December pictures

The snowy pictures are from November; our first and only snow this far. The other pictures are Christmas pictures.

Local tourist

We pretended to be tourists this week and went to Dollywood and Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg. County residents got into Dollywood for only $5 and the aquarium was free with a can of food. Since we are new here, I still feel like a tourist. Dollywood was fun with a great Polar Express 4-D experience. The aquarium was nice with one of those glass tunnels with the sharks and fish swimming above and around you. I hope this will be an annual trip.

Animoto.com

Halloween

"Trick-or-treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat. If you don't, I don't care, I'll pull down your underwear." This is what Costa wanted to say, but thankfully he just said "Trick-or-treat." It was raining, pouring at times. We had an umbrella, so it ended up being fine. The kids had about 80 pieces of candy each. Taeo would get to a house and just say, "Candy, candy, ..." It worked, he got candy.

Fall

We went pumpkin picking in the freezing cold and also did a little corn maze. Spent $19 for 2 pumpkins - not happy. I should have left without pumpkins.


Fall here is beautiful. Similar to NH but later in the year. The kids love playing in the leaves. We also have fun trying to catch falling leaves.


We carved our jack-o-lanterns. Taeo didn't like touching the goopy stuff, but he loved the final effect. We toasted pumpkin seeds too.

JC Penney pics

I am top of things and had Actaeos' two-year pictures taken.

Weird bug

I found this bug crawling up the back of my couch. It was about 2 inches long. I have found its friends in my kitchen sink and crawling in the hallway. I like bugs but this too much for me. Maybe it is a kind of centipede. If you know, tell me.

Soccer

Just a few pics from Costas' first soccer game. I mostly videotaped so not to many pictures, so I'll get some next time. He had a good time which is what it is all about.

Critters in our Backyard

We've been in our house for 2 weeks now and we have already found a box turtle, two salamanders, and a handful of frogs. The kids are loving it!

The Zoo

We've been to the zoo twice since moving here. They have some really great animals, including chimpanzees and gorillas. There is also a butterfly garden which is an enclosed space that we went in with butterflies flying all around us. There are also camel rides, which Costas enjoyed.

No training wheels!

Last week Costas rode his bike without training wheels for the first time. Within an hour he was riding down the hills in the neighborhood. I just realized that my camera, which I bought 6 months ago or so, doesn't have sound with the video component. I'm really irritated that I didn't discover this sooner so I could have returned it.

First day of Kindergarten

Costas had his first day of kindergarten last week. After his first day he said, "I was nervous about kindergarten, but it was actually fun!" He is doing really well and likes to report about the other kids not behaving. It's very important to him that he gets a green light everyday and a toy from the treasure box after a few green lights. He loves to ride the bus that picks him up at our house at 6:50am. He is willing to go to bed early so he can make sure the he gets on the bus. I'm hoping that he will continue to love going to school.

Last Visit to Zoo

Our last visit to the zoo before we move. The giraffe was so close to us. Costas was able to touch a stingray. A highlight was seeing them feed mice to the gila monsters. Interesting and disgusting at the same time.

Funny video

My kids watched this at least 20 times, cracking up.

Bob the Builder

A great Bob the Builder exhibit at the Fresno Met. There were exhibits that kept both kids busy for many hours.

I'm Back!

Trying to get some blogging done. Here's pics from the last 6 months. Costas' fifth birthday, Legoland, beach, aquarium, Yosemite, preschool graduation, etc.