Ho, ho, ho

Ornament

My Aunt Dori made a great suggestion this year for my grandparents. Each of us in the family were to make or buy an ornament for their tree that somehow has meaning. I foolishly decided to make one, but the story behind mine is that my Grandpa called me "Cookie," and my Grandma called me "Candy." So there it is.
Now please, Aunt Dori, if you see this, don't nab it just yet for their Ceiva. Thanks!

Recent Fun Day

The Halls are Decked!!

We got our tree today -- so we are officially ready for Santa's arrival!!

Tree Update

For those of you who are interested in landscaping, here's stage one of what will surely be a 5-year plan. Special props to Chris at Inner Banks Landscaping! He did a great job picking trees for us and they look fabulous!
Plus, I have to add a special mention to my Grandma -- David's Great-Grandma (!!), without whom these beautiful additions to our home would not have been possible. Thank you, dear Grandma, for your wonderful, generous gift!!

This is a River Birch. Has a lovely flaky bark -- quite different from the white paper birch from up north, but this one can take our NC heat.

This is a Deodar Cedar, sometimes called a California Christmas Tree. Has lovely droopy bluish branches with short bright green needles. Could it be any cuter?

This is a maple tree known as "Sun Valley." It's meant to cast shade on the back of the house and screen porch. It's full of buds, so should look great next year.

This is an "October Glory" maple known for its bright red color in fall. It should provide shade and privacy for the back corner of the house.

Here's a shot of all the trees in the yard. In front of the Deodar Cedar, you can see the bright red branches of a Japanese maple called "Sango Kaku" -- this was our landscaper's pick. I wanted a small, decorative tree, and this was the perfect pick - I can't wait for spring.
What you can't see is a row of forsythia along the property line that'll form a natural fence and background for flowers. Hope you enjoyed the show!

Our Trees

We are finally getting our trees put in today! I'm excited for the trees, but David was more excited by the holes. Fun for the whole family...

Day Two in Norfolk

Our hotel in Norfolk

Day One in Norfolk

We spent last Saturday and Sunday in Norfolk with Pat, Lynn and Finn. Here's some photos from the first day at the Nauticus Naval Museum.

Random Photos

Watching TV in the furniture-less 3rd floor TV room.
Watching Mom paint the back porch and desperately wanting to assist her.

Recent visit to a museum.

Dining at McDonald's after a morning in the museum.

Weekend home improvement project

We had ideal weather last weekend so finally decided to tackle our porch staining chore. Check out some before and after pics.





As you can see, we opted for a more daring choice of green, rather than standard brown. I regretted it as soon as we got it home, but went ahead and decided to do the floor of the screened-in porch (on the back of the house where no really sees it) only. It's ok, but we will definitely not be doing the front porch the same. Anyone need a bucket of green deck and porch stain? :-)

Another gorgeous day in Eastern NC

Afternoon at the Park

We had an unseasonably summery day yesterday, so we had a nice time visiting the park enjoying the 70+ degrees.

Even Pirates Like Their Bedtime Stories

...And their waffle for breakfast.

David wants to be a pirate these past few days. Wears that hat on and off all day (and night). Keeps me laughing! (Special props to Uncle Jeremy for the hat!)