My first Krispy Kreme

It may be weird, but I was one of those people that had never had a Krispy Kreme donut. How does that happen? I don't really know, other than I was never a big fan of donuts because they were a little too sweet and would hurt my teeth. Over the years, I've gotten over the too sweet factor, but I still had never had a Krispy Kreme.

Ethan and I went on a date to the cheap theater here, but when we got there, we realized they weren't playing the movie we thought, so we chose another movie, but had 20 minutes to kill. There just happened to be a Krispy Kreme in the same parking lot–conveniently.

We decided to take the leap. I've heard that the only way to eat a Krispy Kreme is hot, right off the conveyor belt. We walked inside and the smell was heavenly. There were a few people in front of us, so we decided to watch the process. All of a sudden, the belt stops. Panic ensues and people run around crazily! Ok, so the manager walks over and they start wiggling some things, but they realize the machine is down. All I could think was, "This can't be happening. I've waited this long and this has to happen." The cashier calls us up to the counter and takes our order. He looks back at the belt, takes some that hadn't finished drying, put them in a bag and hands them to us free of charge!

They were the best free donuts we've ever had! I will definitely not wait 26 years before my next one.

Snow day

Here in the South, if there is even the possibility of snow, the entire place shuts down. People clear out the stores of bread, milk, eggs, etc. When I first saw this happening, I was in awe. I'm definitely not in Idaho anymore!

The nice thing is that when there's snow, everyone gets a snow day! What do you do when it snows? You get the sleds out of course and go sledding! The bad? You don't usually think to buy snow clothes for your kids, so they're stuck wearing jeans and rain boots!

It was a little chilly, so it didn't last hours like I remember when I was growing up, but for a little boy not conditioned for cold weather, it was just enough!

Wicked!

For Christmas, my parents wanted to have us pick something we wanted to attend, (a concert, play, etc.) It just so happened to work out that Wicked was going to be coming in January. I had seen the play twice, but Ethan had never seen it before.

I was a little nervous to take him to it, because the last time I was overly excited for an event we went to, he was not as impressed as I was hoping him to be, so I kept my excitement close. 

The entire show was magical, just as I remembered it. Although, I was a bit surprised as to how much of the dialog I had forgotten. You get so used to hearing the music, that you forget that the speaking parts are absolutely hilarious! We laughed, I teared up, and we enjoyed every minute. I asked Ethan, after the show, what the verdict was. He loved it! He said it was a lot more funny than he was expecting. I was ecstatic! My dream came true!

I think I may be able to convince him to to even see it again... maybe. 

Charlotte Discovery Center

I have been wanting to take Nixon to the Discover Center here, especially since we've been cooped up with the colder winter. Ethan's sisters and I decided to make it a playdate for all the cousins here.

The first exhibit we went to was mainly for younger kids, and they had a blast.

 They had everything from gears, to blocks, to a life-size Lite-Brite.

Nixon could have stayed there entire day, and I'm thinking if we go back, that's what I'll do. I was trying to get him to experience all the different things, and he got ornery being taken away from all the different stations. Next time, if he wants to play with the gears for 2-3 hours, more power to him!

Because we had a couple bigger kids too, we moved on to more exhibits. Watching these boys go down the hall together made me feel so grateful that Nixon has so many cousins here to play with and become best friends with. I just wish we could have had Jared and Shannon's little boy Colton, to finish off the train!

We spent the rest of our time looking at jellyfish, walking through rope tunnels, and watching a show on fire! We're looking forward to our next trip because this will definitely not be our last!

Hornets vs. Hawks

Part of my Christmas was a gift to a Hornets basketball game. I'm not a avid Hornets fan, but I'm a fan of basketball!

One of my favorite things about professional sports is the Dip N' Dots. They are my absolute favorite!

I've never watched the Hornets play before, but I have heard of one of their star players. Jeremy Lin, or known better by "Linsanity." He was pretty incredible. Some of the shots he put up were kind, well, insane!
We ended up winning 107-84. It was a great game and the perfect Christmas gift! (I really need a new phone, the picture quality of the iPhone 4 is terrible)

Happy New Year!

Our New Year's Day started off with a bang! 

Dwayne and Sarah picked up enough silly string for everyone to get in on the action! It's pretty clear that it was a hit.

Grammy and Pa saved Christmas for the ones that were out of town.

 Mason is such a good big cousin to all the little boys.

Finished off the night with a delicious dinner, tree burning, and fireworks!

New Year's Eve

I love New Year's Eve. I love that it's the culminating day of an entire year that we just went through. We're usually looking back fondly (because a lot of the not-so-great stuff we tried to forget) and are looking forward to a brand new year, a new slate, and a new opportunity for growth and development. 

We didn't do anything overly exciting. We went to Carrabbas with the Esselman's; delicious bread, subpar food and service. But we talked about the future, what we wanted, and what things were coming up for everyone. We went back to their house for games and to watch the ball drop. Every year I watch the ball drop I think, I would love to be there with everyone, celebrating, soaking up the energy that's there. The things people don't talk about, is how you are literally there ALL DAY! Not being able to use the rest rooms, some people using the road to relieve themselves.. Maybe watching from the comfort of my couch isn't all that bad. Happy New Year!