My husband knows how much I enjoy taking pictures so last year he decided to buy me a lovely Cannon Rebel. I’m really enjoying playing with it and learning how to use all its fabulous settings. Over Christmas my sister and her boys let me take their family photos. I think they came out pretty good considering I’m still a fairly novice photographer.
We drove to two locations, but settled on the second as it had a few different areas with lots of colors and textures which made for interesting pictures. I had so much fun, they’re a good-looking bunch and were willing to try anything I asked. Of course we had to do one picture Gangnam Style as my youngest nephew is a fan! I definitely think we might have to head back there again soon as I’ve got a few more great photo ideas.
This past weekend we got the opportunity to meet the guys from Jars Of Clay, the popular Christian rock band from Tennessee, who were performing at the opening of Busch Garden’s Christmas Town.
We’d heard Jars of Clay were performing at 10 o’clock and we’d planned on heading over to see them, the only problem was we were standing in line waiting for Santa!
Seriously!
We were standing in line a really, really long time and while the elves were extremely cute and really good at keep Meghan entertained…
the repetitive “just hear those sleigh bells ring-a-ling ting ting ting-a-ling too…” accompanied with bird whistling was driving me completely bonkers!
To make matters worse, hubby and Meg realised the music was wearing on me and started imitating the whistling so as to drive me completely insane, but I digress…
It was the grand opening of Christmas Town so we fully expected it to take a little while to see the jolly old fella and Meg kept peaking in the windows to see if she could see him.
Finally we were led into Santa’s house where we were met with more elves who led us into the kitchen to meet Mrs. Claus.
After gobbling a few chocolate chip cookies and learning a song with Mrs. Claus we were ushered through some red curtains by another elf into a hall of mirrors.
The elf told us her name was Jingles and this was the getting cleaned up for Santa area!
Jingles asked Meg which mirror was her favorite and then did a secret knock…
the knock was returned from the other side of the mirror and Meg’s face completely lit up when the elf on the other side revealed the mirror was actually a secret door to Santa.
With a big smile on her face Meg quickly told Santa she wanted Olivia’s House (Friends Lego) for Christmas and promised to be good.
While it took a long time to get in to see Santa it was well worth the wait!
Meg was beaming from ear to ear while we stood outside waiting for her cousins to come through.
Hoping to catch the end of Jars of Clay’s performance we high tailed it to the other side of Christmas Town, but sadly we were too late.
Determined to continue our fun and because Meg had never seen snow before we headed over to Snow World where Meg threw her first few snow balls!
I was so proud of Meg for being brave enough to go down the snow slide by herself although I would’ve had a giggle had hubby gone up and done it with her.
While I was taking pictures of Meg going down the ice slide I happened to notice the guys from Jars of Clay just a few feet away chatting and taking pictures with fans.
So I motioned to Hubby and Meg and we headed over to see if they minded taking one with us.
Stephen Mason greeted us with a smile and asked if we’d happened to see their set?
Unable to lie I told him we’d missed it on account of waiting for Santa.
He was really sweet and told Meg not to worry Santa was more important anyway!
*phew*
Stephen was just a really nice guy and we found out, while he was chatting soccer with hubby, he’s an Arsenal fan which makes us like him all the more!
By this time the rest of the band had gathered around for our picture!
They were sincerely a great group of guys and I’m glad we got a chance to meet them!
So today for Music Monday I’m featuring a few of my favorite songs by them.
First up their christmas remake of Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmas Time!
Eyes Wide Open
Two Hands
For more information of the band or to check out more music visit their website www.jarsofclay.com
Halloween falls on a school night this year, so we wanted to find some simple treats we could do in between homework and still have a lot of fun making! We hopped on Pinterest, our favorite go to spot for ideas, and it didn’t take long for us to find the perfect easy to make goodies!
Witches hats and Broomsticks! PERFECT!
These are so cute and yet really, really simple to make!
Witches Broomsticks
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Snyder’s pretzel sticks
Simply unwrap the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, turn them upside down and press a pretzel stick into its center !
Witches Hats
Keebler Fudge Stripes
Hershey Kisses
Orange icing
We made our orange icing out of butter, powdered sugar and food coloring (3 parts yellow, 1 part red). Turn your Keebler cookies upside down and pipe orange icing around the empty middle. We used a ziplock sandwich bag and cut the corner to make a small hole to pipe our icing as we don’t have the real deal. Finally place your Hershey kiss on top and voila… witches hats! You can decorate your plate with fake spiders and cob webs and it makes the perfect classroom or Halloween party treat!
Dressing up, going door to door, seeing all the different costumes people come up with and walking up to the spooky decorated houses is so much fun!
However, we also have rules to keep us safe and seizure smart while we’re Trick or Treating!
Here are a few things to remember to keep your kids safe and seizure safe:
Make sure you don’t skip your seizure medication.
Have a cell phone and emergency meds on hand if you are walking long distances.
Trick or treat with a friend of family member familiar with your seizures.
If you are photosensitive avoid houses with strobe lights.
It’s a good rule of thumb to check all your candy before eating it, but definitely don’t eat it if you’re on a restrictive (Ketogenic or modified Atkins) diet.
A great suggestion I got from my sister-in-law Denise over atRunDMTfor kids who are unable to eat their candy due to dietary restrictions:
Check out the Halloween Candy Buy Back Program! Some dentists will buy back your kids candy and then ship it overseas to the troops! So not only will your kid be making money… they’ll be helping out our military overseas! It’s a win win!
Wear reflectors or glow necklaces so cars can see you.
Always walk on the sidewalks when possible.
Always look both ways before crossing the street.
NEVER enter a home for candy!
It’s important to be safe and seizure smart, but it’s also important to make sure you have FUN!
The celebration of Halloween started in the United States as an autumn harvest festival. In pioneer days, some Americans celebrated Halloween with com-popping parties, taffy pulls and hayrides.
In the late nineteenth century, with the large influx of Irish immigrants into the U.S., Halloween became associated with ghosts, goblins and witches.
Jack-o-lanterns are an Irish tradition. In Ireland, oversized rutabagas, turnips and potatoes were hollowed-out, carved into faces and illuminated with candles to be used as lanterns during Halloween celebrations.
The pumpkin originated in Mexico about 9,000 years ago. It is one of America’s oldest known vegetables. Pumpkins generally weigh from 15 to 30 pounds, although some weigh as much as 200 pounds. The majority of pumpkins are orange, but they also can be white or yellow. They are rich in vitamin A, beta-carotene and potassium, and their seeds provide protein and iron.
Coffee, Chocolate & Xanax 