My stand-in Christmas Card

I love Christmas Cards....I love making them, sending them and I especially love receiving them! I love mail anyway, so Christmas Cards are a fun bonus.

But this year I've been incredibly slack. Too much time working on big projects and enjoying the family.

So these will have to do as my stand-in Christmas card until next year.......just wait 2011 is going to have an awesome Christmas card.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Love,

The Longs

Josh, Cortney, Morgan (9), Raelyn (5), Jack (4), Gracen (2) and Everett (1)

Skiing

My dad and I took the big girls skiing at a local ski place.

Morgan remembered a lot from her several years of Park City trips and was quickly 'back in the saddle' and got to go up on the chair lift numerous times.

This was Rae's first time and so her and I hung low on the bunny slopes and rode the 'magic carpet' back up every time.

This was a special homeschool discount and it included a 1 hour lesson- this is us in the lesson. Raelyn is hidden behind the girl in the green, Morgan is to the right of them and I'm the one in the light periwinkle coat, black pants and black hat.

Morgan is 9!

Morgan went camping with her Girl Scout troop the night before her birthday, so we had a nice low-key celebration at home on her birthday night (Dec. 11).

Morgan and I made the yellow cake with chocolate icing- and she decorated it.

Her favorite thing she got was an electric toothbrush (Uncle Mike will be so proud!)

She's a true Southern Girl......she wanted Sausage Gravy on biscuits, Scrambled Eggs and OJ for her birthday dinner. Note the 'fancy' M place card. Raelyn makes place cards for almost every meal we have.

One year older and wiser too......

On my birthday we went to the Nutcracker in the morning....

......with the Hendersons and the Giffords......

.....then we went to Olive Garden for a LONG lunch.....

it was a good day.

And Josh gave me this. (but in black)So expect more pictures from me.

Christmas Tree Adventure

While both my sisters (and Mike!) were in town for Thanksgiving we headed up to the mountains to cut down Christmas trees. This was the first year we'd ever taken our kids to cut down a tree so they loved it. We packed up Big Blue so all 13 of us could ride together and put a trailer on the back to bring back the trees. On the way home we ate dinner at Shatley Springs . Family Style Country Dinner (yum, but I think I've been in a food coma for two days now)

Do you know how hard it is to get all 5 kids to look in the right direction?! Seriously....

Everett LOVES Uncle Garrett

I love my husband......he is seriously the best

Megan and Mike's first Christmas Tree (but their third Christmas together!)

Taylor put on Jack's mittens when her hands got cold

Thankgiving, Oh Thankgiving there's always lots to eat.....

We had three Thankgiving dinners. One last Saturday and then two the day of. We ate with Josh's family at 1pm and then headed over to eat with my parents, siblings and grandparents at 6:30pm.

When Josh's family gets together for Thanksgiving, the dirt bikes and 4-wheelers always come out.

Halloween 2010

My mom has an annual Halloween Party for my kids every year- they started bugging her about when it would be starting Oct 1st this year. By the 18th they had their way.

Don't you wish to be her grandchild so you could attend?

Someone was a little sleepy

We also went to the church Trunk-or-Treat and chili cook-off

Our neighborhood held trick-or-treating on Saturday night since Halloween was on a Sunday this year. They do a chili/soup dinner before trick-or-treating. There are no pictures of my kids that night since I was at a birth and Josh had all 5 by himself (can we say Super-Dad?) Just another reason he's the best. And he's mine.......

2010 Annual Fishing Trip to NC Coast

This year was the first year that Josh took Jack fishing with him at the NC coast- they went to Portsmouth Island

They said Jack was an angel (well, of course- he was being spoiled the whole time!)

In addition to the truck they took, they also had a four-wheeler and a Rhino.

The wildlife was abundant (this one was dead!)

This was the camp they set up next to the dunes (Josh and Jack's tent was the one closest to the cooking shelter)

Five generations of fishermen before they left at 5:15am! (From L to R) Josh, Papaw (my grandpa), Jack, my dad and my brother Garrett