The Train Museum

Technically speaking I guess it's the NC Transportation Museum in Spencer, North Carolina. According to Jack, it's the Train Museum and we need to go everyday. Every day.

As usual, my loving husband found out about the Santa Train offered at the Museum before Christmas. Jack loves trains and who doesn't love Santa, so off we went. It's such a neat place with or without Santa. Jack loved the train ride although he did state the "a bullet train should be going much faster".

He loved the round house but didn't really want to take a ride, watching seemed to suit him just fine. But most of all he LOVED the gift shop. I mean, what kid wouldn't.

Despite the bitter cold wind of the day, we had a wonderful time and got yet another opportunity to show off the twins. Apparently we need to go to the Train Museum tomorrow. According to Jack anyway.

Gingerbread?

Okay, so I cheat. I use cardboard and it is WONDERFUL! No cookies breaking, no children crying - just hot glue and old boxes. Everyone likes the candy and icing best anyway! See, Hannah LOVES the candy!

This is our third year decorating our little cardboard houses and each year it gets more fun. Jack mainly likes "helping" everyone else decorate and eating as much candy as his little belly will hold, but we always end up with beauties.

I might have went a little big this year but no one seemed to mind and there is always next year to tweek the house design!

Santa's Forest

After putting off the onslaught of photos, I've finally decided to tackle the thousands of images I have from the last couple months. To begin with yet another photo from the magic of "Santa's Forest".

It's always amazing to me at how some of the most interesting and wonderful places are in your own backyard. Stephen and I had talked about how perfect it would be to take Jack to a cut-your-own Christmas tree farm up in the mountains. We happened to see a sign on our way home one afternoon pointing towards Lincolnton. Low and behold we started one of our new family holiday traditions at a family owned and operated choose and cut Christmas tree farm.

The farm is wonderful. They've taken such great pains to make the whole experience so family friendly! They've got a very cool hay bale play area WITH slides. They have hot cocoa, cookies, animals you can feed, and even sheep dog demonstrations. Not to mention you get to cut down your own very pretty tree for a very reasonable price! Look up Herter Nursery in Lincolnton, North Carolina - we definitely weren't disappointed.

Holiday Madness

It's over. The hustle and bustle of the holiday season was definitely more hustle for me this year. But things are starting to settle down back into the normal rush of our daily lives. This means that maybe I can catch up on all the photos I need to send out from our holiday activities, that maybe I can actually finish decorating the girls room, that maybe I can get the basement finally cleaned out and maybe, just maybe, I can get outside and tackle the weedy madness that inhabits my flower beds. This all remains to be seen but in the meantime I offer up this one photo of Jack and the Girls at the tree farm we visited before Christmas. More on that to follow!