"Merry" Christmas...

Well...it's Christmas...

It doesn't really feel like it and it definitely doesn't look like it. Yes, we have the tree and the decorations and the gifts, but we're all sick, or recovering from being sick, or about to get sick. This past week we passed around the stomach bug. Dad's the only one who hasn't gotten it. Mommy got sick this morning.

Yup, it's been very merry around here.

One upside is that our "big" Christmas surprise/celebration isn't until next week when we get to go to Disney World! We're all so excited that we were finally able to make it work and use our Christmas money to go there. Our hope is to go January 2 and stay until the 6th. Hopefully no one will be sick then! :-D

Now hopefully we can brighten your Christmas with a little funny photo from everyone's favorite store, Walmart:

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Wilsons! 

Zip Line Fun!

We got a zip line for Christmas! It's 200 ft long and holds up to 250 lb. Dad set it up today. However, it's too loose for us older people to do yet (our legs drag along the ground) so so far only the kids can do it. Dad hopes to fix the zip line for us older ones soon.

Anyway, here's a video I made of Isaac, Grace, and Promise doing the zip line. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!!!!

The night before Christmas, God sent a beautiful sunset, in honor of His Son. I was able to take some pics. Like I said, it was beautiful.

On Christmas, we didn't wake up until 8am... Ha! Gone are the days were everyone was up by 6am! Part of it is because Nathan and I are older and appreciate sleep, and part of it is because the kids stay up until midnight (due to excitement), then crash...

This year, everyone got a big present, except Joy Anna. She got books. (Mom's comment was "Joy Anna needs to start her own library!")

Joshua got a plasma car. It's small and holds up to 250lb. The rider's supposed to sit on it and put their feet in stirrup-type things. Everyone absolutely loves it and rides it as much as Joshua (yes, I've probably ridden it more than he has...) Anyway, his car is cool. The other present he really liked was his harmonica. (Brilliant idea, Mom. Do you hear the sarcasm?)

Joshua on his plasma car

Promise got lots of doll accessories. She got a doll highchair (it's so cute!), a canopy bed (over 2ft tall! It's gorgeous!), and a doll armoire. She was very happy and I believe all her accessories are "occupied" at the moment.

Isaac got the drum set he's been pining over. Ever since it's been set-up, he's stayed in his bedroom, experimenting and playing. He's in drummer heaven!

Grace got the American Girl doll she's been saving up for. She was excited to find it wrapped and under the tree and still get to keep her money! It's the new Marie Grace, the doll from Louisiana's French Quarter. It's a pretty doll. She loves it.

Nathan got an upgrade to our slow video-editing software. He's very happy. (Sorry, I don't have a pic for that!)

And I got *drum roll* the DSLR I've been wanting for ever!!!!!!!! I'm not good at showing emotion, so when I opened it, I said very composedly, "Oh, wow! Thank you!" Inside, I was dancing, jumping up and down, and screaming for joy. The camera's a Canon EOS Rebel T3 and it came with an 18-55mm lens. I am so happy and absolutely love it! I've already taken over 200 pics with it... *sheepish grin*. Needless to say, I'm in photographer heaven! Most of the pics I'm posting on Picasa (link coming) and this post have been taken with my camera. It's a big upgrade to my Canon Powershot SX20 IS. ;-D I've figured out Manual Focus and absolutely love it. Alright, I should probably stop talking about my camera and move on...

Pardon the mustache. It was a gift from Nathan. :-D

Mom got the brewing bottles she's been wanting. No, she doesn't brew beer, she makes kombucha and water kefir, both of which are very healthy drinks that have to ferment and fizz. She's very happy. I'm happy too since they're a beautiful crystal blue.

Dad got a bunch of chocolate from Mom. I think there were some ulterior motives going on... She bought him two boxes of truffles in case he were to take one to work. Yah, definitely some ulterior motives... :-D

Anyway, that's a quick recap of Christmas morning here! If you want to see more pics, I've put them on a Picasa album: https://picasaweb.google.com/113112312516189518414/Christmas2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOf3pci5wOmC6gE&feat=directlink Let me know what you think! :-D

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Hurricane's Game

Friday night we went to a Carolina Hurricane's game. It's kinda become a tradition (this is our 3rd year), but one of Dad's clients invites our whole family to get box seats at the Hurricane's Christmas game. It's so much fun! This year, the whole family went. We were supposed to go as a family last year also, but Promise threw up 30 minutes before we were supposed to leave...

This year, right before we left, Mom and Dad called us all to sit around the table. Then, they admitted that we all had an early Christmas present we needed to open before the game. Inside the packages were Hurricanes' jerseys and shirts. I like my shirt. ;-D

It was a lot of fun this year, especially since the Hurricanes won in overtime! (Woohoo!)

Anyway, here's some pics from the event:

Joy Anna LOVED the game! She danced and laughed to the music and chewed on water bottles.

O Christmas Tree!

So tonight I found out that Aunt Pam checks our blog frequently. Hi, Aunt Pam! We're looking forward to see you in May when I graduate! :-D

Last weekend, in honor of Promise's birthday, we bought a Christmas tree. The tradition started three years ago, after we moved. She thought it would be fun to get a Christmas tree, so we got one. Then she decided to make it a tradition - getting a tree on her birthday. However, since her birthday was on the crazy Sunday of the month, we decided to get it Saturday.

Here's some pictures from the event:

This one was too weird for me to pass up :-D

I heard that someone complained that there's nothing about Mommy and Daddy. In honor of their engagement anniversary (12/7/91) I'll do a post about them. Stay tuned!

He was full of himself and took every opportunity to get my attention and smile. 

Dad trying to lift a 10ft tree. It's the first one we looked at, the only one we looked at, and the one we took home.

See what I mean?

There was a playground

...and the kids had a lot of fun on it

And Grace needed help flipping upside down

But she figured it out.