Thanksgiving 2008!

Well, Thanksgiving is already over and I can hardly believe it! We had a great Thanksgiving Day and Vacation with lots of family, friends and of course food!!

We went to Atlanta on Wednesday night to my mom's house. The next day all of our family on Mom's side came over and we had a busy day of celebrating Thanksgiving, some birthday's, my cousin's highschool graduation, precious memories of those not with us anymore, and then ending the night with a game of Catacombs in the dark and a family dance party! Even the little grandchildren were in on the action. We were all quite exhausted!! It was a great day and we had beautiful weather!!

On Friday afternoon the rain began and so did our journey to our old stomping ground of North Augusta. We loved seeing old friends at church and Mike's dear friend Willy. We stayed with the Thompsons, who are Mike's second parents, out on their land. They have a double wide trailer that sits on their land that we think used to be used for a hunting lodge. They now use it for a guest house. That is where the Griner's bunked for two nights. It was sort of like camping because it is really small and we discovered that the shower did not work, so we had to go to the Thompson's house for showers. It was an adventure!!! The kids loved it and we made a memory! We had a great visit with the Thompsons and love them dearly. We could have stayed longer to spend more time with them and hope to see them again before another year and a half go by.

On Sunday afternoon we started the 5 hr. drive home on the curvy and steep mountain roads of Ashville, NC. We drove through some of the yuckiest weather I've been in in a while. It actually rained the entire weekend we were in North Augusta, but we made the best of it. One of the highlights was when we went to visit Mike's friend Willy who owns a gaming tournament center. You walk into his place and it is filled with screens and screens of video games, Wii Systems, Rock Band, and Guitar Hero. We stayed there over an hour and I had fun playing the Wii Fit for the first time and Rock Band. I sang Eye of the Tiger and Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas on Rock Band,John played guitar, and kid named Will played the drums. We were really rockin' it!! It was fun since I have never played any of those kind of games before. We were also able to go to my favorite Pecan store called Pecans Unlimited. They have the best chocolate covered, candied, praline, amarhetto, cinnamon, dark chocolate, and just about kind you can think of pecans. I love 'em!! Even Addi and Landon like them!

We got home around 9pm on Sunday night and needless to say were pretty tired!! I am glad the little ones and I have a day to try and catch up!

So, now I can officially say Merry Christmas!!!

We laugh at these pics because here are the kids "playing in the pool" or at least where the pool used to be. As you can see, they can still have fun with pool toys!







This was John's first year to cut the big bird!! He was a little intimidated, but had plenty of coaches on hand to give direction.



One of the things we did on Thanksgiving was to honor the highschool graduation of my cousin Adam Sheffield. We are so proud of his achievements and look forward to all he accomplishes in his life! Oh, and of course, G-Mama had to embarass him!



Landon was in love with these two new riding toys mom purchased the day before we came. They were actually all too little for him, but he made them work. After all they are trucks!!



Our dance party gets more fun every year as the little ones get older. Here is John, Addi and Mary Paul following G-Mama's instructions.


Addi wanted Mary Paul to dance with her but Mary Paul kept falling down. As you can see Addi's last resort was force to try and get Mary Paul up. We had to stop this before it got too hairy, but I had to get a picture first.



I started dancing away with Mary Paul and then Addi wanted in on the action too, so Ryan and I had to do a switch-a-roo in dance partners.


Addi and I dancing the night away. She was having a blast clapping her hands and spinning around. You can also see Ryan and Mary Paul doing some acrobatic dancing behind us. It was a lot of fun dancing with everyone!!






This is what Landon did most of the time during the dance party.


Here are a few pictures of our "trailer adventure" out on the Thompson's land. We had a good time and the kids got a kick out of sleeping in the same room.







A couple of family pictures with our "Dr. Barry" and "Mrs. Karen" Thompson. Mrs. Karen fed us good home cookin' all weekend!! We are so thankful for our visit and time together!

Buddy's Cancer Race 2008

This weekend was a good one! I had to work all day yesterday, but then I came home to a nice lazy night of movies in front of the fire! It was so cozy and reminded me how blessed I am to have a nice warm home and how much I love being home with all my family.

Sunday was the ususal busy morning at church and then we grabbed fast food and went home to quickly change into very warm clothes. Today was the 2008 Buddy's Race Against Cancer and the entire Griner family participated. Last year Andi, John and I ran the race along with my mom, Ryan and G-Mama. This year Mike decided to run too, so I decided I would walk and push the little ones. I only have a single jogger stroller so my friend from church DeAnna pushed Landon and I pushed Addi. The big kids made pretty good time walking / running and Mike made really good time running from some other men from church. DeAnna and I had fun walking with Landon and Addi and they did really well. We had to make a few pit stops along the way to give out snacks and toys, but I think they had fun too. It was very cold so we were really bundled up!
G-Mama also did the race, as well as Aunt Samantha. We made our In Memory of Dad signs to wear during the race and it was a good reminder of all the many people who are affected by this disease.

Now, on to another busy week.......


Andi and Allie all smiles after finishing the race!!


The entire Griner clan after we all crossed the finish line!


G-Mama, Aunt Samantha and me showing off our signs to remember Dad. Even Landon and Addi show off their signs on the strollers.


My fellow stroller pusher DeAnna, a good friend from church.


Mike displaying his In Memory of His Dad sign for Fred Griner.


Mike and Chris, DeAnna's husband, before the race trying to stay warm.

Disney On Ice....

This past weekend was a fun one! John and Andi went on a youth retreat with church and had a really good time. Mike had to work, so I took Landon and Addi to see their first show. We went to the Knoxville Colesium to see Disney on Ice. We had such a nice time!! The kids loved the show and were in awe of all the lights and action!! Addi wore her Cinderella princess dress and was so excited about seeing her. Their favorite parts were Buzz, Mickey and Minnie and Cinderella! Addi could not get enough of Cinderella and if asked, Landon would say he liked Buzz but his ultimate favorite part was the Zamboni during intermission. I should have known!! They also each had their first snow cones, it was funny to watch them experiment with how to eat it. I love doing things with the kids for the first time, it makes the best memories! We had a great time and we were all worn out!!

Sunday afternoon we went over to Aunt Samantha and Uncle Dave's house for a little while so I took a few pics while we were waiting for them to get home. Hope everyone else had good weekend too!!

Here are some pics....

When we first got there, Landon was a little overwhelmed with everything and would not smile for the camera.


Landon and Addi checking out all the toy vendors!



Landon decided on The Incredibles Car (of course, it was the only vehicle) and Addi chose a Cinderella.



Hard to see them here, I could not get the lighting right for my camera, but you can see the ice behind them.


Yummy Sno Cones!! They did not eat all of it. Most of it melted, but they had fun with what they did manage to get into their mouths.



Landon playing with his new car before the show started.


The empty ice ready for the show. We sat on the 7th row from the ice, so we had great seats.


Addi excited about Cinderella!


My one attempt at a pic from the show. Pictures never do these things justice.


They both loved seeing the car come out on the ice! It was the highlight of the first act.


Addi intently watching the show. Gotta love those cheeks!


Landon and Addi after the show all smiles!!!


Landon and Addi being silly and laughing out on Uncle Dave and Aunt Samantha's steps!



Landon decided to see if he could pick up their pumpkin! Notice Addi's Lightening McQueen in the background. Lately, she has had to have a McQueen with her at all times!