing in front of the hotel.

 

And chasing dozens of birds.

Mike began right away to make the fish pool again.

Such a beautiful, mild morning to enjoy before winter hits.

I loved how empty it was so the kids could run way down the beach as I watched.

Jake, the patient fisherman.

Mike's dreams came true and there was a magic show at the hotel the morning we left. He was an eager participant.

Katy volunteered, but then when it came time for the big reveal (there was a graphite mark he'd transferred to her fist) she refused to open her fist. Mike and Jake went up and tried to make her open her hand, to no avail. She was totally stubborn and refused it was hilarious. 

We had lunch and ordered their biggest pizza, thinking it would be more than enough. They kids ate it in 5 minutes. So here we are waiting for another one. Crazy!

One of our favorite stops is the boardwalk arcade. I get a bunch of tokens and we walk around as a family, encouraging each other as they take turns. At the end we divide the total tickets so everyone gets a few little prizes.

Mango after his first bath all fluffed up!

Totally didn't take any pics of Thanksgiving Day. Jim took the kids to play football while I finished up baking. Marian and her family came over and we ate lots of food and watched Aladdin. The kids played outside a ton and then we had lots of pie. It was a relaxed, fun day!

Nicole is slowly working with Mango to hold him and every step is fun.

For our last day of break we went to the zoo for a few hours. They have new komodo dragons and Jacob was so thrilled. Unfortunately they are juvenile ones who hid the whole time we were there. Bummer! But it was a fun trip, with a cold light rain on and off so the place was empty!! Animals were still out and we had a fun morning.