Virginia Beach Day 4

Here I am, blogging about the beach during Christmas time.  I'm just determined to finish documenting it before 2015 ends!

I'm finally making my way through all the pictures I took, day by day.  We had such a great time and I really miss the beach!

We packed in a lot of activities on our 4th day at Virginia Beach.  Everything was done on foot.  Our goal was to not get in our car the entire trip!

After our typical coffee drinking on the balcony and breakfast buffet, we took the kids swimming in the hotel pool. It was always SO steamy in the pool area, so getting pictures was pretty much impossible!

After that, Grant, Lexie, and Liam headed back up to the hotel room while Dylan, Lily, and I hit the beach! Grant was still REALLY sunburned and didn't want to sit in the sun. Late August is the BEST time to go to the beach.  There were only a few people vacationing!

We spent most of the afternoon on the beach, but headed in when the waves got really big!

After our showers, we grabbed some dinner near our hotel.  The girls LOVED the wishing well across the street!

After that, we moved on to the awesome pirate ship playground on the beach.

After the kids finished playing, we strolled the boardwalk.  Along the way, we discovered a circus performance in the square. The kids were enthralled! Sweet Lily kept saying, "Oh, how I wish they would pick me!" every single time they chose an audience member to assist.

It was completely dark when the circus ended, so we took our night walk on the beach.  Grant and the kids searched for crabs and shells while Liam snoozed in the Ergo.

 

We ended the night with a dip in the indoor pool.

It was such a fun, exhausting day.  The older kids immediately crawled into bed and Liam couldn't even make it through tooth brushing!

At the end of the day, we couldn't even believe that vacation was already halfway over.  It always goes WAY too quickly!  

Did you go on vacation this year?

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For more Virginia Beach recaps, check out:

• Day One
• Day Two
• Day Three

Trimming the Tree

In our family, it's tradition to put up our Christmas Tree the weekend after Thanksgiving!

It's also a tradition to leave it up until at least January 6th. My dad grew up celebrating all 12 days of Christmas, and passed the tradition on to us!

On Sunday afternoon, I put up the tree and strung the lights.  Liam insisted on helping!

We ate dinner and had dessert before we began.  A little bit of cleanup was involved!

After dinner, everyone ran off to change into Christmas pajamas.  Lily, of course, returned wearing a fancy Christmas dress. She definitely has a mind of her own!

Finally, we all gathered in the living room!

We have the same routine every year.  While Christmas music plays in the background, we decorate our tree one ornament at a time.  Grant unwraps each ornament, hands it to the person it belongs to, and that person gets to choose a spot on the tree. It takes a while, but it makes the tradition extra special!

Each year, a different person gets to put the star on top of the tree. We keep a log on the back of the box, so there isn't any confusion.  This year, it was Lily's turn!

We all look forward to decorating our Christmas Tree. The kids love to rediscover their favorite ornaments, and Grant and I love to explain the history of the ornaments that we collected before they were born.  It really is a great way to connect as a family!

Our family really enjoys our Trimming the Tree Tradition, and it always puts us in the Christmas spirit!  

The ribbon, however, has yet to make its way onto the Christmas Tree!  It will get there...hopefully before Christmas!!! Final Christmas Tree Photo coming soon.  I hope!

When do you put up your Christmas Tree?

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A NEW Christmas Tradition Designed to #SpreadCheer + $20 Giveaway

Tradition is so important to my family, especially during the holiday season. We have a LONG list of beloved Christmas Traditions!

One of those traditions on our list is baking Christmas cookies together.  We typically save our baking until just before Christmas, but this year we're starting a bit earlier. We're participating in a NEW tradition and teaming up with Betty Crocker to #SpreadCheer!

My husband and I are working so hard to teach our kids how important it is to spend time together as a family.  We're working just as hard to show our kids how important it is to give to others.  We can have fun together baking cookies, and Spread Cheer along the way!

How exactly do you spread cheer?  It's easy!  It's exactly like Boo-ing someone at Halloween, only with Betty Crocker cookies! 

• Visit the Betty Crocker #SpreadCheer page.  You can print a coupon and #SpreadCheer printables.
• Use the coupon to buy Betty Crocker Cookie Mix and bake some cookies!
• Package those cookies up and deliver them to someone who could use a little extra cheer this holiday season!  Toss in those printables so that person can #SpreadCheer, too!

I'm a busy mom, and I don't have much time to spend making cookies from scratch.  I kind of have my hands full with 4 kids! I love baking with my kids, though, so Betty Crocker has been a part of our Christmas Cookie Baking tradition for many years!  We ALWAYS use Betty Crocker Cookie Mix, and we add our own extra ingredients.  It's an inexpensive, quick, and delicious alternative to making cookies from scratch!

Over the long holiday weekend, I gathered up my crew, explained the new twist in our Christmas Cookie Baking tradition, and I put them to work!

Now...let me be completely honest.  THREE of my little elves worked.

ONE little elf just supervised.  Letting the toddler tornado assist in the mixing and baking would have been disastrous! 

They worked really hard!

All that hard work paid off!  It was so hard to resist eating those delicious Peanut Butter Blossoms and Chocolate Chip Cookies, so they were rewarded with the empty bowls to lick clean.  OF COURSE!

It was a GREAT family night!

 I got to bake with my kids.

Liam loved being the taste tester!

We spent some valuable family time together.

AND now we get to #SpreadCheer!

We packaged our cookies in cute cardboard holiday boxes, tossed in a printable, and added a pouch of Betty Crocker Cookie Mix. We delivered our first basket today to my dear friend, Amber! 

Right after that, my parents stopped by.  My mom is a baker so nobody ever bakes cookies for her.  She can't say that anymore! 

We have several more baskets going out this week.  Our goal is to #SpreadCheer throughout the next 3 weeks!

The second item on our Christmas Tradition bucket list is checked off and December JUST started!  We're on a roll! 

Now for the fun part...

{GIVEAWAY}

One lucky reader will win a $20 gift card to Target! Betty Crocker wants YOU to join in on the fun and #SpreadCheer this holiday season!

Entering is really easy and fun! Betty Crocker wants this concept to go viral, and needs your help!

• Visit the Betty Crocker #SpreadCheer page and print out a coupon and the #SpreadCheer printable. Let me know in the blog post comments which cookie mix you will buy and who you will #SpreadCheer to. Confirm your entry on rafflecopter.
• Buy a Betty Crocker cookie mix, bake those cookies, and create a #SpreadCheer basket, box, or gift bag.
• Post an original photo on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with the hashtag #SpreadCheer (Bonus points for nominating a friend or two to #SpreadCheer and for tagging me in the post).
• Confirm your entry on the rafflecopter widget and leave your link in the comments of this blog post. 

*In order to win, you MUST participate. I will be confirming entries!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Who will you #SpreadCheer to? Use the hashtag #SpreadCheer on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  Let's focus on giving this holiday season and make this concept go viral!

Thank you, Betty Crocker, for sponsoring today's post and inspiring my family to #SpreadCheer this holiday season!